CHRISTIANITY

Ancient Judean and Roman world was in contact with South India for sea-borne trade between Red Sea/Persian Gulf and the West Coast of India. Solomon, the Hebrew king (10th cent. B.C.) reportedly obtained from Malabar coast, 'ivory, apes and peacocks' as mentioned in the Old Testament. The Hebre word for peacock is an adaptation of the Tamil word denoting a bird with splendid tail "tukkai". Hoards of Roman coins have been discovered in Kerala, Karnataka and Tamil districts. A Pandyan king had sent an emissary to Augustus Caesar. A segment of the Hebrew community of Kerala, known as Black Jews, trace their ancestry to the Babylonian captivity (6th cent. B.C.) Apostle Thomas conducted his missionary activities in the kingdom of Gundaphoros, a king who ruled North Western India. Thomas travelled to Cranganore (ancient name: Mayuri Kotta or Musiris) in 52 A.D. Syriand established contact between Kerala and Western Asia; Malabar church obtained its bishops from Mesopotamia and Persia. St. Francis Xavier worked as a missionary along the coastal regions of India (16th cent.)

A church lit. means an assembly. After the conversion of Emperor Constantine in the 4th cent. A.D., churches became places of public worship. Christians in India had enjoyed freedom of worship and even patronage from liberal Hindu kings. The grand festivals are Easter and Christmas.

The most important historic Christian shrine in India is St. Thomas Mount, Chennai (Madras). An annual feast of the mount is held on 18th December.

The body of St. Francis Xavier is kept in the Bom Jesus (Infant Jesus) Church of Old Goa. The body of the body is periodically exposed and becomes an international pilgrimage event for Catholics world-wide.

Important churches and christian monuments in India:

• Armenian Church, Chennai (Madras)
• Bom Jesus Church, Goa
• Basilica of Sardhana, Agra
• Basilica of Our lady of the Mount, Bandra, Mumbai (Bombay)
• Orthodox Syrian Church, Kottayam
• Christu Kula Ashram, Tirupattur
• Cathedral Church of South India, Dornakal
• Catholic Cathedra, Shillong
• Mother of Divine Grace, Mokameh, Bihar
• Orthodox Syrian Church, Cheppad (13th cent.)
• St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica, Mylapore, Chennai (Madras)
• Our Lady of Health, Velankanni, Thanjavur
• Sacred Heart Cathedral, New Delhi
• Orthodox Syrian Church, Chengannur, Kerala
• Cathedral of the Church of the East (Nestorian), Trichur
• Cathedral in Pondicherry
• Our Lady of Dolorus, Trichur
• St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta
• St. Jame's Church, Delhi
• St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church, New Delhi
• Centenary Church (Methodist), New Delhi
• Danish Church, Serampore
• Church of St. Catherine, Goa
• Church in Mapusa, Goa
• Church of St. Cajetan, Goa
• Our Lady of Immaculate Conception, Panaji, Goa
• St. Mary's Church, Bangalore
• St. Philomana's Church, Mysore

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