Christianity in Kerala

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Template:Short description

File:Nasrani cross.jpg
Saint Thomas Cross (Mar Thoma Sleeha) indigenous to the Saint Thomas Syrian Christian community
File:Branches & Denominations of Saint Thomas Christians.svg
St.Thomas Christians

the name given by Portuguese

Christianity is the third-largest practiced religion in Kerala, accounting for 18% of the population according to the 2001 Indian census.[1] According to traditional accounts, Thomas the Apostle sailed to the Malabar region in 52 AD and introduced Christianity to the area.[2] Although a minority, the Christian population of Kerala is proportionally much larger than that of India as a whole. A significant portion of the Indian Christian population resides in the state.[3][4]

History

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File:Kodungaloor Mar Thoma Church.jpg
Mar Thoma Sleeha Pilgrim Church, Kodungalloor where the relics of the right hand of the apostle is kept and venerated. This new church is built where it is believed that the first of the seven churches was built by Thomas in AD 52.

The tradition of origin among Saint Thomas Christians relates to the arrival of Thomas, one of the 12 disciples of Jesus, at the ancient seaport Muziris on the Kerala coast in AD 52.[5][6][2][7][8]

It is also possible for Aramaic-speaking Jews from Galilee to make a trip to Kerala in the 1st century. The Cochin Jews are known to have existed in Kerala around that time.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

File:Arakuzha Syrian Catholic Church.jpg
Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Arakuzha was founded in 999

The earliest known source connecting the apostle to India is the Acts of Thomas, likely written in the early 3rd century, perhaps in Edessa. The text describes Thomas' efforts in bringing Christianity to Northwest India, specifically in the Indo-Parthian Kingdom.[9]

According to traditional accounts such as the "Thomma Parvam" ("Song of Thomas"), he is generally described as arriving in or around Maliankara and founding Seven Churches and half churches, or Ezharapallikal: Kodungallur, Kollam, Niranam, Nilackal (Chayal), Kokkamangalam, Kottakkavu, Palayoor, Thiruvithamcode Arappalli and Aruvithura church (half church). A number of 3rd- and 4th-century Roman writers also mention Thomas' trip to India, including Ambrose of Milan, Gregory of Nazianzus, Jerome, and Ephrem the Syrian, while Eusebius of Caesarea records that Clement of Alexandria's teacher Pantaenus from Alexandria visited a Christian community in India using the Gospel of Matthew in Hebrew language in the 2nd century.Template:Sfnmp[10] Byzantine traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes wrote of Syrian Christians he met in Malabar and Sri Lanka in the 6th century.[11]Template:SfnpTemplate:Sfnp In 883 the English king Alfred the Great reportedly sent a mission and gifts to Saint Thomas' tomb in India.Template:Sfnp During the Crusades, distorted accounts of the Saint Thomas Christians and the Nestorian Church gave rise to the European legend of Prester John.[12]

Religious education

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Denominations

Template:Pie chart The 2011 Indian census found a total of 6,411,269 Christians in Kerala,[1] with their various denominations as stated: Saint Thomas Christians (including multiple Catholic, Oriental Orthodox and Protestant bodies) constituted 70.73% of the Christians of Kerala, followed by Latin Catholics at 13.3%, Pentecostals at 4.3%, CSI at 4.5%, Dalit Christians at 2.6% and other Protestant groups (such as Lutheran, Calvinist and other charismatic churches) at 5.9%.

The Saint Thomas Christians (Nasrani) of Kerala primarily belong to churches which use the East Syriac Rite (Syro-Malabar Catholic Church and Chaldean Syrian Church) and West Syriac Rite (Malankara Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Mar Thoma Syrian Church, St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India, Syro-Malankara Catholic Church and the Malabar Independent Syrian Church). The Church of South India belongs to the Anglican Communion and Saint Thomas Anglicans are theologically and liturgically similar to Anglicans elsewhere. Pentecostal Saint Thomas Christians, like other Pentecostals, are riteless (nonliturgical).[13] since 2005Template:Dated maintenance category (articles)Script error: No such module "Check for unknown parameters"., Saint Thomas Christians composed 12.5% of the total population of Kerala.[14][15]

File:St. Marys Cathedral Trivandrum Fassade 2 (retuschiert).jpg
Martha Mariam Malankara Suriani Catholica Simhasanapalli, Pattom, Trivandrum, founded in 1950.

The Mar Thoma Syrian Church and St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India are Oriental Protestant churches.[16][17] The Salvation Army also maintains a presence in Kerala.Script error: No such module "Unsubst".

In 2016, 61% of Christians in the state were Catholics, which includes Eastern Catholics and Latin Catholics.[18] The percentage of Catholics among Christians is the highest in Thrissur district.

Major Pentecostal denominations in Kerala include the India Pentecostal Church of God, Assemblies of God in India, Church of God (Full Gospel) in India, and The Pentecostal Mission.

See also

References

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  12. ↑ # Silverberg, Robert (1996). The Realm of Prester John, pp. 29–34. Ohio University Press. Template:ISBN.
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Works cited

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Further reading

  • George K.M.,`Christianity in India Through the Centuries`, Authentic Books, Secunderabad, 2007, 2009.(Template:ISBN).
  • Benedict Vadakkekara,`Origin of Christianity in India`, Media House, Delhi, 2007.Template:ISBN.
  • Agur C.M.,`Church History of Travancore`, Madras, 1903 Reprint:Asian Educational Services, New Delhi, 1990. (Template:ISBN).
  • Visvanathan Susan,`The Christians of Kerala`, Oxford University Press, Delhi1993, 1999.(Template:ISBN)
  • George Menachery,`The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India`, SARAS, Ed.Prof. George Menachery, Ollur, Vol.I 1982, Vol.II 1973, Vol. III 2009.
  • George Menachery,`Indian Church History Classics`, SARAS, Ed.Prof. George Menachery, Ollur, Vol.I The Nazranies 1998.
  • C. I. Issac, The Evolution of Christian Church in India, Template:ISBN 2014, Soorygatha Publishers, PB No 3517, Kochi 682 035

Template:Christianity in India by region Template:Churches in India

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