HIS1ORY OI 1HL LARLY

CHRIS1IANI1Y
IN
INDIA













M.M.NINAN
2

2

HIS1ORY OI 1HL LARLY CHRIS1IANI1Y IN INDIA
M.M.NINAN

India Before Christ

In order to understand the listory o Indian Christianity it is necessary to look
into the enironment in which Christianity deeloped in India. At the time o
Jesus, India had a ery lourishing ciilization. It is normal or any country to
claim a ciilization, which started rom the beginning o creation. But this is just
a eature o nationalism. 1he reality is that there had always been ciilizations in
regions, which sustained lie all oer the world. 1rade and relations between
these ciilizations molded the religious atmosphere o eery ciilization and
country. India was no dierent.

At the time o Jesus, the Aryans were practically all oer India. 1hey had a ery
weak presence in South India where the Draidians were more concentrated. By
the second century BC Aryans must hae reached een Sri Lanka. Aryan
religion was essentially Vedic Religion. 1hough or the sake o pushing the date
o the origin o linduism, Vedic religion is erroneously equated with linduism.
Vedic religion in act has nothing to do with linduism.

Vedism is a polytheistic religion brought to India around 1500 B.C.L. by the
Aryans. It was the aith o nomadic warrior tribes whose gods were heroes o
war and this relected in their Scriptures. 1hus, Vedic Religion was essentially a
worship o the orces o nature. 1he amous triad gods are Indra, Agni and
Varuna. Indra, the god o thunder was the king o gods. Agni, the ire god was
the gier o energy and lie. Surya or Varuna was the sun god. 1here are thirty-
three gods mentioned in the Vedas. 1oday they are relegated to the leel o
secondary gods. 1here was no concept o Brahman. 1his concept o the
ultimate God is nowhere ound in the Vedas. It would require extreme allegory
to impose the later concepts o Para Brahman into Vedic treatments as Swami
Aurobindo has done. ,1,. One will hae to manipulate and wrench out the
secret meaning and the mystic wisdom couched in allegory and parables i at all
they exist. But all cannot enter into its secret meaning.` At any rate it totally
lacked the concepts o karma and reincarnation, which dominate linduism, as
we know o today. ,2,,3,
3
Vedism came rom Persia and is a branch parallel to Zoroastrianism and
Mithraism. Vedas are written in a language similar to Old Iranian, the language
o Zoroastrianism's scriptures, the .re.ta. ,4, lor lack o writing skills, these
were not written down till the 2
nd
C BC. 1he Rig Veda, the oldest o the our
Vedas, was composed about 1500 B.C., and codiied about 600 B.C. It is
unknown when it was inally committed to writing, but this probably was at
some point ater 300 B.C.` ,5, ,6, ,,
1he Vedic language is oten erroneously reerred to as Sanskrit. Vedas are
written in Vedic language, which is ery close to the Iranian languages and is
almost identical with the Aestan language in which the scriptures o
Zoroastrianism are written. Sanskrit on the other hand has close ainity with
the Draidian languages and was deeloped during the early second century AD.
All the three religious branches, Vedic, Zoroastrian and Mithraism grew
separately ater branching out. Vedism emphasizes, nature worship and rituals
inoled in oering o sacriices, magic and witchcrat.
Buddhism and Jainism deeloped in India around ith century BC and are
atheistic religions. 1hey were essentially materialistic religion o action. 1he
basic teachings o karma and reincarnations or transmigration o souls, brought
into India probably by the Greeks, orm the background o these religions.
Under Lmperor Asoka ,ca. 23-232 B.C,, the third Mauryan emperor,
Buddhism spread ar and wide, not only in India but also into neighboring
countries. 1he Lmperor Asoka built monolithic pillars with cared epigraphs
crowned by capitals, rock-cut architecture, and stupas to spread the gospel. By
the irst century BC, Vedism, Buddhism and Jainism were the religions o the
whole o India. 1here must hae been also the Draidian religion all oer
Southern India. \e know ery little about the nature o this religion. 1hey had
the concept o the God Most ligh` - Ll Llyon` - the Parameshwara or
Maheswara. Most scholars beliee that the Draidian Ciilization in Moahen-
Jodero and larappa worshipped Sia as the great God who ruled the heaens
and the earth. 1heir religion included animal sacriice and was ery similar to
Judaism. Like Judaism under the judges, early Draidians did not leae any
symbols or idols or temples. Almost all sophisticated art and architecture were
either Jain or Buddhist origin until 300 AD. Under the inluence o other
religions, Buddhism deeloped later into two branches - 1heraada or linayana
,Lower Vehicle, and Mahayana ,ligher Vehicle,. linayana ound mostly in Sri
4
Lanka is still atheistic in content, and Mahayana ,ligher Vehicle, ound in China
and neighboring countries is theistic in content. 1heraada Buddhism sees
Buddha as a man. Gautama neer claimed to be deity, but rather a "way shower."
Mahayana Buddhism, howeer, worships Buddha as a maniestation o the
diine Buddha essence. 1he later sect came into existence by the early second
century AD and crystallized by the third century. It emphasizes salation o
sentient beings through the assistance o bodhisattas, which later became the
dominant orm o Buddhism in most o Asia. ,8,

Socio-Political background

Inter continental trade played a major role in the political, cultural, religious, and
artistic exchanges between ciilizations. 1hese land routes were in existence or
centuries. 1he trade routes proided much needed luxury and exotic items to
other lands. Some areas controlled monopoly o certain goods, like silk by
China, Spices by \estern coast o India and incense by Northern India and the
Arabia. 1hus there were Silk routes, Spice ,cloes, cinnamon, pepper, nutmeg,
routes and Incense routes. 1he ancient port o Muziris was described by the
Roman historian Pliny ,A.D. 23-9, as the most important port in the Last, and
Vanji ,1hiruanjikulam, was the capital city o the Cera people. \hile discussing
the dealings o the Phoenicians with Muziris, Pliny mentions that eery year large
sum o money was going to India or silk, pearls, gems and spices. le states that
Malabar ships were isiting the Persian Gul, Aden, the Red Sea and Lgypt
regularly. Ptolemy's mid-second century map o India ,9,,10, and the apparent
third century ,11, 1abvta Pevtivgeriava or Peutinger 1able. ,A.D. 100-160, and the
Periplus ,the list o ports with distances, ,12, o the Lrythraean Sea ,AD 90,
include Malabar and its port Muziris. Diplomatic relations between India and
Roman Lmpire existed een beore the Christian era. Conquerors ollowed
these routes to control them. 1he land routes were dangerous due to the
presence o robbers, and later, sea routes became aorites due to its speed o
transport and saety. Land transport was incredibly expensie in comparison
with the sea routes. ,13,

One such route was the spice route connecting Malabar Coast to \emen, Lgypt
and to rest o Lurope. In A.D. 45 lippalus discoered the monsoon winds in
the Indian Ocean and this discoery reduced the time o transit to less than orty
days. It was this route that St.1homas took. ,14, ,15,
5

Indo-Parthian Kingdom of 1akshashila
lollowing the Aryans, other inasions came along the same land route. Persian
emperor Darius established two proinces in India - Gandara and lindush.
1his was ollowed by the conquest o Alexander the Great ,331 BC,. 1he Indo
Greek King Meanader I established a kingdom in 1axila in 10 BC. Sakas
,Scythians,, Kushans and luns came in rom Central Asia. In due course, the
Parthians ended up controlling all o Bactria and extensie territories in
Northern India, ater ighting Kushan Lmperor Kujula Kadphises, in the
Gandhara region. 1axila was the meeting place o the our great ciilizations o
the time -- Greco-Roman, Persian, Indian, and Chinese. At that time it was the
capital o lindus - 1he Indus Valley.
Around 20 AD, Gondophares, one o the Parthian conquerors, declared his
independence rom the Parthian empire and established the Indo-Parthian
kingdom in the conquered territories. 1he kingdom barely lasted one century. It
started to ragment under Gondophares' successor Abdagases. 1he northern
Indian part o the kingdom was retaken by the Kushans around 5 AD. ,9,

Lnter 1homas

Judas 1homas was one o the disciples o Jesus. le is also known as Didymus,
which means the 1win. 1homas means 1win in Aramaic and Didymus means
1win in Greek. le is generally known as the Doubting 1homas since he reused
to beliee the resurrection unless he has eriied it himsel. I we apply the
criteria o Rom. 10:10 1homas was the irst Christian, since he was the irst
person to coness that Jesus was indeed God.
lis acts are not ound in the Acts o the Apostles. But an apocryphal book
written around 300 AD called .ct. of 1bova., describes it with embellishments
and exaggerations. It was probably written in Greek and was translated in to
Syriac. ,16,. It is also ound in Latin, Armenian, Lthiopic ,Coptic,, and Arabic.
1hese were written by Gnostic writers in Ldessa and some scholars ascribe it to
Bardaisan ,155-223 AD, o Syria. Apart rom embellishments and exaggerations
6
typical o these types o writings, the context and historical acts are true.
Archeology and Indian traditions substantiate the basic historic and geographic
context in this book.
1his Pseudepigraphic text relates the adentures o the apostle Judas
1homas as he preaches an ascetical or encratite orm o Christianity on
the way to and rom India. Like other apocryphal acts combining
popular legend and religious propaganda, the work attempts to entertain
and instruct. In addition to narraties o 1homas' adentures, its poetic
and liturgical elements proide important eidence or early Syrian
Christian traditions.` ,1,
One o the reasons or doubting the story was the absence o any King by the
name o Gondophores in India. During the last ew decades a large deposit o
coins turned up which clearly showed Gondophores as the Indo- Parthian King
with a brother whose name was Gad as mentioned in the Acts o 1homas. 1he
coins rom 1axila with the seal and inscription o King Gundophorus read:
"Maharaja - rajarajasamahata -dramia -dearata Gundapharase". Rock stone
called 1akhth-i-Bahi Stone o size 1" long and 14.5" broad has this inscription:
"In the twenty-sixth year o the great King Gudaphara in the year three and one
hundred, in the month o Vaishakh, on the ith day" ,18,
Kerala traditions are encoded in oral traditions handed down through
generations as olklore, music and drama.
Rambaan Paattu or 1homma Parom is a song about the Acts o
1homas written around 1600 by Rambaan 1homas. Rambaan 1homas
o Malyakal lamily descends rom the irst Bishop whom St. 1homas is
said to hae ordained. 1he poem is the oral tradition handed down
through generations. It is said to hae been originally written by the
Rambaan 1homas, the Bishop.
Margom Kali ,Drama about the \ay, and Mappila Paattu ,1he Songs
o the Children o the King, are series o songs o the Acts o 1homas
and the history o the Malabar Church. 1hey are sung in consonance
with dance orms that are typical o the Syrian Christians. Some o
them are dance dramas perormed in the open as part o the estials o
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the church. 1hese hae no speciic origin, but grew up in the course o
history.
Veeradian Paattu is sung by a local lindu group ,called Veeradians, in
accompaniment o Villu - a local instrument ,a stringed instrument
like the bow, - during Christian estials. 1his orm o art also dates
back to unknown period handed down through generations and
modiied in that process.
According to Kerala tradition 1homas landed in Cranganore in Mali Island
on the present Alwaye coast in Malabar Coast, in 52 AD. It is also called
Muchiri - three lips - clet lips - as the Rier Periyar splits into three
braches beore reaching the Sea to orm this island. 1his came to be known
Muziris to the seaarers. 1he ruler o the Chera kingdom at that time was
Udayan Cheran Athen I ,page 44 o Cochin State Manual,. Other names o
this port are Kodungaloor, Cranganore and Maliankara.. 1here were Jewish
colonies in Malabar in the irst century. lere he preached to a Jewish
community who accepted Jesus as mesia and their synagogue became a
Christian church. It is said that 1homas ordained one Prince Peter to be
the head o the church o the Jews and let or 1akshasila, ,1axila, a
Uniersity City in the Indus Valley, the capital o Gondaphorus Kingdom.
le established a church in that region beore he traeled to other areas o
India. 1hese churches were annihilated during the inasion o Kushan and
Moghal dynasty and the Christians went underground.
le returned to Kerala where he established seen and hal churches with 12
Brahmin amilies as teachers and oer 3000 conerts rom Kshatriyas, Nairs and
Chettiars. 1hese new conerts were called St: 1homas Christians. 1his church is
one o the most ancient churches in Christendom. 1he seen churches are at
Malankara, Palayur, Paraoor, Kokkamangalam, Niranam, Chayal and Kollam.
Apostle 1homas was martyred in Mylapore near Madras. ,1radition calls this
place Kalloor - the place o rock, in 1amilnadu State, India.
1here are other acts which seem to indicate a northern locus or St. 1homas`s
work. Bardaisan in his Book o late ,AD 196, speaks o Parthian Christians
liing among pagans, which might be a result o the destruction o the Indian
Parthian empire by Kushan inaders about AD 50. 1here are also said to be
Christian tribes still liing in north India, but holding their aith a secret rom all
8
others. lor example, at 1atta in Sind ,the ancient port o Pattiala at the mouth o
Indus,, there is a akir community which calls itsel by an Aramaic name,
something like Bartolmai`,Beth 1huma,, and claims to hae been descended
rom St. 1homas`s conerts and to hae books and relics to proe it.
Unortunately no outsider has eer been allowed to see this alleged proo.` ,19,
1he Problem of Brahmin presence in Kerala
One o objections o this traditional story raised recently is the problem o the
presence o Brahmins in Kerala who were conerted and were gien the
responsibility o teaching the gospel. 1he Namboodiri traditions o the present
day traces their origins back only to the sixth century AD. 1hat does not mean,
there were no Brahmins in the irst century in Kerala region. \e know or
certain that the Aryan conquest reached as ar as Sri Lanka long beore the
Christian era. loweer the Aryans were neer a controlling orce economically
or een intellectually until eighth century AD. 1here must hae been a ew
Brahmin amilies, ,as is true een today in the central 1raancore area where
Christians are concentrated, who were probably small businessmen in arious
parts o South India. As in all countries, it was the poor and the persecuted
communities that came to aith irst. I would assume that the Brahminic
community o that time accepted Christianity en masse in Kerala. Conersion in
early days was in community groups and amilies. 1hus i 12 Brahmin amilies
accepted Christianity in Malabar it cannot be an exaggeration or an impossibility.
1he tradition says that 1homas met these Brahmins while they were worshipping
the Sun in their traditional way. Other than that it does not directly or indirectly
ascribe power or prestige to these people. By the third century when the Syrian
immigration took place, since Aryans are also o the same ethnicity, their status
became more pronounced. Notice that they were not the only people who were
conerted. 1he majority o the conerts were Draidians with a Draid to
Aryan ratio o 3000 to 12.
Other References to 1homas Christian 1radition
1here are seeral reerences to 1homas' acts in India, which corroborates the
general alidity o the story.
9
A Syriac document "Doctrines o the Apostles", ,2
nd
Century AD,
states, "India and all its own countries and those bordering on it, een to
the arthest sea, receied the Apostle's land o Priesthood rom Judas
1homas, who was the Guide and Ruler in the Church which he built
there and ministered there."
St. Gregory o Nazianzen ,AD 329-390, reers to 1homas along with
other Apostles work in Contra Aranos et de Seipso Oratio
Ambrose o Milan ,AD 333-39, wrote thus: "Len to those Kingdoms
which were shout out by rugged mountains became accessible to them
as India to 1homas, Persia to Mathew...." Ambrose De Moribus. Brach.
Jerome ,AD 342-420, wrote thus: "Jesus dwelt in all places, with
1homas in India, with Peter in Rome, with Paul in Illyricum, with 1itus
in Crete with Andrew in Achaia, with each apostolic man in each and all
countries." epistles o Jerome. le mentions the mission o Pantaenus, a
Christian philosopher sent by bishop Demetrius o Alexandria, "to
preach Christ to the Brahmins and to the philosophers o India" in A.D.
190. Born a Jew, thoroughly trained in Greek philosophy, Pantaenus
conerted to Christianity, and was the most outstanding Christian
scholar o his time. le probably was the irst head o the theological
college o Alexandria. le was the teacher o the great Clement. ,20,
Jacob o Sarug ,451 - 521, was a Syriac ecclesiastical writer. le was
educated at Ldessa and became bishop o Batnae in the year 519. le
wrote hymns, - but his principal writing is a series o metrical homilies
and his contemporaries gae him the name o honour: "1he lute o the
loly Ghost". 1wo homilies are on the Ministry o 1homas in India and
repeats the eangelization o 1homas as in Acts o 1homas.,21,
Gregory, the Bishop o 1ours ,AD 538-593, in his In Gloria Martyrdom
writes: "1homas, the Apostle, according to the history o passion, is
declared to hae suered in India. Ater a long time his body was taken
into a city which they called Ldessa in Syria and there buried. 1hereore,
in that Indian place where he irs rested there is a monastery and a
church o wonderul size, and careully adorned and arrayed."
Mar Solomon in 13th C wrote in his Book o the Bee as ollows:
1homas was rom Jerusalem o the tribe o Juda. le taught the
Persians, Medes and the Indians, and because he baptized the daughter
o the King o the Indians he stabbed him with a spear and died.
10
labban the merchant brought his body and laid it in Ldessa, the blessed
city o our Lord. Others say that he was buried in Mahluph ,Mylapore, a
city in the land o Indians.
Lnter Barthelomew
1here is also a tradition that the Apostle Barthemew came to India in AD 55 and
preached the Gospel in the area near Kalyan, Bombay and was martyred in AD
62. ,22,,23,,24,
Bar 1halomew is not really a ull name. Most people think it is Nathaniel bar
1halomew - Nathaniel son o 1halmoi. 1radition makes North India his
missionary ield and Armenia the place o his martyrdom by laying. 1he only
reerences to this eect is ound in the writings o Lusebius and Jerome ,340-
420 AD, where they say that Pantaenus the Philosopher o Alexandrian School
was asked to go to India as a teacher in the 1hird Century and ound in India
some Christians. 1hey showed him a copy o St. Matthew's Gospel in lebrew,
which had been brought there by St. Bartholomew .
Some scholars strongly beliee that the reerence o India in terms o Pantaneus
is to the generic use o India, which could mean any where between Arabia lelix
to Armenia. ,25,
Dr. Miguana says: . the India they reer to is without doubt Arabia lelix.
1he act has been recognized by all historians since Assemani and 1illemont, and
has been considered as established een by such conseratie writer as
Medlycott.`
loweer the second reerence o Jerome says:
Pantaenus, on account o the rumor o his excellent learning, was sent by
Demetrius into India, that he might preach Christ among the Brahmins and
philosophers o that nation` ,26, ,2, 1he mention o Brahmins certainly settles
the place as India.
1he area o his work is thought to be in Konkan in Maharastra. Research
listorian Mascarenhas in Kov/avacbev Cbri.tavvovv`12 .o.totic Cbri.tiavit,
iv Kov/av says: In 1ulunadu, in South Kanara, there is Kallianpur. lere
11
Bartholomew, then popularly known as Bhethal, preached the Gospel......
1here are many names and places, words and usages in the coastal Konkan
region going up to Bombay and beyond which hae originated rom his name
Bhethal and his preaching and that Barkur which is close to Kallianpur sprung
ater his name Bartholomew i.e. Bar - 1hulami - Ooru ~ and so BARKURU`
,28,
Christianity has been long established in South Kanara and its adherents are
more numerous here, than any other district o India. It is certain that, oreign
Christian merchants were isiting the coastal town o Kanara and during that
period o commerce some priests also might hae accompanied them or
eangelical work. According to tradition Kanara had its irst missionary the
Apostle St.Barthelomew, who landed on the shores o rier rarva at Cotovbiav
or Cotovbo rittage an ancient maritime port adjacent to Kallianpur, stayed there to
preach. le was popularly called Bethel and so the origin o the place
Barkur....` ,29, Barkur is located in Udupi 1aluk o Karnataka, India.
Bar 1halomew`s ministry extended oer seeral regions including
Mesopotamia, Persia, Lgypt, Armenia, Lycaonia, Phrygia, and on the shores o
the Black Sea. le was martyred in Armenia. So it is possible that
Barthelomew`s work was only or a limited time in the Konkan region.
1he alternate possibility is that the name o Bar 1holomai is simply an
intonational corruption o the tribal memory o Mar 1homa. 1his is supported
by the presence o the akir community in Sind which calls itsel Bartolmai` and
claims to hae been descended rom St. 1homas`s conerts. ,30, I would think
this is a real possibility.
Possible route of 1homas.
1aking all the traditions and documents into account we can aguely trace the
route o 1homas in India. It coers almost all areas o India as ar as China.
1homas must hae traeled rom Jerusalem to \emen and must hae taken a
ship to Muziris in Malabar Coast. Ater a short initial stay, he must hae traeled
along the west coast o India to the city o 1axila. lere he must hae stayed or
at least a year or more and then proceeded to the Northern regions een unto
China. At some point he returned to Lphesus to the deathbed o Mary, Mother
12
o Jesus and then returned. I assume that this must hae been around this time
and so he must hae traeled along the spice route rom and back to China. le
seems to hae returned rom there to the North India along Ganges area to the
Kaeri Rier area and to Coromandels - the land o Cholas. 1he capital o Chola
Kingdom was Urayar with its port Kaeri and the Capital o Pandian Kingdom
was Madurai with its port Korkai. It is during the second isit 1homas
conerted the local Brahmins and Draidians and established seen and a hal
churches in Chera ,Kerala,. 1here was also another minor kingdom known as
Ayr ,probably the present Ayroor, ruled by Vel ,rom which we get the word
Venad., where 1homas established his church at Nilackel. Ptolemy mentions this
Kingdom as Aioi in the second century. Ayr Kingdom lasted or oer a
thousand years rom the time o 1homas. Len today most people in this area
are Christians. ,59, le then returned to Coromandel Area which was probably
his head quarters. \e hae eidence to show that he made trips between Chera,
Chola and Pandya regions during this time. Dr. larquahar gies an alternatie
probable route: " Apostle St. 1homas, one o the 12 disciples o Jesus sailed
rom Alexadria to the Indus and reached the Kings capital '1axila' ,Presently
known as Punjab, about A.D 48-49. le let 1axila when the Punjab and its
capital were seized by the 'Indo-Scythian Kushans' rom China about A.D 50
and went rom there to "Muziri' ,Presently known as Kodungallur in Kerala, on
the Malabar coast ia Socotra, reaching Muziri in AD 51-52.`
Lidently 1homas` ministry coered the entire land o India oer twenty years
until his martyrdom in Mylapore. In AD 2 he was speared at Mylapore,
Madras. 1he legend has that spear was inlicted on his side. le did not die
instantly but crawled while bleeding through a tunnel and reached Chinnamalai
and died there. lis ollowers took his body and buried him in the tombs o the
Chies. A merchant rom Ldessa in Syria who isited that region exhumed his
body and took it to Syria where it was entombed in about AD 200. \e could see
these tombs in Mylapore and in Ldessa. 1hey were later translated rom Ldessa
to the island o Khios in the Aegean, and rom there to Ortona in Italy, where
they are now.



What form of Church did 1homas Institute?

13
1he question now is, what happened to these churches Looking at the story o
1homas as a rationalist doubter turned belieer, who unhesitatingly declared
Jesus as My Lord, and My God , we should hae no doubt about the theology
o the churches he established. le certainly emphasized the God incarnate as
the Jesus ben Joseph, the Carpenter, his Lord and Master. le was no Gnostic.
Jesus o Nazareth was indeed God and Lord.

1he irst Council o the Churches at Jerusalem ,49 AD, under James set the
standards or gentile churches. It was Paul o 1arsus who proposed the model
or Gentile Churches. 1he Council decided that the central core o the Gospel is
not to be conused with the cultural orms o worship and lie o the Christians.
1he Church was to interpret the Gospel, which was reealed in the Jewish
cultural context to the other cultures in a culturally releant manner. Paul
illustrated the working o the model in transerring the gospel in Greco-Roman
culture. 1his was already in process beore 1homas let Jerusalem and Middle
Last. 1homas thereore knew the Apostolic mission and must hae established
norms and standards, which were culturally releant to the Indian context.
lence we should not expect 1homas Churches o India to hae the ritualism
and structures o Greco-Roman or Asia Minor. 1here would be no church
building with a cross on the top, no altars nor candles and candle stands. \e
should expect a replication o the eents o the early Christian Churches in
Jerusalem soon ater the resurrection. 1hese emphasized communal liing,
ellowship, sharing, singing, worship, common meals and symbolic Prasadams as
loly Communion with God and Man. lor a ery long time Christianity let no
artiacts. Institutionalization came most probably ater a century o Christian
existence. Symbols and temples came into existence as a means o
communication. By AD 150 we can see abstract symbols - Sia Lingam and
Omkhara etc. Sanskrit came into existence as a liturgical language.

1homas ound a people who were ery similar to the lebrews in the Draidians
who were at that time concentrated in the Southern States. \e hae reason to
beliee that at least a part o the blood o Draidans came rom Abraham
through his second wie Keturah. 1hey worshipped a God o loe who was
willing to die or his creation and practiced animal sacriice or the propitiation
o sins. So it was easy or 1homas to preach to the Draidian population rather
than to the Aryans. 1here are some who beliee that one o the wise men who
isited baby Jesus was rom these people. Compared to the Draids, Aryans
14
were still pagans, worshipping the elementary orces o nature and inoled deep
in magic and witchcrat. 1his shows why 1homas had greater success in
supplanting the Buddhism, Jainism and Vedism in the South rather than in the
North.

1he introduction o Christianity in the Indian religious arena brought orth an
explosion o change, which can be easily seen by comparing the religious
theology and practice beore and ater the arrial o St.1homas. lor some
strange reason the history o religion is totally erased or the irst three centuries
except or ew stray documents, reports o traelers, archeological and
architectural eidences, artiacts and traditions. \e hae a lot o mythological
stories in that place. listory then starts only ater 3
rd
century in Chola and
Pandya regions and only ater 8
th
century in Chera region. \e can check up on
any time line and see silence or this period.

Original 1homas Christians of Dravids
In Kerala itsel the irst Christian Church was established among the Jews.
lence at least or these Jewish Christians, historians are o the opinion, that
1homas established the early liturgy in Aramaic ,Syriac, the language spoken by
Jesus and the Jews o that period. But or the Churches that he established in his
second isit among the Indians he must hae used local cultural modes o
worship.

God and 1rinity in Indian terms
low would you translate the concept o God and incarnation into Indian
context which neer had that concept deined Lxcept or Draids, there
probably was no name or God. lor Draids the word translated as Isa or
Maheswara - Ll Llyon. 1hat was exactly the experience o 1homas when he
said My God`. low would the Apostle translate the holy 1rinity, lather, Spirit
and the Son in Draidian language lather is eidently Appan. 1he Aramaic
emale gender loly Spirit that gies lie is best translated as Amma and Son,
eidently as Makan. And the original true Saia Siddhantha was born. 1he
correlation goes much deeper.

15

Siva Kovils Larly Indian Christian Churches
1hose o us who hae been collaborating closely with the Bible 1ranslators in
Arica know the innuendos o the translation. 1here are occasional traps in
translation. It can go at a tangent and the concept can be misconstrued and
misinterpreted. All the places associated with 1homas are Saiite 1emples.
1hose who place linduism` - whateer that means - to hae been in existence
millions o years has it that this indicate the destruction o 1emples and take
oer o temple sites by Christians. One such series is elaborated in 1he M,tb of
aivt 1bova. ava tbe M,taore bira 1evte ,31,. Mylapore Shia 1emple was
most probably one o the Koils established by 1homas and was probably his
seat in the Southern India. lor all probability the Saiite temples were really the
original Christian Churches. 1hey lourished or at least three centuries when
Gnostics and Brahmins took oer these temples and conerted them to lindu`
temples.

In the same way it is not diicult to see the distribution o the Jyotirlingas all
oer India all on the route o 1homas and its density proportional to the
number o years 1homas labored in those areas. 1hus we hae a large number
o Jyotir lingams near 1axila and 1amil Nadu. All along the route o 1homas
schools o theologies deeloped and major teachers arose rom these schools in
the years that ollowed as attempts in reial o original Christian theology.

At any rate ater a million years o lindu` existence in India, ,as is claimed,
something happened in Indian religions that drastically changed its content and
orm during the irst century. 1he concept o God changed completely. 1he
lower nature gods and their worship were replaced with the concept o Nirguna
Brahman and Saguna Brahman. Nirguna Brahman is the ultimate God who
cannot be comprehended, who resides in the darkness, cannot be seen or
known. 1his God reealed himsel as Saguna Brahman, who can be
comprehended, seen, heard and touched and is a person, not just a orce o
nature. le is a person with a purpose and so created the cosmos. 1he concept
o 1rinity and the concept o Om - the Logos as the creatie orce o unierse
became part o the later Upanishadic theology. Koils with tripartite separations
o Outer Court, Inner Court and the lolies came to be prealent. It took only
two to three generations ater the adent o 1homas or these to appear all oer
16
India. All these were alien concepts to Indian soil. 1here can be no doubt that
these are the results o eorts o 1homas.
Dr. M. Deianayagam and Dr. Deakala in their studies on linduism -
Draidian Religion` - 1he Reial Moement o Draidian Religion ,32,
mentions ie new doctrines that appeared all o a sudden in the Indian religious
scenario in the irst century:
Doctrine o Aatar - God becoming a man in order to redeem human
beings. ,Unborn Prime God was born in order to gie us eternal
pleasure,
1rinity or 1riune doctrine - God in triune stage - Appan, Ammai, Makan
,Saiism,, Sia, Vishnu, Brahma ,Vaishnaism,
Doctrine o ulillment o sacriice - 1he oering o sacriice has ceased
een though there is sacriicial altar in the temple. People do not oer
sacriice while they worship God.
Doctrine o orgieness o sin - 1here is orgieness or the sins o
human beings by the grace o God and this doctrine is totally
controersial to tbe .a,ivg tbat the actions o one person would deinitely
yield its ruits`.
Doctrine o bhakthi - Appreciating the bhakthi which is in ones heart
irrespectie o one`s appearance, color, culture etc. ,Kannappa Nayanar,
1he ie doctrines mentioned aboe are the basic doctrines or the religion o
the 1amils or the religion o the Draidians or or the lindu religion. 1hese
doctrines are the 1aproots or lindu religion ,Saiism, Vaishnaism,.`
1hese orm the back bone o the St.1homas Christianity or lindu Sanadhana
Dharma, the Indian Catholic Church. 1hus just as Roman Catholic Church
deeloped in the cultural context o Greco-Roman culture, Indian Catholic
Church was deeloped in the Indian cultural context just as 1homas expected it
to be. Just or the un o it, i you remoe Jesus rom the Roman Catholic
Church, you will probably be surprised to see the modern lindu Sanadhana
Dharama. Dr. Alexander larris puts this as ollows: ,33,
In its section on the history o the Indian Subcontinent, the Lncyclopedia
Britannica ,1982 edition, describes major changes in the religions o India. lor
instance the Vedic religion underwent changes with the gradual ading out o
some o the Vedic deities, and urther they state that,
17
1be tro va;or goa. rere 1i.vv ava ira, arovva rbov tbere evergea a
vovotbei.tic treva erba. be.t ere..ea iv tbe bagaraa Cita . . .
acrificiat ritvat ra. begivvivg to be retacea b, tbe ractice of bba/ti
;er.ovat aerotiov), o.itivg a er.ovat retatiov.bi betreev tbe ivairiavat
ava tbe aeit,
1hus we see a new religion arise based on a monotheistic doctrine, and God who
is irst called Isa.
1be cvtt of ira or airi.v evergea fir.t, ava tbe 1i.bvvKri.bva cvtt or
1ai.bvari.v cave afterrara. a. av ivitatiov or avticatiov. 1be eartier
aearavce of ira i. ivaicatea iv tbe fir.t iv.tavce b, tbe fact tbat it i. be
atove rbo i. cattea .a or .rara.
and
1bi. ecvtiar cbaracter of tbe cvtt va/e. it ervi..ibte to ivfer tbat ira
ra. robabt, tbe fir.t ava ovt, ovt, goa of tbe vovotbei.tic ivavi.v
rbicb retacea 1eaic ot,tbei.v a. tbe bigbe.t ere..iov of tbe retigiov.
.evtivevt of tbe ivav.. 1bat i. to .a,, origivatt, tbe vovotbei.v ra.
vvitar,. v fact, erev iv recevt tive. tbe aira. of tbe .ovtb vaivtaivea
tbat ira ra. tbe ovt, .vreve aeit,.
Just as arious theological stands produced arious denominations and sects in
the \estern \orld in the later period, arious sects were also deeloped in
India emphasizing one or the other aspect o God and or ritual.
Saiism and Vaishnaism deeloped as a Bhakti moement around 6th, th c.
A.D. in South Indian 1homas Churches. \et in years to come these were
disigured and manipulated by Gnostics and the Aryans rom Persia under the
inluence o Mani. 1hus the modern linduism is an outgrowth o the Gnostic
Christianity, and is a heresy o Christianity.
\e can only make guesses regarding the original orm o Indian Catholic Church
prior to the 3
rd
century.
18

Sivlinga Iorm of the Iormless

1he deelopment o the symbols o Silinga and the deelopment o Makan as
Ganapathy are interesting studies in the concept deelopments. 1hey also show
how symbols can be misinterpreted by later generations and an ediice o myths
and legends can come out o something ery simple and direct. 1oday Silinga
has been gien a sexual interpretation assuming that it represents the penis.
loweer any Saiite will be horriied by such a reerence and will tell you that
this is a misrepresentation o the concept by people who wanted to denigrate the
Saiites. Since the God o creation do not hae a orm, the best isible
representation o Inisible ormless orm is a ormless orm - the lingam. All
symbols are meant to coney some deep mental and spiritual concept. 1hese
may be in sound as in languages and music, or orm as in icons, idols and
artiacts and architecture. Later in order to represent that this incomprehensible
God incarnated in human orm a ace was added to the lingam. 1he earliest
Lkmukh lingams ,Udayagiri, Madhya Pradesh, are still in existence. ,34,

Later another interesting representation was the placement o the 1amil Om on
top o the lingam, which later led to the orm o Ganapathy, the elephant aced.
None o these symbolisms are ound earlier than the irst century AD.

Om as Logos

1he study o the sacred sound Om indicates that it is the representation o the
Logos concept. In act John 1:1 is replicated in exact orm in the later Indian
scriptures. Surprisingly the Om is not ound directly or indirectly in any
document or Vedas beore the adent o 1homas. 1he earliest direct reerences
are ound in Pra.bva |avi.baa and in Mavav/,a |avi.baa which were written
ater 150 AD. . On the other hand Om is inscribed in all Kerala Christian
Churches o antiquity at the entrance.

Development of Sects and Gnostic infiltration Lnter Mani
As time went on eidently new thought patterns and theologies brought in
arying sects emphasizing the arious aspects and rituals o the Church. 1his
resulted in competing and practically opposing groups. Gnostic iniltration into
19
Christianity started early - een during the Apostolic era. Simon Magnus who is
reered as a saint in the Gnostic Church is reerred to in the Acts o the Apostles
,Acts 8:9.,. \hile they were thwarted o by collectie churches that
emphasized the historical Jesus, the Gnostics thried in many countries,
especially in Persia.
Cvo.tici.v is a philosophical and religious moement, which started in pre-
Christian times. 1he term is deried rom the Greek word gvo.i., which means
"/vorteage`. It introduced noel belies and new gods and goddesses who exist
in diine dimension`. 1hey insisted on uniersal reelation and insisted on
considering all religions as equal and the ultimate salation being achieed
through the inner knowledge or enlightenment. Some o the early Gnostics
include, Simon Magnus and Simonians, Nicolaitans, Cerinthus, Marcion,
Basilides, ,130-150 AD,, 1heodotus ,140-160 AD,, Valentinus, ,140-160 AD,,
leracleon, ,10-180AD,, and 1he Sethians. All these were dealt with by the
early church. loweer the idea that Man can become God had always been a
tender spot and temptation or man rom the beginning with Adam and Le.
1he Gnosticism always reied.
1he land route to India brought in Gnosticism into India rom its home land o
Persia and impacted it to the utmost. It transormed Buddhism and Christian
Churches o Inner India. Len though Gnosticism practically died out in
Persia it still suries in China and India. It is told that Bardaisan came to Kerala
during AD 154 - 222. ,35,. \e hae no details about this isit. But there are
eidences that indicate that Bardesai met Mani in Kerala. It was ater this isit
he wrote the Acts o 1homas to present 1homas as a Gnostic. Apparently his
labors were not ruitul in Kerala. Since at the end o his lie Bardaisen returned
to Christian aith, his ollowers probably returned to aith or merged with
Manicheans.
Mission o Bardesai was ollowed by the ministry o Manichean ,Mani or Manes,
,c.216-300 AD,. About the year 242, he undertook an extensie journey as an
itinerant preacher, proclaiming himsel as the "Messenger o 1ruth," the
Paraclete promised by Christ. 1raeling throughout the Persian Lmpire and as
ar as India, he gathered a considerable ollowing.` ,36, . Manicheanism was
centralized in Kanchipuram Pallaa Dynasty o Draidia with its capital in
Kanchi is known to be o the Persian race. Mani is associated with peacock
20
and he is said to hae had the ability to ly as a peacock. Probably the city o
Mylapore was the headquarters o Mani also. le practically took oer 1homas
Churches. Some people think that it is probably this concept o Mani the
Ambasador o Light, that crystallized later in the Subramaniam myth associated
with Saiism.
le called himsel the Prophet o Jesus and Jesus was one o the irst emanations
rom godhead. In Mani`s own words: At the close o King Ardashir`s years I
set out to preach. I sailed to the land o the Indians. I preached to them the
hope o lie and I chose there a good selection.` And what did Mani teach
1he Bride is the Church, the Bride Groom is the Light Mind, the Bride is the
soul and Jesus is the bridegroom! I he rise in us, we too shall lie in him, i we
beliee in him, we shall transcend death and come to Lie` ,3,. Mani`s work
were in Chola region where he had a great ollowing. le remoed the Jesus o
Nazareth as an incarnation and replaced him with a teacher who showed the
inner path to realization. ,38, As a result the historical Jesus was o no
consequence nor his lie and death and resurrection. Gnostics dierentiated
Jesus rom the Christ. 1he experience o the diine within each person was only
important. As a result Inner Indian Churches became Gnostic Churches and
dropped o Jesus as a whole. Ater returning to Persia, Mani sent his lather and
one o his disciples called 1homas to India to continue to eangelize the nation.
Mani was executed or heresy in Persia and all his ollowers in Persia went to the
Last - to India and China. All his apostles and his mother Mary were buried in
Kashmir in a place called Barmulla. It is this last Aryan Brahminic migration that
made a great dierence in Indian Religious scenario. Mani`s ersion o the
Christianity is still seen in the Gnostic Churches o America and the Church o
the Last which presents the \oga o Jesus. 1hus Indian Christian Churches
took a new orm. - the orm o Sanadhana Dharma, meaning Lternal Religion -
Religion that started een beore Man. In the process o historic growth it
became the linduism` as we know today

1he early Gnostic liduta unleashed a war on historic Christianity - ideological,
social and physical. . In the North India the belieers went underground as a
group o lakirs, who were sworn in secrecy as to their true identity. 1hese
lakirs surace occasionally. Sadhu Sunder Singh report to hae seen them on his
journey to the limalayas. \hen the poor Indian missionaries need help, they
21
always appear rom nowhere. Among the Sindhi`s o the North India there is a
group called 1atanagar lakirs, who enerate 1homas as 1huma Bhagat. ,39,

It was probably during this time Pantaneus was sent to India rom the School o
Alexandria to counter the teachings o Mani. 1he Manigramakkar, a sect o
lindu Nairs ound in Quilon and Maelikara, still presere certain Christian
customs. 1hey are said to be the descendants o those apostatized early
Christians.,40,

\hen the cloud clears o we hae a large number o sects o arying aith and
practices all oer India. 1he Inner India Churches became Gnostic ,linduism`,
since they had little or no contact with the Christian Churches elsewhere. 1he
Malabar Churches howeer because o its geographic position was in constant
contact with other churches in Alexandria, Lthiopia, Rome and Antioch through
the sea route. Because o this they remained within the Apostolic traditions -
the aith that was handed oer once and or all at the shores o India by Apostle
1homas - as was practiced in the rest o the world especially in Alexandria,
Lthiopia, Rome and Syria. By the third century while the rest o India became
lindu, linduism came to stay in Malabar Coast only by the eighth century.
Malabar remained a sae haen or Christians or seeral centuries.

As a result when the Gnostic ,lindu, persecution broke out in the Chola and
Pandya region, many belieers led to Malabar. One such mention is seen in the
Palm Lea documents.
AD 293. 1he Vallala conerts to Christianity in Kaery poopattanam were
persecuted by their King. So 2 amilies embarked on a ship and came to
Korakkeni ,Kollam, Quilon, where there were Christians at that time.` ,41,
1his is ollowed by another citation, which says:
AD 315 A certain sorcerer called Manikka Vachakar came ,to Kollam, and
conerted back to linduism 116 persons belonging to eight o the 2 amilies
rom Puhur`
1his story is also cited by other historians such as Moraes ,42,, \hite louse
,43,, and Ittup ,44,.
Another Palm Lea says:
22
A certain sorcerer called Manikka Vachakar came to Kollam and conerted
back to linduism 116 persons belonging to 2 amilies rom Puhur, 4 o about
hal a dozen amilies subsequently came rom Coromandel Coast ,perhaps rom
Puhur itsel, and 20 amilies o local Christians ,presumably rom Quilon,`.
Pam-lea quotation.
\e are not sure who this Manikka Vachakar is. 1he mention o the term
Sorcerer and the name Manikka leads us to identiy this person as Gnostic.
1he Manichaen cross was brought to Kerala by Mani himsel. Abandoned
during the sixth century it suraced as Marthoma Cross` ,45,
1he impact o this Persian Gnosticism is seen in the appearance o idols and
temples and an endless system o myths and legends and isions. By the end o
third century most o the region beyond the Sahya Mountains became lindu` .
It took at least three centuries more or it to reach Kerala.
1he Story of Kerala.
As mentioned earlier Malabar Churches deeloped independent o the rest o the
Indian Churches. Kerala remained unconquered by any outside orces because
o its geographical position. Recent Archeological and documentary studies by
Pro. George Menacheril, indicates that Aryans came to prominence in Kerala,
only by 4
th
century or later and linduism only by 8
th
century. ,46,
It may een be that the Syriac script and liturgy - surely the Pahlai script - were
in Kerala much beore the Deanagari and the Vedas ound their oothold here.
In spite o the many statements in Keralolpathy ,4, most historians today
beliee that the Parasurama story is only a legend and Brahmins arried in Kerala
or all practical purposes only in the 4th century or later, and the Brahmins or
Namboodiris established dominance only around the end o the irst millennium
C.L`
Parasurama legend says that the seenth incarnation o Vishnu rose up the land
o Kerala rom Gokarnam to Kanya Kumari and gae them to Sixty-our
Brahmin amilies. 1his must hae been around the 4
th
century or een later, i
the Namboodiri traditions can be trusted. 1his legend thereore speaks only o
the historical situation o the later centuries how the Aryan Brahmins came to
dominate Kerala probably as adisers to the Kings o Chera, rom the 1ulunad.
23
\ho were the Kings o Chera is diicult to ascertain. Until the irst century till
the coming o 1homas, it is certain that Buddhist Kings ruled Chera. But
Buddhism disappeared rom the Kerala scene altogether. Vaishanaites or
Aryan Brahmins came into power only by the 6
th
century. Islam came into
existence only by the 6
th
century and was neer a power in Kerala. 1hen what
was the religion o the Chera Kings 1he only alternatie is that they were
Christians. It points to the possibility that Mahabali whom the ith aatar o
Vishnu deeated by cheating was none other than the Christian Draidian King
1he Great Sacriice`. 1his name eidently its only Christ and Christians. .
lis Kingdom eidently extended oer three regions o India ,the three worlds,.
Most probably the name is a generic name or Christian Kings. ,1he Chera King
Kuru Varman-1 also known as Vyakrasenan who ruled Kerala rom 40 AD to 55
AD was a Christian., It is interesting to note that Mahabali was the grandson o
Prahalada who was a staunch Vaishnaite ,Brahmin,. Prahalada was the son o
King liranyakashipu a Draidian. liranyakashipu was killed by the ourth
incarnation o Vishnu the Lion- Man. lis brother liranyaksha was killed by
the earlier incarnation o Vishnu, the Boar. Vishnu threw both these brothers
out o the heaens where they were the gate keepers o leaen. \e know or
certain that Mahabalipuram was Mahabali`s resort since eery other attempt to
explain the name ails. Mahabalikkara - Maelikkara is traditionally associated
with Mahabali. Incidentally Onam is the only estial, which is celebrated both
by the Christians and the lindus. I the Onam songs handed down to us rom
the 8
th
century are true, there was an egalitarian society - irtual Kingdom o
God - ashioned out o the early Christian lellowship Community experiment
Jerusalem. 1he Jerusalem experiment ailed with the deceit o Aninias and
Saphira and the Kerala experiment with the deceit o Vamana. \ith the long
period o innocence Mahabali could not discern the deceit o Vamana. Kerala,
during the 1amil Sangam Age ,1-500 AD, was a ery egalitarian society. ,48,
Untouchability was unknown, manual labor was respected and women held in
high esteem. 1he irst Brahmin missionaries moed into Kerala through 1ulu-
naadu ,Mangalore area,. 1hus Chera Kingdom continued as a Christian Kigdom
rom the irst century onwards until the sixth century. Gradually the inluence o
the linduism rom Chola and Pandya dislocated the Christian dynasties o
Chera. \ith the cunningness o the Brahmin dominated Vaishnaa adisors o
other Kingdoms, Chera Kingdom was taken oer by the Vaishnaa cult inally.
loweer one Christian Dynasty continued till the 15
th
century - the Villar
Vattom Pana.
24
Len today Christians are respectully addressed as "^aaravi vaita.", "sons o
kings who ollow the Nazarene" or "o the irst Christian kings" ,49, ,50, It is
actually a direct translation o the word Israel`. I this is the intent, it means the
idea o Kingdom o Priests was introduced most probably by St.1homas himsel.
Alternately, such a position came into existence because Christians were Kings
in early period. 1he special position o Nazrani in relation to lindu temples
itsel speak o the origins. Len today as a tradition, some old temples cannot
open their gates, or open the holy o holies or raise the lag to start a estial
without the physical presence o a Nazrani in the temple ground.
1he Mahabali myth had created sensation een in the \est, during the Middle
Ages, as the myth o the Prestor John - a Priest King who ruled a powerul ast
kingdom in India.- ruling oer 2 countries in three Indias. ,51, ,52, ,53, ,54,.
1his legend says that St. 1homas traelled to India and there established a
Christian community that retained many o the ideals o the original church, and
which blossomed into an almost perect Christian kingdom, ruled oer by this
legendary king, Prester John. A second century Peutinger Map ,11, indicates a
temple not ar rom Muziris as 1emple Augusti` or 1emple o the Great
King`. Around the middle o the 12th century, a series o letters ,orged,
ound their way to the court o Pope Alexander III. 1hese letters were rom the
Prester himsel. Apparently an emissary was sent to the King Prestor John, but
he was neer seen again. 1his mythical ,mystical, igure certainly came rom
Chera Kingdom as Meir Bar-Ilan ,55, points out. India is mentioned seeral
times in these letters and the city o Kalicut is mentioned in one o the letters
speciically. It speciies that he was in the land o India where the body o St.
1homas the Apostle was buried and they celebrated the memorial o 1homas on
July 3
rd
. 1he letter also mentions that it is the land o the pepper and elephants.
\hen history inally opens, it was with Kulasekara Alwar who ruled Kerala in
the 8th century. le became a deotional Vaishnaite poet. 1he earliest
document, which tells us about the Onam estial, comes rom this period. A
last Perumal, Cheraman Perumal abdicated his throne in 825 AD, ,some
documents gie it as 642-643 AD, conerted to Islam and went to Mecca and
died in \emen. ,56, le diided the kingdom and gae it to his Nephews.

AD 32S 1he Council of Nicea Indian representation through Bishop
Johannes
25
At this time the Christological discourse and controersies were raging in the
\est. 1he Council o Nicea was held to draw up the Nicean Creed in order to
establish the cannon o aith. 318 bishops attended it among them was a Bishop
Johannes, the Persian, or the churches o the whole o Persia and Greater India.
1he Indian Church had ties with the Persian Churches right rom early period. It
is assumed that Indian Churches inited Persian priests to teach the Bible. 1he
earliest bibles translated rom Greek are ound in Syriac. Malayalam did not
hae bible until recently. So it was necessary to hae priests rom Syria to
publicly read, teach and explain the Bible to the belieers. loweer the church
administrations were completely controlled by the local elders while the clergy
who were brought into the country proided the ecclesiastical serices and
doctrinal teachings.
Persian Immigrations
In AD 340 the Suraya Christians rom Persia ,now known as Syrian Christians,
came to Malabar Coast under the leadership o a bishop by name Dawood. Later
a group o immigrants under the leadership o 1homman rom Persia landed in
Cranganoor in AD 345. 1hey included about 400 persons o seenty-two
amilies o seen clans. A bishop named Mar Joseph, our priests and a ew
deacons were also with them. It is assumed that they came because o the
Persian persecution under Zoroastrianism. 1here are scholars who beliee that
at least some o them were actually Mani ollowers ,60, who came as a result o
persecution. Other sources indicate that they were sent by the Catholicos o
Jerusalem to get inormation about the state o the Church in Malabar. \hateer
is the reason, they were receied kindly by the Cheraman Perumal who gae him
permission to buy land and settle down. 1he King also oered special priileges
to him and his group. 1his group kept their social identity and orms the
Kananaya Christians. 1homas is said to hae married a local woman and hence
had two groups - known as Lastern Group and the \estern Group.
1hese Royal grants gien by Cheraman Perumal, who was the ruler o Malabar,
were inscribed on copper plates , Knai 1homman Cheppedu,, giing Knai
1homman and his descendants seenty-two royal priileges, in AD 345 In
some places they are reerred to as Manigrama Niasikal`. 1hese priileges are
all Royal priileges indicating equal status o the Knai 1homman with the Kings
26
o Chera. 1hey include: Royal robes, Royal Crown and head dress and other
ornaments, authority to exact all types o taxes and act as judges oer seeral
groups o people.
1his was ollowed by seeral other immigrations rom Persia. In 880 AD, some
Syrian Christian amilies led by Sabar Iso, a merchant rom Persia, immigrated to
Quilon. 1wo holy men named Mar Sapor and Mar Proth were also with them.
1hey were twin brothers .|5|

1he presence and the powers o the new comers rom Persia added a new
dimension to the local Christians who were already in contact with their
counterparts in Persia. 1hese ties were now strengthened. 1he Aryan
Brahminic elements within the church itsel got a priilieged status within the
caste system which began to appear. 1hey now began to exchange priests, who
brought with them the documents known as the bible, which were only aailable
in Greek and Syriac. 1hey soon incorporated the Persian way o church
institution, worship and other ritualism. 1his gae them a unique culture,- under
the inluence o the Syrian Church - which came to be known as Syrian
Christian culture. Kerala Christians came to be known as Syrian Christians- not
because they are rom Syria, but because they ollowed the liturgy and customs
o the Syrian Churches.
1heophilus, 1he Indian
1heophilus was a natie o Maldie Islands, o Kerala coast. Lmperor
Constantine took him as a hostage so that the Maldie people will not plunder
Roman ships as it passed that way. In Rome he became a Christian and became a
Bishop. le isited India in AD 354 and noted that their worship practices
diered considerably rom those o other parts o the world. Particularly he
noticed that Indians sang, heard the gospel and worshipped sitting down. le
thought they were outrageous and ordered it changed. Probably the practice o
worship standing was introduced rom that time onwards.
AD 42S Daniel, 1he Priest, Indian
It may be assumed that Indians sent their priests or training and studies to Syria.
1here was one Daniel who translated the commentary on the Lpistle to the
27
Romans rom Greek to Syriac in Ldessa. le signed it as Daniel, the priest, the
Indian. Lcclesiastical language o India was probably Greek and Syriac as the
teaching o Bible came rom there. Greek inscriptions are ound on the bells o
seeral churches.
Cosmos Indicopleustes and Universal Christian 1opology
Around AD 522, Cosmos a rich Christian merchant rom Alexandria, isited
India and wrote a book called Uniersal Christian 1opology. le describes his
isit thus:
"\e hae ound the church not destroyed, but ery widely diused and the
whole world illed with the doctrine o Christ, which is being day by day
propagated and the Gospel preached oer the whole earth. 1his I hae seen with
my own eyes in many places and hae heard narrated by others. I as a witness o
truth relate: In the land o 1aprobane ,Srilanka,, Inner India, where the Indian
sea is, there is a church o Christians, with clergy and congregation o belieers,
though I know not i there be any Christians urther in this direction. And such
also is the case in the land called Male ,Malabar,, where the pepper grows. And
in the place called Kallia ,Kollam, there is a bishop appointed rom Persia, as
well as in the island called Dioscores ,Socotra, in the same Indian Sea. 1he
inhabitants o that island speak Greek, haing been originally settled there by
Ptolemies, who ruled ater Alexander o Macedonia. 1here are clergy there also
ordained and sent rom Persia to minister among the people o the island, and
the multitude o Christians..."
A.D. 43J Council of Lphesus A.D. 4SJ Council of Chalcedon : Nestorian
Schism
Soon ater the ormation o the Church, heresy and ariations in teachings were
in existence in one orm or other, all oer the world. During the Apostolic
Period, they were settled with the mediation o the Apostles and Apostolic
Synods and Councils. 1he irst o the council was the council o Jerusalem where
the question o gentile inclusion in the church was discussed. loweer ater the
apostolic period this continued. Len today we hae large number o theological
systems arying eer so slightly. 1hese moements arose powerully around 400
A.D when Christianity became ree rom oppression and when being a Christian
28
became a prestige. In the year AD 425 Nestorius, a presbyter o the Church o
Antioch became the Patriarch o Constantinople. le legitimately objected to the
epithet o "1heokotos" or "Mother o God" as applied to Mary, since Mary was
only the mother o the incarnation and not the mother who produced a God.
1his would imply that Mary was a Goddess. In this sense he was indeed right.
loweer he was understood to hae propounded the concept that the Logos o
God indwelt Jesus the man. 1hus there were two natures in Jesus at the same
time. I we are to judge by the Nestorian churches o today this was a
misunderstanding.
Cyril the Patriarch o Alexandria opposed this dual nature concept and insisted
on the unity that Jesus was perect man and perect God without inconsistency.
1he controersy reached a climax when these Patriarchs excommunicated each
other. loweer the conduct o the Lphesus council was totally deplorable that
Nestorius was not een gien a hearing. By the time Nestorius arried at
Lphesus the council had oted against him and he was excommunicated and
exiled. Its decision though uniersally accepted, the way the issue was treated is
still considered deplorable. Nestorius, a genius theologian o the time was
derided without een giing him a hearing.
1he ight went on and in AD 451 the Nestorians claimed a ictory in the council
o Chaldeons. In this council it was declared that in Christ the two natures were
hypostatically united, without mixture, conusion and diisibility. Cyril the
Patriarch o Alexandria and John the Patriarch o Antioch inally reconciled.
Nestorians adopted the name Chaldeon Church and the Patriarch took the title
o Patriarch o Babylon. 1hese in ights in the Middle Last and Lurope had its
repercussions in India too. 1here exists a Chaldean church with ew ollowings
een today, though majority o the Christian churches remained aithul to the
declarations o Nicea and Lphesus. A copy o the pre-Diampur liturgy shows
that 1homas churches considered Nestorius as one o their bishops and reered
him.
A.D SJ0 J439 1he Christian Dynasty of Villarvattom
By this period, the great Lmpire o the Chera Kingdom came to ruins and an
immense number o small independent Kingdoms came into existence. 1hus
those areas where Christians were in prominence established themseles into
29
Kingdoms. Christians were traditionally good statesmen and warriors. One
such Kingdom was the Villarattom Pana. 1his Kingdom Villarattom Pana
extended rom the coastal islands o Chennamangalam, Maliankara and others to
the north o and south o Udayamperoor. 1he capital o this kingdom was at
Mahadearpattanam ,Maha 1hear ~ Great God ~ Ll Llyon, in the island o
Chennamangalam and later it was shited to Udayamperoor when the Arab
inaders attacked the island. 1he Udayamperror Church - which stands een
today - was built by Raja o Villarottam in A.D 510. 1here are seeral
inscriptions in this church that supports this including the mention o one Raja
1homas who ruled in AD 900. In A.D 1330, Pope John XXII in a letter sent
with lriar Jordan to the king o Vellar Vattom, address him as the successor o
Raja 1homas. Pope Lugene IV addresses a Raja 1homas in A.D 1439. 1he
papal record mentions "that there is a Kingdom twenty days journey rom
Cathay, o which the king and all the inhabitants are Christians, but heretics,
being said to be Nestorians." "listoria de Variatate lortunae, li. IV, Poggi
Bracciolini , Secretary to Pope Lugenius IV,. It all indicates that Kerala was
predominantly Christian in the lirst Century and was ruled by Christian Kings.
Reformation and Revival attempts in Inner Indian Churches
In the 8th c A.D, Sankara a Brahmin born o an itinerant Aryan priest, rom
Kerala became the champion o the philosophical system known as Adaita
which became the core o Gnostic lindu thesis. As Gnosticism took its grip on
Indian Christianity, saints rom both the Vaishanaite and Saiite sects made
seeral attempts to thwart all syncretization and to bring the God o incarnation
and sacriice back in the culture. 1he theology presented by Ramanujam
,Vishista Adaita - Modiied Monism, ,1011-113 AD,, Madhaa ,Daita Vada
- Dualistic theism,, ,119-123 AD, and all the works o saints o the
th
to 12
th

century were bold attempts in reormation opposing Sankara. All the sixty three
Nayanmars o Saiite persuation, and twele Alwars o Vaishnaite persuation
came rom the Draids. But the coming in o the 1heosophical Society in the
wake o Independence Moement practically took oer linduism away rom the
reach o redemption.
loweer we can still see the worship o Jesus embedded in the temple worship
and symbolisms. One such Namaali, worships the one who was born o a
irgin, circumcised, died on a cross and resurrected. It was this aith that the
30
1amil saints were trying to reie. ,58, lor other embedded mythological
symbolism and theological expressions see Deianayagam and Deakala ,59,
AD J498 Arrival of Vasco Da Gama and Roman Catholic Mission
Vasco Da Gama landed in Calicut in AD 1498 and this started the Colonization
process o India by the \estern Nations. Along with this came the religious
domination o Roman Catholic Church oer the independent churches o
Malabar. By this time linduism has lost Christ. Portuguese being o Roman
Catholic persuasion wanted to bring the Malabar Christians under the pontiicate
o Rome. According to the Roman concept the Pope o Rome is the heir to the
throne o Peter and is the Vicar o the Church Uniersal all oer the world
whereer it may be. 1he Roman Catholicism claimed that Pope o Rome was the
supreme head o all the churches o the world and Indian Churches should also
submit to this supremacy i they are to remain true as Catholic Church. 1he irst
such claim came with lriar John, whom Pope John XXII ordained as Bishop o
Quilon in AD 1330 when he was sent him with a letter. lriar John is reported to
hae come to Quilon and ounded a church in Latin rite. loweer historically
there is no eidence that he eer came to Quilon. le is said to hae been
martyred at Kalyan in Bombay. 1here were similar isits rom other legations
rom Rome. 1hough these were receied with Christian courtesy it did not lead
to acknowledgement o Papal supremacy as expected.
AD JS99 Synod of Diampore
1he Portuguese became powerul in certain areas o India especially in Goa and
Bombay. In Jan. 1599, Alexiyodi Menessis, the Archbishop o Goa came to
Cochin. Geearghese Archdeacon was in charge o the churches in Kerala at that
time. Menessis Archbishop with the colonial power behind him used the power
to get Geearghese Archdeacon arrested and put in prison under the orders o
the King o Cochin. 1hen he traeled extensiely and inluenced the leaders and
people. In July 5, 1599, he called the amous Udayam Perror Council
,Sunnahadose,. 1here were 153 leaders and 660 laymen were represented in that
council. Under the yoke o the Portuguese Colonial orce they, accepted the
supremacy o the Pope o Rome. loweer the sailing was not smooth or
Roman church. 1his domination continued or oer ie decades. 1hrough
political inluence the Synod o Diamper ,Portuguese name or Udayamperoor,
31
was held in 1599 and most o the St: 1homas Christians were brought under the
Pope. During this period the Malabar Church assimilated many o the teachings
and rituals o the Roman Catholic Church. 1hey burnt almost all aailable
documents as heretic.
32

References
,1,. On the Veda. Aurobindo, Sri. ,1964,. Pondicherry, India: Sri Aurobindo
Ashram
Aurobindo's writings were published in the monthly reiew, 'Arya' between 1914
and 1920.
,2,. J-Claude et Bernard Binett, listory o the lindu religion, Vedism and
linduism: http:,,members.tripod.com,historel,orient,10inde.htm.
See also Pro. Ingrid Shaer: http:,,www.usao.edu,~usao-
ids3313,ids,html,edism.html
,3, , Pundit Page: \yatt Robertson
http:,,www.karma2grace.org,\ebcomponents,lAQ,index.aspdet~65
1here are indeed no reerences to reincarnation in the Rig Veda. Or or that
matter in the other Vedas ,Sama, \ajur and Athara,.`
,4,. Dr. Deen B Chandora: In what language were the Vedas originally written
http:,,www.geocities.com,edic_temple,hinducentum,q10.html
,5,. Internet Sacred 1ext Archie: http:,,www.sacred-texts.com,hin,
,6,. Ricbara K. ive.: http:,,www.wsu.edu,~dee,ANCINDIA,VLDAS.l1M
,,. Brian 1urner: http:,,www.comparatie-religion.com,hinduism,edas,
,8, Pat Zukeran, Buddhism, http:,,www.probe.org,docs,buddhism.html
,9, Steenson, Ldward Luther , 1991 Claudius Ptolemy 1he Geography New
\ork: Doer Publications.
,10, Ptolemy and the Southeast Coast o India
http:,,www.nobase.com,html,ptolemy_and_the_southeast_coas.html
1he great trading post here was Muziris, Ptolemy has it connected by the
Psuedostomus Rier to the Chera capital o Karur. 1he Cheras controlled the
interior o the southern part o the peninsula and the lower \est Coast.`
33

,11, http:,,www.nobase.com,html,the_peutinger_table.html
\hat is really interesting here is the centrality o Muziris. It is marked with a big
red circle. It is, indeed, the most important city east o Antioch. \et it is not
connected to anything in the interior, much less across the peninsula. 1o the let
o Muziris is an "Augustinian temple." Many hae taken this to be an old Roman
structure. But that would seem odd on this decidedly Christian map.`
Peutinger's 1abula was originally a long parchment map 6.80 metres by 34
centimetres.

,12, 1he Periplus o the Lritrean Sea http:,,www.earth-
history.com,India,periplus.htm

,13, L. l. \armington, 1be Covverce betreev tbe Rovav vire ava vaia, London,
Curzon Press. 1928, p.14. as quoted in 1.V. Philip, Last o the Luphrates: Larly
Christianity in Asia, CSS & ISPCK, India, 1998,
,14, http:,,en.wikipedia.org,wiki,lippalus
,15, Inluence o Monsoon \inds, Kerala Calling, August, 2003
http:,,www.kerala.go.in,kerala_callingaug,p24-26.pd
,16, M.R. James ,1he Apocryphal New 1estament" Oxord: Clarendon Press,
1924 http:,,www.earlychristianwritings.com,text,actsthomas.html
,1, http:,,www.earlychristianwritings.com,actsthomas.html
,18, http:,,www.earlychristianwritings.com,html,chap4,chapter4a.htm
,19, ,Lawrence L. Browne, 1be cti.e of Cbri.tiavit, iv ..ia. New \ork:
Cambridge Uniersity Press, 1933, p.4. 1he inormation about the Bartolmai
tribe is gien by R. A. 1rotter in a paper presented at a conerence in Sind in
194.
,20, Clement o Alexandria, Stromata, .vte^iceve atber., ol.1. p. 301.
,21, A. Mingana, Larly Spread o Christianity in India, Manchestor Uniersity,
`926 p 1
34
,22,. Re lenry leras, 1he 1wo Apostles o India ,1richinopoly 1844,

,23, Quoted in C.V Cherian, Kerala listorical Society. CMS Press 193

,24, 1he Church listory o Lusebius. Book V, Chapter X
http:,,www.ccel.org,athers2,NPNl2-01,Npn2-01-10.htm |
,25, A. Mingana, Larly Spread o Christianity in India, Manchestor Uniersity,
`926 p 1
,26, Jerome, Liber de iris Illustribus as quoted by Dr. Berchmans Kodackal in
http:,,members.tripod.com,~Berchmans,apostle.html
,2, http:,,www.ccel.org,w,wace,biodict,htm,iii.xi.i.htm
,28,. Quoted rom http:,,www.barkuronline.com,Abtbkr,Abtbkr5.html
,29, \illiam Pais and Vincent Mendonca, 1he land called South Kanara`-2000,
- Image lex Publishers
,30, R. A. 1rotter in a paper presented at a conerence in Sind in 194
,31, 1he M,tb of aivt 1bova. ava tbe M,taore bira 1evte http:,,hamsa.org
,32, Dr. M. Deianayagam, Dr. D. Deakala, 1he Reial Moement o
Draidian Religion, linduism - Draidian Religion
http:,,www.geocities.com,Athens,Ithaca,1412,hindudraid.html
,33, Alexander larris, 1he Deelopment o Ciilization and Religion in India
and its inluence in \orld Society. Chennai p 58
http:,,www.geocities.com,Athens,Parthenon,2104,hinduism.html
,34, http:,,indiatemple.blogspot.com,2004,11,lingam-phallic-symbol-o-lord-
shia.html
,35, http:,,alackal.conscient.com,SyrianChristians.html|
,36, http:,,mb-sot.com,beliee,txn,manichae.htm
35
,3, Duncan Greenlees, 1he Gospel o the Prophet Mani, Adyar, Madras, India
the 1heosophical Publishing louse, 1956
,38, lor Manichean Scrolls see: http:,,essenes.net,primarytexts.html
,39, http:,,santhomechurch.com,apostleoindia,apostleoindia.html
,40, 1raancore State Manual Vol. II, 139-142.
,41, lrom the Palm-lea manuscript entitled Keralathil Margam Vazhiyute
Aastha
,42, Moraes, G. M. . i.tor, of Cbri.tiavit, iv vaia. Vol. 1. Bombay: Manaktalas,
1964
,43, \hite louse, 1he lingering Light
,44, Ittup, listory o the Malabar Syrian Christian Church
,45, Indian Lxpress, lriday April 24, 1998
,46, Christianity Older than linduism in Kerala \orld Syriac Conerence 2002
-SLLRI - KO11A\AM Paper presented by Pro. George MLNAClLR\
,4, Keratotatbi printed by Gundert in AD 1890
,48, low was the Caste System introduced in Kerala
http:,,www.thrikodithanam.org,tidbits.htm
,49, Malankara Nasranikal : http:,,www.indianchristianity.org,malankara.htm
,50, Dr. Berchmans Kodackal, 1he Larly Christians o India, January 1998
http:,,members.tripod.com,~Berchmans,early.html
,51, http:,,www.commonplacebook.com,iction,myths,ch02,
,52, Otto o lreising: Medieal Sourcebook: 1he Legend o Prester John
http:,,www.ordham.edu,halsall,source,otto-prester.html

,53, http:,,en.wikipedia.org,wiki,Prester_John
,54, http:,,www.laohats.com,Prester20John.htm
36
,55, M. Bar-Ilan, 'Prester John: liction and listory', i.tor, of vroeav aea.,
20,1-3 ,1995,, pp. 291-298. http:,,aculty.biu.ac.il,~barilm,presjohn.html
,56, B.S. Rao New lacts on the Arrial o Islam P1I, India,
http:,,muslimsonline.com,babri,keralamuslim.htm
,5, Moraes, G. M. . i.tor, of Cbri.tiavit, iv vaia. Vol. 1. Bombay: Manaktalas,
1964
,58, M.M.Ninan, linduism -\hat Really lappened in India, Global Publishers,
2003 ,59, Dr. M. Deianayagam, Dr. D. Deakala, 1he Reial Moement o
Draidian Religion, http:,,www.geocities.com,Athens,Ithaca,1412,
,59, Syrian Christian 1raditions, P.L.Lsow
http:,,alackal.conscient.com,SyrianChristians.html
,60, Mr. P.V. Mathew: Sugantha Bandu Nasrani listory