Reddy Catholics (Reddies) are a loose sect or association of Catholics that grew out of the first Christian converts in

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...

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 area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. They generally speak Telugu and often retain some of their Hindu customs. There are branches in many parts of the world.

History

The first convert to Christianity in

was Thumma Hanumantha Reddy, also known as Manda Reddy. Manda Reddy, along with thirty

Reddy Reddy (also Hunterian transliteration, transliterated as Reddi or Raddi; also known as Reddiar or Reddappa) is a Telugu people, Telugu Hindu Caste system in India, caste predominantly found in the states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana in Sou ...

families of Muddiguba and some other Reddy families in Alamuru, embraced Christianity in 1715. In the Rayalaseema region, many Reddies began visiting churches and converted to Christianity (Catholicism). By 1735, in Southern Andhra, there were thousands of Christians, most of whom belonged to the

and traditional weaver communities. Many Reddies in Guntur district have converted to Roman Catholicism and many still keep some Hindu traditions like

Thali Thali (meaning "plate" or "tray") or Bhojanam (meaning "full meal") is a round Platter (dishware), platter used to serve food in South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Caribbean. Thali is also used to refer to an Indian-style meal made up of a sel ...

and bottus. Some of the Catholic Reddies migrated to Telangana via

Krishna River The Krishna River in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau is the third-longest in India, after the Ganga, Ganga and Godavari. It is also the fourth-largest in terms of water inflows and river basin area in India, after the Ganga, Indus and Godav ...

. In Telangana, they named their village as Guntur pally, Reddypuram, or Reddypalem. By 1750, Christianity further spread to the Circar Districts due to the migration of Christian Reddies into those areas. In the early 18th century, many Catholic Reddies had migrated from Rayalaseema to some parts of

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...

and

Telangana Telangana is a States and union territories of India, state in India situated in the Southern India, south-central part of the Indian subcontinent on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, ele ...

. Reddy Catholics mainly live under * Roman Catholic Diocese of Kurnool * Roman Catholic Diocese of Cuddapah * Roman Catholic Diocese of Guntur * Roman Catholic Diocese of Chingleput * Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Hyderabad *

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore/Madras and Myliapor () is an archdiocese based in the city of Madras (now ''Chennai''), in India. It merged with the ancient diocese of Mylapore which now a part of Chennai. History * 9 Ja ...

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Bangalore The Roman Catholic Metropolitan Archdiocese of Bangalore () is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Catholic Church in India. It was erected as pro-vicariate from (16 March 1845 to 2 April 1850), as Vicariate from (3 April 1850 – 3 ...

Migration to Tamil Nadu

The Catholics belonging to Reddy community settled in the bordering villages of Andhra Pradesh and Tamilnadu.

References

{{Reflist Catholicism in India Christianity in Tamil Nadu Social groups of Tamil Nadu Social groups of Andhra Pradesh

History

Migration to Tamil Nadu

See also

References