Everything about Christianity In India totally explained
Christianity is
India's third-largest
religion, following
Hinduism and
Islam. followed by arrival of Christianity around 2000 years ago.
Christianity came to India in two main periods, the first century missionary activity of
Thomas, the disciple of
Jesus, and the
Western missionary activities from 1500 to 1975.
Vasco da Gama, seeking
India, discovered a sea route to
India by circumnavigating the
Cape of Good Hope which caused a major influence on both the histories of
Europe.
The total number of Christians in India as per Census in 2001 are 24,080,016 or 2.34% of the population. There are three main regional concentrations of Christian population, namely in
South India, on the
Konkan Coast, and among
tribal people in
East,
Central, and
North-East India. The states of
Kerala and
Tamil Nadu in
South India and
Arunachal Pradesh in
North-East India account for 60% of India's total Christian population.
Early Christianity in India
Christianity in
India dates back to
52 AD, with the arrival of
Saint Thomas to
Kodungallur in
Kerala and establishment of the
Seven Churches. As a carpenter, he offered to build a palace for the
Indo-Parthian King
Gondophares, later converting his daughter and her newly-wed groom, before returning to
Mylapore,
Chennai in
72 AD.
It is believed that he'd attained
martyrdom here. The
Syrian Malabar Nasrani tradition goes back to the very beginnings of 1st century Christian thought and the seven churches that were established by St. Thomas among the natives and the
Jewish diaspora in Kerala. According to the Acts of Thomas, the Malabari Jews were the first Christians converted by Thomas in India, who had settled in Kerala since the time of
King Solomon of
Israel.
According to historians, St. Thomas who was himself a
Jew by birth, evangelizing in
Kerala and
Tamil Nadu, the Apostle is believed to have been martyred at
St. Thomas Mount in
Chennai and buried on the site of
San Thome Cathedral. Members of the
Syro-Malabar Church, an eastern rite of the Catholic Church, adopted the
Syriac liturgy dating from an unknown period before the 4th Century. In the 4th century, the Apostle’s relics were taken to
Edessa at the instance of the Bishop of Edessa. The Christian community founded by St Thomas has since developed into a number of churches during the
Portuguese persecution, including
Syriac-rite churches in communion with the
Roman Catholic,
Antiochian Orthodox churches, and
Nestorian churches.
Medieval Period
The
Syrian Malabar Nasrani community was further strengthened by various
Persian immigrant settlers. The community was Christian-Jewish
Knanaya colonies of third century,
Manichaeanism followers and the Babylonian Christians settlers of 4th Century, the 7th Century Syrian settlement of Mar Sabor Easo and Proth, and the immigrant Persian Christians from successive centuries. The
Kerala Syrian Church was in communion with Syrian Church and was belived to be under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch of the Syrians and the Patriarch of Babylonian till the
Portuguese arrival in the late 15th century.
Bishops came from
Syria. They seem to have maintained their identity for a long time in the first few centuries and later amalgamated into one patronized community known differently as
Nasrani,
Malankara Christians,
Syrian Christians.
The archaeological excavations at
Pattanam show that the ancient port town of
Muziris was in modern Kerala. The
Periplus of the Erythraean Sea calls it of “leading importance” describing it:
Muziris, of the same kingdom, abounds in ships sent there with cargoes from
Arabia,it is located on a river, distant from Tyndis by river and sea five hundred stadia, and up the river from the shore twenty stadia.
The South Indian epic of
Manimekalai (written between 2nd and 3rd century CE) mentions the
Nasrani people by the name Essanis referring to one of the early Christian-Jewish sect within the
Nasranis called
Essenes. The embassy of Alfred in 833 CE described the Nestorian Syrian Christians as being prosperous and enjoying high status in the Malabar coast.
Marco Polo also mentioned the Nasranis and their ancient church in the Malabar coast in his writings
Il Milione.
Early Modern Period
In the early modern periods, the
French missionaries were the first Europeans to touch Indian shores. The French missionary
Jordanus Catalani arrived in
Surat in 1320. After his ministry in
Gujarat he reached
Quilon in 1323. He not only revived Christianity but also brought thousands to the Christian fold. The first Bishop of Quilon was received with great jubilation by the faithful of Quilon. He brought a message of good wishes from the Holy Father to the local rulers. As the first bishop in India, he was also entrusted with the spiritual nourishment of the Christian community in
Calicut,
Mangalore,
Thane and
Broach (north of
Thane).
Portuguese missionaries had reached the
Malabar Coast in the late
15th century, made contact with the
St Thomas Christians in
Kerala and sought to introduce the
Latin Rite among them. Since the priests for St Thomas Christians were served by the
Eastern Christian Churches, they were following Eastern Christian practices at that time. Throughout this period, foreign missionaries also made many new converts to Christianity. This led to the formation of the Latin Catholics in Kerala. Latin Catholics in Kerala today comprises the St Thomas Christians who accepted Latin Rite, found mostly in central Kerala, and the Christians converted by Portuguese influence and other missionary work, found mainly in the southern parts of Kerala.
With the
Papal bull Romanus Pontifex the patronage for the propagation of the Christian faith in Asia was given to the Portuguese. The Portuguese colonial government in
Goa supported the mission in India with incentives for baptized Christians. They offered rice donations for the poor, good positions in the Portuguese colonies for the middle class and military support for local rulers.Early Roman Catholic missionaries, particularly the Portuguese, led by the
Jesuit St Francis Xavier (
1506-
52), expanded from their bases on the west coast making many converts. Portuguese missionaries wanted to convert the population of Goa. As a result of Portuguese incentives many converted Indians were
opportunistic Rice Christians, who even practiced their old religion
In
Bombay, the high-class
Hindus were ceremoniously converted to
Christianity by the
Portuguese in the 16th century. A large number of the converts were decendants of the
Christian Community founded by
Apostle St. Barthmolew. They were even referred to as the
Portuguese Christians by the
Portuguese. From the early days of the
East India Company, there were no other Indian
Christians in the North
Konkan. With the defeat of the
Portuguese at the hands of the
Marathas and later on the advent of the
British, there came a lot of changes. With gradual development, the North
Konkan region received the
Goan Catholic emigrants from
Goa. On the occasion of
The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, the
Christians of North
Konkan, who were known as
Portuguese Christians discarded that name and adopted the designation
East Indians.
Beginning in the eighteenth century, Protestant missionaries began to work throughout India, leading to the growth of different
Christian communities. In 1793
William Carey, an English
Baptist Minister came to India as a
Missionary. He worked in
Serampore,
Calcutta, and other places as a missionary. He started the
Serampore College. He translated the
Bible into Bengali. He worked until his death in 1834.
Anthony Norris Groves,
Plymouth Brethren missionary came to India in 1833. He worked in the
Godavari delta area. He worked in India until his death in 1852. Mormon missionaries, including
Hugh Findlay, arrived in Bombay and Pune in the early 1850s, but didn't meet with success.
Demographics
The total number of Christians in India as per Census in 2001 are 24,080,016 or 2.34% of the population.
Majority of Indian Christians are
Roman Catholics accounting for a total of 17.3 million members, including 408,725 members of the
Syro-Malankara Church and 3,674,115 of the
Syro-Malabar Church. In January 1993 the Syro-Malabar Church and in February 2005 Syro-Malankara Church were raised to the status of
major archiepiscopal churches by
Pope John Paul II. The Syro-Malabar Church is the second largest among 22 Eastern Catholic Churches who accept the
Pope as the "visible head of the whole church".
Most Protestant denominations are represented in India, as a result of missionary activities throughout the country. The largest Protestant denomination in the country is the
Church of South India, since 1947 a union of
Presbyterian,
Reformed,
Congregational,
Methodist, and
Anglican congregations with approximately 3.8 million members. A similar
Church of North India had 1.25 million members. (These churches are in
full communion with the
Anglican Communion.) The Mar Thoma Church has 900,000 members, and derives from the
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, which numbers 1.2 million and is in communion with the Anglicans, but not a full member. In 1961, the evangelical wing of the church came out of Mar Thoma Church and formed the St. Thomas Evangelical Church of India which has 10,000 members .
Syrian Orthodox Church of Malabar rites 1,200,000 members, respectively. There were about 1,267,786 million
Lutherans, 648,000 Methodists, and 2,392,694 Baptists in India .
Pentecostalism, another denomination of
Protestantism, is also a rapidly growing religion in India. It is spreading greatly in northern India and the southwest area, such as
Kerala. The major Pentecostal churches in India are the Assemblies of God,
The Pentecostal Mission (TPM - founded in 1923. ),
India Pentecostal Church of God (IPC) with 900,000 members. New Apostolic Church founded in 1969, with total adherents of 1,448,209. The New Life Fellowship (founded in 1968) now has approximately 480,000 adherents, and the Manna Full Gospel churches and ministries (founded in 1968 with connections to Portugal) has 275,000. Evangelical Church of India now has over 680 churches with a 250,000 community. Another prominent group is the Brethrens. They are known in different names
Plymouth Brethren,
Indian Brethren,
Kerala brethren. Presbyterian Church of India has 823,456 members.
From the late nineteenth century, the fastest growing Christian communities have been located in the northeast, among the
Khasis,
Mizos, and the
Nagas. Today Christians are most prevalent in the northeast, and in the southwestern states of Kerala and
Goa. Indian Christians have contributed significantly to and are well represented in various spheres of national life. They are currently chief ministers of the states like
Andhra Pradesh,
Nagaland,
Mizoram, and
Meghalaya, and they were chief ministers earlier of
Kerala,
Manipur,
Goa, and
Chattisgarh. In the powerful election committee of the ruling
Indian National Congress party, they take four out of twenty places.
Christianity in India
| Church Name |
Population |
| Roman Catholics Latin Rite |
13,217,160 |
| Roman Catholic Syro-Malabar Church |
3,674,115 |
| Roman Catholic Syro-Malankara Church |
408,725 |
| Church of South India |
3,800,000 |
| Baptists |
2,392,694 |
| New Apostolic Church |
1,448,209 |
| Church of North India |
1,250,000 |
| Malankara (Indian) Orthodox Syrian Church |
1,200,000 |
| Mar Thoma Church |
1,000,000 |
| Malankara Syrian Orthodox Church of Malabar |
1,200,000 |
| Lutherans |
1,267,786 |
| Methodists |
648,000
|
| India Pentecostal Church of God |
600,000 |
| Indian Brethren |
1,000,000 |
| St. Thomas Evangelical Church |
30,000 |
| Presbyterian Church of India |
823,456 |
| New Life Fellowship |
480,000 |
| Manna Full Gospel |
275,000 |
| Evangelical Church |
250,000 |
Conflicts
Hindu-Christian conflict
Historically, Hindus and Christians have lived in relative peace since the arrival of Christianity in India from the early part of the first millennium. The arrival of European colonialists brought about large scale missionary activity in
South India and
North-East India. Many indigenous cultures were converted to Christianity. Sometimes they were voluntary, and other times they were violent and forced, as in the
Goa Inquisition.
Then Hindus who converted to Christianity typically retained their social customs, including
caste practices. Aggressive proselytizing by Christian missionaries under British rule was a cause of resentment among Hindus and Muslims in the 19th century, who felt that their cultures were being attacked. This was one of the several causes of the
Indian Rebellion of 1857 against the
British Raj. Also, many Christian ideals prompted
reform movements within the Hindu society in the 19th century, the most notable being the
Brahmo Samaj, which was influenced by British Christian Unilateralism.. Some Indian Christians have retained Hindu customs and practices, and have combined Hindu customs with Christianity to achieve a unique brand of Indian Christianity. For instance, some Christians in India celebrate the Hindu festival of
Diwali .
In more contemporary periods, Hindu-Christian amity is sometimes challenged by partisan politics and extremism from both communities. Christian missionary activity among lower-caste Hindus has created groups of
Crypto-Christians, particularly among
Dalits. As a response to allegedly aggressive
missionary activity four Indian states (
Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh,
Himachal Pradesh, and
Tamil Nadu mainly) have passed laws restricting or prohibiting
religious conversion. This has created some resentment in the Indian Christian community.
The Government of the state of Tripura has uncovered evidence to support the assertion that the
Baptist Church of Tripura has been supporting the terrorist group
National Liberation Front of Tripura, a violent separatist group that has attacked and killed Hindus in the region and that has banned Hindu festivals by force. The cause of the terror groups are supported by leadership of the American Baptist Churches USA. John Sundquist of International Ministries ABC/USA stated support for these groups in a release on Feb. 26, 1998.
Muslim - Christian conflict
Muslims in India and Pakistan who convert to Christianity have been known to be subjected to harassment, intimidation, and attacks. In
Kashmir, a 50 year old Christian convert named Bashir Tantray was killed, allegedly by Islamist militants, on November 21, 2006.
A Christian priest, K.K. Alavi, who is a convert from Islam, recently raised the ire of his former Muslim community and has received many death threats. An Islamic militant group named "The
National Development Front" actively campaigned against him.
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