Thomas the Apostle, also called Didymus ("twin") was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "Doubting Thomas" because he doubted Jesus' resurrection when first told of it ; later, he confessed his faith on seeing Jesus' crucifixion wounds.
The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (MOSC) also known as the Indian Orthodox Church, is an autocephalous Oriental Orthodox church based in Kerala, India. The church serves India's Saint Thomas Christian population. According to tradition, the church originated in the missions of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century.
San Thome Church, is known as St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Thomas, is a Roman Catholic minor basilica in Santhome, in the city of Chennai (Madras), India. It was built in 1523 by Portuguese explorers, over the tomb of Saint Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. In 1896, it was rebuilt by the British. The British style church still stands today. It was designed as Neo-Gothic style, favoured by British architects in the late 19th century. This church is one of the only three known churches in the world built over the tomb of an apostle of Jesus, the other two being St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City and Santiago de Compostela Cathedral in Galicia, Spain.
This article lists the various old and ancient churches that exist among the Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala.
The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church (JSCC) also known as the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, or the Jacobite Syrian Church, or the Syriac Orthodox Church in India, is an autonomous Oriental Orthodox church based in the Indian state of Kerala, and is an integral branch of the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch. It recognizes the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch and All the East as Supreme Head of the church. It functions as a largely autonomous unit within the church, under the authority of the Catholicos of India, Thomas I. Currently, this is the only church in Malankara that has a direct relationship with the Syriac Christians of Antioch, which has continued from after the schism and it continues to employ the West Syriac Rite Liturgy of Saint James.
Christianity is the third-largest practiced religion in Kerala, accounting for 18% of the population according to the Indian census. Although a minority, the Christian population of Kerala is proportionally much larger than that of India as a whole. A significant portion of the Indian Christian population resides in the state.
Duncan Gregory Stroik, usually credited as Duncan G. Stroik, is an American architect, Professor of Architecture at the University of Notre Dame School of Architecture, and founding editor of the Sacred Architecture Journal. His work continues the tradition of classical and Palladian architecture, also known as New Classical Architecture.
The Pakalomattam family is an ancient Marthoma Nasrani family in Kerala, India.The Pakalomattam family were Brahmins, who were brought into the Christian faith by Saint Thomas the Apostle in AD 52. The Pakalomattam family traditionally held the historical offices of Arkkadiyakon of all India, who headed the Marthoma Nasranis in Kerala and later Malankara Metropolitan which headed the Puthenkoor faction of Marthoma Nasranis. The Pakalomattam Tharavad was initially at Palayoor, but later in 4th Century they moved to Kuravilangad. Many branches of Pakalomattam later moved to different parts of Kerala, starting from 17th century due to the division created between Puthenkoor and Pazhayakoor.The Marthoma Nasranis consists of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church and Malankara Syrian Catholic Church.
Niranam Pally, popularly known as Niranam Valiya Pally or St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church, Niranam, is a church under the Niranam Diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. And it believed that the church was founded by Thomas the Apostle one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, in AD 54.
The Girdle of Thomas, Virgin's Girdle, Holy Belt, or Sacra Cintola in modern Italian, is a Christian relic in the form of a "girdle" or knotted textile cord used as a belt, that according to a medieval legend was dropped by the Virgin Mary from the sky to Saint Thomas the Apostle at or around the time of the Assumption of Mary to heaven. The supposed original girdle is a relic belonging to Prato Cathedral in Tuscany, Italy and its veneration has been regarded as especially helpful for pregnant women. The story was frequently depicted in the art of Florence and the whole of Tuscany, and the keeping and display of the relic at Prato generated commissions for several important artists of the early Italian Renaissance. The Prato relic has outlasted several rivals in Catholic hands, and is the Catholic equivalent of the various relics held by the Cincture of the Theotokos of Eastern Orthodox Church and Holy Girdle of Syriac Orthodox Church.
Valiyapally is a title given to a main church in a diocese of the Christian denominations Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and Jacobite Syrian Christian Church.
E. A. E St. Mary's Soonoro Syriac Orthodox Church, Meenangadi, is a Marian Pilgrim center of the Syriac Orthodox Church located at Meenangadi in Kerala, India. The church is under E.A.E Arch Diocese, the first missionary association of Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate of Antioch and All the East, and is currently under the direct control of Ignatius Aphrem II, Patriarch of the Syriac Orthodox Church. In 2006, the church was elevated to the status of "Marian Pilgrim Centre", and in 2018, it celebrated its diamond jubilee. It is the first church to adopt the 8 Day Lent in Malabar Region.
St Mary's Jacobite Valiyapally, Thamarachal, near Kochi, Kerala is a Pilgrim Center in Angamaly Diocese of Jacobite Syrian Church. It is a Valiyapally dedicated to St Mary, this church attracts thousands of people across the state of Kerala during Ettunombu Fest.
St. Thomas Orthodox Cathedral, Kadampanad, popularly known as Kadampanad Church is an ancient church of Saint Thomas Christians situated in the Central Travancore village of Kadampanad, in Pathanamthitta District, Kerala, India. This Church belongs to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church under the Diocese of Adoor-Kadampanad.
The Holy Girdle, also known as the Girdle of Thomas, Holy Girdle of Mary, Holy Soonoro, (or) Zunoro, and Holy Belt of Saint Mary the mother of Jesus, is a relic of the Blessed Virgin Mary which is one of the important relics of Syriac Orthodox Church and venerated by Oriental Orthodox Communion. The word "soonoro" is also translated as "belt", "sash" or "girdle". It is the Oriental Orthodox equivalent of the Girdle of Thomas in the Western church, and the Cincture of the Theotokos in the Eastern Orthodox Church, now located at Mount Athos.
St. Mary's Church or Marth Maryam Cathedral is a valiyapally situated in Kothamangalam town of India. It is located in Ernakulam district of Kerala state, India.
St Mary's Jacobite Syrian Church, Angamaly of Jacobite Syrian Church was built in AD 1564 by Archdeacon Givargis of Christ. It is an ancient church and one of the most prominent Syriac Orthodox churches in Kerala. It was the seat of the Archdeacon and the Malankara Metropolitans, the local heads of the Malankara Church and hence held an important position in the Church for many centuries.
The St. Canisius's Church is a Roman Catholic parish church in the 9th District of Vienna, Alsergrund.
St. Mary's Jacobite Syrian Church is a church located in Kurukkunnapuram, East Marady, Muvattupuzha, Kerala, India.
