Portal:Indian_Christianity

THE CHRISTIANITY in INDIA PORTAL

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Christianity in India is the third-largest religion in that nation, following Hinduism and Islam. Abrahamic religions on the whole date back about 2500 years with the arrival of Judaism, followed by arrival of Christianity around 2000 years ago. Christianity came to India very early, several centuries before it reached Europe.

Christianity came to India in two main periods, the first century missionary activity of Thomas, the disciple of Jesus, and the Western missionary activities from 1500 to 1975. Vasco da Gama, seeking pre-existing Christian nations in India, discovered a sea route to India by circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope which caused a major influence on both the histories of Asia and Europe.

The total number of Christians in India as per Census in 2001 are 24,080,016 or 2.34% of the population. There are three main regional concentrations of Christian population, namely in South India, on the Konkan Coast, and among tribal people in East, Central, and North-East India. The states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in South India and Arunachal Pradesh in North-East India account for 60% of India's total Christian population.

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The Saint Thomas Christians are a group of Christians from the Malabar coast (now Kerala) in South India, that follows the tradition of conversion to Christianity by St. Thomas the Apostle . The different groups and denominations within the St Thomas Christians together form the Nasrani people , who also follows Syriac Christianity traditions. The tradition goes back to the very beginnings of first century Christian thought, and the seven churches that are believed to have been established by St. Thomas the Apostle in 52 AD .They are popularly known as Syrian Christians in view of the Syriac (classical form of Aramaic) liturgy used in church services since the early days of Christianity in India.

As an ethnic community they refer to themselves as Nasranis referring to the common cultural heritage and cultural tradition.As a religious group they refer to themselves as the Mar Thoma Khristianis or in English as Saint Thomas Christians referring to their religious tradition, due to the common ancestry of being the descendants of the early Mar Thoma church or Saint Thomas tradition of Christianity.

These first century churches, according to tradition, were, from north to south: Palayoor near Guruvayoor/Kunnankulam, Kodungalloor (believed to be the ancient Muziris of Pliny, and the Periplus, on the north bank of Periyar River today), Paravur on the south side of Periyar, Gokkamangalam or Kokkamangalam, Niranam, Chayal or Nilakkal (the only inland church) and the Lakes or Kaayals, and finally Kollam. The visit of the Apostle Thomas to these places and to Mylapore on the East coast of India can be read in the Ramban Song of Thomas Ramban ...

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Credit: Robin klein

This is a Nasrani Menorah also known as the Mar Thoma Cross. The six branches, (three branches on either side of the cross) represents God as the burning bush, while the central branch holds the cross, and the dove at the tip of the cross represents the holy spirit. In all, there are seven branches in the etched icon, representing the Jewish menorah and the cross.

The Nasrani menorah or the Mar thoma cross represents the Christian-Jewish tradition of the Nasrani people in Kerala, South India. Cross is the most common symbol of Christianity, intended to represent the redeeming martyrdom of Jesus when he was crucified on the True Cross in the New Testament.

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