K O D U N G A L L U R - THE CRADLE OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIAProf. George Menachery & Fr. Werner Chakkalakkal, CMIMar Thoma Pontifical Shrine 2000 The impressive facade and the granite obelisk double-cross at Puthenchira, theseat of the last Archbishops of Kodungallur. Published by Fr. J.B. Puthur, CMI, Rector, Marthoma Pontifical Shrine, Azhikode- Kodungallur.Typeset by Ben Computers, ThrissurPrinted at Ebenezer, ThrissurReleased by H. Em. Joachim Cardinal Meisner on January 10, 2001 at Kodungallur,Price Rs. 75.00Copyright © 2000 by MPSFOREWORD Kodungallur, known as Musiris in the whole ancient world, and where St. Thomas theApostle first landed in our India, was till the 15th century the "Rome" of Indiaboth as the centre of the Indian Church and as its gateway to world-trade throughits famous harbour at the mouth of the river Periyar. Hence it was most appropriate to choose Azhikode-Kodungallur for the Mar ThomaPontifical Shrine to deposit the relic of the right arm of Apostle Thomas broughtby Cardinal Tisserant in the year 1953. Although we do not claim to have presented all that could be said aboutKodungallur or the Apostle’s visit to Kodungallur here in this brief studyprepared at short notice, we hope that some of the new threads of thought tracedtherein could be the starting point for fresh studies on the Apostle and hismission to India and to Kerala. Our attempts to draw the attention of the readerto the vast body of resources on the topics dealt with we hope will be of specialuse in promoting research into the glorious past of the land and the people hereand into the captivating story of the Church in India. Of especial use might bethe many references to local sources from the fields of archaeology, anthropology,numismatics, customs, traditions, folklore, place-name studies, geography, tradeand commerce, art and architecture, literatures...In this connection we are glad

to inform our readers that many of the classical source books mentioned are nowavailable in a reprinted form in such works as the Indian Church History Classics(The Nazranies), The Thomapedia, and various other such publications.May Thomas and his Master guide and protect our Church and Country.Ollur, Thrissur CityChristmas 2000 C O N T E N T SChapter ICranganore : Past and PresentThe Glory that was CranganoreKodungallur TodayAncient Primacy of CranganoreAgreement of 20th Century HistoriansAncient Indian, Greek, and Roman AuthorsPepper : Yavana PriyaRoman CoinsNotesChapter IIST. THOMAS AND CRANGANORESpecial Problems of Indian HistoryThe "Thomas Question" in the course of centuriesAPOSTLE THOMAS IN INDIA : Early TestimoniesKodungallur as the See of St. ThomasNotesChapter IIICHRISTIAN HISTORY OF KODUNGALLURThe Secular StoryThe Early Church of KodungallurMetropolitan of All-IndiaMediaeval Church of KodungallurPattern of Society in Mediaeval KodungallurEncounter with the Christian WestCentury of TransitionEclipse and the DawnNotesChapter IV IMMORTAL BONESVeneration of the Tomb in IndiaTranslation of the Relics to EdessaFrom Edessa to ChiosAt OrtonaMylapore Tomb down the Centuries"Second Landing" of Thomas at KodungallurChapter V THE CRADLE OF CHRISTIANITY IN INDIAAn AfterwordKodungallur : Mission Headquarters

Kodungallur : Mission SuccessfulThe Seventy-two PrivilegesIncidents at KodungallurThe Cap - BearerThe Royal CoupleSpread of christianity in keralaCoastal ExpansionGeographical Dispersion Common roots of christianity in india NotesCHAPTER 1CRANGANORE: PAST AND PRESENTTHE GLORY THAT WAS CRANGANOREK.P. Padmanabha Menon, writing at the dawn of this century, laments:The present condition of Cranganore is, indeed, deplorable. Having continued to beprosperous and important almost from pre-historic times till the middle of the14th century, it has since fallen into complete ruin and decay.Cranganore was already on the decline when the Portuguese arrived in India. "Yearsago," says the Revd. Richard Collins, "by one of those strange vicissitudes whichso often mark the progress of time, Cranganore was shorn of her glory. It was noNebuchadnezzar, no Alexander, no Titus, that blotted out her name from history,and ‘laid her stones and her timbers and her dust in the midst of the waters;’ andmade her ‘a place to spread nets upon’ - a mere village, as she is now, of a fewfishermen’s huts. She fell a prey to the geological instability of the coast,before referred to. Like so many things of the earth, the very foundation on whichshe was built was insecure; the entrance to her harbour became choked up; theremorseless monsoon washed away her bulwarks, and, losing her trade, she lost alsoher inhabitants".The opening of the Cochin outlet for the discharge of the monsoon flood of watersinto the sea and the consequent choking up of the Cranganore outlet led to theforming of the present beautiful harbour of Cochin. That tolled the deathknell ofthe commercial prosperity of Cranganore. Deprived of its natural harbour, itgradually dwindled into insignificance. Its trade fled northwards to Calicut andsouthwards to the new harbour of Cochin, and with its trade its prosperity also.The subsequent efforts of the Portuguese to revive Cranganore were of no avail,and it now remains only a name in history.Pliny described Cranganore as primum emporium Indiae. Well did it deserve thatproud distinction. Situated on the coast, eighteen miles to the north of Cochin,at a place where the great rivers that form the only means of comunication withthe interior debouched into the sea, it attained an unrivalled prosperity fromvery early times.It was through this port that the Hindus received from the Phoenicians their artof writing; it must have been from this port that the shipmen of Solomon ofIsrael, ‘that knew the sea’, obtained their valuable cargoes of gold, ivory,sandalwood, etc.It was to this port that the Greek merchant and mariner Hippalos, that Columbus of