Christians
in India are generally found in the western coast and
Kerala. Christianity has existed in Kerala since very
long. Historical evidence shows that the first Indian
converts were made by St Thomas, the Apostle himself in
52 AD. St. Thomas preached the Gospel in many parts of
India and is said to have been martyred in Madras (now
Chennai).
Further
evidence of Christianity is found in the travelogue- Christian
Geography, by Cosmas Indicopleustes, a Syrian monk who
traveled within India in the 6th Century. He refers to
the Nestorian churches in Malabar, officiated over by
Persian priests and supervised by Persian patriarch who
occupied a seat in Cochin.
Only
a few Nestorians are left today as Indian Christians
turned to the patriarch or Antioch for guidance. The
Syrian Orthodox creed continues to flourish in Kerala.
It has its own Patriarch at Kottayam. The Syrian Christian
church is a blend of the Indian traditions and Christian
orthodox. The devotees remove their shoes at the entrance
of the church and a marriage ceremony is not complete
without the groom covering the head of the bride with
a red veil as well as placing around her neck the thali
(a gold chain with a special pendant), which is symbolically
worn by all Hindu women. The caste system too has influenced
the religion. The converts have adopted the caste system
as a means of social organization within the church.
Christians
in India are generally found in the western coast and
Kerala. Christianity has existed in Kerala since very
long. Historical evidence shows that the first Indian
converts were made by St Thomas, the Apostle himself in
52 AD. St. Thomas preached the Gospel in many parts of
India and is said to have been martyred in Madras (now
Chennai).
