10 Seminaries and Theological Institutions in IndiaĪccording to the tradition of Saint Thomas Christians (Syrian Christians), Thomas the Apostle landed in Kodungallur in AD 52, established the Ezharappallikal and converted many local Brahmins to Christianity and later in AD 72, Saint Thomas attained martyrdom at St.
5 Role in the Indian independence movement.
Ĭhristians were active in the Indian National Congress and the Indian independence movement, represented by the All India Conference of Indian Christians which included pre-partition Pakistani Christians as well, they advocated for swaraj (self rule) and opposed the partition of India. There are reports of a number of crypto-Christians in recent years, due to fear of attack or the lack of freedom of religion. Pentecostals, Baptists, Lutherans, Presbyterians and Evangelicals are also present. Other Protestants were American, British, German non-denominational missionaries who preached the Bible. The Church of India, Burma and Ceylon was established in the 19th century, it split into the Church of Pakistan, Church of North India and the Church of South India which are members of united Protestant denominations, as a result of ecumenism by Anglicans, Methodists and others who flourished in colonial India. Christian missionaries campaigned for reform in the social evils of Hinduism in the 18th century, such as suttee (widow self immolation), female infanticide& untouchability they introduced the western educational system to south Asia. Also Gaspar of India is said to have been a biblical magi (astrologer) from the east to visit Bethlehem and find the Christ child along with Melchior of Persia& Balthazar of Ethiopia. Thomas who was a Jew by birth came in search of Indian Jews, after years of evangelism the apostle was martyred and his remains were buried at the St Thomas Mount in Mylapore, Chennai (Madras). The Acts of Thomas mention that the first converts were Malabarese Jews, who had settled in India before the birth of Christ. Following the discovery of the Cape route by the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama in the 15th century, Western Christian communities of Latin Christians and Protestants formed in the cities of Portuguese Goa and Damaon, British Bombay, French Pondicherry etc. As a result Malankara Nasranis (Thomasine Christians) have a unique Syro- Malabarese culture which includes Christianised Jewish elements with some Hindu customs and values as well. There is a general scholarly consensus that Christian communes were firmly established on the coast of Kerala by the 6th century AD, these were Eastern Christians of the Church of the East in India, who worshipped in Syriac. The written records of St Thomas Christians have it that Christianity was introduced to the Indian subcontinent by Thomas the Apostle, who sailed to the Malabar region in 52 AD, the present-day Kerala state. Christianity is the third-largest religion after Hinduism and Islam, just ahead of Sikhism and Buddhism with about 27.8 million adherents, making up 2.3 percent of the population as per the 2011 Census of India.
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