• Source: Christianity in Kerala

Christianity is the third-largest practiced religion in Kerala, accounting for 18% of the population according to the 2001 Indian census. According to traditional accounts, Thomas the Apostle sailed to the Malabar region in 52 AD and introduced Christianity to the area. 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.




History



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.
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.


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.
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. Byzantine traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes wrote of Syrian Christians he met in Malabar and Sri Lanka in the 6th century. In 883 the English king Alfred the Great reportedly sent a mission and gifts to Saint Thomas' tomb in India. During the Crusades, distorted accounts of the Saint Thomas Christians and the Nestorian Church gave rise to the European legend of Prester John.




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Denominations



The 2011 Indian census found a total of 6,411,269 Christians in Kerala, 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 (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). As of 2005, Saint Thomas Christians composed 12.5% of the total population of Kerala.

The Mar Thoma Syrian Church and St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India are Oriental Protestant churches. The Salvation Army also maintains a presence in Kerala.
In 2016, 61% of Christians in the state were Catholics, which includes Eastern Catholics and Latin Catholics. 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


Caste system among South Asian Christians
Goan Catholics
East Indian Catholics
Mangalorean Catholics




References






= Works cited

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Baum, Wilhelm; Winkler, Dietmar W. (2003). The Church of the East: A Concise History. London-New York: Routledge-Curzon. ISBN 9781134430192.
Eusebius. Knight, Kevin (ed.). Church History. Translated by McGiffert, Arthur Cushman.. Book V Chapter 10.
Frykenberg, Robert E. (2008). Christianity in India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780198263777.
Medlycott, A (1912). "St. Thomas Christians". The Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
Walker, Joel T. (2011). "Fars". In Sebastian P. Brock; Aaron M. Butts; George A. Kiraz; Lucas Van Rompay (eds.). Gorgias Encyclopedic Dictionary of the Syriac Heritage: Electronic Edition. Gorgias Press. Retrieved 22 September 2016.
Whitehouse, Thomas (1873). Lingerings of light in a dark land: Researches into the Syrian church of Malabar. William Brown and Co.




Further reading


George K.M.,`Christianity in India Through the Centuries`, Authentic Books, Secunderabad, 2007, 2009.(ISBN 978-81-7362-786-6).
Benedict Vadakkekara,`Origin of Christianity in India`, Media House, Delhi, 2007.ISBN 81-7495-258-6.
Agur C.M.,`Church History of Travancore`, Madras,1903 Reprint:Asian Educational Services, New Delhi,1990. (ISBN 81-206-0594-2).
Visvanathan Susan,`The Christians of Kerala`, Oxford University Press, Delhi1993, 1999.(ISBN 0195647998)
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, ISBN 978 81 7255 056 1 2014, Soorygatha Publishers, PB No 3517, Kochi 682 035

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Kristen Santo Tomas
• Mazhab-mazhab Kristen Santo Tomas
• Distrik Thiruvananthapuram
• Muziris
• Knanaya
• Tomas dari Kana
• Kanara
• Gereja Malankara
• Ēḻarappaḷḷikaḷ
• Yahudi Cochin
• Christianity in Kerala
• Christianity in India
• Religion in Kerala
• Saint Thomas Christians
• Pentecostalism in Kerala
• Kadanthodu
• Christianity in Tamil Nadu
• Thodupuzha
• Syriac Christianity
• Kerala