Christianity in Tamil Nadu

Christianity in the state of Tamil Nadu, India is the second largest religion in the state. According to tradition, St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, landed in Malabar Coast (modern day Kerala) in 52 CE. In the colonial age many Portuguese, Dutch, British and Italian Christians came to Tamil Nadu. Priests accompanied them not only to minister the colonisers but also to spread the Christian faith among the non-Christians in Tamil Nadu. Currently, Christians are a minority community comprising 6% of the total population.[1] Christians are mainly concentrated in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu - Kanyakumari (48.7% of the population, 2001[1]), Thoothukudi (17%, 2001) and Tirunelveli (11%, 2001).

Church at Yercaud
Thiruvithamcode Arappally under Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church is believed to be built by Thomas the Apostle
San Thome Basilica, Chennai is built over the site where St.Thomas is believed to be originally interred
Our lady of Lourdes Latin Catholic Church in Tiruchirappalli

The Roman Catholic Church (Latin Rite), the Church of South India, The Salvation Army Church,the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Evangelical Church of India, the Pentacosts, the Apostolics, and other evangelical denominations constitute the Christian population in Tamil Nadu. The Latin Rite of Roman Catholic Church is the oldest and the largest among all. With 15 dioceses including the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madurai, the Latin Rite has a homogeneous presence throughout the state. The second-largest church by the number of members is the Church of South India with 8 dioceses in Tamil Nadu. They are Coimbatore Diocese, Kanyakumari Diocese, Madras Diocese, Madurai-Ramnad Diocese, Thoothukudi – Nazareth Diocese, Tirunelveli Diocese, Trichy-Tanjore Diocese and the Vellore Diocese. Church of South India Synod, the highest administrative body of the Church of South India, is in Chennai. The vast majority of Christians in Tamil Nadu are either members of the Latin Rite Roman Catholic Church or the Church of South India. The Pentecostal Mission (TPM) is headquartered in Chennai.

Salvation Army in Tamil Nadu

The Salvation Army is an International Christian Church and charitable organisation. There are six territories in India; Eastern, Western, Northern, Central, South Eastern and South Western Territory. Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry come under the Central and South Eastern Territory. There are more than 1000 churches over Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. School, colleges, homes, shelters, and medical services are provided here. The Salvation Army does missionary, medical, educational, emergency disaster, and social services.

The Salvation Army operation commenced on 27 May 1892 as a result of the vision received by Major Deva Sundaram at "Medicine Hill" near Nagercoil in Kanyakumari District. He had been praying and fasting with three officers in South Tamil Nadu. As the Army experienced rapid growth in South India, the Territory was separated from Southern Territory on 1 October 1970. States included in the territory: Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry. 'The Salvation Army' in Tamil: Ratchaniya Senai in Malayalam: Raksha Sainyam. Languages in which the gospel is preached: English, Malayalam, Tamil. Periodicals: Chiruveeran (Tamil), Home League Quarterly, Poresatham (Tamil), The Officer (Tamil)

Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

In 1996, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church created its first `Diocese of Thuckalay` in Kanyakumari district, (which was under the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Changanassery in Kerala till then), of Tamil Nadu. The same year the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church has also newly established the `Diocese of Marthandam` (bifurcated from its Archdiocese of Trivandrum) in Kanyakumari district. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church established its first diocese Chennai Diocese in the year 1979. St. Thomas Mount in Chennai, the place where St. Thomas, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, was believed to have been martyred, is an important pilgrimage site for Indian Christians. The Santhome Basilica, supposedly built atop the tomb of St. Thomas, and the Vailankanni Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health—revered churches by India's Roman Catholics—are good examples of majestic church architectures in Tamil Nadu.

Christianity In Kanyakumari District

One of the disciples of Jesus Christ, St.Thomas introduced Christianity in Kanyakumari. He built a church in Thiruvithamcode in 63 AD. In the first half of the 16th century, thousands of fishermen converted to Catholicism due to the efforts of Francis Xavier. In 18th century European missionaries including William Tobias Ringeltaube established protestant churches and propagated Christianity in Kanyakumari.

Caste discrimination was so severe in some parts of the district ,that many low castes were not allowed to enter temples and lower caste women were not allowed to cover their breasts. During its reign the Kingdom of Travancore enacted several laws which suppressed lower-caste people. Missionaries fought for the rights of the suppressed people and pushed the Kingdom of Travancore to restore only some basic rights for the converted Christians. As a result many suppressed people embraced Christianity.[2]

Important Basilicas

Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health
Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu Entrance
Main article: Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health
Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health

The Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health is located in the small town of Velankanni in the state of Tamil Nadu in Southern India. The Roman Catholic basilica is devoted to Our Lady of Good Health. Devotion to Our Lady of Good Health of Velankanni can be traced to the mid-16th century and is attributed to three miracles at different sites around where the basilica currently stands: the apparition of Mary and the Christ Child to a slumbering shepherd boy, the curing of a lame buttermilk vendor, and the rescue of Portuguese sailors from a violent sea storm.[3]

Although all three apparitions ultimately resulted in the erection of a shrine to our Lady, it was the promise of the Portuguese sailors that was the proximate cause of a permanent edifice being built at Velankanni. The chapel was dedicated on the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (8 September), the day of their safe landing. More than 500 years later, the nine-day festival and celebration is still observed and draws nearly 5 million pilgrims each year. The Shrine of Our Lady of Vailankanni, also known as the "Lourdes of the East,"[4] is one of the most important Christian religious sites frequented by Christians in India.

San Thome Basilica
San Thome Basilica at evening

San Thome Basilica is a Roman Catholic (Latin Rite) minor basilica in Santhome, in the city of Chennai (Madras), India. It was built in the 16th century by Portuguese explorers, and rebuilt again with the status of a cathedral by the British in 1893. The British version still stands today. It was designed in Neo-Gothic style, favoured by British architects in the late 19th century. Christian tradition holds that St. Thomas arrived in Kerala in 52 A.D. preached between 52 A.D. and 72 A.D., when he was believed to be martyred on St. Thomas Mount. The basilica is built over the site where he was believed originally to be interred.

San Thome Basilica is the principal church of the Madras-Mylapore Catholic Archdiocese. In 1956, Pope Pius XII raised the church to the status of a Minor Basilica, and on 11 February 2006, it was declared a national shrine by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India. The San Thome Basilica is a pilgrimage centre for Christians in India. The church also has an attached museum.[5]

Poondi Madha Basilica

Our Lady of Lourdes Basilica, Poondi, is a Catholic pilgrimage centre located in Thanjavur, Tamil Nadu, South India. Poondi is a small village located in Thiruvaiyaru Taluk (also spelled as Taluka), about 35 km away from Thanjavur. It is considered as one of the Roman Catholic pilgrim centres similar to Velankanni, which houses the famous Poondi Madha Shrine that attracts pilgrims from all over India.

Contributions to literature
Thambiran Vanakkam first Tamil Christian book (1578)
Tamil New Testament (1713)

Christians of Tamil Nadu who have made concrete contributions to Tamil language and Tamil literature are

Christians who had been born in Europe, but were adopted to Tamil culture and made major contributions to Tamil language and literature are

Christian pilgrimages
New Jerusalem Church, Tranquebar

Notable Christian churches and pilgrimage sites in Tamil Nadu.

List of denominations

Apostolic Christian Assembly[7]

Demographics
Districts with significant percentage of Christians as per 2001 census
District Christian (%) Christian (numbers)
Tamil Nadu6.023,785,060
Kanyakumari 48.74 795,406
Thoothukudi 16.70 262,718
The Nilgiris 11.45 87,272
Tirunelveli 10.88 296,578
Tiruchirappalli 9.01 218,033
Chennai 7.62 331,261
Dindigul 7.55 145,265
Ramanathapuram 7.08 84,092
Kanchipuram 5.92 170,416
Sivaganga 5.86 67,739
Thanjavur 5.63 124,945
Tiruvallur 5.56 169,719
Ariyalur 5.21 36,261
Pudukkottai 4.55 66,432
Coimbatore 4.34 185,737
Viluppuram 3.90 115,745
Virudhunagar 3.89 68,295
Madurai 3.34 86,352
Cuddalore 3.22 73,611
Teni 3.09 33,830
Nagapattinam 3.07 45,780
Vellore 2.94 102,477
Tiruvarur 2.70 31,621
Tiruvannamalai 2.52 55,180
Erode 2.14 55,414
Perambalur 1.70 8,412
Salem 1.67 50,450
Karur 1.48 13,863
Dharmapuri 1.36 39,019
Namakkal 0.80 13,137

Further reading
  • William Strickland, `THE JESUIT IN INDIA`, London/Dublin,1852. Reprint: Asian Educational Services, New Delhi,2001.(ISBN 81-206-1566-2).
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See also

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. "AGITATION FOR UPPER CLOTH IN KANYAKUMARI DISTRICT | rjisacjournal.com". Retrieved 12 November 2019.
  3. "History of Velankanni". Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  4. Hindus join in India's Marian pilgrimage on Catholic World News
  5. "Basilica of the National Shrine of St.Thomas". SanThomeChurch.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  6. "Thiruvithamcode church to be global pilgrim centre". hindu.com. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  7. World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 368
  8. World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 369
  9. Church of South India
  10. Church of North India
  11. World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 370
  12. World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 371
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