Christianity was brought to Kerala and thus to India by St.Thomas
the Apostle in AD 52. The 3rd of July is observed in Kerala as his
martyrdom day. It is believed that St.Thomas was killed on this day
at Mylapore in Chennai (capital of Tamilnadu) .
It is believed that the Apostle established Ezharappalli or seven
and a half churches in Kerala, of which only four exist today. The
half, may be called so, because it was not completed. Two churches,
one at Malayattoor and the other at Thiruvamkode - now part of Kanyakumari
district, Tamilnadu, are claimants to this rare honour. The church
built on a hill in Malayattoor has become the most famous of pilgrim
centres dedicated to St.Thomas. Among the others, the church at Niranam
in Thiruvalla displays a marked influence of the ancient traditional
temple architecture. Over the centuries all these churches have undergone
several renovations .
Today, there are five broad sects of christianity in Kerala - the
Roman Catholic Church following the Syriac, Latin or Malayalam liturgies,
the Orthodox Syrian Church, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, The Church
of South India and the Nestorian Church. Together Christians form
23 percent of the state's population.
The Naturemagics website is updated frequently. We invite
your comments and suggestions to make this site better. We also invite
you all to check out the blogs that we maintain.
