St. Thomas tradition in India: a critical inquiry (original) (raw)

Debate on the Apostolate of St. Thomas in Kerala: A Response

2. Pius Malekandathil,”Debate on the Apostolate of St.Thomas in Kerala: A Response”, in Journal of St.Thomas Christians, vol. 29, no.2, July-December , 2018, pp.32-58, 2018

In recent days there appeared a controversy on the apostolate of St. Thomas in India. In fact the controversy was not only on the apostolate of St. Thomas alone, but also on some of the essential aspects linked with the very identity and consciousness of the St. Thomas Christians, who form one of the most vibrant Christian segments in Asia with around 50 lakh members. The central aspects of the controversy revolved around three questions: Did St. Thomas really come to India? How can one say that St. Thomas converted Nambuthiri Brahmins to Christianity as Nambuthiri Brahmins appeared only by 8 th century? The third point around which the controversy arose was on the sense of 'superiority' that some members of the St. Thomas Christians are alleged to uphold claiming 'Brahminical connections'. Initially I would like to say that these are three different issues and are to be analyzed separately, even though they may outwardly give the impression that they are linked with one another. No, they are not interlinked with one another. The seemingly woven interconnectedness among these three issues by different oral and family traditions added further confusion among both the historians and the ordinary people. Hence attempts are made here to look into these questions one by one, but separately and try to find clarity from a historical perspective

Christianity in India: A Select Bibliography

2021

Indian Christianity is an important part of the story of World Christianity that began with the Apostle Thomas. The texts in this bibliography tell some of the stories of Christianity in India. This bibliography provides a substantial introduction to Indian Christianity, but is not exhaustive in scope. Only monographs and edited volumes are included; adding individual chapters or academic articles would require at least hundreds of pages. Most titles listed are in English; a few are in other European languages. Titles in Indian languages such as Malayalam, Tamil, Hindi, Bengali, Gujarati, Urdu, Telegu, Marathi, Punjabi, and Assamese (among others) are not included: those who can read one or more of those languages most likely do not need to refer to a bibliography such as this! [latest revision: 29 November 2023]

Christianity in India: A Select Bibliography compiled by

Christianity in India: A Select Bibliography, 2

Did you know that the apostle Thomas reached India? The likely date for his arrival in the Indus River Valley was 40 AD. Gondophares, whom Thomas evangelized, was the king of a Hellenistic Indo-Parthian kingdom there in what is now Pakistan and westernmost India, reigning from 19-46 AD. Thomas was probably in South India no later than 52 AD. Some of the later traditions of the fourth century Thomas of Cana, a Syrian or Persian missionary to the Malabar Coast, have likely been conflated with the older traditions about the apostle, but the evidence for Thomas serving as a missionary in India is every bit as strong (and perhaps stronger) than the evidence that Peter went to Rome. Communities of "Thomas Christians" remain among the oldest continuous Christian communities in the world.

The Emergence of the Indigenous Church in India - Paper.docx

The Indigenous Church is rapidly growing in India. This article provides a brief historical perspective of the inception of the Indigenous Church dating back to the very first century A.D. The Indian Indigenous Church finds its roots in the "Thomas Tradition" attributed to The Apostle Thomas who is believed to have proclaimed the Gospel first In India.

Alumkal 2015, PESAHA TRADITION OF SAINT THOMASCHRISTIANS OF INDIA

Parole de l’Orient , 2015

This paper presents the results of research on the Pesaha tradition of Saint Thomas Christians of India (Mar Toma Nasranis or Nasranis) in the context of its socio-cultural aspects. Pesaha is a tradition observed by the Nasranis at home on Maundy Thursday. This practice is observed with piety and has been preserved even after centuries of European influence. This is a unique tradition of Saint Thomas Christians and it is not known to be practiced by any other Christian community in India and abroad. The paper contains details of the Pesaha tradition and associated rituals and practices. The paper also provides an analysis of this tradition and compares its characteristics to that of the Jewish Passover. The paper also attempts to find out the origin of this practice. 1) The recent discovery of an ancient harbour in Kerala, India indicates the presence of Roman, Greek and Middle Eastern communities on the Malabar Coast even before the Christian era. This might point to the presence of early Jewish settlements in Malabar. 2) From literature it is clear that early Jewish Christians, particularly Aramaic speaking Christians, practiced several Jewish rituals including Passover up to the fourth century. 3) An ancient copper plate issued to the Nasranis by the local ruler indicates cooperation between Nasranis and the Jews of Kerala. These lead us to the conclusion that the Pesaha of Nasranis could be traced back to an ancient Syriac Christian practice or it might be the influence of early or later Jewish converts on the Malabar Coast.