The Surprisingly Early History of Christianity in India

Modern Syrian Christians of Kerala (the majority Christian population here) believe that the Apostle Thomas—the one who so famously questioned Jesus—visited here in a.d. 52 and baptized their forefathers. Historians surmise that the diverse, rich trading center of Kerala may well have drawn this Palestinian Jew of the Roman Empire who wished to preach the Gospel. Thousands of churches today bear his name, their rituals and theology derived from Eastern Orthodox traditions in the liturgical language Syriac, a formation of Aramaic, the dialect Jesus—and Thomas—spoke. For decades now, the liturgical language of Kerala Christians has been Malayalam, the language of Kerala. Thomas’s name remains ubiquitous in Kerala, appearing on everything from baptism registers and the neon signs of jewelry stores and bakeries to the nameplates of dental surgeons and real estate developers’ ads. During the negotiations surrounding arranged marriages, it’s common for both families to make discreet inquiries as to whether the other’s ancestries reach back to the Apostle. A “yes” can prove a big plus—apart from the quantum of dowry, of course.

Read more: http://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/how-christianity-came-to-india-kerala-180958117/#KRR6guDZUx5oMFlM.99 Give the gift of Smithsonian magazine for only $12! http://bit.ly/1cGUiGv Follow us: @SmithsonianMag on Twitter

Some of Christ's final words to His disciples was instructing them to bring His name to every nation of the world.

They took that seriously. All but one of them died violent deaths, most of those far away from Palestine.

That the church has endured to this day is testament to their faith and their labors.

> Jews were already living in Kerala from the time of King Solomon (10th century B.C.)

That’s right.

Thanks BenLurkin for the ping!

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Where in the heck is “Palestine”?

The name of the region in Roman days.

Which oddly enough, is not where alleged Palestinians are from.

That article oddly omits mention of the massive mayhem and slaughters by the crusading Christian Portuguese of the Jews of Karala. When I visited Karala, the few Jews left in Cochin showed and described how their ancestors were honored and free religiously until the Portuguese showed up and the massive horror of what happened when the Portuguese came to conquer and convert. After that period of mass violence from Christian invaders, the local maharajah again made an oath and held the Jews of the region in the highest of esteem and honored and protected them. Despite the fact the number of Jews was the majority, the public schools of Karala used to close on Jewish holidays out of honor for the Jews.

Here’s an opinion piece from the late 1900s about the Christian effort to make people of Indian Christian.

http://www.ramakrishnavivekananda.info/vivekananda/volume_8/notes_of_class_talks_and_lectures/christianity_in_india.htm

That was a typo in my post: The sentence should have read: “Despite the fact the number of Jews was NOT the majority, the public schools of Karala used to close on Jewish holidays out of honor for the Jews.”

We do not know the origins of all of the Apostles. They were all Jews, obviously, but we do not know all of their countries of origins. For all we know some returned home (India) to spread the Gospel.

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