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Christianity is the third-largest practiced religion in Kerala, accounting for 18% of the population according to the 2001 Indian census. [1] According to traditional accounts, Thomas the Apostle sailed to the Malabar region in 52 AD and introduced Christianity to the area. [ 2 ]
Religion in Kerala is diverse. According to 2011 census of India figures, 54.73% of Kerala's population are Hindus, 26.56% are Muslims, 18.38% are Christians, and the remaining 0.33% follow other religions or have no religion. [2] The historical legends regarding the origin of Kerala are Hindu in nature.
Knai Thoma, a Syriac Christian merchant, brought a group of 72 Christian families from Mesopotamia to Kerala in the 4th century. [ 73 ] [ 87 ] He was granted copper-plates by the Chera Dynasty , which gave his party and all native Christians socio-economic privileges. [ 88 ]
A 2016 study under the aegis of the Govt. of Kerala, based on the data from 2011 Census of India and Kerala Migration Surveys, counted 2,345,911 Syro-Malabar Catholics, 493,858 Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox, 482,762 Malankara Orthodox Syrians, 465,207 Syro-Malankara Catholics and 405,089 Mar Thoma Syrians out of 6.14 million Christians in ...
The remainder of religious people in Kerala are Latin Catholics, or part of a minority of Protestant Christians. St. Thomas, one of the primary disciples of Jesus Christ, is believed to have visited India during the 1st century and founded eight churches in Kerala, the foremost being St. Mary's Church. [1]
Saint Thomas Christian services have many unique characteristics compared to others. Prior to the 1970s, the Nasrani Qurbana was completely sung in Syriac. Many of the tunes of the Saint Thomas Christian worship in Kerala, especially those in the East Syriac tradition, are remnants of ancient Syriac tunes of antiquity. [243] [244] [245]
The Catholic Saint Thomas Christians (Pazhayakūttukār) came to be known as the Syro Malabar Catholics from 1932 onwards to differentiate them from the Syro-Malankara Catholics in Kerala. The Indian East Syriac Catholic hierarchy was restored on 21 December 1923 with Augustine Kandathil as the first Metropolitan and Head of the Church with the ...
[12] [13] Many backward Hindus especially Ezhavars, Nadars, Viswakarmas, Vellala/Vilakkithala Nairs, along with the various fishing community castes like Mukkuvars, Arayans, Valans and Dheevars were converted to Christianity after the 15th century by Portuguese missionaries in Kerala. [14] Many Saint Thomas Syrian Christian families also joined ...