Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

is India's third-most followed religion with about 28 million adherents, making up 2.3 percent of the population as of the 2011 census. Christianity is the largest religion in parts of

Northeast India Northeast India, officially the North Eastern Region (NER), is the easternmost region of India representing both a geographic and political Administrative divisions of India, administrative division of the country. It comprises eight States and ...

, specifically in

Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...

Mizoram Mizoram is a states and union territories of India, state in northeastern India, with Aizawl as its Capital city, capital and largest city. It shares 722-kilometres (449 miles) of international borders with Bangladesh to the west, and Myanmar t ...

and

Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...

. It is also a significant religion in Arunachal, where about 30 percent of the state is Christian. Nearly two-thirds (65 percent) of India's Christians are found in

South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

and

Bombay Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial centre, financial capital and the list of cities i ...

. The oldest known Christian group in

North India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

are the Hindustani-speaking Bettiah Christians of Bihar, formed in the early 1700s through a Capuchin mission and under the patronage of ''

Raja Raja (; from , IAST ') is a noble or royal Sanskrit title historically used by some Indian subcontinent, Indian rulers and monarchs and highest-ranking nobles. The title was historically used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia. T ...

s'' (kings) in the Moghal Empire. The

Church of North India The Church of North India (CNI) is the dominant united and uniting churches, united Protestant church in northern India. It was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together most of the Protestant churches working in northern India. It i ...

and the

Church of South India The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of Protestant denominations in South India that occurred after the independence of India. With a membership of over 4.5 million, it ...

are a

United Protestant A united church, also called a uniting church, is a denomination formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations, a number of which come from separate and distinct denomination ...

denomination; which resulted from the evangelism/ ecumenism of

Anglicans Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a Protestant Christianity, Christian Christian tradition, tradition whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother ...

s and other Protestant groups who flourished in

colonial India Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during and after the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spice trade, spices. The search for ...

. Consequently, these churches are part of the worldwide

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

World Communion of Reformed Churches The World Communion of Reformed Churches (WCRC) is the largest association of Reformed (Calvinist) churches in the world. It has 230 member denominations (227 members and three associate or affiliate members) in 108 countries, together claiming ...

and

World Methodist Council The World Methodist Council (WMC), founded in 1881, is a consultative body that represents churches within Methodism and facilitates cooperation among its member denominations. It comprises 80 denominations in 138 countries which together repres ...

. Along with native Christians, small numbers of mixed Eurasian peoples such as

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people are a distinct minority group, minority community of mixed-race British and Indian ancestry. During the colonial period, their ancestry was defined as British paternal and Indian maternal heritage; post-independence, "Angl ...

, Luso-Indian, Franco-Indian and Armenian Indian Christians also existed in the subcontinent. Also, there is the ''Khrista

Bhakta ''Bhakti'' (; Pali: ''bhatti'') is a term common in Indian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love.See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. In Indian religions, it ...

movement'', who are unbaptised followers of Christ and

St Mary Mary was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of Jesus. She is an important figure of Christianity, venerated under various titles such as virgin or queen, many of them mentioned in the Litany of Loreto. ...

, mainly among the

Shudra Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu class and social system in ancient India. Some sources translate it into English as a caste, or as a social class. Theoretically, Shudras constituted a class like work ...

s and

Dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

s. The written records of

St Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala ( Malabar region) ...

mention that Christianity was introduced to the

Indian subcontinent The Indian subcontinent is a physiographic region of Asia below the Himalayas which projects into the Indian Ocean between the Bay of Bengal to the east and the Arabian Sea to the west. It is now divided between Bangladesh, India, and Pakista ...

Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle (; , meaning 'the Twin'), also known as Didymus ( 'twin'), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "doubting Thomas" because he initially doubted the resurrection of ...

, who sailed to the

Malabar region The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regions of the subcontin ...

(present-day

Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...

) in 52 AD. The

Acts of Thomas ''Acts of Thomas'' is an early 3rd-century text, one of the New Testament apocrypha within the Acts of the Apostles subgenre. The complete versions that survive are Syriac and Greek. There are many surviving fragments of the text. Scholars d ...

say that the early Christians were Malabar Jews who had settled in what is present-day Kerala before the

birth of Christ The Nativity or birth of Jesus Christ is found in the biblical gospels of Matthew and Luke. The two accounts agree that Jesus was born in Bethlehem, Palestine, in Roman-controlled Judea, that his mother, Mary, was engaged to a man named J ...

. St Thomas, an

Aramaic Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai, southeastern Anatolia, and Eastern Arabia, where it has been continually written a ...

-speaking Jew from

Galilee Galilee (; ; ; ) is a region located in northern Israel and southern Lebanon consisting of two parts: the Upper Galilee (, ; , ) and the Lower Galilee (, ; , ). ''Galilee'' encompasses the area north of the Mount Carmel-Mount Gilboa ridge and ...

(present-day Israel) and one of the disciples of

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

, came to India in search of

Indian Jews The history of the Jews in India dates back to antiquity. After years of

evangelism Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

, Thomas was

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', 'witness' Word stem, stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an external party. In ...

ed and then buried at

St Thomas Mount Parangimalai (known in English as St. Thomas Mount) is a small hillock in the Chennai district of Tamil Nadu, India, near the neighbourhood of Guindy and very close to Chennai International Airport. By extension, it is also the name of the nei ...

, in the

Mylapore Mylapore (also spelt Mayilapur), or Thirumayilai, is a neighbourhood in the central part of the city of Chennai, India. It is one of the oldest residential parts of the city. The locality is claimed to be the birthplace of the celebrated Tamil ...

neighbourhood of

Madras (Chennai) Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian census ...

. There is the

scholarly consensus Scientific consensus is the generally held judgment, position, and opinion of the majority or the supermajority of scientists in a particular field of study at any particular time. Consensus is achieved through scholarly communication at conferen ...

that a Christian community had firmly established in the

by 600 AD at the latest; the community was composed of

Nestorians Nestorianism is a term used in Christian theology and Church history to refer to several mutually related but doctrinary, doctrinarily distinct sets of teachings. The first meaning of the term is related to the original teachings of Christian t ...

Eastern Christian Eastern Christianity comprises Christianity, Christian traditions and Christian denomination, church families that originally developed during Classical antiquity, classical and late antiquity in the Eastern Mediterranean region or locations fu ...

s, belonging to the

Church of the East The Church of the East ( ) or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church, the Chaldean Church or the Nestorian Church, is one of three major branches o ...

, who used the

East Syriac Rite The East Syriac Rite, or East Syrian Rite (also called the Edessan Rite, Assyrian Rite, Persian Rite, Chaldean Rite, Nestorian Rite, Babylonian Rite or Syro-Oriental Rite), is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Liturgy of Ad ...

of worship. Following the

discovery of the sea route to India The Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India was the first recorded trip directly from Europe to the Indian subcontinent, via the Cape of Good Hope. Under the command of the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama, it was undertaken during the ...

, by the Portuguese explorer

Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...

in the 15th century AD,

Western Christianity Western Christianity is one of two subdivisions of Christianity (Eastern Christianity being the other). Western Christianity is composed of the Latin Church and Protestantism, Western Protestantism, together with their offshoots such as the O ...

was established in the European colonies of

Tranquebar Tharangambadi (), formerly Tranquebar (, ), is a town in the Mayiladuthurai district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu on the Coromandel Coast. It lies north of Karaikal, near the mouth of a distributary named Uppanar of the Kaveri River. It wa ...

Madras Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian ce ...

and

Pondicherry Pondicherry, officially known as Puducherry, is the Capital city, capital and most populous city of the Puducherry (union territory), Union Territory of Puducherry in India. The city is in the Puducherry district on the southeast coast of Indi ...

; as in

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

(of

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

Syriac Rite The term Syriac Rite or Syrian Rite may refer to: * West Syriac Rite, liturgical rite of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Malankar and the Syriac Catholic Church * East Syriac Rite, liturgical rite of the Assyrian Church of the East, Malabar Church an ...

s) and various kinds of

Protestantism Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

. Conversions also took place through the

Goan Inquisition The Goa Inquisition (, ) was an extension of the Portuguese Inquisition in Portuguese India. Its objective was to enforce Catholic orthodoxy and allegiance to the Apostolic See of the Pontifex. The inquisition primarily focused on the New Chr ...

, with the oppression of Hindus and the destruction of

mandir A Hindu temple, also known as Mandir, Devasthanam, Pura, or Kovil, is a sacred place where Hindus worship and show their devotion to deities through worship, sacrifice, and prayers. It is considered the house of the god to whom it is dedica ...

Christian missionaries A Christian mission is an organized effort to carry on evangelism, in the name of the Christian faith. Missions involve sending individuals and groups across boundaries, most commonly geographical boundaries. Sometimes individuals are sent and ...

introduced the

western education Western education is the form of education that mainly originated in or is characteristic of the Western world. History Ancient era Medieval era Modern era Pre-contemporary history outside of the West The introduction of Western ...

al system to the Indian subcontinent, to preach Christianity and to campaign for

Hindu social reform Contemporary groups, collectively termed Hindu reform movements, reform Hinduism, neo-Hinduism, or Hindu revivalism, strive to introduce regeneration and reform to Hinduism, both in a religious or spiritual and in a societal sense. The movement ...

s like the

Channar revolt The Channar Lahala or Channar revolt, also called Maru Marakkal Samaram, refers to the fight from 1813 to 1859 of Nadar climber women in Travancore kingdom of India for the right to wear upper-body clothes covering their breasts. Background ...

. However,

convent school Catholic schools are parochial pre-primary, primary and secondary educational institutions administered in association with the Catholic Church. , the Catholic Church operates the world's largest religious, non-governmental school system. In 201 ...

s and

charities A charitable organization or charity is an organization whose primary objectives are philanthropy and social well-being (e.g. educational, religious or other activities serving the public interest or common good). The legal definition of a cha ...

are being targeted under the

Modi administration The premiership of Narendra Modi began 26 May 2014 with his swearing-in as the prime minister of India at the Rashtrapati Bhavan. He succeeded Manmohan Singh of the Indian National Congress (INC). Modi's first cabinet consisted of 45 ministe ...

, particularly by banning missionaries from getting

foreign aid In international relations, aid (also known as international aid, overseas aid, foreign aid, economic aid or foreign assistance) is – from the perspective of governments – a voluntary transfer of resources from one country to another. The ...

. Christians were involved in the

Indian National Congress (INC) The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party, or simply the Congress, is a political parties in India, political party in India with deep roots in most regions of India. Founded on 28 December 1885, it was the first mo ...

which led the

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

, the

All India Conference of Indian Christians The All India Conference of Indian Christians (AICIC) is an ecumenical organisation founded in 1914 to represent the interests of Christians in India. It was founded to advocate for the moral, economic, and intellectual development of the Indian C ...

advocated for ''

swaraj Swarāj (, IAST: , ) can mean generally self-governance or "self-rule". The term was used synonymously with "home-rule" by Maharishi Dayanand Saraswati and later on by Mahatma Gandhi, but the word usually refers to Gandhi's concept of Indian ...

'' (self rule) and opposed the partition of India. There are reports of

crypto-Christian Crypto-Christianity is the secret adherence to Christianity, while publicly professing to be another faith; people who practice crypto-Christianity are referred to as "crypto-Christians". In places and time periods where Christians were persecuted ...

s who keep their faith in secret or hiding, due to the fear of persecution; especially Dalits or

Adivasi The Adivasi (also transliterated as Adibasi) are heterogeneous tribal groups across the Indian subcontinent. The term is a recent invention from the 20th century and is now widely used as a self-designation by groups classified as Scheduled Tr ...

s resort to crypsis because

reservation __NOTOC__ Reservation may refer to: Places Types of places: * Indian reservation, in the United States * Military base, often called reservations * Nature reserve Government and law * Reservation (law), a caveat to a treaty * Reservation in India, ...

and other socio-economic benefits are denied to them on

conversion Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Convert'', a 2023 film produced by Jump Film & Television and Brouhaha Entertainment * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * ...

. Some Christians have gone through forced conversion to Hinduism by Hindu extremists, such as

Shiv Sena Shiv Sena (1966–2022) (; ; SS) was a right-wing Marathi regionalist Hindutva-based political party in India founded in 1966 by Bal Thackeray, who was later succeeded by Uddhav Thackeray. The party is split into two parties: the Uddha ...

, the VHP and the

BJP The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's Bharatiya Jana Sangh. Since 2014, ...

. Various groups of Hindu extremists, have also attacked or demolished churches or disrupted church services, in certain

states and territories of India India is a federalism, federal union comprising 28 federated state, states and 8 union territory, union territories, for a total of 36 subnational entities. The states and union territories are further subdivided into 800 List of districts ...

Ancient period

Apostolic age

St Thomas

According to the traditional account of Saint Thomas Christians, Thomas the Apostle came to

Kodungallur (Cranganore) Kodungallur (; formerly also called as Cranganore (anglicised name), Portuguese: Cranganor; Mahodayapuram, Shingly, Vanchi, Muchiri, Muyirikkode, and Muziris) is a historically significant town situated on the banks of river Periyar on the M ...

in the present day

in 52 AD, and established the Ezharappallikal (Seven Churches) in or near ancient Jewish colonies by preaching among local

Jews Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

and

Brahmins Brahmin (; ) is a ''Varna (Hinduism), varna'' (theoretical social classes) within Hindu society. The other three varnas are the ''Kshatriya'' (rulers and warriors), ''Vaishya'' (traders, merchants, and farmers), and ''Shudra'' (labourers). Th ...

. According to St Thomas

Christian tradition Christian tradition is a collection of traditions consisting of practices or beliefs associated with Christianity. Many churches have traditional practices, such as particular patterns of worship or rites, that developed over time. Deviations from ...

, Thomas the Apostle did the first baptism in India at

St Thomas Syro-Malabar Church, Palayur Palayur Mar Thoma Major Archiepiscopal Church, is located at Palayur (historically known as Palur), in Thrissur district in Kerala on the west coast of India. According to Saint Thomas Christian tradition, the Syrian church was established in 52 ...

, this church is therefore considered an

Apostolic See An apostolic see is an episcopal see whose foundation is attributed to one or more of the apostles of Jesus or to one of their close associates. In Catholicism, the phrase "The Apostolic See" when capitalized refers specifically to the See of ...

credited to the apostolate of Thomas. After some years of

evangelisation Evangelism, or witnessing, is the act of sharing the Christian gospel, the message and teachings of Jesus Christ. It is typically done with the intention of converting others to Christianity. Evangelism can take several forms, such as persona ...

in South India, Thomas was martyred at the

Chennai (Madras) Chennai, also known as Madras ( its official name until 1996), is the capital and largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost state of India. It is located on the Coromandel Coast of the Bay of Bengal. According to the 2011 Indian censu ...

in 72 AD. The neo-Gothic Cathedral Basilica of San Thome now stands on the site of his martyrdom and burial. A historically more likely claim by

Eusebius of Caesarea Eusebius of Caesarea (30 May AD 339), also known as Eusebius Pamphilius, was a historian of Christianity, exegete, and Christian polemicist from the Roman province of Syria Palaestina. In about AD 314 he became the bishop of Caesarea Maritima. ...

is that

Pantaenus Saint Pantaenus the Philosopher (; died c. 200) was a Sicilian theologian and a significant figure in the Catechetical School of Alexandria from around AD 180. This school was the earliest catechetical school, and became influential in the dev ...

, the head of the Christian

exegetical Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretations ...

school in

Alexandria, Egypt Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

went to India in 190 AD and found Christians already living in India using a version of the

Gospel of Matthew The Gospel of Matthew is the first book of the New Testament of the Bible and one of the three synoptic Gospels. It tells the story of who the author believes is Israel's messiah (Christ (title), Christ), Jesus, resurrection of Jesus, his res ...

with "Hebrew letters, a mixture of culture."Eusebius of Caesarea, ''Historia Ecclesiastica''5. 9–10. Pantaenus, who was known by Clement of Alexandria (Eusebius ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 5.11.1–2; 6.13.2) and Origen (Eusebius, ''Historia Ecclesiastica'' 6.14.8), was certainly a historical person. This is a plausible reference to the earliest Indian churches which are known to have used the Syriac New Testament;

Syriac Syriac may refer to: * Suret, a Neo-Aramaic language * Syriac alphabet, a writing system primarily used to write the Syriac language ** Syriac (Unicode block) ** Syriac Supplement * Syriac Christianity, a branch of Eastern Christianity * Syriac la ...

being a dialect of the

Aramaic language Aramaic (; ) is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language that originated in the ancient Syria (region), region of Syria and quickly spread to Mesopotamia, the southern Levant, Sinai Peninsula, Sinai, Southeastern Anatolia Regi ...

spoken by Jesus and his disciples.

' evidence thus indicates that early Christians from the Middle East had already evangelised parts of India by the late 2nd century AD. Another Christian tradition concerning the birth of Jesus holds that Gaspar, one of the three

Biblical Magi In Christianity, the Biblical Magi ( or ; singular: ), also known as the Three Wise Men, Three Kings, and Three Magi, are distinguished foreigners who visit Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh in homage to hi ...

, travelled from India to find the

infant Jesus The Christ Child—also known as Baby Jesus, Infant Jesus, Child Jesus, Divine Child, Divine Infant and the Holy Child—refers to Jesus Christ during his early years. The term refers to a period of Jesus' life, described in the canonical Gospe ...

along with Melchior of Persia and Balthazar of Arabia. An early 3rd-century AD

work known as the ''

'' connects the tradition of the Apostle Thomas' Indian ministry with two kings, one in the north and the other in the south. The year of his arrival is widely disputed due to lack of credible records. According to one of the legends in the ''Acts of Thomas'', Thomas was at first reluctant to accept this mission, but Jesus over-ruled him by ordering circumstances so compelling that he was forced to accompany an Indian merchant, Abbanes, to his native place in northwest India, where he found himself in the service of the

Indo-Parthian The Indo-Parthian kingdom was a Parthian kingdom founded by Gondophares, and active from 19 CE to c. 226 CE. At their zenith, they ruled an area covering parts of eastern Iran, various parts of Afghanistan and the northwest regions of the Indian ...

king,

Gondophares Gondophares I ( Greek: Γονδοφαρης ''Gondopharēs'', Υνδοφερρης ''Hyndopherrēs''; Kharosthi: 𐨒𐨂𐨡𐨥𐨪 ', '; 𐨒𐨂𐨡𐨥𐨪𐨿𐨣 ', '; 𐨒𐨂𐨡𐨂𐨵𐨪 ', ') was the founder of the Indo-Parthian K ...

. The apostle's ministry reputedly resulted in many conversions throughout this northern kingdom, including the king and his brother. The ''Acts of Thomas'' identifies his second mission in India with a kingdom ruled by a certain King named Mahadwa belonging to a 1st-century dynasty in southern India. Niranam Pally also known as St Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church is believed to be one of the oldest churches in India. The church was founded by St Thomas in AD 54. On his way from

Kollam (Quilon) Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake and is 71 kilometers (44 mi) north ...

in the northeast direction, he arrived at Niranam "Thrikpapaleswaram" by sea. The church was reconstructed several times with some parts dating back to a reconstruction in 1259. The architecture of the church bears a striking similarity to

Hindu temple architecture Hindu temple architecture as the main form of Hindu architecture has many different styles, though the basic nature of the Hindu temple remains the same, with the essential feature an inner sanctum, the ''Garbhagriha, garbha griha'' or womb-ch ...

St Bartholomew

Ecclesiastical History Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritual side of the ...

(5:10) states that Bartholomew, a disciple of Jesus, went on a

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

tour to India, where he left behind a copy of the

. One tradition holds that he preached the Gospel in India, prior to his travels to

Armenia Armenia, officially the Republic of Armenia, is a landlocked country in the Armenian Highlands of West Asia. It is a part of the Caucasus region and is bordered by Turkey to the west, Georgia (country), Georgia to the north and Azerbaijan to ...

, while others hold that Bartholomew travelled as a missionary in

Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

Parthia Parthia ( ''Parθava''; ''Parθaw''; ''Pahlaw'') is a historical region located in northeastern Greater Iran. It was conquered and subjugated by the empire of the Medes during the 7th century BC, was incorporated into the subsequent Achaemeni ...

, and

Lycaonia Lycaonia (; , ''Lykaonia''; ) was a large region in the interior of Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), north of the Taurus Mountains. It was bounded on the east by Cappadocia, on the north by Galatia, on the west by Phrygia and Pisidia, while to ...

.''Encyclopædia Britannica'', Micropædia. vol. 1, p. 924. Chicago: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 1998. .

Later antiquity

Although little is known of the immediate growth of the church in the northwestern regions of India, Bar-Daisan (154–223 AD) reports that in his time there were Christian tribes in North India that claimed to have been converted by Thomas and had books and relics to prove it.A. E. Medlycott, ''India and The Apostle Thomas'', pp. 18–71; M. R. James, ''Apocryphal New Testament'', pp. 364–436; A. E. Medlycott, ''India and The Apostle Thomas'', pp. 1–17, 213–97; Eusebius, ''History'', chapter 4:30;

J. N. Farquhar John Nicol Farquhar (6 April 1861 – 17 July 1929) was a Scottish educational missionary to Calcutta, and an Orientalist. He is one of the pioneers who popularised the ''Fulfilment theology'' in India that Christ is the crown of Hinduism, tho ...

, ''The Apostle Thomas in North India'', chapter 4:30; V. A. Smith, ''Early History of India'', p. 235; It is believed that by the time of the establishment of the

Sassanid Empire The Sasanian Empire (), officially Eranshahr ( , "Empire of the Iranians"), was an Iranian empire that was founded and ruled by the House of Sasan from 224 to 651. Enduring for over four centuries, the length of the Sasanian dynasty's reign ...

around 226 AD, there were bishops of the Church of the East in northwest India,

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...

and

Baluchistan Balochistan ( ; , ), also spelled as Baluchistan or Baluchestan, is a historical region in West and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. This arid region of de ...

, with laymen and clergy alike engaging in missionary activity. The Syriac

Chronicle of Edessa The ''Chronicle of Edessa'' () is an anonymous history of the city of Edessa written in the mid-6th century in the Syriac language. "''Chronicle of Edessa''" is a conventional title; in the manuscript it is titled ''Histories of Events in Brief' ...

describes a "church of the Christians" in India around 200 AD. India had a flourishing trade with Central Asia, the

Mediterranean The Mediterranean Sea ( ) is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the east by the Levant in West Asia, on the north by Anatolia in West Asia and Southern ...

, and the Middle East, both along mountain passes in the north and sea routes down the western and southern coast, well before the advent of the Christian era, and it is likely that Christian merchants from these lands settled in Indian cities along these trading routes. The colony of

Syrian Christians Syrian Christians may refer to * Adherents of Christianity in Syria * Adherents of Syriac Christianity, various Christian bodies of Syriac traditions ** Saint Thomas Christians, Christians of Syriac tradition in India, also called ''Syrians'' or ' ...

established at

Muziris ''Muciṟi'' (, ), commonly anglicized as Muziris (, Malayalam, Old Malayalam: ''Muciṟi'' or ''Muciṟipaṭṭaṇam'', possibly identical with the medieval ''Muyiṟikkōṭŭ'') was an ancient harbour and urban centre on India's Malabar C ...

may be the first Christian community in South India for which there is a continuous written record. The

Chronicle of Seert The ''Chronicle of Seert'', sometimes called the , is an ecclesiastical history written in Arabic by an anonymous Nestorian writer, at an unknown date between the ninth and the eleventh century. There are grounds for believing that it is the wor ...

describes an evangelical mission to India by Bishop David of Basra around the year 300, who reportedly made many conversions, and it has been speculated that his mission took in areas of southern India. From various records of travelers we know the existence of Christian communities in India already by the year 345.

Thomas of Cana Thomas of Cana (Malayalam: K'nāi Thoma or Tomman Kinān, Syriac: K'nānāya Thoma) was a Syriac Christian merchant magnate who arrived to the Chera Dynasties capital city of Kodungallur between 345 A.D. and 811 A.D. Thoma brought with him ...

, a Syriac Christian merchant, brought a group of 72 Christian families from

to Kerala in the 4th century. He was granted copper-plates by the

Chera Dynasty The Chera dynasty ( or Cēra, ), also known as Keralaputra, from the early historic or the Sangam period in Tamil-speaking southern India, ruled over parts of present-day states Kerala and Tamil Nadu. The Cheras, known as one of the mu-ventar ...

, which gave his party and all native Christians socio-economic privileges. The group of Christians that came along with Thomas of Cana (''Knai Thoma'') are called

Knanaya The K'nānāya , (from Syriac: ''K'nā'nāya'' (Canaanite)) also known as the Southists or Tekkumbhagar, are an endogamous ethnic group found among the Saint Thomas Christian community of Kerala, India. They are differentiated from another part ...

Christians. The existence of

Early Christian Early Christianity, otherwise called the Early Church or Paleo-Christianity, describes the historical era of the Christian religion up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325. Christianity spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and be ...

s in India is further substantiated by the records acknowledging the work of

Severus of Vienne Severus of Vienne (died c. 455) was a priest who evangelised in Vienne, France. He is venerated as a saint in the Catholic Church as well as in other denominations.In principle, those recognised as saints prior to 1050 are common to the Catholic ...

, a 5th-century missionary of Indian origin who evangelised in

Vienne Vienne may refer to: Places *Vienne (department), a department of France named after the river Vienne *Vienne, Isère, a city in the French department of Isère * Vienne-en-Arthies, a village in the French department of Val-d'Oise * Vienne-en-Bessi ...

, France. File:Malabar Christians of 19th century.jpg, Saint Thomas Christians or Syrian Christians of ancient days from an old painting File:Kodungaloor Mar Thoma Church.jpg, Mar Thoma Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, at

, is believed to be the first Christian church built in India, circa 52 AD. St.Thomas Cathedral - Mumbai.jpg, Stained glass window of

, the traditional founder of Indian Christianity, in his namesake St Thomas CNI church, the 300-year-old Cathedral of

Mumbai (Bombay) Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12.5 ...

Santhome Basilica.jpg,

St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica, Chennai San Thomas Church, officially known as St Thomas Cathedral Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Thomas, is a minor basilica of the Catholic Church in India, at the Santhome neighbourhood of Chennai, in Tamil Nadu. The present structure dates ba ...

built over the tomb of

Saint Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle (; , meaning 'the Twin'), also known as Didymus ( 'twin'), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "doubting Thomas" because he initially doubted the resurrection of ...

Kottayam Valiapally.jpg, Altar of the St Mary's Church in

Kottayam Kottayam () is a city in the Kottayam district of Kerala, India. It is the district headquarters of the district and is located about north of the state capital Thiruvananthapuram. As per the 2011 Indian census, Kottayam has a population of ...

flanked by two St Thomas crosses from the 7th century AD on either side. The crosses pre-date the church which was built in 1550 AD. File:Thiruvithamkode Arappaly.jpg, St Mary's

Thiruvithamcode Arappally Thiruvithamcode Arappally ("Royal Church"; Tamil:திருவிதாங்கோடு அரப்பள்ளி; Malayalam:തിരുവിതാംകോട് അരപ്പള്ളി;), or Thomayar Kovil or St. Mary's Orthodox ...

Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an Autocephaly, autocephalous Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in #Catholicate ...

Kanyakumari (Cape Comorin) Kanyakumari (Tamil; / kəɳjɑkʊmɑɾiː/; referring to Devi Kanya Kumari, officially known as Kanniyakumari, formerly known as Cape Comorin) is a town and a municipality in Kanyakumari district in the state of Tamil Nadu, India. It is the ...

is believed to have been founded by Thomas the Apostle in 63 AD. File:Arakuzha Syrian Catholic Church.jpg, Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Major Archiepiscopal Church at

Arakuzha Arakuzha is a small village situated 6 km from Muvattupuzha in Kerala, India. The SH 41 connects Arakuzha with Muvattupuzha and Koothattukulam. The Moozhi Bridge connects Arakuzha to the Pineapple City of India, Vazhakulam, which is also 6 ...

, Kerala is an ancient Nasrani church established in 999 AD. File:Parumala Church.jpg, St. Peter and St. Paul's Church, Parumala, the shrine of St Geevargeese Mar Gregorios, an Oriental Orthodox Saint, in

File:Eliasthirdtomb.jpg, Tomb of the Saint Moran Mor Ignatius Elias Third (the only Universal Syrian Orthodox Patriarch to be buried in India) at Manjinikara, Kerala

Medieval period

The

Saint Thomas Christian The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala ( Malabar region) ...

community in Kerala was further strengthened by the arrival of various waves of Syriac Christians from the Middle East. This also resulted in the establishment of

colonies in Kerala during the 4th century. Babylonian Christians settled on the

Malabar coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...

in the 4th century.

Mar Sabor and Mar Proth Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, according to Saint Thomas Christians, Syrian Christians of Kerala, were two Church of the East Bishops believed to have arrived in 825 AD alongside a group of Christian settlers led by a merchant from Persia. Together, ...

arrived in

Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...

in the 9th century.

Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...

seem to have enjoyed various rights and privileges as well as a high status as recorded on copper plates, also known as Cheppeds, Royal Grants, Sasanam, etc.Syrian Christians of Kerala- SG Pothen- page 32-33 (1970) There are a number of such documents in the possession of the Syrian churches of Kerala which include the ''Thazhekad Sasanam'', the

Quilon Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake and is 71 kilometers (44 mi) nort ...

Plates (or the ''Tharisappalli Chepped''s), ''Mampally Sasanam'' and ''Iraviikothan Chepped'', etc. Some of these plates have been dated to around 774 AD. Scholars have studied the inscriptions and produced varying translations. The language used is Old Malayalam in

Vattezhuthu ''Vatteluttu'' (, ' and , ', ), also transliterated as ''Vattezhuthu'', was an alphasyllabic or syllabic writing system of south India (Tamil Nadu and Kerala) and Sri Lanka formerly employed for writing the Tamil language, Tamil and Malayalam ...

script intermingled with some Grantha,

Pahlavi Pahlavi may refer to: Iranian royalty *Seven Parthian clans, ruling Parthian families during the Sasanian Empire *Pahlavi dynasty, the ruling house of Imperial State of Persia/Iran from 1925 until 1979 **Reza Shah Pahlavi (1878–1944), Shah of ...

Kufic The Kufic script () is a style of Arabic script, that gained prominence early on as a preferred script for Quran transcription and architectural decoration, and it has since become a reference and an archetype for a number of other Arabic scripts ...

and

Hebrew Hebrew (; ''ʿÎbrit'') is a Northwest Semitic languages, Northwest Semitic language within the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family. A regional dialect of the Canaanite languages, it was natively spoken by the Israelites and ...

scripts. The ruler of Venad (

Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...

) granted the Saint Thomas Christians seventy-two rights and privileges which were usually granted only to high dignitaries. These rights included exemption from import duties, sales tax and the slave tax. A copper plate grant dated 1225 AD further enhanced the rights and privileges of

Nasranis The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala (Malabar region), ...

. Other references to

include the South Indian epic of

Manimekalai ''Maṇimēkalai'' (, ), also spelled ''Manimekhalai'' or ''Manimekalai'', is a Tamil Buddhist epic composed by Kulavāṇikaṉ Seethalai Sataṉar probably somewhere between the 2nd century to the 6th century. It is an "anti-love story", a ...

, written between 2nd and 3rd century AD, which mentions the Nasrani people by referring to them by the name ''Essanis''.Manimekalai, by Merchant Prince Shattan, Gatha 27 The embassy of

King Alfred Alfred the Great ( ; – 26 October 899) was King of the West Saxons from 871 to 886, and King of the Anglo-Saxons from 886 until his death in 899. He was the youngest son of King Æthelwulf and his first wife Osburh, who both died when ...

in 883 AD sent presents to St. Thomas Christians.

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

who visited in 1292, mentioned that there were Christians in the Malabar coast. The French or Catalan Dominican missionary Jordanus Catalani was the first

Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

European missionary to arrive in India. He landed in

Surat Surat (Gujarati Language, Gujarati: ) is a city in the western Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. The word Surat directly translates to ''face'' in Urdu, Gujarati language, Gujarati and Hindi. Located on the banks of t ...

in around 1320. By a separate bull, that reads ''Venerabili Fratri Jordano'', he was appointed the first Bishop of

on 21 August 1329 AD. In 1321, Jordanus Catalani also arrived in

Bhatkal Bhatkal is a coastal town in the Uttara Kannada District of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bhatkal lies on National Highway 66, which runs between Mumbai and Kanyakumari, and has Bhatkal railway station which is one of the major railway ...

, a place near Mangalore, and established a missionary station there converting many locals. He also evangelised in

Thana district Thane district (Pronunciation: �ʰaːɳe previously named Taana or Thana) is a district in the Konkan Division of Maharashtra, India. At the 2011 Census it was the most populated district in the country, with 11,060,148 inhabitants; however, ...

(Trombay) near

; the descendants of these converts would later become part of the

Bombay East Indian The Bombay East Indians, also called East Indian Catholics or simply East Indians, are an ethno-religious Indian Christian community native to the Seven Islands of Bombay, the Mumbai Metropolitan Area and the northern Konkan region; along the ...

community.

Modern period

Portuguese efforts to Catholicize Saint Thomas Christians

is credited by tradition for founding the Indian Church in 52 AD. This church developed contacts with the

religious authorities based in

Edessa, Mesopotamia Edessa (; ) was an ancient city ('' polis'') in Upper Mesopotamia, in what is now Urfa or Şanlıurfa, Turkey. It was founded during the Hellenistic period by Macedonian general and self proclaimed king Seleucus I Nicator (), founder of the ...

at the time. Historically, this community was organised as the Province of India of the

Patriarch of Babylon The highest-ranking bishops in Eastern Orthodoxy, Oriental Orthodoxy, the Roman Catholic Church (above major archbishop and primate), the Hussite Church, Church of the East, and some Independent Catholic Churches are termed patriarchs (and in ...

Timothy I (780–823 AD) in the eighth century, served by bishops and a local dynastic

archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

. In the 14th century, the Church of the East declined due to

persecution Persecution is the systematic mistreatment of an individual or group by another individual or group. The most common forms are religious persecution, racism, and political persecution, though there is naturally some overlap between these term ...

from

Tamerlane Timur, also known as Tamerlane (1320s17/18 February 1405), was a Turco-Mongol tradition, Turco-Mongol conqueror who founded the Timurid Empire in and around modern-day Afghanistan, Iran, and Central Asia, becoming the first ruler of the Timuri ...

. The 16th century witnessed the colonial overtures of the Portuguese ''

Padroado The ''Padroado'' (, "patronage") was an arrangement between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Portugal and later the Portuguese Republic, through a series of concordats by which the Holy See delegated the administration of the local churches and g ...

'' aiming to bring St Thomas Christians into the

Latin Catholic Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

, administered by the

Portuguese Padroado The ''Padroado'' (, "patronage") was an arrangement between the Holy See and the Kingdom of Portugal and later the Portuguese Republic, through a series of concordats by which the Holy See delegated the administration of the local churches and gra ...

Archdiocese of Goa In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

, leading to the first of several rifts in the community."Christians of Saint Thomas"
. ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved 9 February 2010. The efforts of the Portuguese culminated in the

Synod of Diamper The Synod of Diamper (Udayamperoor Synod) (), held at Udayamperoor (known as Diamper in non-vernacular sources) in June 1599, was a diocesan synod, or council, that created rules and regulations for the ancient Saint Thomas Christians (also ...

, formally subjugating them and their whole

Archdiocese of Angamaly The Metropolitan Archdiocese of Angamaly was an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Chaldean Catholic Church in Malabar, India. It came into existence as a Catholic continuation of the Ecclesiastical Province of India of the Church of the East fol ...

as a suffragan see to the

administered by

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

missionaries. The death of the last

metropolitan bishop In Christianity, Christian Christian denomination, churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), is held by the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a Metropolis (reli ...

– Archbishop Abraham of the

, an ancient body formerly part of the

in 1597 gave the then Archbishop of Goa Menezes an opportunity to bring the native church under the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. He was able to secure the submission of Archdeacon George, the highest remaining representative of the native church hierarchy. Menezes convened the

between 20 and 26 June 1599,Synod of Diamper
on Synod of Diamper Church website. which introduced a number of reforms to the church and brought it fully into the

Latin Church The Latin Church () is the largest autonomous () particular church within the Catholic Church, whose members constitute the vast majority of the 1.3 billion Catholics. The Latin Church is one of 24 Catholic particular churches and liturgical ...

of the Catholic Church. Following the Synod, Menezes consecrated Francis Ros, S. J. as Archbishop of the

Archdiocese of Angamalé The Archdiocese of Cranganore or Cranganor and Angamaly was a Liturgical Latinisation, latinised East Syriac Rite, Syriac Padroado Archdiocese in Kodungallur, Kerala, India.Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

isation of St Thomas Christians started. The

were pressured to acknowledge the authority of the Pope and most of them eventually accepted the Catholic faith, but a part of them switched to

West Syriac Rite The West Syriac Rite, also called the Syro-Antiochian Rite and the West Syrian Rite, is an Eastern Christian liturgical rite that employs the Divine Liturgy of Saint James in the West Syriac dialect. It is practiced in the Maronite Church, ...

. Resentment of these measures led to some part of the community to join the

Archdeacon An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox Church, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denomina ...

Thomas Thomas may refer to: People * List of people with given name Thomas * Thomas (name) * Thomas (surname) * Saint Thomas (disambiguation) * Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274) Italian Dominican friar, philosopher, and Doctor of the Church * Thomas the A ...

, in swearing never to submit to the Portuguese Jesuits in the

Coonan Cross Oath The Coonan Cross Oath (alternatively spelled Koonan Cross Oath), also known as the Great Oath of Bent Cross or Leaning Cross Oath, was taken on 3 January 1653, in Mattancherry, by a significant portion of the Saint Thomas Christian community ...

in 1653. Those who accepted the West Syriac theological and liturgical tradition of Gregorios became known as

Jacobites A Jacobite is a follower of someone named Jacob or James, from the Latin ''Jācōbus''. Jacobite or Jacobitism may refer to: Religion * Arminianism, the theology of Jacobus Arminius * Jacobites, followers of Saint Jacob Baradaeus (died 578). Ch ...

. The others who continued with East Syriac theological and liturgical tradition stayed faithful to the Catholic Church and later became autonomous eastern catholic church named Syro Malabar Church (suriyani malabar sabha). Following the synod, the Indian Church was governed by Portuguese prelates. They were generally unwilling to respect the integrity of the local church. This resulted in disaffection which led to a general revolt in 1653 known as the "

". Under the leadership of Archdeacon

, Nazranis around Cochin gathered at Mattancherry church on Friday, 24 January 1653 (M.E. 828 Makaram 3) and made an oath that is known as the Great Oath of Bent Cross. There are various versions about the wording of oath, one version being that the oath was directed against the Portuguese, another that it was directed against Jesuits, yet another version that it was directed against the authority of

Church of Rome Holy Roman Church, Roman Church, Church of Rome or Church in Rome may refer to: * The Diocese of Rome or the Holy See * The Latin Church * Churches of Rome (buildings) In historical contexts ''Roman Church'' may also refer to: * The Catholic Churc ...

. Those who were not able to touch the cross tied ropes on the cross, held the rope in their hands and made the oath. Because of the weight it is believed by the followers that the cross bent a little and so it is known as "Oath of the bent cross" (Coonen Kurisu Sathyam). This demanded administrative autonomy for the local church. A few months, later Archdeacon Thomas was ordained as bishop by twelve priests with the title

Thoma I Mar Thoma I, also known as Valiya Mar Thoma (Mar Thoma the Great) and Arkkadiyakkon Thoma (Archdeacon Thomas) in Malayalam, and referred to as Thomas de Campo in Portuguese, was the first native-born Metropolitan bishop of the Malankara Church ...

. At this time, Rome intervened and Carmelite Missionaries were sent to win the Thomas Christians back. Carmelites could convince the majority that the local church needs bishops and the consecration of the Archdeacon Thomas was invalid because the consecration was conducted not by a bishop, but by priests. Many leaders of the community rejoined the missionaries. But in 1663, Dutch conquered Cochin supplanting the Portuguese on the Malabar coast. Portuguese Missionaries had to leave the country and they consecrated

Palliveettil Chandy Parambil Chandy (''Alexandre de Campo'' in Portuguese language, Portuguese; 1615 – 2 January 1687) was an Catholic Church in India, Indian Catholic prelate who served as Archdiocese of Cranganore, Archbishop of Cranganore from 1663 to 1687. H ...

kathanaar as the bishop for the Catholic Thomas Christians on 1 February 1663. Meanwhile,

appealed to several eastern Christian churches for regularizing his consecration. The

Syriac Orthodox The Syriac Orthodox Church (), also informally known as the Jacobite Church, is an Oriental Orthodox denomination that originates from the Church of Antioch. The church currently has around 4-5 million followers. The church upholds the Mia ...

Patriarch responded and sent metropolitan

Gregorios Abdul Jaleel Mor Gregorios Abdal Jaleel Bawa (died 27 April 1681) was the Syriac Orthodox Bishop of Jerusalem, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem from 1664 until his death in 1681. He is chiefly remembered for his 1665 mission to India, by which he establ ...

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

to India in 1665. He confirmed Thoma I as a bishop and worked together with him to organize the Church. These events led to the gradual and lasting schism among the Saint Thomas Christians of India, leading to the formation of ''Puthenkūr'' (New allegiance) and ''Pazhayakūr'' (Old allegiance) factions. The ''Pazhayakūr'' comprise the present day

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church The Syro-Malabar Church, also known as the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic church based in Kerala, India. It is a '' sui iuris'' (autonomous) particular church in full communion with the Holy See and the worldwide Cathol ...

and

Chaldean Syrian Church The Chaldean Syrian Church of India (; ) is an Eastern Christian denomination, based in Thrissur, in India. It is part of the greater Assyrian Church of the East and is organised a singular Metropolitan (Archdiocese) See of India, and represen ...

which continue to employ the East Syriac Rite.''Addai and Mari, Liturgy of''. Cross, F. L., ed. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church. Oxford University Press. 2005 The ''Puthenkūr'', who entered into a new communion with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, an

Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysitism, Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian ...

church, inherited from them the West Syriac Rite, replacing the old East Syriac Rite liturgy. ''Puthenkūr'' is the body from which present day

Jacobite Syrian Christian Church The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, also known as the Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church, Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church in India is an autonomous maphrianate of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodo ...

CSI Syrian Christians Saint Thomas Anglicans (often called Anglican Syrian Christians or CSI Syrian Christians) are the Saint Thomas Christians, Saint Thomas Christian members of the Church of South India, Church of South India (CSI); the self-governing South India ...

Mar Thoma Syrian Church The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian ChurchS. N. Sadasivan. A Social History of India''. APH Publishing; 2000. . p. 442. and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malab ...

St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India (STECI) is an Oriental Protestant (Reformed Orthodox) episcopal denomination based in Kerala, India. The church originated from a schism in the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church in 1961 and forms a part ...

Syro-Malankara Catholic Church The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, also known as the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church that employs the West Syriac Rite and is in full communion with the worldwide Catholic Church posse ...

and

Malabar Independent Syrian Church The Malabar Independent Syrian Church (MISC), also known as the Thozhiyur Church, is a Christian church centred in Kerala, India. It is one of the churches of the Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the evangelical ac ...

originate.

Arrival of Europeans

In 1453, the

fall of Constantinople The Fall of Constantinople, also known as the Conquest of Constantinople, was the capture of Constantinople, the capital of the Byzantine Empire by the Ottoman Empire. The city was captured on 29 May 1453 as part of the culmination of a 55-da ...

to the

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam is the largest Islamic schools and branches, branch of Islam and the largest religious denomination in the world. It holds that Muhammad did not appoint any Succession to Muhammad, successor and that his closest companion Abu Bakr ...

Ottoman Caliphate The Ottoman Caliphate () was the claim of the heads of the Turkish Ottoman dynasty, rulers of the Ottoman Empire, to be the caliphs of Islam during the Late Middle Ages, late medieval and Early Modern period, early modern era. Ottoman rulers ...

marked the end of the Byzantine (Eastern Roman Empire), and severed European trade links by land with Asia. This massive blow to

Christendom The terms Christendom or Christian world commonly refer to the global Christian community, Christian states, Christian-majority countries or countries in which Christianity is dominant or prevails.SeMerriam-Webster.com : dictionary, "Christen ...

spurred the

Age of Discovery The Age of Discovery (), also known as the Age of Exploration, was part of the early modern period and overlapped with the Age of Sail. It was a period from approximately the 15th to the 17th century, during which Seamanship, seafarers fro ...

as Europeans started seeking alternative routes east by sea along with the goal of forging alliances with pre-existing Christian nations. Along with Portuguese long-distance maritime travelers that reached the

Malabar Coast The Malabar Coast () is the southwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. It generally refers to the West Coast of India, western coastline of India stretching from Konkan to Kanyakumari. Geographically, it comprises one of the wettest regio ...

in the late 15th century, came Portuguese missionaries who made contact with the

in Kerala. These Christians were following

practices and under the jurisdiction of

. The missionaries sought to introduce the

Latin liturgical rites Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, is a large family of ritual family, liturgical rites and Use (liturgy), uses of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church ...

among them and unify East Syriac Christians in India under the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

. This group, which existed in

relatively peacefully for more than a millennium, faced considerable persecution from Portuguese evangelists in the 16th century.Podipara, Placid J. (1970) "The Thomas Christians". London: Darton, Longman and Tidd, 1970. (is a readable and exhaustive study of the St. Thomas Christians.) This later wave of evangelism spread Catholicism more widely along the

Konkan The Konkan is a stretch of land by the western coast of India, bound by the river Daman Ganga at Damaon in the north, to Anjediva Island next to Karwar town in the south; with the Arabian Sea to the west and the Deccan plateau to the eas ...

coast. The South Indian coastal areas around Kanyakumari were known for pearl fisheries ruled by the

Paravar Paravar (also known as Bharathar or Bharathakula Kshatriyar) is a predominantly Catholic Tamil maritime community, mainly living in the state of Tamil Nadu, and in Sri Lanka. Historically, they were inhabitants of the ''Neithal'' (coastal) lands ...

s. From 1527, the Paravars, being threatened by Arab fleets offshore who were supported

Zamorin The Samoothiri (Anglicised as Zamorin; Malayalam: , , Arabic: ''Sāmuri'', Portuguese: ''Samorim'', Dutch: ''Samorijn'', Chinese: ''Shamitihsi''Ma Huan's Ying-yai Sheng-lan: 'The Overall Survey of the Ocean's Shores' 433 Translated and Edi ...

of Calicut, sought the protection of the

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

who had moved into the area. The protection was granted on the condition that the leaders were immediately baptised as Christians and that they would encourage their people also to convert to Christianity. The Portuguese in turn wanted to gain a strategic foothold and control of the pearl fisheries. The deal was agreed and some months later 20,000 Paravars were baptised en masse, and by 1537 the entire community had declared itself to be Christian. The Portuguese navy destroyed the Arab fleet at

Vedalai Vedalai is a village in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu state in southern India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by ...

on 27 June 1538.

Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...

, a Jesuit, began a mission to the lower classes of Tamil society in 1542. A further 30,000 Paravars were baptised. Xavier appointed catechists in the Paravar villages up and down the coastline to spread and reinforce his teachings. Paravar Christianity, with its own identity based on a mixture of Christian religious belief and Hindu caste culture, remains a defining part of the Paravar life today. Luso Tamil Catechism Lisbon 1554

In the 16th century, the proselytisation of Asia was linked to the Portuguese colonial policy. Missionaries of the different orders including

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related organizations in the Catholic Church, founded or inspired by the Italian saint Francis of Assisi. They include three independent Religious institute, religious orders for men (the Order of Friars Minor bei ...

Dominicans Dominicans () also known as Quisqueyans () are an ethnic group, ethno-nationality, national people, a people of shared ancestry and culture, who have ancestral roots in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican ethnic group was born out of a fusio ...

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

s, Augustinians arrived with the Portuguese colonisers. The history of Portuguese missionaries in India starts with the Portuguese clergy who reached

Kappad Kappad, or Kappakadavu locally, is a beach and village near Koyilandy, in the Kozhikode district, Kerala, India. A stone monument installed by government commemorates the "landing" by Vasco da Gama with the inscription, Vasco da Gama landed he ...

near Kozhikode on 20 May 1498, along with the Portuguese explorer

who was seeking to form anti-Islamic alliances with pre-existing Christian nations. The lucrative spice trade was further temptation for the Portuguese crown. When he and the Portuguese missionaries arrived, they found Christians in the country in Malabar known as St. Thomas Christians who belonged to the then-largest Christian church within India. The Christians were friendly to Portuguese missionaries at first; there was an exchange of gifts between them, and these groups were delighted at their common faith. During the second expedition, the Portuguese fleet comprising 13 ships and 18 priests, under Captain

Pedro Álvares Cabral Pedro Álvares Cabral (; born Pedro Álvares de Gouveia; ) was a Portuguese nobleman, military commander, navigator and explorer regarded as the European discoverer of Brazil. He was the first human in history to ever be on four continents, ...

, anchored at Cochin on 26 November 1500. Cabral soon won the goodwill of the Raja of Cochin. He allowed four priests to do apostolic work among the early Christian communities scattered in and around Cochin. Thus Portuguese missionaries established Portuguese Mission in 1500. Dom

Francisco de Almeida '' Dom'' Francisco de Almeida (; c. 1450 – 1 March 1510), was a Portuguese nobleman, soldier and explorer. He distinguished himself as a counsellor to King John II of Portugal and later in the wars against the Moors and in the conquest of Gran ...

, the first Portuguese Viceroy got permission from the Kochi Raja to build two churches – namely Santa Cruz Basilica (1505) and St. Francis Church (1506) using stones and mortar, which was unheard of at that time, as the local prejudices were against such a structure for any purpose other than a royal palace or a temple. In the beginning of the 16th century, the whole of the east was under the jurisdiction of the

Archdiocese of Lisbon The Metropolitan Patriarchate of Lisbon () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or patriarchal archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Lisbon, the capital of Portugal. Its archiepiscopal see is the Patriarchal Cathedral of St. Mary Major, in ...

. On 12 June 1514, Cochin and Goa became two prominent mission stations under the newly created

Diocese of Funchal The Diocese of Funchal () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory or patriarchal archdiocese of the Catholic Church in Portugal. It was originally created on 12 June 1514 by the papal bull ''Pro excellenti præeminentia'' from Pope Leo X, fo ...

Madeira Madeira ( ; ), officially the Autonomous Region of Madeira (), is an autonomous Regions of Portugal, autonomous region of Portugal. It is an archipelago situated in the North Atlantic Ocean, in the region of Macaronesia, just under north of ...

. In 1534,

Pope Paul III Pope Paul III (; ; born Alessandro Farnese; 29 February 1468 – 10 November 1549) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 13 October 1534 to his death, in November 1549. He came to the papal throne in an era follo ...

by the Bull Quequem Reputamus, raised Funchal as an

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associated ...

and

as its

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led ...

, deputing the whole of India under the

diocese of Goa The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Goa and Daman (, , ) encompasses the Goa state and the Damaon territory in the Konkan region, by the west coast of India. The ecclesiastical province of Goa and Damaon includes a suffragan diocese ...

. This created an

episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

–

Funchal Funchal () officially Funchal City (), is the capital, largest city and a Municipality (Portugal), municipality in Portugal's Madeira, Autonomous Region of Madeira, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean. The city has a population of 105,795, making it ...

, with a jurisdiction extending potentially over all past and future conquests from the

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

to China. The first converts to Christianity in Goa were native Goan women who married Portuguese men that arrived with

Afonso de Albuquerque Afonso de Albuquerque, 1st Duke of Goa ( – 16 December 1515), was a Portuguese general, admiral, statesman and ''conquistador''. He served as viceroy of Portuguese India from 1509 to 1515, during which he expanded Portuguese influence across ...

during the

Portuguese conquest of Goa The Portuguese conquest of Goa occurred when the governor Afonso de Albuquerque captured the city in 1510 from the Sultanate of Bijapur. Old Goa became the capital of Portuguese India, which included territories such as Fort Manuel of Cochin, ...

in 1510. Due to the

Christianisation of Goa The indigenous population of the erstwhile Portuguese colony of Goa, Daman and Diu was Christianized following the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510 and the subsequent establishment of the Goan Inquisition. The converts in the ''Velhas Conquist ...

, over 90% of the

Goans Goans ( Romi Konkani: , ) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, formerly part of Portuguese India (''Estado Português da Índia''). They form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, ...

in the

Velhas Conquistas The ''Velhas Conquistas'' or "Old Conquests" are a grouping of the areas in Goa which were incorporated into Portuguese India in the early half of the sixteenth century AD. Goa, Daman and Diu comprised the last remaining Portuguese possessions in ...

became Catholic by the 1700s. Codice Casanatense Portuguese Nobleman and Christian Indian

The Portuguese government supported the missionaries. At the same time many

New Christian New Christian (; ; ; ; ; ) was a socio-religious designation and legal distinction referring to the population of former Jews, Jewish and Muslims, Muslim Conversion to Christianity, converts to Christianity in the Spanish Empire, Spanish and Po ...

s from Portugal emigrated to India as a result of the

Portuguese Inquisition The Portuguese Inquisition (Portuguese language, Portuguese: ''Inquisição Portuguesa''), officially known as the General Council of the Holy Office of the Inquisition in Portugal, was formally established in Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal in 15 ...

. Many of them were suspected of being

Crypto-Jew Crypto-Judaism is the secret adherence to Judaism while publicly professing to be of another faith; practitioners are referred to as "crypto-Jews" (origin from Greek ''kryptos'' – , 'hidden'). The term is especially applied historically to Spani ...

s and

Crypto-Muslim Crypto-Islam is the secret adherence to Islam while publicly professing to be of another faith; people who practice crypto-Islam are referred to as "crypto-Muslims." The word has mainly been used in reference to Spanish Muslims and Sicilian Muslim ...

s, converted Jews and Muslims who were secretly practising their old religions. Both were considered a threat to the solidarity of Christian belief. According to

Maria Aurora Couto Maria Aurora Couto (22 August 1937 – 14 January 2022) was an Indian writer and educator best known for her book ''Goa: A Daughter's Story'' and for promoting literature and ideas within Goa and beyond. In addition to her books, she wrote for ...

missionary

requested the installation of the

Goa Inquisition The Goa Inquisition (, ) was an extension of the Portuguese Inquisition in Portuguese India. Its objective was to enforce Catholic orthodoxy and allegiance to the Apostolic See of the Pontifex. The inquisition primarily focused on the New Chr ...

in a letter dated 16 May 1546 to

King John III of Portugal John III ( ; 6 June 1502 – 11 June 1557), nicknamed The Pious ( Portuguese: ''o Piedoso''), was the King of Portugal and the Algarve from 1521 until he died in 1557. He was the son of King Manuel I and Maria of Aragon, the third daughter of ...

, but the tribunal commenced only in 1560. The Inquisition office persecuted

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Bene Israel The Bene Israel (), also referred to as the "Teli, Shanivar Teli" () or "History of the Jews in India, Native Jew" caste, are a community of Jews in India. It has been suggested that they are the descendants of one of the Ten Lost Tribes via t ...

s and the

Judaizing Judaism () is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of observing the Mosaic covenant, which the ...

. Crypto-Hindus were the primary target of the 250 years of persecution and punishment for their faith by the Catholic prosecutors. Most affected were the

Shudras Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu class and social system in ancient India. Some sources translate it into English as a caste, or as a social class. Theoretically, Shudras constituted a class like work ...

(12.5%) and farmers (35.5%). In 1557,

was made an independent archbishopric, and its first suffragan sees were erected at

Cochin Kochi ( , ), formerly known as Cochin ( ), is a major port city along the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of Kerala. The city is also commonly referred to as Ernaku ...

and

Malacca Malacca (), officially the Historic State of Malacca (), is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state in Malaysia located in the Peninsular Malaysia#Other features, southern region of the Malay Peninsula, facing the Strait of Malacca ...

. The whole of the East came under the jurisdiction of

and its boundaries extended to almost half of the world: from the Cape of Good Hope in South Africa, to Burma, China and Japan in East Asia. In 1576, the suffragan See of Macao (China) was added; and in 1588, that of Funai in Japan. The Diocese of Angamaly was transferred to Diocese of Craganore in 1605, while, in 1606 a sixth suffragan see to Goa was established at San Thome, Mylapore, near the modern Madras, and the site of the National Shrine of St. Thomas Basilica. The suffragan sees added later to Goa. were the prelacy of Mozambique (1612), Peking (1609) and Nanking (1609) in China. A significant portion of the crew on Portuguese ships were Indian Christians. The

were however unable to establish their presence in Mangalore as a result of the conquests of the

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () is a city located in Vijayanagara district of Karnataka state in India.Vijayanagara

ruler
Krishnadevaraya Krishnadevaraya (17 January 1471 – 17 October 1529) was emperor of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1509 to 1529 and the third ruler of the Tuluva dynasty. Widely regarded as one of the greatest rulers in Indian history, he presided over t ...
and Abbakka Rani of
Ullal Ullal or ''Uḷḷāla'' is a City in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka state in India. Ullal City Municipal Council along with the Mangaluru City Corporation forms the continuous Mangaluru urban agglomeration area which is currently the ...
, the Bednore Queen of Mangalore. Most of
Mangalorean Catholics Mangalorean Catholics () are an ethno-religious community of Latin Church in India, Latin Christians from the Roman Catholic Diocese of Mangalore, Diocese of Mangalore and the erstwhile South Canara area; by the southern coast of present-day Kar ...
were not originally from Mangalore but from
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
, which they fled during the Sackings of Goa and Bombay-Bassein and to escape the persecution of the
Goan Inquisition The Goa Inquisition (, ) was an extension of the Portuguese Inquisition in Portuguese India. Its objective was to enforce Catholic orthodoxy and allegiance to the Apostolic See of the Pontifex. The inquisition primarily focused on the New Chr ...
. The Franciscans spearheaded the evangelisation of the "Province of the North" () headquartered at Fort San Sebastian of Bassein (close to present day Mumbai), but the fort's officials were subordinate to the viceroy in the capital of Velha Goa. From 1534 to 1552, a priest by the name António do Porto converted over 10,000 people, built a dozen churches, convents, and a number of orphanages hospitals and seminaries. Prominent among the converts were two yogis from the Kanheri Caves who became known as Paulo Raposo and Francisco de Santa Maria. They introduced Christianity to their fellow yogis, converting many in the process. The descendants of these Christians are today known as the
Bombay East Indian The Bombay East Indians, also called East Indian Catholics or simply East Indians, are an ethno-religious Indian Christian community native to the Seven Islands of Bombay, the Mumbai Metropolitan Area and the northern Konkan region; along the ...
Christians who are predominantly Roman Catholics and inhabitants of the north Konkan region. In Portuguese Bombay and Bassein missionary work progressed on a large scale and with great success along the western coasts, chiefly at Chaul, Bombay, Salsette, Bassein, Damao, and Diu; and on the eastern coasts at San Thome of Mylapore, and as far as Bengal etc. In the southern districts the Jesuit mission in Madura was the most famous. It extended to the Krishna river, with a number of outlying stations beyond it. The mission of Cochin, on the Malabar Coast, was also one of the most fruitful. Several missions were also established in the interior northwards that of Agra and Lahore in 1570 and that of Tibet in 1624. Still, even with these efforts, and many vast tracts of the interior northwards were practically unreached. With the decline of the Portuguese power, other colonial powers namely the Dutch and British gained influence, paving the way for the arrival of Protestantism.

Arrival of Protestant missions
Beginning in about 1700, Protestant missionaries began working throughout India; this led to the establishment of different Christian communities across the Indian Subcontinent.

German Lutherans and Basel mission
The first Protestant missionaries to set foot in India were two Lutherans from Germany, Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau, who began work in 1705 in the Danish settlement of Tranquebar.The Legacy that Ziegenbalg Left (by). S. Muthiah (The Hindu http://www.hinduonnet.com/thehindu/mag/2006/07/02/stories/2006070200200500.htm ) They translated the Bible into the local Tamil language, and afterwards into Hindustani. They made little progress at first, but gradually the mission spread to Madras, Cuddalore and Tanjore. The ''Bishop of Tranquebar'' is still the official title of the bishop of the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tamil Nadu which was founded in 1919 as a result of the German Lutheran Leipzig Mission and Church of Sweden Mission, the successors of Bartholomaeus Ziegenbalg, Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Plütschau. The seat of the bishop, the cathedral and its church house, ''the Tranquebar House'' are in Tiruchirappalli. German missionary Johann Phillip Fabricius, who arrived in South India in 1740, published the first Tamil to English dictionary and refined the Tamil Bible translation. Christian Friedrich Schwarz was a prominent German Lutheran missionary who arrived in India in 1750. His mission was instrumental in the conversion of many people from Tamil Nadu to Lutheranism. He died in Tamil Nadu and was buried in St.Peter's Church at Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu. Hermann Gundert a German missionary, scholar, and linguist, as well as the maternal grandfather of German novelist and Nobel laureate Hermann Hesse was a missionary in the
South India South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
n state of
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
and was instrumental in compiling a Malayalam grammar book, Malayalabhaasha Vyakaranam (1859), in which he developed and constructed the grammar currently spoken by the Malayalis, published a Malayalam-English dictionary (1872), and contributed to work on Bible translations into Malayalam. Eugen Liebendörfer was the first German missionary doctor in India as part of the Basel Mission. He built hospitals in Kerala and Karnataka. Another Basel Missionary Ferdinand Kittel worked in South Indian state of Karnataka in places such as Mangalore, Madikeri and Dharwad in Karnataka. He is renowned for his studies of the Kannada language and for producing a Kannada-English dictionary of about 70,000 words in 1894. He also composed numerous Kannada poems. Hermann Mögling was a German missionary to Karnataka, he is credited as the publisher of the first ever newspaper in the Kannada language called as Mangalooru Samachara in 1843. He was awarded a doctorate for his literary work in Kannada called as Bibliotheca Carnataca. He also translated Kannada literature into German. Another Lutheran German missionary to Kerala was Volbrecht Nagel, he was a missionary to the Malabar coast of India. Initially associated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church, he later joined the Open Brethren, and is remembered now as a pioneer of the Kerala Brethren movement.

William Carey and the Baptists
In 1793, William Carey (missionary), William Carey, an English Baptist Minister, came to India as a missionary but also as a man of learning in economics, medicine and botany. He worked in Serampore, Calcutta, and other places. He translated the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit, and numerous other languages and dialects. He worked in India despite the hostility of the British East India Company until his death in 1834. Carey and his colleagues, Joshua Marshman and William Ward, blended science, Christianity, and constructive Orientalism in their work at the Danish settlement of Serampore, near Calcutta. Carey saw the dissemination of European science and Christianity as mutually supportive and equally important civilizing missions. He also supported a revival of Sanskrit science. Carey played a key role in the establishment of the Agricultural Society of India. Ward, beginning in 1806, published important commentaries on ancient Hindu medical and astronomy texts. In 1818, Carey and his fellow missionaries founded Serampore College to nurture a uniquely Indian variety of European science.

Other missions
The London Missionary Society was the first Protestant mission in Andhra Pradesh which established its station at Visakhapatnam in 1805. Anthony Norris Groves, a Plymouth Brethren missionary arrived in 1833. He worked in the Godavari River, Godavari delta area until his death in 1852. John Christian Frederick Heyer was the first Lutheran missionary in the region of Andhra Pradesh. He founded the Guntur Mission in 1842. Supported initially by the Pennsylvania Ministerium, and later by the Foreign Mission Board of the General Synod, Heyer was also encouraged and assisted by British government officials. He established a number of hospitals and a network of schools throughout the Guntur region. The Church Mission Society, Church Missionary Society (''CMS''), a mission society working with the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...
, began sending missionaries to India and established mission stations at Chennai (Madras) and Bengal, then in 1816 at
Travancore The kingdom of Travancore (), also known as the kingdom of Thiruvithamkoor () or later as Travancore State, was a kingdom that lasted from until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, and later Thiruvanan ...
. The Church Missionary Society in India, CMS Mission to India expanded in the following years. The successors of the Protestant church missions are the
Church of South India The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of Protestant denominations in South India that occurred after the independence of India. With a membership of over 4.5 million, it ...
and the
Church of North India The Church of North India (CNI) is the dominant united and uniting churches, united Protestant church in northern India. It was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together most of the Protestant churches working in northern India. It i ...
. Marathi Christians can be found in the areas of Ahmednagar, Solapur, Pune, Poona, and Aurangabad, Maharashtra, Aurangabad. They were converted through the efforts of the American Missionary Association, American Marathi Mission, United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, The SPG Mission, and the Church Mission Society of Church of England in the early 18th century. British missionary William Carey (missionary), William Carey was instrumental in translating the Bible into the Marathi language. During the Bettiah Raj of Bihar, the ethnoreligious community of Bettiah Christians was established in India in the 17th century by Christian missionaries belonging to the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin, a Roman Catholic religious order. The Capuchins were personally invited to establish the Bettiah Christian Mission by Maharaja Dhurup Singh after the Italian Capuchin priest Joseph Mary Bernini treated his ill wife. Pope Benedict XIV, on 1 May 1742, approved the appointment of the Capuchins at the Bettiah Fort in a letter to Maharaja Dhurup Singh. Many upper-class Bengalis converted to Christianity during the Bengali Renaissance under British Rule of India, British Rule, including Krishna Mohan Banerjee, Michael Madhusudan Dutt, Anil Kumar Gain, and Gnanendramohan Tagore, Aurobindo Nath Mukherjee. During the 19th century, several American Baptist missionaries evangelised in the northeastern parts of India. In 1876, Dr. E. W. Clark first went to live in a Naga people, Naga village, four years after his Assamese helper, Godhula, baptised the first Naga people, Naga converts. Rev. and Mrs. A.F. Merrill arrived in India in 1928 and worked in the southeast section of the Garo Hills. Rev. and Mrs. M.J. Chance spent most of the years between 1950 and 1956 at Golaghat working with the Naga and Garo tribes. Even today, the heaviest concentrations of Christians in India continue to be in the Northeast among the Naga people, Nagas, Khasi people, Khasis, Kuki people, Kukis, and Mizo people, Mizos.

Role in the Indian independence movement
Indian Christians were involved even at early stages of the nationalist movement in colonial India, both in the Indian National Congress and the wider
Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...
: Indian Christian involvement in the early stages of the nationalist movement is also reflected in the high levels of participation in the activities of the Indian National Congress. During the period from its inception up until about 1892 all the evidence suggests that Indian Christians enthusiastically supported the National Congress and attended its annual meetings. For example, according to the official Congress report, there were 607 registered delegates at the Madras meeting of 1887; thirty-five were Christians and, of these, seven were Eurasians and fifteen were Indian Christians. Indian Christians alone made up 2.5 per cent of the total attendance, in spite of the fact that Christians accounted for less than 0.79 per cent of the population. The Indian Christian community was also well represented at the next four sessions of the Congress. The proportion of Indian Christian delegates remained very much higher than their proportion in the population, in spite of the fact that meetings were sometimes held in cities such as Allahabad and Nagpur, far removed from the main centres of Christian population. The
All India Conference of Indian Christians The All India Conference of Indian Christians (AICIC) is an ecumenical organisation founded in 1914 to represent the interests of Christians in India. It was founded to advocate for the moral, economic, and intellectual development of the Indian C ...
(AICIC) played an important role in the Indian independence movement, advocating for swaraj and opposition to the partition of India, opposing the partition of India. The AICIC also was opposed to separate electorates for Christians, believing that the faithful "should participate as common citizens in one common, national political system". The All India Conference of Indian Christians and the All India Catholic Union formed a working committee with M. Rahnasamy of Andhra University serving as president and B.L. Rallia Ram of Lahore serving as general secretary; in its meeting on 16 April 1947 and 17 April 1947, the joint committee prepared a 13-point memorandum that was sent to the Constituent Assembly of India, which asked for religious freedom for both organisations and individuals; this came to be reflected in the Constitution of India.

Art and architecture
There are a large number of items of artistic and architectural significance in the religious and domestic life of Indian Christians. Altars, statues, pulpits, Christian cross, crosses, Church bell, bells and Bell tower, belfries of churches along with other household items are among the many things that form part of the sacred art of the Indian Christians. The following artistic elements predate European Christianity and form an integral part of the religious art and architecture of the
Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...
: * The open-air granite (rock) cross called the Nasrani Sthamba * ''Kodimaram'' (''Dwajasthamba'') or flag-staff made of
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
's famed teak wood and often enclosed in copper hoses or paras * The rock ''Deepasthamba'' or lampstand. After the arrival of
Vasco da Gama Vasco da Gama ( , ; – 24 December 1524), was a Portuguese explorer and nobleman who was the Portuguese discovery of the sea route to India, first European to reach India by sea. Da Gama's first voyage (1497–1499) was the first to link ...
and more especially after the commencement of Portuguese rule in India, distinct patterns of Christian art developed within the areas of Portuguese influence, mostly along the coasts of the peninsula. The Portuguese commissioned monumental buildings and promoted architecture more than any other form of fine art. St. Francis Church, Kochi is the first European place of worship in India and incidentally also the place where Vasco da Gama was first buried. The Christian art of Goa reached its climax in church building, laying the foundations of Indian Baroque. Indian Christian architecture during the British Raj has expanded into several different styles as a result of extensive church building in different parts of the country. The style that was most patronised is generally referred to as the British Regency style followed by Gothic Revival architecture, Neo-Gothic and Gothic Revival architecture. Most Protestant cathedrals and churches in India conform to the Neo-Gothic and Gothic Revival architecture styles. The adaptation of European architectural elements to the tropical climate in India has resulted in the creation of the Indo-Saracenic architecture, Indo-Gothic style. St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata is a typical example of this style. St. Mary's Church (Fort St. George), St. Mary's church, Chennai, the first Anglican Church built east of the Suez is one of the first examples of British colonial architecture in India. French and Danish people, Danish influences on Christian art and architecture in India can be seen in their respective colonies. File:Manarcad Marthamariam Cathedral DSW.jpg, Manarcad Church is one of the oldest churches as well as a popular pilgrim site in India. File:AloysiusChapel.jpg, Interior of the St. Aloysius Chapel in Mangalore, an example of Indo-Baroque File:Cathedral Church of the Redemption.jpg, Interior of the Cathedral Church of the Redemption, CNI Cathedral Church of Redemption, New Delhi, a fine example of the Indo-Saracenic architectureal style File:Se’ Cathedral, Goa.jpg, Built in 1562, Se Cathedral is an example of the Portuguese-Manueline style of architecture. File:St Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata.jpg, St. Paul's Cathedral, Kolkata, St. Paul's CNI Cathedral, Calcutta is one of the finest examples of Gothic Revival architecture in India. File:Infant Jesus Cathedral Kollam, Mar 2016.jpg, Infant Jesus Cathedral in
Kollam Kollam (;), is an ancient seaport and the List of cities and towns in Kerala, fourth largest city in the Indian state of Kerala. Located on the southern tip of the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea, the city is on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake ...
city is an example of modern church architecture in India. File:St. Marks Cathedral, Bangalore. (Old Postcard Re-print), India Post (2014).jpg, St. Mark's Cathedral, Bangalore is an example of the English Baroque style in India. File:George'sCathedral.jpg, St. George's Cathedral, Chennai, Church of South India Cathedral of St. George, Chennai is an example of the Neoclassical architecture, Neoclassical style. File:Medak Cathedral (1).jpg, The Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival style Medak Cathedral is one of the largest churches in Asia. File:All Saints Cathedral, Allahabad in the night.jpg, The Gothic Revival architecture, Gothic Revival style All Saints Cathedral, Allahabad illuminated at night File:Afghan Church - Doorway.jpg, Buff-coloured basalt and limestone doorway to the Afghan Church, CNI Afghan Church File:A traditional Malankara Church - Vadayaparambu Mar Bahanas Church.jpg, Vadayaparambu Mar Bahanans Church, built in the traditional style of the Malankara Orthodox Church File:St. James Church 9.jpg, St. James' Church, Delhi, built on a Greek cross, Greek cruciform plan, is an example of the Renaissance Revival style in India. Kerala Christians have a unique tradition of photographing funerals.

Culture
While Christians in India do not share one common culture, their cultures for the most part tend to be a blend of Indian, Syrian and European cultures. It differs from one region to another depending on several factors such as the prevailing Ritual family, liturgical rite and tradition and the extent of time for which Christianity has existed in those regions. The ancient
Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...
of
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
have a distinctively different culture when compared to Christians in other parts of the country. Historical ties with the
Church of the East The Church of the East ( ) or the East Syriac Church, also called the Church of Seleucia-Ctesiphon, the Persian Church, the Assyrian Church, the Babylonian Church, the Chaldean Church or the Nestorian Church, is one of three major branches o ...
and assimilation of Indian culture have contributed to the development of a unique subculture among these traditional Syrian Christians or Nasranis of Kerala. The use of ornamental umbrellas for Christian religious festivities illustrates an example of the indigenous character of Kerala's Syriac Christianity. The ''Malankara Nasranis'' (Thomasine Christians) have a unique Syro-Malyali, Malabarese culture which includes Christianised Jewish elements, along with some Hindu customs. As a result of the
Christianisation of Goa The indigenous population of the erstwhile Portuguese colony of Goa, Daman and Diu was Christianized following the Portuguese conquest of Goa in 1510 and the subsequent establishment of the Goan Inquisition. The converts in the ''Velhas Conquist ...
by the Portuguese in the 16th century AD, Goan Catholics have adopted a more Western culture. The dance, song and cuisine of
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
has been greatly influenced by the Portuguese. The culture of Goan Catholics is a mix of Portuguese people, Portuguese and Konkani people, Konkani cultures, with the former having a more dominant role because the Portuguese ruled Goa directly from 1510 to 1961. Mangalorean Catholics, who are mainly migrants from the Konkan region to the Canara subregion of Carnataca, have developed a distinct Mangalorean Catholic culture. Christianity in other parts of India spread under the colonial regimes of the Dutch, Danish, French and most importantly the English from the early 17th century to the time of the Indian Independence in 1947. Christian culture in various parts of India, has been influenced by the religion and culture of their respective colonisers. Contemporary Christian culture in India draws greatly from the English culture, as a result of the influence and dominance of former British Raj, British Indian rule, this is evident in the culture of Bombay East Indian Christians, who were the first subjects of English rule, in the erstwhile Seven Islands of Bombay and the adjacent areas of North Konkan. The Book of Common Prayer is a widely used supplement for worship in the two major Anglican Protestant denominations:
Church of South India The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of Protestant denominations in South India that occurred after the independence of India. With a membership of over 4.5 million, it ...
and
Church of North India The Church of North India (CNI) is the dominant united and uniting churches, united Protestant church in northern India. It was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together most of the Protestant churches working in northern India. It i ...
. Today Christians are considered to be one of the most progressive communities in India. Urban Christians are to a greater extent influenced by European culture, which is considered an advantage in the business environment of urban India; this is given as an explanation for the large number of Christian professionals in India's corporate sector. The Christian church runs thousands of educational institutions which have contributed to the strengthening of Christian culture in India. Religion plays a significant role in the daily life of Indian Christians, India ranks 15 among countries with based on church attendance. Religious processions and carnivals are often celebrated by Indian Catholics. Cities with significant Christian populations celebrate patron saint days. As in other parts of the world, Christmas is the most important festival for Indian Christians. Anglo-Indian Christmas Ball (dance), balls held in most major cities form a distinctive part of Indian Christian culture. Great Friday is a national holiday, All Souls Day is another holiday that is observed by most Christians in India. Most Protestant churches celebrate harvest festivals, usually in late October or early November. Easter and All Saints Day are also observed by many. Christian weddings in India conform to the white wedding. However, some Christian brides in the south, wear a white sari instead of a white dress (gown). Prior to the 1960s, the ''dhoti, dhothi'' was worn by South Canarese Christian bridegrooms to their Church weddings; it has almost completely been replaced by the black suit and tie nowadays.

Demographics
The 2001 census of India recorded 24,080,016 Christians in the country, representing 2.34 per cent of the population. A majority of Indian Christians are Protestants, followed by Catholics and
Oriental Orthodox The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christianity, Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysitism, Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 50 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches adhere to the Nicene Christian ...
etc.

Population by region and group
Christianity is the predominant religion in the northeastern states of
Nagaland Nagaland () is a States and union territories of India, state in the northeast India, north-eastern region of India. It is bordered by the Indian states of Arunachal Pradesh to the north, Assam to the west, Manipur to the south, and the Naga Sel ...
, Mizoram
Meghalaya Meghalaya (; "the abode of clouds") is a states and union territories of India, state in northeast India. Its capital is Shillong. Meghalaya was formed on 21 January 1972 by carving out two districts from the Assam: the United Khasi Hills an ...
, and Manipur. There are substantial Christian populations, in the regions of Arunachal, Assam, Tripura, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Goa and the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Christian population of Bombay Metropolitan Area, Bombay (Mumbai) area, is above the national average of 2.3 percent and found to be at 3.45 percent according to the 2011 census. A 2015 study estimates some 40,000 Christian believers from a Muslim background in the country, most of them belonging to Protestantism. The census of India provides us with the official numbers for Christian population in India. The Indian census has been recorded every ten years since 1871 and has always included religion (along with population, race, rural distribution, and occupation, among others). The most recently published census is from 2011. Subsequent estimates from 2013, 2015, 2017 and 2019 are also considered reliable. The native majority of
Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...
is Christian. According to the 1909 statistics in the Catholic Encyclopedia, the total Christian population in Portuguese controlled Goa was 293,628 out of a total population of 365,291 (80.33%). Due to emigration of natives (mostly Goan Catholics) from Goa to cosmopolitan cities in India (Mumbai, Bangalore, etc.) and to foreign countries, as well as mass migration of non-Christians to Goa from other states of India since the 20th century, the demographics of Goa have been severely altered. Less than 50% of Indian residents in Goa are ethnic
Goans Goans ( Romi Konkani: , ) is the demonym used to describe the people native to Goa, India, formerly part of Portuguese India (''Estado Português da Índia''). They form an ethno-linguistic group resulting from the assimilation of Indo-Aryan, ...
.

Population by denomination
In 2011, Pew reported 18,860,000 Protestants, 10,570,000 Catholic Church, Catholics, 2,370,000 Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox and 50,000 other Christians in India. Other sources estimate the total number of Protestantism in India, Protestants throughout the country in several hundreds of denominations at 45 million (45 million). Several sources estimate Catholic population in India at over 17 million (1.7 crore) The largest single denomination is the Catholic Church in India, Catholic Church. Anglicanism, Anglicans within the united
Church of North India The Church of North India (CNI) is the dominant united and uniting churches, united Protestant church in northern India. It was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together most of the Protestant churches working in northern India. It i ...
and
Church of South India The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of Protestant denominations in South India that occurred after the independence of India. With a membership of over 4.5 million, it ...
, constitute the second largest group at over 5 million (5 million).

Catholic denominations
The
Saint Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an Ethnoreligious group, ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Ker ...
(Syro Malabar Church,
Syro-Malankara Catholic Church The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, also known as the Malankara Syrian Catholic Church, is an Eastern Catholic '' sui iuris'' particular church that employs the West Syriac Rite and is in full communion with the worldwide Catholic Church posse ...
,
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an Autocephaly, autocephalous Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in #Catholicate ...
,
Jacobite Syrian Christian Church The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, also known as the Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church, Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church in India is an autonomous maphrianate of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodo ...
,
Chaldean Syrian Church The Chaldean Syrian Church of India (; ) is an Eastern Christian denomination, based in Thrissur, in India. It is part of the greater Assyrian Church of the East and is organised a singular Metropolitan (Archdiocese) See of India, and represen ...
,
CSI Syrian Christians Saint Thomas Anglicans (often called Anglican Syrian Christians or CSI Syrian Christians) are the Saint Thomas Christians, Saint Thomas Christian members of the Church of South India, Church of South India (CSI); the self-governing South India ...
,
Mar Thoma Syrian Church The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, often shortened to Mar Thoma Church, and known also as the Reformed Syrian ChurchS. N. Sadasivan. A Social History of India''. APH Publishing; 2000. . p. 442. and the Mar Thoma Syrian Church of Malab ...
, Pentecostal Syrian Christians, St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India, St. Thomas Evangelical Church and
Malabar Independent Syrian Church The Malabar Independent Syrian Church (MISC), also known as the Thozhiyur Church, is a Christian church centred in Kerala, India. It is one of the churches of the Saint Thomas Christian community, which traces its origins to the evangelical ac ...
) of
Kerala Kerala ( , ) is a States and union territories of India, state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile ...
form 18.75% of the Christians in India with 4.5 million of them. 310,000 were members of the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, Syro-Malankara Church and 4,000,000 of the Syro-Malabar Church. In January 1993, the Syro-Malabar Church and in February 2005, the Syro-Malankara Church were raised to the status of major archbishop, major archiepiscopal churches by Pope John Paul II. The Syro-Malabar Church is the second largest among the 23 Eastern Catholic Churches who accept the Pope as the visible head of the whole church. The Oriental Orthodox churches in India include the
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church (IOC) or simply as the Malankara Church, is an Autocephaly, autocephalous Oriental Orthodox Churches, Oriental Orthodox church headquartered in #Catholicate ...
with 1120,000 members, the
Jacobite Syrian Christian Church The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, also known as the Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church, Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church in India is an autonomous maphrianate of the Syriac Orthodox Church, Syriac Orthodo ...
with 800,000 members and the Malabar Independent Syrian Church with 30,000 members. The Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church is an Eastern Protestant Christianity, Eastern Protestant denomination with 1,100,000 members.

Protestant denominations
Most Protestant denominations are represented in India, as a result of missionary activities throughout the country, such as the American Missionary Association, United Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel Mission, the Church Mission Society of the Church of England and many other missions from Europe, United States, America and Australia. In 1961, an evangelical wing of the Mar Thoma Church split and formed the St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India which has 35,000 members. There are about 1,267,786 Lutheranism, Lutherans, 648,000 Methodists, 2,392,694 Baptists, and 823,456 Presbyterians in India. The Open Brethren movement is also significantly represented in India. The main Brethren grouping is known as the Indian Brethren (with a following estimated at somewhere between 449,550 and 1,000,000), of which the Kerala Brethren are a significant subset. The closely related Assemblies Jehovah Shammah have around 310,000 adults and children in fellowship as of 2010. They are often considered part of the wider Brethren movement, although they were founded by an indigenous evangelist (Bakht Singh) and developed independently of the older Indian Brethren movement, which originated from missionary endeavours. Pentecostalism is also a rapidly growing movement in India. The major Pentecostal churches in India are the Indian Pentecostal Church of God, the Assemblies of God, The Pentecostal Mission, the New Apostolic Church with 1,448,209 members, the New Life Fellowship Association with 480,000 members, the Manna Full Gospel Churches with 275,000 members, and the Evangelical Church of India with 250,000 members. File:A view of the Saint Francis Xavier church Old Goa during the feast of Saint Francis Xavier on December 02, 2009.jpg, Goan Catholics celebrating the feast of Saint Francis Xavier File:Crucession in CNI Church.jpg, Marathi Christians, Marathi Anglicans in Mumbai File:Oriental Orthodox church in India collects palm fronds for the Palm Sunday.jpg, Oriental Orthodoxy in India, Oriental Orthodox Christians celebrating Palm Sunday File:Devotees light candles and pray outside the Sacred Heart Cathedral Church on the occasion of Christmas, at Gol Dak Khana, in New Delhi on December 25, 2013.jpg, Devotees light candles and pray outside the Sacred Heart Cathedral, New Delhi on the occasion of Christmas.

List

Conflicts and controversies

Hindu-Christian conflict and controversy
The arrival of European colonialists brought about large-scale missionary activity in coastal India and North-East India. The Cuncolim Massacre and the Maratha Invasion of Goa (1683), Mahratta invasions of Goa-Anjediva and Bombay-Bassein are among the first known clashes. Christianity has been propaganda, propagandised as a Xenophobia, "foreign" religion, with the growth of Hindu fundamentalism, despite the fact that several List of Indian Christians, Christian individuals and institutions have been for Indian nationalism. During the 1998 attacks on Christians in southeastern Gujarat, the Human Rights Watch reported that from 25 December 1988 to 3 January 1999, at least 20 prayer halls were damaged or burnt down and Christian institutions were attacked in the Dang district, India, Dangs district, and its surrounding districts and at least 25 villages had reported incidents of burning and damages to prayer halls all over Gujarat. On 22 January 1999, an Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were burnt to death by Dara Singh (Bajrang Dal) while sleeping in his station wagon at Manoharpur village in Keonjhar district in Odisha, India. In the annual human rights reports for 1999, the United States Department of State also criticized India for "increasing societal violence against Christians." The report on anti-Christian violence listed over 90 incidents of anti-Christian violence, ranging from damage of religious property to violence against Christians pilgrims. The states of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu passed laws placing restrictions on forced religious conversions as a result of communal tension between Christians and Hindus. The legislation passed in Tamil Nadu was later repealed. In 2007, 19 churches were burned by Hindu right-wingers in Odisha following conflicts between Hindus and Christians regarding Christmas celebrations in the Kandhamal district. In 2008, there was again violence against Christians, particularly in the state of Odisha, after the murder of Swami Lakshmanananda by Indian Maoists (communist insurgents), tensions flared between the two communities in 2008. Christians were blamed and attacked in Orissa with 38 killed and over 250 churches damaged while several thousands of Christians were displaced. Sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA Manoj Pradhan was sentenced to rigorous imprisonment for six years by a fast track court for a murder during the 2008 communal riots in Odisha's Kandhamal district. The 2008 anti-Christian attacks in Orissa spilled over and escalated into the 2008 attacks on Christians in southern Karnataka state. The acts of violence include arson and vandalism of churches, forced conversion of Christians to Hinduism by threats of physical violence, distribution of threatening literature, burning of Bibles, raping of nuns, murder of Christian priests, and destruction of Christian schools, colleges and cemeteries. A program or movement with its roots in Hindutva ideology, known as ('returning home'), sponsored by a number of Hindu nationalist groups, facilitates the mass conversion of Christians – and, especially, Muslims – "back" to their supposedly "inherent" or "natural" religion of Hinduism. Organisations which promote include the far-right Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP) and Dharm Jagaran Samiti. Its support by influential officials within the BJP, the governing party, has led to criticism such that support threatens the secularism and freedom of religion enshrined in India's constitution. India is number 10 on Open Doors' 2022 World Watch List, an annual ranking of the fifty countries where Christians face the most extreme persecution. However, a faction of the Christianity in Kerala, Syrian Christians of Kerala do support the Hindutva ideology and extremist groups like the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS); which was involved in the violent and forceful demolition of the Babri Masjid. While some have argued that Hindu caste based discrimination has continued caste system among South Asian Christians, among Christians in India, other Indian people, Indians and Hindus have denied reservation in India, caste based reservation to Dalit Christians.

Muslim–Christian conflict and controversy
The relationship between Muslims and Christians in India has also been occasionally turbulent. With the advent of European colonialism in India throughout the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, Christians were systematically persecuted in certain Muslim-ruled kingdoms in India, particularly the actions by Tippu Sultan, the ruler of Kingdom of Mysore, Mysore against the Mangalorean Catholics (South Canara). The captivity of Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam, which began on 24 February 1784 and ended 15 years later on 4 May 1799, remains the most disconsolate memory in that community's history. The Bakur Manuscript reports Tippu Sultan as having said: Soon after the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784, Tipu gained control of South Canara. He issued orders to seize the Christians in Canara, confiscate their estates, and deport them to Seringapatam, the capital of his empire, via the Jamalabad-fort route. However, there were no priests among the captives. Together with Fr Miranda, all the 21 arrested priests were issued orders of expulsion to Goa, fined Rs 200,000, and threatened with death by hanging if they ever returned. Tipu ordered the destruction of twenty-seven Catholic churches all intricately carved with statues depicting various saints. Among them were Nossa Senhora de Rosario Milagres at Mangalore, Jesu Marie Jose at Omzoor, the Chapel at Bolar, the Church of Merces at
Ullal Ullal or ''Uḷḷāla'' is a City in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka state in India. Ullal City Municipal Council along with the Mangaluru City Corporation forms the continuous Mangaluru urban agglomeration area which is currently the ...
, Imaculata Conceiciao at Mulki, Karnataka, Mulki, Sao Lawrence at Karkal and Immaculata Conceciao at Baidnur.Sarasvati's Children
Joe Lobo All were razed to the ground, with the exception of the Hospet Church, Church of Holy Cross at Hospet, owing to the friendly offices of the Chauta Raja of Moodbidri. An instigating factor that helped spark the Indian Rebellion of 1857 was, for Muslims sepoys, resistance to the East India Company's introduction of the new Pattern 1853 Enfield, Enfield Rifle-Musket – abhorrent to them due to a belief that the weapon's cartridges, which they would be required to handle and even to bite open the encasing papers, were greased with pig fat, a religiously unacceptable agent for Muslim soldiers. Sepoys interpreted the rumours of grease constituents as a deliberate ploy by the company to defile Muslim soldiers so that they would convert to Christianity. In combination with a corresponding idea that cow fat was included to defile Hindu soldiers, this was perceived as an attempt to impose Christian law in Hindustan. Historian William Dalrymple (historian), William Dalrymple notes the religiously imbued rhetoric employed, in contrast to nationalistic sentiment. For instance, when Mughal Empire, Mughal Emperor Bahadur Shah Zafar met the sepoys on 11 May 1857, he was told: "We have joined hands to protect our religion and our faith." They later stood in Chandni Chowk, the main square, and asked the people gathered there, "Brothers, are you with those of the faith?" Those British men and women who had previously converted to Islam such as the defectors, Sergeant-Major Gordon, and Abdullah Beg, a former Company soldier, were spared. In contrast, foreign Christians such as the Rev Midgeley John Jennings, as well as Indian converts to Christianity such as one of Zafar's personal physicians, Chaman Lal, were killed outright. Dalrymple recounts that as late as 6 September, when calling the inhabitants of Delhi to rally against the upcoming British assault, Zafar issued a proclamation stating that this was a religious war being prosecuted on behalf of "the faith", and that all Muslim and Hindu residents of the imperial city, or of the countryside were encouraged to stay true to their faith and creeds. He observes that the Urdu sources of the pre- and post-rebellion periods usually refer to the British not as ('the English'), ('whites') or ('foreigners'), but as ('infidels') and ('Christians'). Muslims in India who convert to Christianity are considered apostates and subject to harassment, intimidation, and attacks by Muslims. In Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir, a Christian convert and missionary named Bashir Tantray was killed, allegedly by militant Islamists in 2006.Christian convert from Islam shot dead in Kashmir

List of Christian communities in India

Christian communities
* Anglo-Indian people * Bengali Christians * Bettiah Christians * Bombay East Indian Catholics * Christian Revival Church * Dalit Christians * Goan Catholics * Karwari Catholics * Knanaya Christians * Latin Catholics of Malabar * Mangalorean Christians * Marathi Christians * Meitei Christians * Protestants in India * Punjabi Christians * Reddy Catholics *
St Thomas Christians The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala ( Malabar region) ...
* Tamil Christians * Telugu Christian

Christianity by state/ territory
* Christianity in Arunachal Pradesh * Christianity in Assam * Christianity in Bihar * Christianity in Chhattisgarh * Christianity in Delhi * Christianity in Goa * Christianity in Gujarat * Christianity in Jharkhand * Christianity in Karnataka * Christianity in Kerala * Christianity in Madhya Pradesh * Christianity in Maharashtra * Christianity in Manipur * Christianity in Meghalaya * Christianity in Mizoram * Christianity in Nagaland * Christianity in Odisha * Christianity in Punjab, India, Christianity in Punjab * Christianity in Tamil Nadu * Christianity in Tripura * Christianity in Uttar Pradesh * Christianity in West Bengal

Indian Christians

Violence against Christians in India

See also
* Ancient Christianity in the Indian Subcontinent * Anti-Christian violence in India * Anti-Christian violence in Karnataka *Christian ashram movement * Christian seminaries and theological colleges in India *Christianity in Bangladesh *Christianity in Pakistan *Christianity in Nepal *Christianity in Sri Lanka *Church of India, Burma and Ceylon *Conversion of Christian churches into Hindu temples * Caste system among South Asian Christians *Dalit theology *
Francis Xavier Francis Xavier, Jesuits, SJ (born Francisco de Jasso y Azpilicueta; ; ; ; ; ; 7 April 15063 December 1552), venerated as Saint Francis Xavier, was a Kingdom of Navarre, Navarrese cleric and missionary. He co-founded the Society of Jesus ...
*Freedom of religion in India *Graham Staines *History of Pentecostalism in India *Indian Christian Day *Indian Christian Front *Indian Christian Marriage Act of 1872 *Indian Christian Weddings *Indigenous religion in India *Irreligion in India *Jesus in India *Joseph Mary Bernini *Koswad * List of cathedrals in India * List of Saints from India * List of basilicas in India * List of Catholic missionaries in India * List of Protestant missionaries in India *Monti Fest, St Mary's Festival *Orissa: Christian-Hindu clashes *Rice Christians *Sikhism in India *Teresa of Calcutta *Valentine's Day in India

References

Citations

Bibliography
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Further reading
* * * * * * Dutta, Sutapa (2017). ''British Women Missionaries in Bengal, 1793–1861''. UK: Anthem Press. * * Goel, S.G. (2016). ''History of Hindu-Christian encounters, AD 304 to 1996''. * Hollister, John Norman (1956). ''The Centenary of the Methodist Church in Southern Asia''. Lucknow Publishing House. * Jain, Sandhya (2010). ''Evangelical intrusions: [Tripura, a case study]''. New Delhi: Rupa & Co. * * * Latourette, Kenneth S. (1939) ''A history of expansion of Christianity. Vol. 3. Three centuries of advance: AD 1500–AD 1800''. pp 247–284. * Latourette, Kenneth S. (1944) ''A history of expansion of Christianity. Vol. 6. The great century: in Northern Africa and Asia: AD 1800–AD 1914''. pp 65–214. * Latourette, Kenneth S. (1961) ''Christianity In A Revolutionary Age. Vol. 3, A History Of Christianity In The Nineteenth And Twentieth Centuries The Nineteenth Century Outside Europe The Americas The Pacific Asia And Africa''. pp. 400–415
online
* Latourette, Kenneth S. (1962) ''Christianity in a Revolutionary Age. Vol. 5, The 20th Century outside Europe'' pp. 299–331. * * Madhya Pradesh (India)., & Niyogi, M. B. (1956). Vindicated by time: The Niyogi Committee report on Christian missionary activities. Nagpur: Government Printing, Madhya Pradesh. * Malech, George David. ''History of the Syrian Nation and the Old Evangelical-Apostolic Church of the East''. Gorgias Press. * Menachery, George, Ed., various publications incl. ''The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India'' in 3 vols. and The Indian Church History Classics ''The Nazranies'' for some 1500 photos and art reproductions. * Menachery, George, Ed., ''The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India'', Vol. I (India) 1982, Vol. II (Kerala) 1973, Vol. III (India) 2010. * * Menachery, George, Ed. (1998) ''Indian Church History Classics. Vol.I (Nazranies)'' * Michael, S.M. (2010) ''Dalit's Encounter with Christianity. A Case Study of Mahars in Maharashtra'', ISPK – Ishvani Kendra: Delhi – Pune, 230 pp. . * * Moffett, Samuel Hugh. (2005) ''A History of Christianity in Asia, Vol. II, 1500–1900''. * * * * * * * * Panikkar, K. M. (1959). ''Asia and Western dominance''. London: Allen & Unwin. * Panikkar, K. M. (1997). ''Malabar and the Portuguese: Being a history of the relations of the Portuguese with Malabar from 1500 to 1663''. Bombay: D B Taraporevala. * Pickett, J. Waskom. (1939). ''The Methodist Church in India''. * * * * Shourie, Arun. (2006). Missionaries in India: Continuities, changes, dilemmas. New Delhi: Rupa. * Thoburn, James M. ''The Christian conquest of India'' (1906
online
* * ''This article includes material from the 1995 public domain Library of Congress Country Studies, Library of Congress Country Study on India.''

External links
* * {{Religion in India topics Christianity in India,

HOME

Content is Copyleft
Website design, code, and AI is Copyrighted (c) 2014-2017 by Stephen Payne

Consider donating to Wikimedia

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases