Christianity in Indi

Christianity in India
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Christians in India
Saint Thomas Christian cross
Total population
27,819,588 (2011)[1]
Regions with significant

populations
Majority in Nagaland at
90%, Mizoram at 88%
and Meghalaya at 83.3%. Plural
majority in Manipur at 41.3%
and Arunachal Pradesh at
30.3%. Significant populations
in Goa at 25%, Kerala at
18.4%, Tamil Nadu at
6.2%, Jharkhand at
4.3%, Odisha at 2.76%, Andhra
Pradesh at 1.38%.
Languages
Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kon
kani, Kannada, English, Hindi a
nd various Indian languages
Religion
Roman Catholic (Syro Malabar

& Latin Rites) & Malankara
Rite), Saint Thomas Christians,
(East Syriac Rite / West Syriac
Rite, Orthodox, Jacobite, and
Marthoma etc.) and various
denominations
of Protestants like Baptists,
Church of South India,
Evangelical Church of India,
Believers Eastern Church,
Lutheran Churches, Pentecosts
and Apostolics
Related ethnic groups
Nasranis, Knanaya, East
Indians, Khasis, Mizos, Kukis, N
agas, Anglo-Indians, Goan
Catholics, Mangalorean
Catholics, Garo people, Pnar
people
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Christianity is India's third most followed religion according to the census of 2011, with approximately
28 million followers, constituting 2.3 percent of India's population. [2] It is traditionally believed that
Christianity was introduced to India by Thomas the Apostle, who supposedly landed in Kerala in 52
AD. There is a general scholarly consensus that Christianity was definitely established in India by
the 6th century AD.[3] including some communities who used Syriac liturgies, and it is possible that
the religion's existence extends as far back as the purported time of St.Thomas's arrival. [n 1]
Christians are found all across India and in all walks of life, with major populations in parts of South
India and the south shore, the Konkan Coast, and Northeast India. Indian Christians have
contributed significantly to and are well represented in various spheres of national life. They include
former and current chief ministers, governors and chief election commissioners.[5][6] Indian Christians
have the highest ratio of women to men among the various religious communities in India. [7]
[8]
Christians are the second most educated religious group in India after Jains.[9]
Christianity in India has different denominations. The state of Kerala is home to the Saint Thomas
Christian community, an ancient body of Christians, who are now divided into several different
churches and traditions. They are East Syriac Saint Thomas Christian churches: the Syro-Malabar
Catholic Church and the Chaldean Syrian Church. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian
Church, Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Syro-Malankara Catholic
Church, and the Malabar Independent Syrian Church are West Syriac Saint Thomas Christian
Churches. Since the 19th century Protestant churches have also been present; major denominations
include The Pentecostal Mission (formerly Ceylon Pentecostal Mission), the Baptists, Church of
South India (CSI), Evangelical Church of India (ECI), St. Thomas Evangelical Church of
India, Believers Eastern Church, the Church of North India (CNI), the Presbyterian Church of
India, Pentecostal Church, Apostolics, Lutherans, Traditional Anglicans and
other evangelical groups. The Christian Church runs thousands of educational institutions and
hospitals which have contributed significantly to the development of the nation. [10]
Roman Catholicism was first introduced to India by Portuguese, Italian and Irish Jesuits in the 16th
century to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ among Indians. Most Christian schools, hospitals,
primary care centres originated through the Roman Catholic missions brought by the trade of these
countries. Evangelical Protestantism was later spread to India by the efforts of British, American,
German, Scottish missionaries. These Protestant missions were also responsible for introducing
English education in India for the first time[11]and were also accountable in the first early translations
of the Holy Bible in various Indian languages (including Tamil, Malayalam, Telugu, Hindi, Urdu
and others).[12]
Even though Christians are a significant minority, they form a major religious group in three states of
India - Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland with plural majority in Manipur and Arunachal
Pradesh and other states with significant Christian population include Tamil Nadu and Kerala.
Christianity is widespread across India and is present in all states with major populations in South
India.
Infant Jesus Church, Mysore, India.
Contents
 1Early Christianity in India
o 1.1St. Bartholomew
o 1.2St. Thomas
o 1.34th century missions
 2Medieval period
 3Modern period
o 3.1Arrival of the Portuguese and
Christianity
o 3.2Arrival of the Roman Catholic Latin
Rites
o 3.3Syrian Christians in India
o 3.4Arrival of Protestant missions
o 3.5Lutherans
o 3.6William Carey and the Baptists
o 3.7Outreach to upper classes
o 3.8Other missionaries
o 3.9Latter Day Saint Denominations in
India
 3.9.1Arrival of the Mormon
Missionaries
 3.9.2Establishment of the Community
of Christ (formerly RLDS Church) in India
o 3.10Eastern Orthodoxy in India
 4Art and architecture
 5Culture
 6Demographics
o 6.1Denominations
o 6.2State populations
 7Christian population in India
 8Reservation issue
 9Conflicts
o 9.1Hindu–Christian conflict
o 9.2Muslim–Christian conflict
 10List of Christian communities in India
 11See also
 12Notes
 13References
 14Bibliography
o 14.1Primary sources
 15Further reading
 16External links
Early Christianity in India[edit]
St. Bartholomew[edit]
Main article: Saint Bartholomew
Roman trade with India started from Aegyptus

according to the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea (1st
century).
Two ancient testimonies exist about the mission of Saint Bartholomew in India. These are
of Eusebius of Caesarea (early 4th century) and of Saint Jerome (late 4th century). Both these refer
to this tradition while speaking of the reported visit of Pantaenus to India in the 2nd century.[13] The
studies of Fr A.C. Perumalil SJ and Moraes hold that the Bombay region on the Konkan coast, a
region which may have been known as the ancient city Kalyan, was the field of Saint Bartholomew's
missionary activities.[14]
St. Thomas[edit]
Main article: Saint Thomas Christians
Saint Thomas Christians or Syrian Christians of

Kerala in ancient days (from an old painting). Photo
published in the Cochin Government Royal War
Efforts Souvenir in 1938
St. Mary's Thiruvithamcode Arappally of Malankara

Orthodox Syrian Church in Tamil Nadu founded by
St. Thomas the Apostle
Marth Mariam Syrian Catholic Church(Syro-Malabar
Rite) at Arakuzha, Kerala is an
ancient Nasrani church established in 999 AD
St. Peter's and St. Paul's Orthodox Church,

Parumala, the shrine of St Geevargeese Mar
Gregorios in Kerala. He is the first Indian to
be canonised by Syrian Christians of India.
Infant Jesus Cathedral in Kollam city. It is the co-

cathedral of India's first diocese, Roman Catholic
Diocese of Quilon
According to Indian Christian traditions, the Apostle Thomas arrived in Tamilakam presently in the
Indian state of Kerala Kodungallur Kerala, established the Seven Churches and evangelised in
present-day Kerala and Tamil Nadu.[15][16][17]
As with early Christianity in the Roman Empire, it is assumed that the initial converts were largely
Jewish proselytes among the Cochin Jewswho are believed to have arrived in India around 562 BC,
after the destruction of the First Temple.[18][19][20] Many of these Jews presumably spoke Aramaic like
St. Thomas, also a Jew by birth, who is credited by tradition with evangelising India. [n 2]
A historically more likely claim by Eusebius of Caesarea is that Pantaenus, the head of the
Christian exegetical school in Alexandria, Egyptwent to India during the reign of the
Emperor Commodus and found Christians already living in India using a version of the Gospel of
Matthew with "Hebrew letters, a mixture of culture."[22] This is a plausible reference to the earliest
Indian churches which are known to have used the Syriac (a dialect of Aramaic) New Testament.
Pantaenus' evidence thus indicates that Syriac-speaking Christians had already evangelised parts of
India by the late 2nd century.
An early 3rd-century Syriac work known as the Acts of Thomas[23][24] connects the tradition of the
apostle Thomas' Indian ministry with two kings, one in the north and the other in the south. The year
of his arrival is widely disputed due to lack of credible records.[25] According to one of the legends in
the Acts, Thomas was at first reluctant to accept this mission but Jesus over-ruled the stubborn
disciple by ordering circumstances so compelling that he was forced to accompany an Indian
merchant, Abbanes, to his native place in northwest India, where he found himself in the service of
the Indo-Parthian king, Gondophares. The apostle's ministry reputedly resulted in many conversions
throughout this northern kingdom, including the king and his brother. [23] The Acts of
Thomas identifies his second mission in India with a kingdom ruled by King Mahadwa, one of the
rulers of a 1st-century dynasty in southern India. According to the tradition of the Mar Thoma or
"Church of Thomas," Thomas evangelised along the Malabar Coast of Kerala State in southwest
India, though the various churches he founded were located mainly on the Periyar River and its
tributaries and along the coast, where there were Jewish colonies. He reputedly preached to all
classes of people and had about seventeen thousand converts, including members of the four
principal castes. According to legend, St. Thomas attained martyrdom at St. Thomas
Mount in Chennai and is buried on the site of San Thome Cathedral.[26]
India's oldest church, claimed to be the world's oldest existing church structure and built by Thomas
the Apostle in 57 AD,[27] called Thiruvithamcode Arappally or Thomaiyar Kovil as named by the
then Chera king Udayancheral,[27] is located at Thiruvithancode in Kanyakumari District of Tamil
Nadu, India. It is now declared an international St. Thomas pilgrim center.
Although little is known of the immediate growth of the church, Bar-Daisan (AD 154–223) reports
that in his time there were Christian tribes in North India which claimed to have been converted by
Thomas and to have books and relics to prove it.[23] Certainly by the time of the establishment of
the Sassanid Empire (AD 226), there were bishops of the Church of the East in northwest
India, Afghanistan and Baluchistan, with laymen and clergy alike engaging in missionary activity.[23]
4th century missions[edit]
The renovated Mar Thoma Syro-Malabar Catholic

Church, Kodungaloor; the first Christian church in
India, built 52 A. D.
India had a flourishing trade with Central Asia, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East, both along
mountain passes in the north and sea routes along the western and southern coast, well before the
start of the Christian era, and it is likely that Christian merchants settled in Indian cities along trading
routes.[28]
The Chronicle of Seert describes an evangelical mission to India by Bishop David of Basra around
the year 300;[29] this metropolitan reportedly made many conversions,[30] and it has been speculated
that his mission took in areas of southern India.[31]
The colony of Syrian Christians established at Kodungallur may be the first Christian community in
South India for which there is a continuous written record. [32] T.R. Vedantham showing his own
perspective on Christianity was the first to propose in 1987 that Thomas of Cana was confused with
the 1st century apostle Thomas by India's Syrian Christians sometime after his death, becoming
their Apostle Thomas in India. [33]
Medieval period[edit]
Syro-Malabar Catholic bishop Mar Mathew Arackal

(holding the Mar Thoma Cross which symbolises the
heritage and identity of the Syrian Church of Saint
Thomas Christians) along with other priests at the
tomb of Servant of God March Varghese Payyappilly
Palakkappilly
The Saint Thomas Christian community was further strengthened by various Persian immigrant
settlers, the Knanaya colonies of the 4th century, Manichaeanism followers, Babylonian Christians
settlers of the 4th century AD, the Syrian settlements of Mar Sabor Easo and Proth in the 9th century
AD and the immigrant Persian Christians from successive centuries.
Local rulers in Kerala gave the St. Thomas Christians various rights and privileges which were
written on copper plates. These are known as Cheppeds, Royal Grants, Sasanam etc. [34] There are
a number of such documents in the possession of the Syrian churchesof Kerala which include
the Thazhekad Sasanam, the Quilon Plates (or the Tharisappalli Cheppeds), Mampally
Sasanam and Iraviikothan Chepped etc. Some of these plates are said to be dated around 774 AD.
Scholars have studied the inscriptions and produced varying translations. The language used is
Tamil in Tamil letters intermingled with some Grantha
script and Pahlavi, Kufic and Hebrew signatures.
The ruler of Venad (Travancore) granted the Saint Thomas Christians seventy two rights and
privileges which were usually granted only to high dignitaries. These rights included exemption from
import duties, sales tax and the slave tax. A copper plate grant dated 1225 AD further enhanced the
rights and privileges of Nasranis.
The South Indian epic of Manimekalai (written between 2nd and 3rd century AD) mentions
the Nasrani people by referring to them by the name Essanis. The embassy of King Alfred in 883 AD
sent presents to St. Thomas Christians.[35] Marco Polo who visited in 1292, mentioned that there
were Christians in the Malabar coast.[36] The Saint Thomas Christians still use the Syriac language
(a dialect of Aramaic, which is also the language that Jesus spoke[37]) in their liturgy. This group,
which existed in Kerala relatively peacefully for more than a millennium, faced considerable
persecution from Portuguese evangelists in the 16th century. [38][39] This later wave of evangelism
spread Catholicism more widely along the Konkan coast.[40][41]
Modern period[edit]
Since the 1500s European Catholic and Protestant missionaries have been active in India. [42] In
1900-1914 churches in other countries, especially the United States, sponsored missions. [43] Outside
Christian missions have been less active since 1914 as Indians themselves take action and
Protestant groups have formed unions.[44]
Arrival of the Portuguese and Christianity[edit]
See also: Pearl Fishery Coast
Conversion of the Paravas by Saint Francis Xavier,

in a 19th-century coloured lithograph
The south Indian coastal areas around Kanyakumari were known for pearl fisheries ruled
by Paravars. From 1527 the Paravars were being threatened by Arab fleets offshore, headed by the
Muslim supporting Zamorin of Calicut,.[45] The Paravars sought the protection of Portuguese who
had moved into the area. The protection was granted on the condition that the leaders were
immediately baptised as Christians and that they would encourage their people also to convert to
Christianity; the Portuguese would also gain a strategic foothold and control of the pearl fisheries.
The deal was agreed and some months later 20,000 Paravars were baptised en masse, and by
1537 the entire community had declared itself to be Christian. The Portuguese navy destroyed the
Arab fleet at Vedalai on 27 June 1538.[46][45]
Francis Xavier, a Jesuit, in 1542 began a mission to the lower classes of Tamil society. [47] A further
30,000 Paravars were baptised. Xavier appointed catechists in the Paravar villages up and down the
100 miles (160 km) of coastline to spread and reinforce his teachings. [48] Paravar Christianity, with its
own identity based on a mixture of Christian religious belief and Hindu caste culture, remains a
defining part of the Paravar life today.[45][49]
Arrival of the Roman Catholic Latin Rites[edit]
The French or Catalan Dominican missionary Jordanus Catalani was the first European to start
conversion in India. He arrived in Surat in 1320. After his ministry in Gujarat he reached Quilon in
1323. He not only revived Christianity but also brought thousands to the Christian fold. He brought a
message of good will from the Pope to the local rulers. In 1329 Pope John XXII, from the Holy See
then in Avignon (France), erected Quilon as the first Diocese in the whole of Indies as suffragan to
the Archdiocese of Sultany in Persia through the decree '"Romanus Pontifex"' dated 9 August 1329 .
By a separate bull, tah goes "Venerabili Fratri Jordano", the same Pope, on 21 August 1329
appointed the French or Catalan Dominican friar "Jordanus Catalani" as the first Bishop of Quilon.
[50]
As the first bishop in India, Jordanus was also entrusted with the spiritual nourishment of the
Christian community in Calicut, Mangalore, Thane and Broach (north of Thane).[51]
Portuguese-Tamil Primer (1554). One of the earliest

known Christian books in an Indian language
In 1453, the fall of Constantinople, a bastion of Christianity in Asia Minor to Islamic Ottoman Empire;
marked the end of the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantine Empire, and severed European trade
links by land with Asia. This massive blow to Christendom spurred the age of discovery as
Europeans were seeking alternative routes east by sea along with the goal of forging alliances with
pre-existing Christian nations.[52][53] Along with pioneer Portuguese long-distance maritime travellers
that reached the Malabar Coast in the late 15th century, came Portuguese missionaries who made
contact with the St Thomas Christians in Kerala, which at that time were following Eastern
Christianpractices and under the jurisdiction of Church of the East. The missionaries sought to
introduce the Latin liturgical rites among them and unify East Syriac Christians in India under
the Holy See.
In the 16th century, the proselytisation of Asia was linked to the Portuguese colonial policy.
The missionaries of the different orders (Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits, Augustinians, etc.)
flocked out with the conquerors, and began at once to build churches along the coastal districts
where the Portuguese power made itself felt.
The history of Portuguese missionaries in India starts with the neo-apostles who
reached Kappad near Kozhikode on 20 May 1498 along with the Portuguese explorer Vasco da
Gama who was seeking to form anti-Islamic alliances with pre-existing Christian nations. [54][55] The
lucrative spice trade was further temptation for the Portuguese crown. [56] When he and the
Portuguese missionaries arrived they found Christians in the country in Malabar known as St.
Thomas Christians who belonged to the then-largest Christian church within India. [55] The Christians
were friendly to Portuguese missionaries at first; there was an exchange of gifts between them, and
these groups were delighted at their common faith. [57]
Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great (r. 1556–1605)

holds a religious assembly in the Ibadat Khana
(House of Worship) in Fatehpur Sikri; the two men
dressed in black are the Jesuitmissionaries Rodolfo
Acquaviva and Francisco Henriques. Illustration to
the Akbarnama, miniature painting by Nar Singh, ca.
1605.
During the second expedition, the Portuguese fleet comprising 13 ships and 18 priests, under
Captain Pedro Álvares Cabral, anchored at Cochin on 26 November 1500. Cabral soon won the
goodwill of the Raja of Cochin. He allowed four priests to do apostolic work among the early
Christian communities scattered in and around Cochin. Thus Portuguese missionaries established
Portuguese Mission in 1500. Dom Francisco de Almeida, the first Portuguese Viceroy got permission
from the Kochi Raja to build two churches – namely Santa Cruz Basilica(1505) and St. Francis
Church (1506) using stones and mortar, which was unheard of at that time, as the local prejudices
[ ]
were against such a structure for any purpose other than a royal palace or a temple. citation needed
In the beginning of the 16th century, the whole of the east was under the jurisdiction of
the Archdiocese of Lisbon. On 12 June 1514, Cochin and Goa became two prominent mission
stations under the newly created Diocese of Funchal in Madeira. In 1534, Pope Paul III by the Bull
Quequem Reputamus, raised Funchal as an archdiocese and Goa as its suffragan, deputing the
whole of India under the diocese of Goa. This created an episcopal see – suffragan to Funchal, with
a jurisdiction extending potentially over all past and future conquests from the Cape of Good Hope to
China.
After four decades of prosperous trading, the missionaries started the proselytisation around 1540
and during this period, foreign missionaries also made many new converts to Christianity. Early
Roman Catholic missionaries, particularly the Portuguese, led by the Jesuit St Francis Xavier (1506–
1552), expanded from their bases on the west coast making many converts. The Portuguese
colonial government supported the mission and the baptised Christians were given incentives like
rice donations, good positions in their colonies. Hence, these Christians were dubbed Rice
Christians who even practised their old religion. At the same time many New Christians from
Portugal migrated to India as a result of the inquisition in Portugal. Many of them were suspected of
being Crypto-Jews, converted Jews who were secretly practising their old religion. Both were
considered a threat to the solidarity of Christian belief. [58] which is considered a blot on the history of
Roman Catholic Christianity in India, both by Christians and non-Christians alike.
In 1557, Goa was made an independent archbishopric, and its first suffragan sees were erected
at Cochin and Malacca. The whole of the East came under the jurisdiction of Goa and its boundaries
extended to almost half of the world: from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, to Burma, China
and Japan in East Asia. In 1576 the suffragan See of Macao (China) was added; and in 1588, that of
Funai in Japan.
The death of the last metropolitan bishop – Archbishop Abraham of the Saint Thomas Christians, an
ancient body formerly part of the Church of the East[59][60] in 1597; gave the then Archbishop of
Goa Menezes an opportunity to bring the native church under the authority of the Roman Catholic
Church. He was able to secure the submission of Archdeacon George, the highest remaining
representative of the native church hierarchy. Menezes convened the Synod of Diamper between 20
and 26 June 1599,[61] which introduced a number of reforms to the church and brought it fully into
the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church. Following the Synod, Menezes consecrated Francis Ros, S. J.
as Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Angamalé for the Saint Thomas Christians; thus created
another suffragan see to Archdiocese of Goa and Latinisation of St Thomas Christians started.
The Saint Thomas Christians were pressured to acknowledge the authority of the Pope and most of
them eventually accepted the Catholic faith, but a part of them switched to West Syriac Rite.
[61]
Resentment of these measures led to some part of the community to join
the Archdeacon, Thomas, in swearing never to submit to the Portuguese or to accept the
Communion with Rome in the Coonan Cross Oath in 1653. Those who accepted the West
Syriactheological and liturgical tradition of Mar Gregorios became known as Jacobites. The ones
who continued with East Syriac and Latin theological and liturgical tradition and stayed faithful to the
Synod of Diamper and the Roman Catholic Church came to be formally known as the Syro-Malabar
Catholic Church from the second half of the 19th century onward.
The Diocese of Angamaly was transferred to Diocese of Craganore in 1605; while, in 1606 a sixth
suffragan see to Goa was established at San Thome, Mylapore, near the modern Madras, and the
site of the National Shrine of St. Thomas Basilica. The suffragan sees added later to Goa. were the
prelacy of Mozambique (1612) and in 1690 two other sees at Peking and Nanking in China.
Mangalore is another significant region on the west coast which has a huge Christian population. In
1321, the French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani of Severac (in south-western France), who also
worked in Quilon arrived in Bhatkal, a place near Mangalore and established a missionary station
there. Many locals were converted to Christianity by Jordanus.[51] The Portuguese were however
unable to establish their presence in Mangalore as a result of the conquests of
the Vijayanagara ruler Krishnadevaraya and Abbakka Rani of Ullal, the Bednore Queen of
Mangalore. Most of Mangalorean Catholics were not originally from Mangalore but are descendants
of Goan Catholics who fled Goa during the Portuguese-Maratha Wars and the Goan Inquisition.
The origin of Christianity in North Konkan, was due to the proselytising activities of the Portuguese in
the 16th century. The French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani of Severac (in south-western
France) started evangelising activities in Thana.[62] On the occasion of The Golden Jubilee of Queen
Victoria, the Christians of North Konkan, in Maharashtra who were known as Portuguese
Christiansdiscarded that name and adopted the designation East Indians.[63] Marathi Christians are
Protestants and are therefore distinct from East Indian Christians who are predominantly Roman
Catholics and inhabitants of the North Konkan region. Marathi Christians can be found in the areas
of Ahmednagar, Solapur, Pune and Aurangabad. They were converted through the efforts of
the American Marathi Mission, The SPG Mission, and the Church Mission Society of Church of
England in the early 18th century. British Missionary William Carey was instrumental in translating
the Bible into the Marathi language.[64]
Missionary work progressed on a large scale and with great success along the western coasts,
chiefly at Chaul, Bombay, Salsette, Bassein, Damao, and Diu; and on the eastern coasts at San
Thome of Mylapore, and as far as Bengal etc. In the southern districts the Jesuit mission in Madura
was the most famous. It extended to the Krishna river, with a number of outlying stations beyond it.
The mission of Cochin, on the Malabar Coast, was also one of the most fruitful. Several missions
were also established in the interior northwards, e.g., that of Agra and Lahore in 1570 and that of
Tibet in 1624. Still, even with these efforts, the greater part even of the coast line was by no means
fully worked, and many vast tracts of the interior northwards were practically untouched.
With the decline of the Portuguese power, other colonial powers – namely the Dutch and British and
Christian organisations gained influence.
Syrian Christians in India[edit]
Thomas the Apostle is credited by tradition for founding the Indian Church in 52 AD.[15][65][66] This
"Nasrani" faith had many similarities to ancient Judaism, (see also Jewish Christianity) and owing to
[ ]
the heritage of the Nasrani people, citation needed developed contacts with the Nestorian religious
authorities at that point based in Edessa, Mesopotamia.
The local church maintained its autonomous character under its local leader. When the Portuguese
established themselves in India in the 16th century, they found the Church in Kerala as an
administratively independent community. Following the arrival of Vasco de Gama in 1498, the
Portuguese came to South India and established their political power there. They brought
missionaries to carry out evangelistic work in order to establish churches in communion with
Rome under the Portuguese patronage. These missionaries were eager to bring the Indian Church
under the Pope's control. They succeeded in their efforts in 1599 with the Synod of Diamper. The
representatives of various parishes who attended the assembly were forced by Portuguese
authorities to accept the Papal authority.
Following the synod, the Indian Church was governed by Portuguese prelates. They were generally
unwilling to respect the integrity of the local church. This resulted in disaffection which led to a
general revolt in 1653 known as the "Coonan Cross Oath". Under the leadership of their elder
Thomas, Nazranis around Cochin gathered at Mattancherry church on Friday, 24 January 1653
(M.E. 828 Makaram 3) and made an oath that is known as the Great Oath of Bent Cross. The
following oath was read aloud and the people touching a stone-cross repeated it loudly: "By the
Father, Son and Holy Spirit that henceforth we would not adhere to the Franks, nor accept the faith
of the Pope of Rome."[67] This reference from The Missionary Register of 1822 seems to be the
earliest reliable document available. Those who were not able to touch the cross tied ropes on the
cross, held the rope in their hands and made the oath. Because of the weight it is believed by the
followers that the cross bent a little and so it is known as "Oath of the bent cross" (Coonen Kurisu
Sathyam). This demanded administrative autonomy for the local church. Since it had no bishop, it
faced serious difficulties. It appealed to several eastern Christian churches for help. The Antiochene
Syrian Patriarch responded and sent metropolitan Mar Gregorios of Jerusalem to India in 1665. He
confirmed Marthoma I as the bishop and worked together with him to organize the Church.When
these churches is also the part of Oriental Orthodox, which is also known as Jacobite Syrian
Christian Church and Malankara Orthodox Church
Arrival of Protestant missions[edit]
Beginning about 1700 Protestant missionaries began working throughout India, leading to the
establishment of different Christian communities across the Indian Subcontinent.
Lutherans[edit]
St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta - seat of the Anglican

Diocese of Calcutta, Church of North India
The first Protestant missionaries to set foot in India were two Lutherans from
Germany, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau, who began work in 1705 in the Danish
settlement of Tranquebar. They translated the Bible into the local Tamil language, and afterwards
into Hindustani. They made little progress at first, but gradually the mission spread
to Madras, Cuddalore and Tanjore. Today the Bishop of Tranquebar is the official title of the bishop
of the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tamil Nadu which was founded in 1919 as a result of
the German Lutheran Leipzig Mission and Church of Sweden Mission, the successors
of Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau. The seat of the bishop, the cathedral and its
Church House the Tranquebar House are in Tiruchirappalli. By 2006, there were three million
Lutherans in Tranquebar.[68]
William Carey and the Baptists[edit]
William Carey, 1761-1834.
In 1793, William Carey, an English Baptist Minister came to India as a missionary but also as a man
of learning in economics, medicine and botany. [69] He worked in Serampore, Calcutta, and other
places. He translated the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit, and numerous other languages and dialects.
He worked in India despite the hostility of the British East India Company until his death in 1834.
Carey and his colleagues, Joshua Marshman and William Ward, blended science, Christianity, and
constructive Orientalism in their work at the Danish settlement of Serampore, near Calcutta. Carey
saw the dissemination of European science and Christianity as mutually supportive and equally
important civilizing missions. He also supported a revival of Sanskrit science. Carey played a key
role in the establishment of the Agricultural Society of India. Ward, beginning in 1806, published
important commentaries on ancient Hindu medical and astronomy texts. In 1818 Carey and his
fellow missionaries founded Serampore College to nurture a uniquely Indian variety of European
science.[70]
Outreach to upper classes[edit]
Many upper-class Bengalis converted to Christianity during the Bengali renaissance under British
Rule, including Krishna Mohan Banerjee, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Anil Kumar Gain,
and Gnanendramohan Tagore, Aurobindo Nath Mukherjee[71]
Other missionaries[edit]
The Medak Cathedral of Church of South India is the

largest Cathedral Church in India
The London Missionary Society was the first Protestant mission in Andhra Pradesh which
established its station at Visakhapatnam in 1805.[72] Anthony Norris Groves, a Plymouth
Brethren missionary arrived in 1833. He worked in the Godavari delta area until his death in
1852. John Christian Frederick Heyer was the first Lutheran missionary in the region of Andhra
Pradesh. He founded the Guntur Mission in 1842. Supported initially by the Pennsylvania
Ministerium, and later by the Foreign Mission Board of the General Synod, Heyer was also
encouraged and assisted by British government officials. He established a number of hospitals and a
network of schools throughout the Guntur region. [73]
The Church Missionary Society (CMS), a mission society working with the Anglican Communion,
[74]
began sending missionaries to India and established mission stations at Chennai (Madras)
and Bengal, then in 1816 at Travancore.[75] The CMS Mission to India expanded in the following
years. The successors of the Protestant church missions are the Church of South India and
the Church of North India.[74]
During the 19th century, several American Baptist missionaries evangelised in the northeastern
parts of India. In 1876, Dr. E. W. Clark first went to live in a Naga village, four years after his
Assamese helper, Godhula, baptised the first Naga converts. Rev. and Mrs. A.F. Merrill arrived in
India in 1928 and worked in the southeast section of the Garo Hills.[76] Rev. and Mrs. M.J. Chance
spent most of the years between 1950–1956 at Golaghat working with the Naga and Garo tribes.
[77]
Even today the heaviest concentrations of Christians in India continue to be in the Northeast
among the Nagas, Khasis, Kukis, and Mizos.[78] Jehovah's Witnesses began their activity in India in
the year 1905 when an Indian returned home after spending some time in Bible study with Charles
Taze Russell.[79]
Latter Day Saint Denominations in India[edit]
Arrival of the Mormon Missionaries[edit]

Mormon missionaries, or missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS
Church) including Hugh Findlay and Joseph Richards, arrived in Bombay and Pune in the early
1850s, but did not meet with much success.
Today, there are two LDS missions in India: The Bangalore Mission and the New Delhi Mission. Due
to the growth of the church in India and the restrictions on missionary visas for foreigners, most
missionaries serving in the Indian missions are Indian nationals. As of 2015, the church has over
12,000 LDS members in 43 congregations across India. [80] There are no LDS temples in India.
Establishment of the Community of Christ

(formerly RLDS Church) in India[edit]
The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, now known as the Community of
Christ, was first established in India in July 1964 when William Samuel Jesudawson, an independent
Protestant minister, affiliated with the church along with his congregation in Madras in South India.
The church experienced sporadic growth and instability in South India due to corruption among
church ministers, lack of funds for outreach, and lack of identity formation and commitment to the
church among new members. Since 1998, more capable and committed leadership has been in
place, which has led the church to expand with congregations in Uthamapalayam, Chennai, and
Madurai all in Tamil Nadu.[81]
In Odisha, the Community of Christ has experienced significant growth since the first members were
baptized in November 1965. The American leadership of the church including Apostle Charles D.
Neff believed that the gospel of Jesus Christ had to be indigenized in its own way by Indians, just as
Americans had done with Christianity themselves. In this way, the church focused its teachings on
physical and spiritual healing and well-being with the goal of improving people's lives here and now.
In particular, the church has found success among the Sora people, oftentimes with whole villages
converting to Christianity. The church has also found success among the Kui people many of whom
had no contact with Christianity previously. As of 2015, there are 5,700 baptized members and 7,000
more people who identify as Christians who attend 102 Community of Christ congregations in
Odisha.[81]
By the 1970s, the church began to be established in Andhra Pradesh. A sewing center has been
built to teach local community members basic skills with both Hindus and Christians invited to attend
classes. Unlike in Odisha, most converts have been single individuals and not whole communities.
The majority of these converts are women and many regular members have not officially joined due
to family concerns but still actively participate. By 2015, there were 25 congregations in Andhra
Pradesh.[81]
The Community of Christ recently celebrated their 50th anniversary of being established in India with
a conference that included a gathering of 14,000 people and a visit by Community of Christ's
Prophet/President Steve Veazey.[82]
Eastern Orthodoxy in India[edit]
Since 1996, small communities of Eastern Orthodox Christians in India were placed under
ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the newly formed Orthodox Metropolitanate of Hong Kong and
Southeast Asia that was set up by the decision of the Holy Synod of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of
Constantinople.[83] In 2008, the Diocese was divided, and India came under jurisdiction of newly
formed Eastern Orthodox Metropolitanate of Singapore and South Asia.[84]
Art and architecture[edit]
Manarcad Church One of the oldest and famous

pilgrim sites in India
Main article: List of cathedrals in India
Interior of the St. Aloysius Chapel in Mangalore
St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica, Chennai over the

tomb of Saint Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of
Jesus
There are a large number of items of artistic and architectural significance in the religious and
domestic life of Indian Christians.[85] Altars, statues, pulpits, crosses, bells and belfries of churches
along with other household items are among the many things that form part of the sacred art of the
Indian Christians.[85] Church art and architecture of Kerala from the beginning of Christian presence
in the region have been greatly influenced by those of other nations and religions as they have been
influenced by Kerala's wealth of artistic and architectural traditions. [86]
Altar of the St. Mary's Church in Kottayam; also can
be seen are two Saint Thomas Crosses from the 7th
century on either side; The church was originally
built in 1550
A traditional Malankara Church - Vadayaparambu

Mar Bahanans Church
Christian art and architecture in Kerala in pre-European periods has not only developed from contact
with the countries that had trading posts there but also from indigenous forms and techniques of art
and architecture. The advent of the Portuguese, the Dutch, the French, and the English has had a
great deal of influence on the art and architecture of the church in Kerala.[86] The description of the
visits of a Portuguese Archbishop Dom Menezes to various churches before the arrival of western
powers in India throws some light on the structures and arrangements of the churches before
western elements and types were introduced into Kerala. There were three striking objects of
significance in front of the typical Malabar churches, either inside the courtyard or just outside it:
 The open-air granite (rock) cross called the Nasrani Sthamba

 Kodimaram (Dwajasthamba) or flag-staff made of Kerala's famed teak wood and often
enclosed in copper hoses or paras
 The rock Deepasthamba or lampstand.[85]
The ornate monumentality of the European churches was introduced to India when parts of Malabar
Coast came under the jurisdiction of the Portuguese in the 16th century. They introduced the
Romano-Portuguese style, which was assimilated with such artistic and structural finesse by the
artists of Kerala, that it created some of the finest pieces of artistry. This laid the foundations for
Indian Baroque.[85] After the arrival of Vasco da Gama and more especially after the commencement
of Portuguese rule in India, distinct patterns of Christian art developed within the areas of
Portuguese influence, mostly along the coasts of the peninsula. The Portuguese were great builders
and promoted architecture more than any other form of fine art. St. Francis Church, Kochi is the first
European place of worship in India and incidentally also the place where Vasco da Gama was first
buried. The Christian art of Goa reached its climax in church building. [85]
Indian Christian art and architecture during the British Raj has expanded into several different styles
as a result of extensive church building in different parts of the country. The style that was most
patronised is generally referred to as the British Regency style which included Neo-
Gothic and Gothic Revival architecture.[87] Most Protestant cathedrals and churches in India conform
to this style. St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata is a typical example of the Gothic Revival style. St. Mary's
church, Chennai, the first Anglican Church built east of the Suez is one of the first examples of
British colonial architecture in India.[88] French and Danish influences on Christian art and
architecture in India can be seen in their respective colonies. [89] Today one can see a harmonious
blending of the East and the West in the Christian art and architecture of India. [86]
Culture[edit]
Pesaha Appam is an unleavened Passover bread

made by the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala to
be served on Passover night
While Christians in India do not share one common culture, their cultures for the most part tend to be
a blend of Indian, Syrian and European cultures. It differs from one region to another depending on
several factors such as the prevailing rite and tradition and the extent of time for which Christianity
has existed in those regions. The ancient Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala have a distinctively
different culture when compared to Christians in other parts of the country. [90] Historical ties with the
Assyrian Church and assimilation of Indian traditions have contributed to the development of a
unique culture among these traditional Syrian Christians or Nasranis of Kerala.[90] The use of
ornamental umbrellas for Christian religious festivities illustrates an example of the indigenous
character of Kerala's Syriac Christianity.[91]
Goa was colonised by the Portuguese in the 16th century AD; as a result of which Goan
Christians have adopted a more western culture.[92]The dance, song and cuisine of Goa has been
greatly influenced by the Portuguese.[93] Contemporary Goan Christian culture can be best described
as an increasingly anglicised Indo-Latin culture. Mangalorean Catholics are descended mainly from
the Goan Catholic settlers, who had migrated to South Canara from Goa, a state north of Canara,
between 1560 and 1763 during the Goa Inquisition and the Portuguese-Maratha wars. After
migration to Mangalore, they adopted the local Mangalorean culture, but retained many of their
Goan customs and traditions.[94] Christianity in other parts of India spread under the colonial regimes
of the Dutch, Danish, French and most importantly the English from the early 17th century to the
time of the Indian Independence in 1947. Christian culture in these colonial territories has been
influenced by the religion and culture of their respective rulers. [95]
Contemporary Latin Christian culture in India draws greatly from the Anglican culture as a result of
the influence of the erstwhile British Raj. The Anglican Book of Common Prayer is a widely used
supplement for worship in the two major Protestant denominations: Church of South
India and Church of North India.[96] Today Christians are considered to be one of the most
progressive communities in India. [97] Urban Christians are to a greater extent influenced by
European traditions which is considered an advantage in the business environment of urban India;
this is given as an explanation for the large number of Christian professionals in India's corporate
sector.[98] The Christian church runs thousands of educational institutions which have contributed to
the strengthening of Christian culture in India.
Religion plays a significant role in the daily life of Indian Christians. India ranks 15 among countries
with highest church attendance. Religious processions and carnivals are often celebrated by
Catholics.[99] Cities with significant Christian populations celebrate patron saint days. As in other
parts of the world, Christmas is the most important festival for Indian Christians. Anglo-
Indian Christmas balls held in most major cities form a distinctive part of Indian Christian culture.
[100]
Good Friday is a national holiday. All Souls Day is another Christian holiday that is observed by
most Christians in India.[101] Most Protestant churches celebrate harvest festivals, usually in late
October or early November.[102] Christian weddings in India conform to the traditional white wedding.
However it is not uncommon for Christian brides particularly in the south to wear a traditional white
wedding sari instead of a gown.[103] The vast majority of Protestant women and to a lesser extent
Catholic women in India do not wear the bindi (red dot on the forehead) and can therefore be easily
distinguished from their Hindu counterparts.[104]
Demographics[edit]
Distribution of Christian population in different Indian
states[105]
The 2001 census of India recorded 24,080,016 Christians in the country, most of them belonging to
the Latin Rite and represented 2.34 per cent of the population. A 2005 report by the Catholic church
said that 17,300,000 baptised Catholics lived in the country, although it could not put a figure on how
many of those were practising. [106] 310,000 were members of the Syro-Malankara Church[107]
[when?] [ ][ ]
and 3,000,000 of the Syro-Malabar Church. citation needed when? In January 1993, the Syro-
Malabar Church and in February 2005, the Syro-Malankara Church were raised to the status
of major archiepiscopal churches by Pope John Paul II. The Syro-Malabar Church is the second
largest among the twenty two Eastern Catholic Churches who accept the Pope as the visible head of
[ ]
the whole church. citation needed
The Oriental Orthodox churches in India include the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church with
2,500,000 members, the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church with 1,200,000 members, Malankara Mar
Thoma Syrian Church with 1,600,000 members and Malabar Independent Syrian Church with
10,000 members.[15][108]
Most Protestant denominations are represented in India, as a result of missionary activities
throughout the country, such as the American Missionary Association, the Society for the
Propagation of the Gospel Mission, the Church Mission Society of the Church of England and many
other missions from Europe, America and Australia. With approximately 4 million members, the
largest Protestant denomination in the country is the Church of South India, which is a union
of Presbyterian, Reformed, Congregational, Methodist, and Anglican congregations. It is also one of
four united churches in the Anglican Communion.[109] A similar Church of North India has 1.25 million
members.[110]These churches are in full communion with the Anglican Communion. .[111] In 1961, the
evangelical wing of the church split from the Mar Thoma Church and formed the St. Thomas
Evangelical Church of India which has 35,000 members. [112] There are about 1,267,786 Lutherans,
[113]
648,000 Methodists,[114] 2,392,694 Baptists,[115] and 823,456 Presbyterians in India.[116]
The Open Brethren movement is also significantly represented in India. The main Brethren grouping
is known as the Indian Brethren (with a following estimated at somewhere between 449,550 [117] and
1,000,000), of which the Kerala Brethren are a significant subset. The closely related Assemblies
Jehovah Shammah have around 310,000 adults and children in fellowship as of 2010. [117] They are
often considered part of the wider Brethren movement, although they were founded by an
indigenous evangelist (Bakht Singh) and developed independently of the older Indian Brethren
movement, which originated from missionary endeavours.
Pentecostalism is also a rapidly growing movement in India. The major Pentecostal churches in
India are the Assemblies of God, The Pentecostal Mission,[118][119] the New Apostolic Church with
1,448,209 members,[120] the Indian Pentecostal Church of God with 900,000 members (throughout
India and ten other countries),[120] the New Life Fellowship Association with 480,000 members,
the Manna Full Gospel Churches with 275,000 members,[120] and the Evangelical Church of India
with 250,000 members.[121]
Denominations[edit]
Church at Yercaud
See main article: List of Christian denominations in India.
Christian Denominations in India
Church Populatio
Orientation
Name n
Roman 11,800,000 Latin Rite, Catholic

Church Populatio
Orientation
Name n
Catholic
Church
Syro-Malabar
East Syriac
Catholic 3,000,000 [122]
Rite, Catholic
Church
Syro-
Malankara West Syriac Rite,
310,000 [123]
Catholic Catholic
Church
Malankara
West Syriac
Orthodox
2,500,000 [15]
Rite, Oriental
Syrian
Orthodox
Church
Jacobite 1,200,000 [15]

West Syriac
Church Populatio
Orientation
Name n
Syrian
Rite, Oriental
Orthodox
Orthodox
Church
Malankara West Syriac Rite,

Mar Thoma Independent and
1,600,000 [108]
Syrian Reformed (follows
Church Oriental Orthodox faith)
Malabar
West Syriac Rite,
Independent
10,000 Independent (follows
Syrian
Oriental Orthodox faith)
Church
Chaldean
East Syriac, Church of
Syrian 35,000
the East
Church
Church Populatio
Orientation
Name n
Believers
Episcopalian
Eastern 3,500,000
Protestant
Church
St. Thomas
Episcopalian
Evangelical 35,000
Protestant
Church
Episcopalian
Church of
3,800,000 Protestant (United and
South India
uniting)
Episcopalian
Church of
1,250,000 Protestant (United and
North India
uniting)
Methodist 648,000 Protestant

Church in
Church Populatio
Orientation
Name n
India
Protestant
Baptist 2,991,276 (List of Baptist
denominations in India)
Assemblies
Protestant (Plymouth
Jehovah 310,000 [117]
Brethren)
Shammah
Lutheran 1,267,786 [113]

Protestant
Indian 449,550 to Protestant (Plymouth

[117]
Brethren 1,000,000 Brethren)
Presbyterian 1,347,683 Protestant (Reformed)

Church of
Church Populatio
Orientation
Name n
India
Reformed
Presbyterian
15,000 Protestant (Reformed)
Church North
East India
Reformed
Presbyterian
10,000 Protestant (Reformed)
Church of
India
Evangelical
Church of 30,000 Protestant (Reformed)
Maraland
Congregation 5,500 Protestant (Reformed)

al Church in
Church Populatio
Orientation
Name n
India
Hindustani
Covenant 16,600 Protestant
Church
Worldwide
Faith 12,000[ citation needed]
Protestant
Missions
Evangelical
250,000 Protestant
Church
New
Apostolic 1,448,209 Protestant
Church [120]
India 600,000 Protestant

Church Populatio
Orientation
Name n
Pentecostal
Church of
God
Pentecostal
Maranatha
Protestant
Gospel
Church
New Life
Fellowship 480,000 Protestant
Association [120]
Sharon
Fellowship 50,000 Protestant
Church [120]
Manna Full 275,000 Protestant

Church Populatio
Orientation
Name n
Gospel
Churches [120]
Philadelphia
Fellowship
200,000 Protestant
Church of
India
[120]
Seventh-day
Protestant/Restorationi
Adventist 1,560,000 [124]
sm
Church
Unitarian
Union of
10,000 Unitarian
Northeast
India
Jehovah's 42,566 [125]

Restorationism
Church Populatio
Orientation
Name n
Witnesses
The Church
of Jesus
Christ of 13,141 [126]
Latter Day Saints
Latter-day
Saints
Gift of God
1,000 Born Again Believers
Ministries
Charismatic,
Christian
Pentecostal and
Revival 21,447 [127]
Holistic Evangelical
Church
Movement
Mennonite 103,000 [128]

Protestant (Reformed)
Brethren
Church Populatio
Orientation
Name n
Church
Community
15,000+ Latter Day Saints
of Christ
State populations[edit]
States with percentage of Christians as per 2011

census [129]
Christia
Populatio Christia n
State
n n (%) (number
s)
1,210,854,97
India 2.30 27,819,588
7
Nagaland 1,978,502 87.93 1,739,651

census[129]
Christia
State
n n (%) (number
s)
Mizoram 1,097,206 87.16 956,331
Meghalaya 2,966,889 74.59 2,213,027
Manipur 2,855,794 41.29 1,179,043
Arunachal
1,383,727 30.26 418,732
Pradesh
Goa 1,458,545 25.10 366,130
Andaman 380,581 21.28 80,984

and Nicobar
census[129]
Christia
State
n n (%) (number
s)
Islands
Kerala 33,406,061 18.38 6,141,269
Sikkim 610,577 9.91 60,522
Puducherry 1,247,953 6.29 78,550
Tamil Nadu 72,147,030 6.12 4,418,331
Tripura 3,673,917 4.35 159,882
Jharkhand 32,988,134 4.30 1,418,608

census[129]
Christia
State
n n (%) (number
s)
Assam 31,205,576 3.74 1,165,867
Odisha 41,974,218 2.77 1,161,708
Chhattisgar
25,545,198 1.92 490,542
h
Karnataka 61,095,297 1.87 1,142,647
Dadra and
Nagar 343,709 1.49 5,113
Haveli
census[129]
Christia
State
n n (%) (number
s)
Andhra
84,580,777 1.34 1,129,784
Pradesh
Punjab 27,743,338 1.26 348,230
Daman and
243,247 1.16 2,820
Diu
Maharashtra 112,374,333 0.96 1,080,073
Delhi 16,787,941 0.87 146,093
Chandigarh 1,055,450 0.83 8,720

census[129]
Christia
State
n n (%) (number
s)
West
91,276,115 0.72 658,618
Bengal
Gujarat 60,439,692 0.52 316,178
Lakshadwee
64,473 0.49 317
p
Uttarakhand 10,086,292 0.37 37,781
Madhya
72,626,809 0.29 213,282
Pradesh
census[129]
Christia
State
n n (%) (number
s)
Jammu and
12,541,302 0.28 35,631
Kashmir
Haryana 25,351,462 0.20 50,353
Uttar
199,812,341 0.18 356,448
Pradesh
Himachal
6,864,602 0.18 12,646
Pradesh
Rajasthan 68,548,437 0.14 96,430
Bihar 104,099,452 0.12 129,247

Caste Demographic data reported by the Sachar
Committee on Muslim Affairs in 2006 [130]
Other
Schedul Schedul Forwar
Religion Backwa
ed Caste ed Tribe d caste
rd Class
Buddhism 89.50% 7.40% 0.4% 2.7%
Sikhism 30.70% 0.90% 22.4% 46.1%
Hinduism 22.20% 9.10% 42.8% 26%
Christiani
9.00% 32.80% 24.8% 33.3%
ty
Islam 0.80% 0.50% 39.2% 59.5%
Christian population in India[edit]

See also: Christianity in Gajapati District in Odisha (India)
Percentage Christian population, India census 2011
In India, Christian Population is 27.8 millions as per latest figure of 2011 Census which is about
2.3% of total Indian Population. Christianity is dominant religion in North East states of Nagaland,
Mizoram, Meghalaya and Manipur while they make substantial population in states of Arunachal
Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa and Andaman Nicobar Islands. [131]
A 2015 study estimates some 40,000 Christian believers from a Muslim background in the country,
most of them belonging to Protestantism.[132]
Reservation issue[edit]
According to Article 25(b) of the Indian Constitution, any reference to "Hindu" denotes a personal
follower of Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, or Buddhism. Followers of religions other than those
classified as "Hindu" (Islam, Christianity, Judaism, etc.) are not given reservation benefitseven when
[ ]
an individual belongs to the SC, ST, or OBC castes. citation needed
Reservation in India was provided for socially backward classes in India, in order for them to reach
equality with upper castes.
Conflicts[edit]
Hindu–Christian conflict[edit]
The arrival of European colonialists brought about large-scale missionary activity in South
India and North-East India. Some indigenous people were supposedly converted to Christianity.
The Goan Inquisition, when close to 300 (non-verifiable) Hindu temples were destroyed, is pointed
out as a blot in the history of Goa.[133]
A church that has been burnt down during the
2008 religious violence in Odisha
There has been an increase in anti-Christian violence in recent years, particularly in the states
of Odisha, which is usually perpetrated by opposition to Christianity. [134] The acts of violence include
arson of churches, converting Christians back to Hinduism by force and threats of physical violence,
distribution of threatening literature, burning of Bibles, raping of nuns, murder of Christian priests,
and destruction of Christian schools, colleges, and cemeteries. [135][136][137]
On 22 January 1999, an Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burnt to
death by Dara Singh (Bajrang Dal) while sleeping in his station wagon at Manoharpur village
in Keonjhar district in Odisha, India.,[138][139] In the annual human rights reports for 1999, the United
States Department of State also criticised India for "increasing societal violence against
Christians."[140] The report on anti-Christian violence listed over 90 incidents of anti-Christian
violence, ranging from damage of religious property to violence against Christians pilgrims. The
states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu passed laws placing
restrictions on forced religious conversions as a result of communal tension between Christians and
[ ]
Hindus.[141][142] The legislation passed in Tamil Nadu was later repealed. citation needed
In 2007, 19 churches were burned by Hindu right-wingers in Odisha following conflicts between
Hindus and Christians regarding Christmas celebrations in the Kandhamal district. [143] In more
contemporary periods, Hindu-Christian amity continues to exist.
In 2008 after the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda, who was a Hindu monk, by Indian
Maoists (communist insurgents), tensions flared between the two communities in 2008. Christians
were blamed and attacked in the state of Odisha with many killed and over 250 churches damaged
while several thousands of Christians were displaced. Sitting BJP MLA Manoj Pradhan was
sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for six years by a fast track court for a murder during the 2008
communal riots in Orissa’s Kandhamal district.[144][145][146]
A dungeon at Seringapatam. Those Christians who
refused to embrace Islam were imprisoned in such
dungeons.
Muslim–Christian conflict[edit]
The Jamalabad fort route. Mangalorean Catholics

had travelled through this route on their way
to Seringapatam
General Lord Cornwallis, receiving two of Tipu
Sultan's sons as hostages in the year 1793.
In spite of the fact that there have been relatively fewer conflicts between Muslims and Christians in
India in comparison to those between Muslims and Hindus, or Muslims and Sikhs, the relationship
between Muslims and Christians has also been occasionally turbulent. With the advent of European
colonialism in India throughout the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, Christians were systematically
persecuted in a few Muslim-ruled kingdoms in India.
Among the anti-Christian acts of persecution by Muslims was that committed by Tipu Sultan, the
ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore against the Mangalorean Catholic community from Mangalore in the
erstwhile South Canara district on the southwestern coast of India. Tippu was widely reputed to be
anti-Christian. The Captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam, which began on 24
February 1784 and ended on 4 May 1799, remains the most disconsolate memory in their history.
[147]
The Bakur Manuscript reports him as having said: "All Musalmans should unite together, considering
the annihilation of infidels as a sacred duty, and labour to the utmost of their power, to accomplish
that subject."[148] Soon after the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784, Tippu gained control of Canara. [149]He
issued orders to seize the Christians in Canara, confiscate their estates, [150] and deport them to
Seringapatam, the capital of his empire, through the Jamalabad fort route.[151] However, there were
no priests among the captives. Together with Fr Miranda, all the 21 arrested priests were issued
orders of expulsion to Goa, fined Rs 200,000, and threatened death by hanging if they ever returned.
[148]
Tippu ordered the destruction of 27 Catholic churches, all intricately carved with statues depicting
various saints. Among them were Nossa Senhora de Rosario Milagres at Mangalore, Fr Miranda's
Seminary at Monte Mariano, Jesu Marie Jose at Omzoor, the Chapel at Bolar, the Church of Merces
at Ullal, Imaculata Conceiciao at Mulki, San Jose at Perar, Nossa Senhora dos Remedios at Kirem,
Sao Lawrence at Karkal, Rosario at Barkur, and Immaculata Conceciao at Baidnur.[148] All were
razed to the ground, with the exception of the Church of Holy Cross at Hospet, owing to the friendly
offices of the Chauta Raja of Moodbidri.[152]
According to Thomas Munro, a Scottish soldier and the first collector of Canara, around 60,000
people,[153] nearly 92 percent of the entire Mangalorean Catholic community, were captured, of which
only 7,000 escaped. Francis Buchanan states the numbers as 70,000 captured, from a population of
80,000, with 10,000 escaping. They were forced to climb nearly 4,000 feet (1,200 m) through the
jungles of the Western Ghat mountain ranges. It was 210 miles (340 km) from Mangalore to
Seringapatam, and the journey took six weeks. According to British Government records, 20,000 of
them died on the march to Seringapatam. According to James Scurry, a British officer, who was held
captive along with the Mangalorean Catholics, 30,000 of them were forcibly converted to Islam. The
young women and girls were forcibly made wives of the Muslims living there. [154] The young men
who offered resistance were disfigured by cutting their noses, upper lips, and ears. [155] According to
Mr. Silva of Gangolim, a survivor of the captivity, if a person who had escaped from Seringapatam
was found, the punishment under the orders of Tippu was the cutting off of the ears, nose, the feet
and one hand.[156]
The Archbishop of Goa wrote in 1800, "It is notoriously known in all Asia and all other parts of the
globe of the oppression and sufferings experienced by the Christians in the Dominion of the King of
Kanara, during the usurpation of that country by Tipu Sultan from an implacable hatred he had
against them who professed Christianity." [148]
Tipu Sultan's invasion of the Malabar had an adverse impact on the Saint Thomas Christian
community of the Malabar coast. Many churches in the Malabar and Cochin were damaged. The old
Syrian Nasrani seminary at Angamaly which had been the center of Catholic religious education for
several centuries was razed to the ground by Tippu's soldiers. A lot of centuries old religious
manuscripts were lost forever. The church was later relocated to Kottayam where it still exists to this
date. The Mor Sabor church at Akaparambu and the Martha Mariam Church attached to the
seminary were destroyed as well. Tipu's army set fire to the church at Palayoor and attacked the
Ollur Church in 1790. Furthernmore, the Arthat church and the Ambazhakkad seminary was also
destroyed. Over the course of this invasion, many Saint Thomas Christians were killed or forcibly
converted to Islam. Most of the coconut, areca nut, pepper and cashew plantations held by the Saint
Thomas Christian farmers were also indiscriminately destroyed by the invading army. As a result,
when Tippu's army invaded Guruvayur and adjacent areas, the Syrian Christian community fled
Calicut and small towns like Arthat to new centres like Kunnamkulam, Chalakudi, Ennakadu,
Cheppadu, Kannankode, Mavelikkara, etc. where there were already Christians. They were given
refuge by Sakthan Tamburan, the ruler of Cochin and Karthika Thirunal, the ruler of Travancore, who
gave them lands, plantations and encouraged their businesses. Colonel Maculay, the British resident
of Travancore also helped them. [157]
The British officer James Scurry, who was detained

a prisoner for 10 years by Tipu Sultan along with the
Mangalorean Catholics
His persecution of Christians also extended to captured British soldiers. For instance, there were a
significant amount of forced conversionsof British captives between 1780 and 1784. Following their
disastrous defeat at the battle of Pollilur, 7,000 British men along with an unknown number of
women were held captive by Tipu in the fortress of Seringapatnam. Of these, over 300 were
circumcised and given Muslim names and clothes and several British regimental drummer boys
were made to wear ghagra cholis and entertain the court as nautch girls or dancing girls. After the
10-year-long captivity ended, James Scurry, one of those prisoners, recounted that he had forgotten
how to sit in a chair and use a knife and fork. His English was broken and stilted, having lost all his
vernacular idiom. His skin had darkened to the swarthy complexion of negroes, and moreover, he
had develop ed an aversion to wearing European clothes. [158] During the surrender of the Mangalore
fort which was delivered in an armistice by the British and their subsequent withdrawal, all
the Mestizos and remaining non-British foreigners were killed, together with 5,600 Mangalorean
Catholics. Those condemned by Tipu Sultan for treachery were hanged instantly, the gibbets being
weighed down by the number of bodies they carried. The Netravati River was so putrid with the
stench of dying bodies, that the local residents were forced to leave their riverside homes. [148]
Historian William Dalrymple asserts that the rebels were motivated primarily by resistance against a
move (use of the Enfield Rifle-Musket) by the East India Company, which was perceived as an
attempt to impose Christianity and Christian laws in India. [159] For instance,
when Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar met the sepoys on 11 May 1857, he was told: "We have
joined hands to protect our religion and our faith." They later stood in Chandni Chowk, the main
square, and asked the people gathered there, "Brothers, are you with those of the faith?" [159] Those
British men and women who had previously converted to Islam such as the defectors, Sergeant-
Major Gordo n, and Abdullah Beg, a former Company soldier, were spared. [160] On the contrary,
foreign Christians such as Revd Midgeley John Jennings, as well as Indian converts to Christianity
such as one of Zafar's personal physicians, Dr. Chaman Lal, were killed outright. [160]
Dalrymple further points out that as late as 6 September, when calling the inhabitants of Delhi to rally
against the upcoming British assault, Zafar issued a proclamation stating that this was a religious
war being prosecuted on behalf of 'the faith', and that all Muslim and Hindu residents of the imperial
city, or of the countryside were encouraged to stay true to their faith and creeds. [159] As further
evidence, he observes that the Urdu sources of the pre and post-rebellion periods usually refer to
the British not as angrez (the English), goras(whites) or firangis (foreigners), but as kafir (infidels)
and nasrani (Christians).[159]
In modern times, Muslims in India who convert to Christianity are often subjected to harassment,
intimidation, and attacks by Muslims.[161][162] In Jammu and Kashmir, the only Indian state with a
Muslim majority, a Christian convert and missionary named Bashir Tantray was killed, allegedly by
militant Islamists in 2006.[163] However, there are cases in which a Muslim will adopt the Christian
faith, secretly declaring his/her conversion. In effect, they are practising Christians, but legally
Muslims; thus, the statistics of Indian Christians does not include Muslim converts to Christianity.
List of Christian communities in India[edit]

 List of Indian Christians
 Bengali Christians
 East Indians
 Baptists
 Goan Catholics
 Karwari Catholics
 Knanaya Christians
 Mangalorean Catholics
 Mangalorean Protestants
 Marathi Christians
 Saint Thomas Christians
 Telugu Christian
 Tamil Christians
See also[edit]
 Christianity in India portal
Christianity by
country
Africa[show]
Asia[show]

 Middle East
[show]
Europe[show]
North America[show]
South America[show]
Oceania[show]
Full list
 v
 t
 e
 Catholic Church in India
 Anti-Christian violence in India
 Anti-Christian violence in Karnataka
 Religious violence in Odisha
 Caste system among Indian Christians
 List of cathedrals in India
 List of Saints from India
 List of basilicas in India
 List of Roman Catholic missionaries in India
 List of Protestant missionaries in India
 Christianity in Delhi
 Christianity in Goa
 Christianity in Jharkhand
 Christianity in Kerala
 Christianity in Maharashtra
 Christianity in Tamil Nadu
 Christianity in Uttar Pradesh
 Christianity in West Bengal
 Telugu Christian
 History of Pentecostalism in India
 Jesus in India
 Ramke W. Momin
Notes[edit]
1. Jump up^ See Jones 2012, p. 93. For a

more thorough treatment of the topic which
affirms Jones' claims, and for the use of Syriac,
see Frykenberg 2008. Neill takes it as certain
that Christianity was established in India by the
6th century and also affirms the possibility of the
St. Thomas tradition being true.[4]
2. Jump up^ “It is generally agreed that
Aramaic was the common language of Israel in
the first century AD. Jesus and his disciples
spoke the Galilean dialect, which was
distinguished from that of Jerusalem (Matt.
26:73)”[21]
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Silva to his sister, a copy of which was given by
an advocate, M.M. Shanbhag, to the author,
Severino da Silva, and reproduced as Appendix
No. 74: History of Christianity in Canara (1965))
157. Jump up^ Bernard 1995, p. 79.
158. Jump up^ Dalrymple 2009, pp. 28
159. ^ Jump up to:a b c d Dalrymple 2009, pp. 22–23
160. ^ Jump up to:a b Dalrymple 2009, pp. 153
161. Jump up^ Gheddo, Piero (25 May
2012). "INDIA Indian Kashmir, "unknown
arsonists" set fire to a Catholic church – Asia
News". Asianews.it. Retrieved 4
November 2013.
162. Jump up^ Carvalho, Nirmala. "INDIA
Indian Kashmir, two Christians arrested on false
charges of forced
conversions". www.asianews.it. Retrieved 11
July 2016.
163. Jump up^ Christian convert from Islam shot
dead in Kashmir,SperoNews
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Kings: Muslims and Christians in South Indian
Society, 1700-1900. Cambridge University
Press. ISBN 978-0-521-89103-5.
 Baum, Wilhelm; Winkler, Dietmar W.
(2003). The Church of the East: A Concise
History. London-New York: Routledge-Curzon.
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Friedrich Max Müller and the Missionary Cause".
In Wolfe, John. Religion in Victorian Britain. V –
Culture and Empire. Manchester University
Press. ISBN 0-7190-5184-3.
 Bernard, K. L. (1995). Flashes of Kerala History.
Cochin: Victory Press.
 Bowring, Lewin (1893). Haidar Ali and Tipu
Sultan and the struggle with the Musalman
powers of the south (1974 ed.). Delhi: ADABIYAT-
I DELLI.
 Brown, Leslie W. (1956). The Indian Christians
of St Thomas, an Account of the Ancient Syrian
Church of Malabar. University Press.
 Dalrymple, William (2009). The Last Mughal:
The Fall of Delhi, 1857. Bloomsbury
Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4088-0688-3.
 Fahlbusch, Erwin (2008). "Syrian Orthodox
Churches in India". The Encyclopedia of
Christianity, Volume 5. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B.
Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-2417-2.
 Frykenberg, Robert Eric (2008). Christianity in
India: From Beginnings to the Present. Oxford:
Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0199575831.
 Frykenberg, Robert Eric (2013). Christians and
Missionaries in India: Cross-Cultural
Communication since 1500.
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Christianity. Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B.
Eerdmans. ISBN 978-0-8028-4875-8.
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Christianity. Malden, MA: Blackwell
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Hindu Society: Religious Leadership and Social
Conflict among the Paravas of Southern
Tamilnadu". Modern Asian Studies. 15 (2): 203–
234. doi:10.1017/s0026749x00007058. JSTOR 3
12091.
 Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A history of
expansion of christianity. vol 3. Three centuries of
advance: AD 1500-AD 1800 (1939) pp 247–84.
 Latourette, Kenneth Scott. A history of
expansion of Christianity. vol 6. The great century:
in Northern Africa and Asia: AD 1800-AD
1914 (1944) pp 65–214.
 Lewis, James R. (2003). Legitimating New
Religions. Rutgers University Press. ISBN 0-
8135-3324-4.
 Oddie, Geoffrey A. "Christianity and social
mobility in South India 1840–1920: A continuing
debate." South Asia: Journal of South Asian
Studies 19#1 (1996): 143-159.
 Oddie, Geoffrey A. "Indian Christians and
National Identity, 1870–1947." Journal of religious
history 25.3 (2001): 346-366.
 Puthiakunnel, Thomas (1973). "Jewish colonies
of India paved the way for St. Thomas". In
Menachery, George. The Saint Thomas Christian
Encyclopedia of India, Vol. 2. Trichur: St. Thomas
Christian Encyclopedia of India.
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The Beginnings to AD 1707 (2004).
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Missions (Penguin, 1991).
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His Times: India, 1541-1544 (Vol. 2. Jesuit
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Delhi: Media House.
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 Spliesgart, Roland, and Klaus Koschorke, eds. A History of Christianity in Asia, Africa, and
Latin America, 1450-1990: A Documentary Sourcebook (2007)
Further reading[edit]
 Anand Amaladass; Gudrun Löwner

(2012). Christian Themes in Indian Art: From the
Mogul Times Till Today. Manohar Publishers &
Distributors. ISBN 978-81-7304-945-3.
 Boyd, Robin (1975). An Introduction to Indian
Christian Theology (Revised ed.). Madras:
Christian Literature Society.
 Goel, S.G. 2016. History of Hindu-Christian
encounters, AD 304 to 1996.
 Jain, Sandhya (2010). Evangelical intrusions:
[Tripura, a case study]. New Delhi: Rupa & Co.
 A. E. Medlycott (1 January 2005). India and the
Apostle Thomas: An Inquiry, with a Critical
Analysis of the Acta Thomae. Gorgias Press
LLC. ISBN 978-1-59333-180-1.
 Madhya Pradesh (India)., & Niyogi, M. B. (1956).
Vindicated by time: The Niyogi Committee report
on Christian missionary activities. Nagpur:
Government Printing, Madhya Pradesh.
 The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India,
Vol.I (India)1982, Vol.II (Kerala)1973,
Vol.III(India)2010 Ed. George Menachery
 Indian Church History Classics"Vol.I
(Nazranies)1998 Ed. George Menachery
 "History of the Syrian Nation and the Old
Evangelical-Apostolic Church of the East" By
George David Malech, Publisher: Gorgias Press
 Panikkar, K. M. (1959). Asia and Western
dominance. London: Allen &
Unwin. ISBN 9781597406017
 Panikkar, K. M. (1997). Malabar and the
Portuguese: Being a history of the relations of the
Portuguese with Malabar from 1500-1663.
Bombay: D B Taraporevala.
 S.M. Michael SVD, Dalit's Encounter with
Christianity. A Case Study of Mahars in
Maharashtra, ISPK – Ishvani Kendra: Dehli —
Pune 2010,230 pp., ISBN 978-81-8465-074-7.
 George Menachery, Ed., various publications
incl. The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of
India in 3 vols. and The Indian Church History
Classics The Nazranies for some 1500 photos and
art reproductions
 Rowena Robinson (9 October 2003). Christians
of India. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-0-7619-
9822-8.
 Shourie, Arun. (2006). Missionaries in India:
Continuities, changes, dilemmas. New Delhi:
Rupa.ISBN 9788172232702
 This article includes material from the
1995 public domain Library of Congress Country
Studyon India.
External links[edit]
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 A History of the Church of England in India
 Catholic Encyclopaedia—Entry on India
 St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India
 Churches in India
 Divine Recruits
 Non Institutional Christians in India—Following the Example of the Christians in the Bible
 Lutherans in India
 Nazraney or Thomas Christians of India
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Christianity in India

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Saint Thomas Christian cross

Regions with significant

Roman Catholic (Syro Malabar

Indian Christianity portal

Roman trade with India started from Aegyptus

Saint Thomas Christians or Syrian Christians of

St. Mary's Thiruvithamcode Arappally of Malankara

St. Peter's and St. Paul's Orthodox Church,

Infant Jesus Cathedral in Kollam city. It is the co-

The renovated Mar Thoma Syro-Malabar Catholic

Syro-Malabar Catholic bishop Mar Mathew Arackal

Conversion of the Paravas by Saint Francis Xavier,

Portuguese-Tamil Primer (1554). One of the earliest

Mughal Emperor Akbar the Great (r. 1556–1605)

St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta - seat of the Anglican

The Medak Cathedral of Church of South India is the

Arrival of the Mormon Missionaries[edit]

Establishment of the Community of Christ

Art and architecture[edit]

Manarcad Church One of the oldest and famous

St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica, Chennai over the

A traditional Malankara Church - Vadayaparambu

 The open-air granite (rock) cross called the Nasrani Sthamba

Pesaha Appam is an unleavened Passover bread

Christian Denominations in India

Roman 11,800,000 Latin Rite, Catholic

Jacobite 1,200,000 [15]

Malankara West Syriac Rite,

Methodist 648,000 Protestant

Lutheran 1,267,786 [113]

Indian 449,550 to Protestant (Plymouth

Brethren 1,000,000 Brethren)

Presbyterian 1,347,683 Protestant (Reformed)

Congregation 5,500 Protestant (Reformed)

India 600,000 Protestant

Manna Full 275,000 Protestant

Jehovah's 42,566 [125]

Mennonite 103,000 [128]

States with percentage of Christians as per 2011

Nagaland 1,978,502 87.93 1,739,651

Mizoram 1,097,206 87.16 956,331

Meghalaya 2,966,889 74.59 2,213,027

Manipur 2,855,794 41.29 1,179,043

Goa 1,458,545 25.10 366,130

Andaman 380,581 21.28 80,984

Kerala 33,406,061 18.38 6,141,269

Sikkim 610,577 9.91 60,522

Puducherry 1,247,953 6.29 78,550

Tamil Nadu 72,147,030 6.12 4,418,331

Tripura 3,673,917 4.35 159,882

Jharkhand 32,988,134 4.30 1,418,608

Assam 31,205,576 3.74 1,165,867

Odisha 41,974,218 2.77 1,161,708

Karnataka 61,095,297 1.87 1,142,647

Punjab 27,743,338 1.26 348,230

Maharashtra 112,374,333 0.96 1,080,073

Delhi 16,787,941 0.87 146,093

Chandigarh 1,055,450 0.83 8,720

Gujarat 60,439,692 0.52 316,178

Uttarakhand 10,086,292 0.37 37,781

Haryana 25,351,462 0.20 50,353

Rajasthan 68,548,437 0.14 96,430