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How Tsunami Waves Did Not Touch Santhome Cathedral
The Indian Catholic ^ | January 10, 2005

Posted on 01/10/2005 12:36:47 PM PST by It's me

CHENNAI (ICNS) – The tsunami waves have subsided, but a miracle is being talked about across Chennai. It is the story of how St Thomas’ miraculous post kept the invading waves away, sparing the newly renovated Santhome Cathedral.

The Cathedral, the world’s second basilica built on an apostle’s tomb, has been giving shelter to hundreds of tsunami victims ever since the waves ravaged many buildings across the coast.

But even though the killer tsunami waves devastated the Chennai coast, Father Lawrence Raj, the parish priest of the Santhome Cathedral Basilica, says “the sea did not touch our church.”

The reason? “We believe the miraculous post of St Thomas prevented the sea waters from entering the church,” says Father Raj.

The church that sits at the site where St. Thomas, one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus Christ, was buried after his death in the year 72 is located a few metres from the sea. While all the buildings on either side of the church were hit by the tsunami waves, the Santhome Cathedral remained unaffected.

Local people now say it is the St Thomas’ miraculous post that has kept the sea away on December 26.

According to Father Raj, the legend is that when St Thomas planted the post at the top of the steps leading to the Cathedral, he said the sea would not pass that point.

The priest saw from the terrace of church the angry sea in action, as it surged across the road and flooded the huts in front of St Thomas’ post, which is an innocuous looking log of wood, mounted on a cement pedestal.

The belief goes that a village in the Mylapore area was flooded when a huge tree trunk fell across the river. The local king brought a royal pachyderm to lug it away, but the task seemed impossible.

Then, according to legend, St Thomas came along, removed the girdle from his waist and handed it to a bystander and asked him to yank the log with it. He did so and the log was moved easily.

A mural in the Cathedral museum illustrates this incident. Father Raj says the current post is believed to be from that same log of wood.

Hundreds of homeless survivors who have been staying in the church ever since the tragedy hit them have prayed to St Thomas for saving them.

“It is St Thomas who has saved me. This church was untouched by the waters because of the miraculous power of the St Thomas post,” said K Sebastiraj, a fisherman who sought shelter in the Santhome Cathedral.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Extended News; Foreign Affairs; Miscellaneous; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: basilica; cathedral; india; miracle; saved; stthomas; sumatraquake; tsunami; wrongforum
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This is amazing to me. What faith!
1 posted on 01/10/2005 12:36:48 PM PST by It's me
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To: It's me

Wow, it would have been nice if the miracle had been extended to the 150,000 dead.


2 posted on 01/10/2005 12:39:17 PM PST by AdamSelene235 (Truth has become so rare and precious she is always attended to by a bodyguard of lies.)
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To: AdamSelene235
December 26, 2003: Earthquake in muslim Iran takes out 35,00.

December 26, 2004: Tsunami wipes out 150,000 in muslim Indonesia and assorted other muslim countries but a Catholic basillica is not damaged.

Who says God is not on our side?

3 posted on 01/10/2005 12:41:59 PM PST by nonliberal (Graduate: Curtis E. LeMay School of International Relations)
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To: It's me

4 posted on 01/10/2005 12:43:29 PM PST by AntiGuv (™)
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To: It's me
I wonder if there is a far more natural explanation.

The Crusaders proved once and for all the fallacy of the Catholic Religion. It is not the church Christ created. That church died with John.
5 posted on 01/10/2005 12:47:27 PM PST by ImphClinton (Four More Years Go Bush)
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To: AdamSelene235

Yeah, but that's not what happened, is it?

This cathedral and the nearly 2,000 people in it, and it's surrounding complex, were saved from death and injury.

I will praise God for His mercy.


6 posted on 01/10/2005 12:49:02 PM PST by It's me
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To: It's me

We never should have doubted.


7 posted on 01/10/2005 12:50:21 PM PST by AppyPappy (If You're Not A Part Of The Solution, There's Good Money To Be Made In Prolonging The Problem.)
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To: AntiGuv

There is another photo of the Cathedral from the other side and it shows just how close it really is to the ocean.


8 posted on 01/10/2005 12:53:51 PM PST by It's me
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To: ImphClinton
The Crusaders proved once and for all the fallacy of the Catholic Religion.

Wha'? How'd they do that?

9 posted on 01/10/2005 12:54:24 PM PST by Mad Dawg (My P226 wants to teach you what SIGnify means ...)
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To: It's me
This cathedral and the nearly 2,000 people in it, and it's surrounding complex, were saved from death and injury.

Sorry, sorry, sorry!!

The Velankanni Church church dedicated to Our Lady of Health, the Madonna of Velankanni is the one in which 2,000 pilgrims were saved. The water apparently went up to the first few steps and then receded. the buildings around and behind it were destroyed.

10 posted on 01/10/2005 12:59:17 PM PST by It's me
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To: ImphClinton

"The Crusaders proved once and for all the fallacy of the Catholic Religion."

The Crusades only proved the fallacy of mankind, which we already about.


11 posted on 01/10/2005 12:59:31 PM PST by Spok
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To: ImphClinton
That church died with John

So Jesus, The Second person of the Holy Trinity, created a Church and yet made no provision for it to last longer than the life of his apostles? What about all the deacons and bishops appointed by the apostles which are recorded in the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's letters? What about Jesus telling Peter that upon Peter he was building his Church, "and the gates of hell would not prevail against it?"

12 posted on 01/10/2005 12:59:57 PM PST by lawdave
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To: It's me

14 posted on 01/10/2005 1:02:53 PM PST by NautiNurse (Osama bin Laden has more tapes than Steely Dan)
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To: NautiNurse

Thanks. There's even another one taken from the sea.
Someone sent it to me but I can't figure out how to post it. :o(


15 posted on 01/10/2005 1:04:05 PM PST by It's me
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To: ThoreauHD

Read again. I didn't say that. You have me confused with ImphClinton
And it's their", not "there".


16 posted on 01/10/2005 1:04:44 PM PST by AppyPappy (If You're Not A Part Of The Solution, There's Good Money To Be Made In Prolonging The Problem.)
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To: It's me

Brilliant engineers built the church on carefully selected high ground.


17 posted on 01/10/2005 1:04:47 PM PST by bert (Don't Panic.....)
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To: It's me

I wasn't even aware that there was a Santhome Cathedral built on the grave of St Thomas, one of only two Cathedrals in existence built on a grave of an original apostle, with the other being St Peter's Basilica! Praise God!


18 posted on 01/10/2005 1:04:58 PM PST by bowzer313
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To: ThoreauHD; AppyPappy

Ooops, I think you misdirected that reply.


19 posted on 01/10/2005 1:05:20 PM PST by It's me
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To: bert
No. THat's why i want to post that other photo. It is nearly on the beach.
20 posted on 01/10/2005 1:06:11 PM PST by It's me
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