When did Christianity come to India? | The story of St. Thomas | St. Thomas Basilica, Chennai - Storytrails
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When did Christianity come to India? | The story of St. Thomas | St. Thomas Basilica, Chennai

St Thomas, one of the apostles of Jesus travelled to India as early as 52 CE making India among the earliest places in the world where Christianity spread. This story explores his life and the beginnings of Christianity in India.

When did Christianity reach India? And did you ever wonder who brought it here first? The answers may surprise you. It is commonly believed that Christianity came to India with St Thomas as early as 52 CE. He is said to have landed in Kerala and the religion took root there. He then walked across to Mylapore in present day Chennai, spoke of a new God in a new land, and left his footprints on the sands of time. 

There are many fascinating stories behind how the religion grew, spread, and evolved into the many different denominations you see spread across India today. This short video takes you to the tomb of St Thomas, at Santhome Basilica in Chennai. And it takes you through the story of the arrival Christianity in India. Did you know that the Thomas Christians of Kerala are considered one among the oldest followers of Christianity in the world? Here’s the story of the beginnings of Christianity in India.

Shrine Of Saint Thomas At Meliapore 18th Century.jpg – https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_the_Apostle#/media/File:ShrineOfSaintThomasAtMeliapore18thCentury.jpg 

Shrine Of Saint Thomas At Mylapore, c. 1750s


St._Peter’s_Basilica_in_Vatican_City – 

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:St._Peter%27s_Basilica_in_Vatican_City.jpg 


St_James_Spain – 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santiago_de_Compostela#/media/File:Catedral_de_Santiago_de_Compostela_agosto_2018_(cropped).jpg By stephenD – Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=79229932 


Armenian Merchants_1580.jpg https://fineartamerica.com/featured/apparel-merchants-in-constantinople-around-1580-istanbul-abraham-de-bruyn-and-joos-de-bosscher.html 


The Last Supper Restored – Leonardo Da Vinci By Leonardo da Vinci – Online Taken on 23 July 2013, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=50410532 


Crucifixion_(Mantegna) By Andrea Mantegna – The Yorck Project (2002) 10.000 Meisterwerke der Malerei (DVD-ROM), distributed by DIRECTMEDIA Publishing GmbH. ISBN: 3936122202., Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=154503 


Christ preaches the Apostles, Duccio https://www.wikiart.org/en/duccio/christ-preaches-the-apostles-1311 


St Thomas the Apostle https://www.flickr.com/photos/paullew/3683893038 

St Thomas Church Palayoor By Princebpaul0484 at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=42846698 


View of the temple tank at dawn. This Image was created by User:PlaneMad. Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4058789 

END OF STORY

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