Parangimalai (known in English as St. Thomas Mount) is a small

hillock A hillock or knoll is a small hill,The Free Dictionary
"hillock" entry, retrieved December 18, 2007 ...

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...

India India, officially the Republic of India ( Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the ...

, near the neighbourhood of

Guindy Guindy is one of the most important neighborhoods of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, and is nicknamed as ''The Gateway to Chennai''. The Kathipara junction where Anna Salai, Mount-Poonamallee Road, Inner Ring Road, 100 Feet Road or Jawaharlal Nehru ...

and very close to

Chennai International Airport Chennai International Airport is an international airport serving the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu and its metropolitan area. It is located in Tirusulam, southwest of the city centre. Chennai International Airport is the sixth busiest airp ...

. The ancient Syrian Christian community of India trace the origin of their

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Ch ...

to St. Thomas the Apostle. From the 17th century, this part of Chennai was populated predominantly by

Anglo-Indian Anglo-Indian people fall into two different groups: those with mixed Indian and British ancestry, and people of British descent born or residing in India. The latter sense is now mainly historical, but confusions can arise. The ''Oxford English ...

s. The St. Thomas Garrison Church is at the foot of St. Thomas Mount. The

St. Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Church ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

is located east of the shrine at North Silver Street, footholds of the mountain shrine. The neighbourhood is served by the St. Thomas Mount railway station, on the southern line of the

Chennai Suburban Railway Network The Chennai Suburban Railway is a commuter rail system in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, operated by the Southern Railways branch of Indian Railways. It is the second largest suburban rail network in terms of route length and the third ...

. Integration of the

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban ...

and MRTS with the suburban station in the neighbourhood, is expected to make the suburb the city's largest transit hub after

Chennai Central Chennai Central (station code: MAS, short for ''Madras''), officially known as Puratchi Thalaivar Dr. M.G. Ramachandran Central Railway Station, is the main railway terminus in the city of Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. It is the busiest railwa ...

. In the state assembly elections of 1967 and 1971, there was a constituency known as the

Parangimalai Parangimalai (known in English as St. Thomas Mount) is a small hillock in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India, near the neighbourhood of Guindy and very close to Chennai International Airport. The ancient Syrian Christian community of India trace the o ...

Etymology

According to tradition, Sage Bhringi resided and meditated on the hillock in his quest to see

Lord Shiva Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hind ...

. The locality thus came to be known as ''Bhringi malai'', or "the hill of Bhringi", which over time morphed as "Parangimalai". It is also said that this connects several other regions in the city with the origin of their names. For instance, the place where he laid his pitcher, known in Tamil as ''kindi'' while performing worship, has now come to be known as "

". The place is named St. Thomas Mount in English in honour of

Saint Thomas the Apostle Thomas the Apostle ( arc, 𐡀𐡌𐡅𐡕𐡌, hbo, תוֹמא הקדוש or תוֹמָא שליחא (''Toma HaKadosh'' "Thomas the Holy" or ''Toma Shlikha'' "Thomas the Messenger/Apostle" in Hebrew-Aramaic), syc, ܬܐܘܡܐ, , meaning "twi ...

, who lived and preached in the locality

Hill shrine

A shrine dedicated to "Our Lady of Expectation" (

Mother Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother o ...

) was built in 1523 on top of the Mount. The altar of this shrine was built on the spot where St. Thomas' death is traditionally believed to have been occurred. At the northern foot of the mount, is a gateway of four impressive arches surmounted by a cross bearing the inscribed date 1547. A flight of 160 steps leads up to the summit of the mount. There are 14

stations of the cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imita ...

on the way to the summit.

Educational institutions

St. Thomas Mount has several schools and training institutions.

Schools

St Thomas Academy Chennai Aug22 A7C 02316

* St Dominic's Anglo-Indian Higher Secondary School was founded in July 1901 Holy Apostles Convent European School for children of the British and Anglo Indian Army Personnel. In 1914 it was renamed as St Dominic's School. In 1978 Class 12 was added. * Marian Matriculation Higher Secondary School is an English medium, co-educational senior secondary school from lower kindergarten (LKG) to class 12. * St. Thomas Academy is an English medium, co-educational higher secondary school started in July 2017 and by 2022 had about 400 students. It is affiliated with the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE).

Vocational training institutes

* St Theresa of Child Jesus School of Nursing is located in St. Thomas Hospital. Started in 1993, by 2012 it was admitting 20 students annually. * Montfort Technical Institute is a private industrial training institute (ITI). Established in Jan 1972, it is one of 326 private ITIs in the state of

Governance

The St. Thomas Mount block is a revenue block in the

Chengalpattu district Chengalpattu District is one of the 38 districts of Tamil Nadu, in India. The district headquarters is located at Chengalpattu. Chengalpattu district came into existence on 29 November 2019 when it was carved out of Kanchipuram district af ...

of Tamil Nadu, India. As per the Census 2011, the St. Thomas Mount development block covered an area of , of which was classified as rural and as urban. The block included 121,017 household with a total population of 475,995. The sex ratio was 978.7 females per 1,000 males. The number of children in the age group 0-6 years was 55,103. Scheduled castes numbered 74,322 (15.6%) and scheduled tribes were 2.544 (0.53%). The literacy rate was 77.6%, with males at 81.3% and females at 73.9%. The following 15 rural village panchayats come under St Thomas Mount Panchayat Union: # Agaramthen #

Medavakkam Medavakkam is a southern suburb of Chennai in Tambaram taluk of Chengalpattu district, which is adjacent to the neighbourhood of Sholinganallur, Madipakkam, Selaiyur, Keelkattalai, Velachery and Tambaram Tambaram is a southern suburb o ...

Kovilambakkam Kovilambakkam is a southern suburb of Chennai, India. It is located in Chengalpattu district in the state of Tamil Nadu, about 26 km from Chennai city center and 12 km from Tambaram. The neighbourhood spans the areas of Sunnambu Kolath ...

Cowl bazaar Cowl Bazaar is a suburb of Chennai located in the Chengalpattu district of Tamil Nadu, India. It is a village panchayat in St.Thomas Mount Block located north of Pozhichalur and west of Chennai International Airport along the banks of Ady ...

# Mudichur #

Perumbakkam Perumbakkam is a suburb of the southern Indian city of Chennai in Chengalpattu district. Location It is bound by Sholinganallur to the east, Semmencherry to the south, Medavakkam to the north and Sithalapakkam to the west. It is only a fe ...

# Nanmangalam # Polichalur #

Trisulam Tirusulam is a neighbourhood in Chennai, India. For administrative purposes, it is a census town in Chennai. The Chennai International Airport is located here opposite the Tirusulam Railway station, with the cargo terminal located at the adja ...

#Ottyambakkam #Thiruvanchery #Vengaivasal #Madurapakkam #Moovarasampattu #Sithalapakkam

Gallery

Exterior of the Church

File:Evangelical Entrance Thomas Mount Church Chennai Aug22 R16 06223.jpg, Entrance to the Shrine File:Main Entrance St Thomas Mount Church Chennai Aug22 A7C 02249.jpg, Main entrance to the Church File:Bell Tower Station XIV Thomas Mount Chennai Aug22 A7C 02255.jpg, Bell tower File:North Facade Adoration Chapel Thomas Mount Aug22 A7C 02286.jpg, Blessed Sacrament Adoration Chapel File:Statue Mary Untier Knots Thomas Mount Chennai Aug22 A7C 02267.jpg, Mary Untier of Knots File:St Thomas Mount2.JPG, Flagstaff File:Statue Mother Teresa Thomas Mount Chennai Aug22 A7C 02284.jpg, Mother Teresa

Interior of the Church

File:Interior Nave Thomas Church Mount Chennai Aug22 A7C 02257.jpg, Nave File:ST. THOMAS MT. - panoramio (8).jpg, Altar File:Relic 8 Apostle Thomas Mount Chennai Aug22 A7C 02260.jpg, Relic of an Apostle File:Statue Thomas Infant Jesus Mount Chennai Aug22 A7C 02264.jpg, St. Thomas & Infant Jesus File:Gravestone Anna St Thomas Mount Chennai Aug22 R16 06221.jpg, Gravestone in the entrance

Stations of the Cross

The 14

Stations of the Cross The Stations of the Cross or the Way of the Cross, also known as the Way of Sorrows or the Via Crucis, refers to a series of images depicting Jesus Christ on the day of his crucifixion and accompanying prayers. The stations grew out of imita ...

are positioned along the 160-step climb up the Mount. File:Statue of jesus at st.Thomas mount church, chennai 3.JPG, 3: Jesus falls for the 1st time File:Statue of jesus at st.Thomas mount church, chennai 5.JPG, 5: Simon helps carry the Cross File:Statue of jesus at st.Thomas mount church, chennai.JPG, 10: Jesus is stripped of his garments File:Station Cross XIII Thomas Mount Chennai Aug22 A7C 02282.jpg, 13: Jesus is taken down from the Cross File:Station Cross XIV Thomas Mount Chennai Aug22 R16 06211.jpg, 14: Jesus is laid in the tomb

Views from the Mount

File:View_NW_Thomas_Mount_Chennai_Aug22_R16_06220.jpg, View to north-west File:Alandur Metro Station Chennai Aug22 A7C 02276.jpg, Alandur Metro Station File:AirAsia A320 VT-MLE Landing Chennai Aug22 D72 24870.jpg, AirAsia A320 final approach File:Pallavaram Hill Runway NE Chennai Airport Aug22 A7C 02296.jpg, NE runway, Pallavaram Hill File:Touchdown Indigo A320 VT-ISY Chennai Aug22 A7C 02308.jpg, Indigo A320 touch down File:International Terminal Airside Chennai Airport Aug22 D72 24874.jpg, International terminal

References

External links

St. Thomas Mount National Shrine

St. Thomas and San Thome, Mylapore

{{Chennai topics Sacred mountains Churches in Chennai Neighbourhoods in Chennai Eastern Catholic shrines