63-938: Saint Thomas Christian denominations Syro-Malabar Catholic , Syro-Malankara Catholic , Latin Catholic Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church , Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Malabar Independent Syrian Church Chaldean Syrian Mar Thoma Syrian , St. Thomas Evangelical Protestant denominations Andhra Evangelical Lutheran , Assemblies Jehovah Shammah , Christian Revival Church , Church of North India , Church of South India , Garo Baptist , Indian Brethren , Indian Pentecostal Church of God , Church of God (Full Gospel) , North Bank Baptist Christian , Northern Evangelical Lutheran , Methodist Church , Presbyterian , The Pentecostal Mission , Seventh-day Adventist , United Evangelical Lutheran The Christian ashram movement (not to be confused with United Christian Ashrams )
126-468: A Dominican , followed in 1321–22. He reported to Rome , apparently from somewhere on the west coast of India, that he had given Christian burial to four martyred monks. Jordanus, between 1324 and 1328 (if not earlier), probably visited Kulam and selected it as for his future work. He was appointed a bishop in 1328 and nominated by Pope John XXII in his bull Venerabili Fratri Jordano to the see of Columbum or Kulam ( Quilon ) on 21 August 1329. This diocese
189-472: A reformation movement under Abraham Malpan due to influence of British Anglican missionaries in the 1800s. The Mar Thoma Church employs a reformed variant of the liturgical West Syriac Rite. The St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India is an evangelical faction that split off from the Marthoma Church in 1961. CSI Syrian Christians are a minority faction of Malankara Syrian Christians , who joined
252-746: A book about his travels titled The Travels of Joseph the Indian which was widely disseminated across Europe. Kurisumala Ashram Kurisumala Ashram is a Trappist monastery of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church , located in the Sahya Mountains of Vagamon , Kerala , India . In 1956, Zacharias Mar Athanasios, then the Bishop of Thiruvalla, invited Francis Mahieu , a Trappist monk from Scourmont Abbey in Belgium , to Kerala to establish
315-533: A noted scholar of Hinduism and adopted Hindu dress, ascetic practices, and even vegetarianism. Many other Christian ashrams now exist in India. By 2004, there were at least 50 of them, including: Saccidananda Ashram (aforementioned), Kurisumala Ashram (aforementioned), Christukula Ashram (located in Tirupattur and also founded by Ernest Forrester Paton and S. Jesudasan, but by Anglicans rather than Roman Catholics, in
378-580: A religious group, they refer to themselves as Mar Thoma Khristianis or in English as Saint Thomas Christians , based on their religious tradition of Syriac Christianity . However, from a religious angle, the Saint Thomas Christians of today belong to various denominations as a result of a series of developments including Portuguese persecution (a landmark split leading to a public Oath known as Coonen Cross Oath ), reformative activities during
441-531: A separate identity They had regular visitors from their home land. Some of their priests and bishops visited them. But these visiting bishops had no authority over Saint Thomas Christians. The Church is mentioned by Cosmas Indicopleustes (about 535). He notes that, "There are Christians and believers in Taprobane ( Sri Lanka ), in Malabar where pepper grows there is a Christian church. At a place known as Kalyan, there
504-415: Is a bishop sent from Persia.". St. Gregory of Tours , before 590, reports that Theodore, a pilgrim who had gone to Gaul, told him that in that part of India where the corpus (bones) of St. Thomas had first rested, there stood a monastery and a church of striking dimensions and elaborately adorned, adding: "After a long interval of time these remains had been removed thence to the city of Edessa." As per
567-663: Is a movement within Christianity in India that embraces Vedanta and the teachings of the East, attempting to combine the Christian faith with the Hindu ashram model and Christian monasticism with the Hindu sannyasa tradition. The "father" of the Christian Ashram movement was 17th-century Italian Jesuit priest Roberto de Nobili , a Christian missionary to India who decided to overcome
630-464: Is married to the Hindu concept of the atman . By allying Christianity with mysticism, the movement seeks to ground faith in direct experience and wisdom arising from the mystical experience of nonduality and thus allow Christianity to return to being a more inwardly-directed religion. The Second Vatican Council , in its Declaration on Non-Christian Religions, said that "the Church rejects nothing that
693-459: Is the small cross at Kottayam dated 7th century. In 829 CE, the Udayamperoor (Diamper) church was built. A priest (or bishop) from Persia Abo came to Kadamattom. With the help of a widow and her son, he built a small hut and lived there. He called the boy Poulose. Abo taught him Syriac and later ordained him as a deacon. After this deacon Poulose disappeared for twelve years. It is said that he
SECTION 10
#1733084994314756-652: Is true and holy in these religions". In Christian sannyasa, Hindu holy texts such as the Mahabharata and the Puranas are considered to be gifts from God. Brother John Martin Sahajananda summarizes this Roman Catholic teaching as, "All the sacred scriptures are a gift of God to humanity.". Saint Thomas Christian denominations The Saint Thomas Christian denominations are Christian denominations from Kerala , India , which traditionally trace their ultimate origins to
819-753: The Anglican Church in 1836, and eventually became part of the Church of South India in 1947, after Indian independence . The C.S.I. is in full communion with the Mar Thoma Syrian Church. By the 20th century, various Syrian Christians joined Pentecostal and other evangelical denominations like the Kerala Brethren , Indian Pentecostal Church of God , Assemblies of God , among others. They are known as Pentecostal Saint Thomas Christians . Their traditions go back to first-century Christian thought, and
882-595: The Church of the East , which was also established by Thomas the apostle according to early Christian writings. The Primate or Metropolitan of Persia consecrated bishops for the Indian Church, which brought it indirectly under the control of Seleucia . The Church of the East traces its origins to the See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon , said to be founded by Thomas the Apostle . Other founding figures are Mari and Addai as evidenced in
945-741: The Doctrine of Addai and the Holy Qurbana of Addai and Mari . This is the original Christian church in what was once Parthia : eastern Iraq and Iran. The See of Seleucia-Ctesiphon developing within the Persian Empire, at the east of the Christian world, rapidly took a different course from other Eastern Christians. The First Council of Nicaea , held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day İznik in Turkey ), convoked by
1008-633: The Thiruvithamcode Arappally in Kanyakumari district. The Apostle also preached in other parts of India . The visit of the Apostle Thomas to these places and to Mylapore on the East coast of India can be read in the Ramban Songs of Thomas Ramban , set into 'moc', 1500. He was martyred in 72 at Little Mount, a little distant from St. Thomas Mount , and was buried at San Thome , near
1071-417: The social status system according to their professions with special privileges for trade granted by the benevolent kings who ruled the area. After the 8th century when Hindu Kingdoms came to sway, Christians were expected to strictly abide by stringent rules pertaining to caste and religion. This became a matter of survival. This is why St. Thomas Christians had such a strong sense of caste and tradition, being
1134-759: The 1930s), Christa Prema Seva Ashram (located in Shivajinagar (near Pune ) and founded in 1927 by Anglican John "Jack" Winslow), Jyotiniketan Ashram (in Bareilly ), and Christi Panti Ashram (in Varanasi ). Other ashrams founded by the movement include Sat Tal Ashram (founded by Methodist E. Stanley Jones ) and Nava Jeeva Ashram, Founded by Pradhan Acharya John Thannickal in Bangalore. Whilst Saccidananda and others were founded by Catholics , with some 80 Catholic ashrams existing by 2005, Christa Prema Seva and Christukula were
1197-516: The 1960s, this broke down as few were willing to engage in common meditation or social work practice. The Christian Ashram Movement, specifically, came under attack from some factions of Hinduism, as can be witnessed from a series of letters exchanged between Bede Griffiths and Swami Devananda — more on which can be found in Catholic Ashrams ( Goel 1988 ). Such criticism from (some) Hindus has been severe; but criticism has also been levelled from
1260-460: The 21st century. Upadhyay was also an influence upon Bede Griffiths ., who co-founded Kurisumala Ashram with Belgian trappist Francis Mahieu and who took over leadership of Saccidananda Ashram after Monchanin's death and Le Saux's decision to leave for his hermitage. In the late seventeenth, early eighteenth, century, P. Charles François Dolu and Jean-Venance Bouchet designed Catholic ceremonies that integrated Hindu traditions. Bouchet became
1323-643: The Apostles foreigners? Granting that Judea was the country of Peter, what had Saul to do with the Gentiles, Luke with Achaia, Andrew with Epirus, Thomas with India, Mark with Italy?." Ambrose (340–397) writes "When the Lord Jesus said to the Apostles, go and teach all nations, even the kingdoms that had been shut off by the barbaric mountains lay open to them as India to Thomas, as Persia to Mathew." There are other passages in ancient liturgies and martyrologies which refer to
SECTION 20
#17330849943141386-736: The Christian side, where conservative groups within the Catholic Church have regarded the Hindu influences upon Christian ashrams with some suspicion. The view of Indians as a whole appears to be that the Christian ashram movement is mainly "for foreigners"; however the view remains that the movement, at least the Catholic side, will continue in existence and provide (in the words of one commentator quoted by George Soares-Prabhu in 1994) "an important point of contact for dialogue with Hinduism". Griffiths hoped to restore Christianity to what he considered its roots where meditation and direct experience of God
1449-640: The East Bishop during the 1870s. The Assyrian Church is one of the descendant churches of the Church of the East. Thus it forms the continuation of the traditional church of Saint Thomas Christians in India. Oriental Protestant denominations include the Mar Thoma Syrian Church and the St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India . The Marthoma Syrian Church were a part of the Malankara Church that went through
1512-838: The East Syriac liturgy of the historic Church of the East. The Oriental Orthodox faction includes the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church , resulting from a split within the Malankara Church in 1912 over whether the church should be autocephalous or rather under the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch . As such, the Malankara Orthodox Church is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox Church independent of
1575-722: The East had declined drastically, and the 16th century witnessed the Portuguese colonial overtures to bring St Thomas Christians into the Latin Catholic Church , administered by their Padroado , leading to the first of several rifts ( schisms ) in the community. The attempts of the Portuguese culminated in the Synod of Diamper in 1599 and was resisted by local Christians through the Coonan Cross Oath protest in 1653. This led to
1638-682: The Elder and the author of Periplus of the Erythraean sea, Muziris in Kerala could be reached in 40 days' time from the Egyptian coast purely depending on the southwest monsoon winds. The Sangam works Puranaooru and Akananooru have many lines which speak of the Roman vessels and the Roman gold that used to come to the Kerala ports of the great Chera kings in search of pepper and other spices, which had enormous demand in
1701-755: The Holy See in Rome. This includes the aforementioned Syro-Malabar Church as well as the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church , the latter arising from an Oriental Orthodox faction that entered into communion with Rome in 1930 under Bishop Geevarghese Ivanios (d. 1953). As such the Malankara Catholic Church employs the West Syriac liturgy of the Syriac Orthodox Church, while the Syro-Malabar Church employs
1764-679: The Jews at "Maliyankara" on the sea coast. Jews were living in Kerala from the time of Solomon. Later, large numbers of them arrived in 586 BC and 72 AD. Malabari Jewish tradition hold these facts. Its traditionally believed that during his stay in Kerala , the Apostle baptized the Jews and some of the wise men who adored the Infant Jesus . The Apostle established seven "and a half" churches in Malabar at Kodungalloor ( Muziris ), Paravur , Palayoor , Kokkamangalam , Niranam , Nilackal , Kollam , and
1827-689: The Nasranis. The First Council of Nicaea , held in Nicaea in Bithynia (present-day İznik in Turkey ), convoked by the Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first Ecumenical council of the Christian Church, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed . Many historians have written that ‘’Mar John, the Bishop of Great India’’ attended
1890-726: The Patriarch of Antioch, whereas the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church is an integral part of the Syriac Orthodox Church and is headed by the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch. The Iraq -based Assyrian Church of the East 's archdiocese includes the Chaldean Syrian Church based in Thrissur . They were a minority faction within the Syro-Malabar Church, which split off and joined with the Church of
1953-660: The Persian Church suffered severe persecutions. The persecuted Christians and even bishops, at least on two occasions, sought an asylum in Malabar. The Rock crosses of Kerala found at St.Thomas Mount and throughout Malabar coast has inscriptions in Pahlavi and Syriac . It is dated from before the 8th Century. In 825, the arrival of two bishops are documented, Sapor and Prodh. Le Quien says that "these bishops were Chaldaeans and had come to Quilon soon after its foundation. They were men illustrious for their sanctity, and their memory
Christian ashram movement - Misplaced Pages Continue
2016-588: The Portuguese, organized themselves as the independent Malankara Church, entered into a new communion with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch , and they inherited the West Syriac Rite from the Syriac Orthodox Church, which employs the Liturgy of Saint James , an ancient rite of the Church of Antioch , replacing the old East Syriac Rite liturgy. The Eastern Catholic faction is in full communion with
2079-519: The Roman Emperor Constantine I in 325, was the first Ecumenical council of the Christian Church, and most significantly resulted in the first uniform Christian doctrine, called the Nicene Creed . It is documented that John, the Bishop of Great India attended the council. The prelate signs himself as "John the Persian presiding over the Churches in the whole of Persia and Great India." Some centuries following,
2142-568: The West. The lure of spices attracted traders from the Middle East and Europe to the many trading ports of Keralaputera (Kerala) — Tyndis, ( Ponnani ), Muziris , near Kodungallur, Niranam, Bacare, Belitha, and Comari ( Kanyakumari ) long before the time of Christ. Thomas the Apostle in one of these ships, arrived at Muziris in 52, from E’zion-ge’ber on the Red Sea. He started his gospel mission among
2205-477: The ashram. He was later joined by Bede Griffiths . On 1 December 1956, Mahieu and Griffiths laid the foundation at Tiruvalla in the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church . They acquired 88 acres (360,000 m ) of land and, on 20 March 1958, traveled sixty miles to a mountain known as Kurisumala. The monastery was officially established on 21 March 1958. They soon started a dairy farm with cattle imported from Jersey to support themselves . Within three years,
2268-474: The council. Church life bore characteristics of a church which had its origin and growth outside the Graeco-Roman world . There was no centralized administrative structure on a monarchical pattern. The territorial administrative system which developed after the diocesan pattern within the eastern and western Roman empires did not exist in the Indian Church. "They have the uncorrupted Testament Which they believe
2331-557: The cultural obstacles to his mission by adopting the various forms of a Hindu sannyāsi . He was followed in this – more than two centuries later – by Brahmabandhab Upadhyay , who was not a foreign missionary but an Indian Bengali Brahmin who converted to Catholicism . His writings publicized several ideas in the movement, including the identification of the Saccidananda with the Christian Holy Trinity , an identification coined by Keshub Chandra Sen in 1882. He also founded an ashram Kasthalic Matha , although it didn't last long. In
2394-411: The evangelistic activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. They are also known as "Nasranis" as well. The Syriac term "Nasrani" is still used by St. Thomas Christians in Kerala. It is part of the Eastern Christianity institution. Historically, this community formed a part of the Church of the East, served by metropolitan bishops and a local archdeacon . By the 15th century, the Church of
2457-428: The faltering of Christa Prema Seva Ashram (and indeed by the Protestant ashram founded in 1917 by N. V. Tilak at Satra , possibly the very first Protestant ashram, which collapsed upon his death in 1919). Stanley Samartha reported in 1980 that the movement had "almost dried up". The movement has not been without interreligious friction. Although there was dialogue between Hinduism and Christianity in general in
2520-411: The first two of the (surviving) Protestant ashrams. Backed by the experience of a multisecular monastic tradition the Catholic ashrams have proven more successful than the Protestant. In addition to their greater number, the continuance of Saccidananda Ashram under Bede Griffiths contrasts strikingly with the problems that Protestant ashrams have had under second-generation leadership, as exemplified by
2583-423: The footsteps of Upadhyay and Sen (second half of the 20th century) came French priest Jules Monchanin (who was later to adopt the name Parma Arupi Anananda), and French Benedictine monk Henri le Saux (who was later to adopt the name Abhishiktananda), the co-founders of Saccidananda Ashram (also called Shantivanam) an ashram founded in 1950 at Tannirpalli in Tiruchirapalli District and still surviving into
Christian ashram movement - Misplaced Pages Continue
2646-401: The forty-second of his "Carmina Nisibina" that the Apostle was put to death in India, and that his remains were subsequently buried in Edessa , brought there by a merchant. St. Ephraem in a hymn about the relics of St. Thomas at Edessa depicts Satan exclaiming, "The Apostle whom I killed in India comes to meet me in Edessa." Gregory Nazianzen , (329–389), in a homily says; "What! were not
2709-573: The great of Wessex in England sent donations to the Christians in Malabar. Marco Polo visited Malabar on his return journey from China . He wrote about the people whom he saw in Malabar, this way. "The people are idolaters, though there are some Christians and Jews among them. They speak a language of their own. The king is tributary to none." The two Rock crosses of Kerala are found at Kottayam, one each at Kadamattam, Muttuchira and at St.Thomas Mount, in Mylapore. and throughout Malabar coast has inscriptions in Pahlavi and Syriac. The earliest
2772-399: The holy book." In short, the St. Thomas Christians of Kerala have blended well with the ecclesiastical world of the Eastern Churches and with the changing socio-cultural environment of their homeland. Thus, the Malabar Church was Hindu or Indian in culture , Christian in religion , and Judeo-Syriac-Oriental in terms of origin and worship. According to the 1st century annals of Pliny
2835-434: The holy see of St.Thomas the Apostle". The life-style of the Saint Thomas Christians might be stated as "Indian in culture, Christian in faith and Oriental in worship". Socially and culturally these Saint Thomas Christians remain as a part of the wider Indian community. They keep their Indian social customs, names and practices relating to birth, marriage, and death. They have Biblical names ( Mar Thoma Christian names ). At
2898-465: The last years of his life at Shantivanam in Tamil Nadu . Francis Acharya became the sole religious leader of the Ashram at Kurisumala. A couple of years before his death in 2002, Acharya, who had remained in touch with the monastery of his youth, had the Kurisumala Ashram affiliated with the Trappists . "Kurisu" is the Malayalam translation of the word "cross," the language of Kerala, while "mala" means mountain and " ashram " means monastery. In
2961-425: The modern city of Chennai . The body of Apostle Thomas was translated to Edessa, Iraq. It is now in Ortona , Italy . Relics of Apostle Thomas were translated to the San Thome Cathedral in Chennai and to St Thomas Church in Palayur, near Guruvayoor at Chavakkad Taluk, Thrissur District in Kerala. Several ancient writers mention India as the scene of St. Thomas ’ labours. Ephrem the Syrian (300–378) writes in
3024-463: The monastery, the liturgical services follow the Syro-Malankara tradition and use the Indian Rite Mass . The Mass includes chants, ceremonies, and symbols adapted from Hindu tradition. The ashram also emphasizes the importance of "bread-labour," where monks engage in farming and housework for several hours each day. The monks have a nightly satsang , a time of reflection that may include readings from Christian or Hindu texts. Kurisumala
3087-476: The oldest order of Christianity in India . The Archdeacon was the head of the Church, and Palliyogams (Parish Councils) were in charge of temporal affairs. They had a liturgy -centered life with days of fasting and abstinence. Their devotion to the Mar Thoma tradition was absolute. Their churches were modelled after Jewish synagogues . "The church is neat and they keep it sweetly. There are mats but no seats. Instead of images, they have some useful writing from
3150-410: The permanent schism among the Thomas' Christians of India, leading to the formation of Puthenkūr (New allegiance, pronounced Pùttènkūṟ ) and Pazhayakūr (Old allegiance, pronounced Paḻayakūṟ ) factions. The Pazhayakūr comprise the present day Syro-Malabar Church and Chaldean Syrian Church which continue to employ the original East Syriac Rite liturgy . The Puthenkūr group, who resisted
3213-434: The population of the monastery grew to fifteen individuals. Prayer services were initially held in Syriac . Francis Mahieu later changed his name to Francis Acharya and became an Indian citizen. The monastery was incorporated as an abbey into the Cistercian Order of Strict Observance in July 1998. After Acharya's death, Yesudas Thelliyil became the monastery's second abbot in March 2002. Bede Griffiths spent
SECTION 50
#17330849943143276-427: The relationship with their home Church in Persia, which was also established by St. Thomas the Apostle. Following is a rough chronology of events associated with St. Thomas Christianity. Doctrine of the Apostles states that, "India and all its countries . . . received the Apostle's hand of priesthood from Judas Thomas…." From an early period the Church of St. Thomas Christians came into a lifelong relationship with
3339-449: The same time they follow a number of Jewish customs like worship, baptism, wedding and other ceremonies which are entirely different from Western Churches. The rulers of Kerala, always appreciated the contributions of St. Thomas Christians to the country and society. Thazhekad sasanam and deeds on copper plates bear witness to it. Five sheets of the three copper plates are now in the custody of St. Thomas Christians. In 883 King Alfred
3402-474: The seven "and a half" churches established by Thomas the Apostle during his mission in Malabar. These are located at Kodungalloor ( Muziris ), Paravur , Palayoor , Kokkamangalam , Niranam , Nilackal , Kollam , and the Thiruvithamcode Arappally in Kanyakumari district . The Nasranis are an ethnic people, and a single community. As a community with common cultural heritage and cultural tradition, they refer to themselves as Nasranis . However, as
3465-538: The time of the British (6,000 - 12,000 Jacobites joined the C.M.S. in 1836, after the Synod of Mavelikara; who are now within the Church of South India ), doctrines and missionary zeal influence ( Malankara Church and Patriarch/Catholicos issue (division of Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Malankara Jacobite Syriac Orthodox Church (1912)). St. Thomas Christian families who claim their descent from ancestors who were baptized by Apostle Thomas are found all over Kerala . St. Thomas Christians were classified into
3528-426: The tradition of Saint Thomas Christians , St. Thomas the Apostle established his throne in India and India was his See (Kolla Hendo), therefore the see of the metropolitan of Saint Thomas Christians was India and used the title Metropolitan and Gate of all India. In Syriac Manuscript Vatican Syriac Codex 22 the title given for the Metropolitan of the Saint Thomas Christians was "the superintendent and ruler of
3591-432: The west coast of India, i.e., Malabar . Shapur II the Great was the ninth King of the Sassanid Empire from 309 to 379. During that period, there was persecution against Christians. So in AD 345 under the leadership of Thomas of Cana 72 families landed at Muziris near Cranganore. They formed the group known as Knanaya Christians. They cooperated with the Malankara Church, attended worship services together but remained
3654-478: The work of St. Thomas in India . These passages indicate that the tradition that St. Thomas died in India was widespread among the early churches. Many writers have mentioned that the Apostle established seven "and a half" churches in Malabar. They are: Doctrine of the Apostles states that, "India and all its countries...received the Apostle's hand of priesthood from Judas Thomas…." From 345 AD, when Knanaya Christians arrived from Persia , they had continued
3717-547: Was a well known exorcist. He is well known in Kerala as Kadamattathu Kathanar. Abo died and was buried in Thevalakara church (now St. Mary's Orthodox Church). There are many accounts of visits from Rome, before the arrival of Portuguese. John of Monte Corvino , was a Franciscan missionary who traveled from Persia and moved down by sea to India, in 1291 Odoric of Pordenone who arrived in India in 1321. He visited Malabar, landing at Pandarani (20 m. north of Calicut ), at Cranganore , and at Kulam or Quilon . Jordanus ,
3780-401: Was emphasized, as with the Desert Fathers . Proponents consider this spiritual wisdom to be found in the New Testament , but believe that has been de-emphasised throughout much of Christian history. While never losing sight of the fact that Jesus is the way to salvation , in the movement the idea (from the New Testament ) that "the Kingdom of God is within [ or among] you" (Luke 17:21)
3843-427: Was held sacred in the Malabar Church. They constructed many churches and, during their lifetime, the Christian religion flourished especially in the kingdom of Diamper." The beginning of Kolla Varsham resulted in the origin of Christianity in Kerala as an individual religion outside vedic Vaishnavism In 190, Pantaenus , probably the founder of the famous Catechetical School of Alexandria , visited India and
SECTION 60
#17330849943143906-424: Was the first in the whole of the Indies , with jurisdiction over modern India, Pakistan , Afghanistan , Bangladesh , Burma , and Sri Lanka. In 1347, Giovanni de' Marignolli visited Malabar. Another prominent Indian traveler was Joseph, priest over Cranganore. He journeyed to Babylon in 1490 and then sailed to Europe and visited Portugal , Rome, and Venice before returning to India. He helped to write
3969-428: Was translated for them by St. Thomas the apostle himself." Theophilus (ca 354) as recorded by church historian Philostorgius mentions about a church, priests, liturgy, in the immediate vicinity of the Maldives , which can only apply to a Christian church and faithful on the adjacent coast of India. The people referred to were the Christians known as a body who had their liturgy in the Syriac language and inhabited
#313686