04-12-2007, 11:11 AM
Dear Friends,
I am giving details on Keralite Tradition.
RAMBAN PATTU TRADITIONS
This is from History of Christianity in India, Vol. I, (p.30-32). by <b>Fr. A. Mathias Mundadan, Professor of Church History and Theology at the Dharmaram Pontifical Institute, Bangalore
</b>
//âThomas coming from Arabia Landed at Maliankara in AD50, in Danur Month. After a short stay there he Proceeded to Mailapuram and from there went to China, Coming back to Mailapuram Port, he sailed to Maliankara, being invited by the King of Thiruvacnchikalam(Modern Kodungaiyur) and founded several Churches there in Cran(where he arrived in 51) Baptisised th King, 3000 Pagans, and 40 Jews in Kollam, Chayal, Niranam(to which place the cross was transferred from the infidel village of tirupleshwaram, kokamangalam, kottakayal(Parur) and Palayur.
In AD.59, Kanni Month he was called back to Mailapuram by the king of Choran and imprisoned for Palace Money Cheating. The kings brother died and saw Palace in Heaven, came back alive and tries to buy it, king and 700 converted. Stayed there for 2.5 Years. Then the Apostle returns to Malabar, via Malayattur and visited the Old places: Cranganore, Kottakayal,... staying in each place for a year and conferring on the faithful the sacrament of confirmation. In Chayal the Apostle took leave of the Christians, telling them that they would not see him again. In 69, he departed there lands to the Lands of TAMILS. Lots of Miracles, brings 19 Dead to Life, Cured 220 Paralytic, make 200 Dumb to speak and 250 hopelessly diseased to be cured. In all converted 17,550 persons, of whom 6,850 Persons, 2,300 Kshatriyas, 3,750 Vaisyas and 4,250 Sudras. During the visit in Malabar, the Apostle made sure Ordaining Priests and Consecrated Bishops.
Back in Mylapur AD72, Karkadaga Month 3rd, Apostle on the way to Little Mount, some Devotees of Kali going to Goddess Kali Temple for a Sacrifice, they wanted Thomas to take part in their worship, however with the sign of cross, Thomas Destroyed the Temple and the Devotees in their Fury pierced Thomas with a Lance. With a Prayer in his Lips Thomas gave up his Spirit on a rock in the forest near the shore of the Sea and his Soul flew up to the Heaven in the form of white dove accompanied by Angels in a vision he Promised his help to all those who prayed in the Tomb.â//
Personally having read many many books on Thomas fables, none of the books gives a full contents and I am not able to go beyond this this, however I have been downloading left-right and center from Various Websites with Google searches over last 4-5 years, including from Hamsa.org, etc., amounting 100MB of contents and I Give here almost a complete portion from one such download- though I am sure it has lot of additions over this Ramban Pattu.
//The Songs of Thomas Which is handed down through generations and written down in 1601- By tradition these songs were written by Thomas Rambaan the first Brahmin convert to Christianity
The first of the Apostles visit lasted for eight days. During this short stay the Apostle had made several conversions. He then proceded to Taxila and later traveled all through the land of India and China.
The song tells that Prince Peter or Kepha of Muziris (actually means Egyptians. This word is even today is used to denote foreigners from Middle East) who was one of the Apostle's first converts visited St. Thomas in the Pandya Kingdom (Andhra Pradesh) and requested him to return to Malabar. Apostle came back to Coromandal coast. The request was granted and the Apostle accompanied Prince Kepha to Kerala, where headed by the other members of the Cranganore royal family three thousand non-Christians received the faith and were baptized in the course of eighteen months. Among these converts there were forty members of the Jewish community including Rabbi Paul of the Cranganore Synagogue where every Saturday the Apostle used to go and read and explain the Old Testament for the Jewish congregation. Though Rabbi Paul received baptism and became a Christian, a good number of the Cranganore Jewish community continued to stick fast to their ancestral religion and gave the Christians the name "Nazaranis ", meaning followers of the man from Nazareth i.e.; Jesus Christ.
Kidangallor Evangelization
Besides Jews, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Nairs, and Chettiars were among the earliest converts to Christianity. The first Brahmin convert was a young member of a Niranom Brahmin family that had settled down in Cranganore engaged in some business. The young man's conversion was not liked by his father, who decided to cast him away from the family. The Apostle called the young convert and asked him to live with him. The young man, who had received the Apostle's name in baptism agreed to live with him and came to be known as Thomas Maliyakal, in recognition of his Brahmin family name. Subsequently he was raised to priest hood, and after sometime was given the title of Ramban or Arch-priest. In course of time a Jewish Synagogue as well as a Hindu temple at Cranganore were transformed into Christian churches. Accompanied by Prince Kepha, who was consecrated as the Bishop of Cranganore and Malabar, St. Thomas left Cranganore to preach the Gospel elsewhere.
Kollam Evangelization
Quilon was the next scene of the labors of the Apostle. The majority of the people of Quilon belonged to the Chettiar caste, the recognized trading caste of the time. A good many of them accepted the Gospel attracted by the preaching of the Apostle and the miracles performed by him. Many inhabitants of Quilon hated the new religion and migrated from Quilon to Nanjinad to keep themselves away from the influence of the new religion; After erecting a cross for the worship of the converts who numbered about one thousand and four hundred, the Apostle left Quilon.
Nironam Evangelization
The Apostle and Prince Kepha proceeded from Quilon in a northeasterly direction and arrived at Thrikapaleswaram, near Niranom. Thrikapaleswaram had Hindu temples at that time, and to provide a place of public worship to the Christian community, the Apostle planted a cross a few furlongs away to the west of one of the temples. The non-Christian people in the locality did not like this and they pulled it out and cast it into the nearby river.
This desecration took place sometime after the Apostle had left the place for Chayal or Nileckal. Two Christians from Thrikapaleswaram went there and requested the Apostle to re-visit their place and set matters right. The cross that had been thrown out into the river moved downwards floating on the waters for some distance, and eventually rested on a strip of land on the opposite bank of the river. Here at Niranom a new site for a church was secured. During this second visit, the Apostle stayed at Niranom for two months and during this period two hundred persons were baptized by him giving new vigor and strength to the Christian community. Local tradition is that most of the Nambutiris having been made Christians by St. Thomas, left the place after giving the boxes containing the documents relating to their landed properties to a Kymal or Nair chieftain, who has since been known as Niranam Petti Kaymal. Of the various miracles performed by St. Thomas at Niranam, the most remarkable was the restoration of life to a child of a barber put to death by anti-Christian families, who wanted to throw the responsibility for the crime on the Apostle.
Nileckal Evangelization
The Apostle returned from Niranom to Chayal or Nileckal. According to the Ramban song the Apostle worked here for one year and during this period one thousand and one hundred persons were converted to Christianity.
Kokkamangalam Evangelization
Kokkamangalam, far to the north of Quilon, Niranom and Nileckal, was the next centre of the missionary activities of St. Thomas. The Ramban song says that the Apostle spent one year at Kokka-mangalam and baptized one thousand and six hundred persons to Christianity. After planting a cross and opening a church there the Apostle left the place. During the absence of the Apostle unknown hands removed the cross from its site and threw it into the nearby backwater lagoon. The cross moved with the water current and reached Pallipuram. The believers at Pallipuram installed the cross solemnly at a suitable place and a church was opened there.
Kottakuvu Evangelization
Kottakuvu near Parur was the next centre where the Apostle preached the Gospel and founded a church. According to the Ramban song the Apostle succeeded in receiving into the Christian fold one thousand seven hundred and seventy persons at this center.
Palayur Evangelization
From Kottakavu the Apostle proceeded to Palayur, one of the strongest Brahmin centers in Kerala. A prosperous Brahmin community was living there from ancient times. The place where the Jewish community had their residence at Palayur is still called Jewish hill. Orthodox Brahmins of those days used to perform every dayy five Yajnas. Punja-yajnas, and one of these was the "pilhrte yajna" and it consisted of offering libations of water to the spirits of their deceased ancestors. While some of the Brahmins were engaged in performing their Pithru-yajna by throwing up hand-fuls of water, in. a tank near one of the Palayur temples the Apostle saw this and enquired about the significance of this action. Since the explanation given did not satisfy him, the Apostle said: "lf your performance is acceptable to the gods, they can manage that the drops of' water remain suspended in the air, instead of falling down." The Brahmins retorted that such a tiling was impossible being against the laws of nature. The Apostle then assured them that God. the One, True, Almighty God, would have the handfuls of water suspended in the air, and also allow a cavity to be seen on the surface of the water indicating the spot from where the water had been taken, if only they believed in the true God and accepted the new faith, preached by him. The Brahmins present there expressed their readiness to accept the new faith on the condition stated by the Apostle. Then the Apostle prayerfully cast a handful of water high up in the air from the tank. The water stood still in the air after reaching a certain height. Subsequently, at the bidding of the Apostle it fell down at his feel in the shape of flowers. The majority of the Brahmins present there now became followers of the Apostle. He taught them the new faith and baptized them. Those who refused to accept the new faith left the village having cursed it, and since then it has come to be called Chowghat. The cursed forest, where a Brahmin can neither take food or drink.
Quoted from "A History of Christianity in Kerala" by Dr. C.V.Cherian//- This ends that website Article.
Any body who has little followed the âChurch spread Thomas In India-Fablesâ, the Churches have been proudly claiming that they have many Ancient Crosses installed by St.Thomas. I saw One such cross is in Chennai Alandur, Parangi malai or Thomaiyar Malai (St.Thomas Mount) the new name, Church, it has inscriptions in Pahlavi Language dated to 9th Century CE. Two such in Kerala are i) Cross on the right-side altar in Valiyapalli church, Kottayam, Kerala; ii) Cross in the Jacobite Church, Kadamattam, Kerala.
For the benefit of Friends, Cross or Crucifix are regular part of Church, only from 6-7th Centuries. Its Origen is from Constantine who as per legends wrote âChristianâ on his Tents and bed-sheets after been blessed in a dream and that gave Success. The first letters in Greek were âxrâ- called Chi-Roe which over time got combined to form Crucifix.
I Quote here for this-
âT<b>he use of the Crucifix was not general before the 6th Century and the representation of our Lord suffering or dead is yet more recent; it began about 13th Cen, and only became general with the Spanish influence of the Counter Reformation</b>.â Page-131; The Catholic Encyclopedic Dictionary.
MORE ON ANCIENT CROSSES.-All these Crosses are different from the Normal Christian Crosses â They have a Dove in top of an equal cross(more a Plus). This belongs to more the Manichaean sect and not Christian.
<b>Manichaean sect- founder Manes or Mani, 216-276AD, </b>claimed to be the promised "Comforter" that Yeshu (Jesus) â<b>i.e., Paraclete,</b> prophesied would come after Him. (He was also considered the Buddhist Maitreya.) He is said to have Divine revelations and as the S<b>ealing and the Last Prophet in the order of Zoroaster, Moses-Jesus and Buddha</b>. The Dove Represents MarMani.
Manichaean sect Found in Arabia, was prosecuted by both Romans and later Islam. They ran with their Treasures and came to India and China, in around 9th/10th Centuries.
Keralaite Churches Claimed Kodungallur as the earlier Muzuri of Sangam Period, and in each of the above 7 ½ Churches or close by places have Fables called Traditions of incidents with Apostle Thomas- one or two was in the article I said earlier.
Next is Thomas Forming or building Churches- Nowhere in any part of World does any building has been separately been used as Church till about 225 CE or so; till then Christianity was small sects and their assemblies were in one of the members houses. If Paul or Peter did not build Churches- why Thomas should do it below the Sea?
HOW RELIABLE IS RAMBAN SONG Or Other Keralite Traditions?
<b>Rev.A.M.Mundaden says-</b>
<b>âIndian Tradition is clearly influenced by the accounts of the Acts of Thomas and also by the East Syrian Tradition.. Some of the elements of the Sacraments pf Confirmation may be regarded as details, which have crept in to the Account from the Portuguese Sources P.32
The so called details available are mostly the fruit of fertile imaginations, generously employed to fill the gaps and provide facile interpretation. P-3
</b>
The Church Story Spreaders have been very clever when they refer Thomas fables they always say âTRADITIONâ- AND What does Tradition means - Rev.A.M.Mundaden says-
â.. whole story which lies shrouded in Legends, fables, fictions and confusing details. Quiet often One has no other option but tto fall back on what is claimed as tradion. No wonder then that Speculations,Surmises and Presumptions have characterized many studies of the period. To avoid filling into such pitfalls⦠out of a large basket of all sorts of materials all claiming to be Tradtion-facts: Legends, Myths, wishful thinking, telescoping of events easy hormonisation etc., P-2
Ramban Song as per Church claims was composed in 17th Century. But one of the Nasrani Thomas Christian website says that Linguistically it can be dated to 19th Century.
(In my previous posting I showed Kodungallur was not Muzuri,and these areas were Human Occupied in 8th Century CE; I read articles that little inside from Kodungallur-a place called Pattanam ( Pattanam, a sleepy town in Ernakulam district; separated from the Thrissur District and Cranganore by a section of River Periyar Pattanam, near North Paravur, on the opposite side of Kodungallur) many Archaelogical evidences to be the Sangam Town. YOU CAN EXPECT CHURCHES WOULD CHANGE FABLES TOWARDS THIS SITE AREA AND PROOFS FROM ANCIENT WOULD FOLLOW FOR THIS PLACE.)
Death date as per Roman Traditions put for Thomas as December-21, and Syrian Traditions to July-3.
Ramaban Pattu as given earlier âKarkadaga Month 3rdâ would put a date of around 17th or 18th of June or July (Vishu year and first month starts on 14/15th April), people familiar with Malayalam months can confirm. Malayalam Kollam Era Pechanga was used for dating. This Kollam Era itself starts from 9th Century only.
(But on the look of it July-3 of Syrian was just changed and written as Karkadaga Month 3rd , by people with No Panchanga Idea, when world changed to Gregorian Calendar from Julian in 16th Century, removing 12 days, which is applied in this Fable- Friends can look on it.
<b>A Peculiar book written by Malayalam Author P.V.MATTHEW, in 1986 called âActa Indica- </b>The Acts of St.Thomas in Indiaâ has lot of researches and his findings are worth discussing (though the Author has built altogether different Visit of Thomas to some other place In Kerala, and Bluffs so much which I would analyse in another post shortly). However what would be interesting from <b>foreword </b>to this book by Chevalier <b>K.C.Chacko, Retd. Vice Chancellor-Calicut & Cochin Universities </b> is This bookâ Malayalam version-âThe History of Christianity in theSpice Landâ was Hailed by â<b>KERALA HISTORY Associationâ as the âBEST HISTORIC BOOK published in 1984).</b>
Erudite Mr. K.C.Chacko, a Christian himself says-â But I have chosedn to look at history dispassionatey, without compromising my faith, which is not tied up with the History or Historicity of the St.Thomas Christians. Mr. K.C.Chacko has summarized some of the conclusions given by P.V.MATTHEW-hailed by KERALA HISTORY Association, mostly occupied by Church Scholars.
//1. â¦. Contention of the nonexistence of Coastal Belt including Cranganore where St.Thomas is supposed to have landed and established Churches in the neighbouring places at that time is note-worthy.
2. <b>The Firm assertion that St.Thomas was martyred in Calamina, which is not Mylapore, but is th Bahrain Island in Persian Gulf.</b>
3. The Advent of Nambudiris in Kerala from Kashmir is sometime in 8th or 9th Century A.D., and the story of conversion of Nambudiris to Christianity by St.Thomas has no credibility.
4. The Possibility of St.Thomas preaching in South American Continent between AD.48-68
12. The colonization of Knanites cannot be 345 AD; it must have been in 745 AD and originally they were Manicheans from Armenia, converted to Christianity in the 16th Century only.//
Friends,
I quote from my last post
//Holy seeâs Publisher âBurn Oares & Wash Boune Ltdâ has Published Multi Volume ââButlerâs Lives of Saintsâ Edited by Rev.Alban Butler (with Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur from Two Archbishop for its Doctrinal Acceptance) says-
â.. the Syrian Greek who was probably the fabricator of the Story would have been able to learn from Traders and Travelers such details as the name Gondophorus with Tropical details.. Pages 213-218, in Volume December.
The Authors have gone through all the major works of the claims of St.Thomas Indian visit claims and one of the highly acclaimed work of âThe Early Spread of Christianity in Indiaâ â Alfred Mingana connected this with Apostle Thomas visit claims and clearly affirms-
. â It is likely enough that the Malabar Coast was evangelized from Edessa at a later date, and . that in the course of time a confused tradition connected this with Apostle Thomas himself.â //
And I explained that AT Edessa Christianity was introduced in 2nd Century only, a follow-up of that, this time little more Authentic from Catholic Encyclopedia from Online site-
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05282a.htm/
/<b>/The exact date of the introduction of Christianity into Edessa is not known. It is certain, however, that the Christian community was at first made up from the Jewish population of the city. According to an ancient legend, King Abgar V, Ushana, was converted by Addai, who was one of the seventy-two disciples. (For a full account see ABGAR.) In fact, however, the first King of Edessa to embrace the Christian Faith was Abgar IX (c. 206). Under him Christianity became the official religion of the kingdom. As for Addai, he was neither one of the seventy-two disciples as the legend asserts, nor was he the Apostle Thaddeus, as Eusebius says (Hist. Eccl., IV, xiii), but a missionary from Palestine who evangelized Mesopotamia about the middle of the second century, and became the first bishop of Edessa.//</b>
By the name of Keralaâ and of Coramandel Tradition â Gudnapar or Gundaphorus was fabricated as Kandappa Rajah and Mazdai as Mahadevan or Machcha Devan. Once Coins of a King in North-West of India A King Gondophorus was found in 19th Cen. Middle and Gondophorus could have mostly reigned around late 1st Centruy BCE-early 1st Cent.CE. Of Course there are difference in Opinion on his dating and Matching that with Acta Thomas.
Now we hardly find Kandappa Raja and MachchaDevan vanishing, same way we can see Pattanam giving way to Cranganore.
The Keralite Coast attracted Refugees from 4th Century, when RC religion was formed and those who failed to accept Roman Christianity were killed by Churchâs sword. These small group was added by a little Larger consignment in 8th Century prominent for Thomas of Kana, who was the founder of the most of the 7and half churches, Manicheans or Nestorians mostly.
But the first Refugees were all Syrians who themselves has no Apostolic Connection as the Catholic Encyclopedia confirms. As per New Testament book âActs of Apostlesâ mostly written by the Same author of who wrote âgospel according to Lukeâ now dated to 2nd Century, Apostle all of them never left Jerusalem permanently. They had a meeting in around 48 with Paul on accepting Pagans without Circumcision. Again there was another meeting in the end, where in Paul was arrested, and in none of the hearings did Paul call one Single Witness who had seen the âso-called Resurrection OF Jesus Witnessâ but Paul used âDivide an Escapeâ- by Dividing the Jews as Pharisees and Sadducees, and Note None of the Apostles came forward to save Paul who were all there only.
On Ramban Pattu Tradition www.stmaryssharjah.com,
and article titled ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE- Written by Mr. Mathen Manathala says-
<b>âThis tradition has many contradictions and factual errors. First of all there were no Brahmins in the Malabar Coast until the eight century. Secondly, the places where he is supposed to have founded churches were non existent as those parts of the western coast were still under the Arabian Sea. Thirdly, ordination of Kassesos and âRambansâ was not practiced in Christianity until the first quarter of the second century any where in the world. The only written evidence to this Malabar tradition is found in the âRamban Pattuâ supposed to be written in early 17th century, but the language used denotes a much later time, sometime in the 19th century.â</b>
Marcopoloâ hearsay says that the Saint in the Temple was killed accidentally when a lower caste man sent an Arrow from Bow for Hitting Peacock, hit Him, Looks like the story that of Lord. Krishnaâ killing story and I am trying to givemore information on that also.
Jesus of Galilee clearly told his Disciples, â Do not take to the lands of Samaritans, go only to Jewsâ in Matthew 10.
Our Churdh Fable Makers then make a story of Jews in India before 1st Century CE, let us see what is the Truth in coming posts.
The Archaelogical findings at Mylapur include a proof for Sivan Temple and Muruga and much more in my next post.
I WANT TO finalise m books draft both in Tamil and English, I WOULD LIke suggestions by all friends, also if anyway I could meet mr.IshwarCharan- Guide me, I am in Chennai, now.
DEVAPRIA SOLOMON
I am giving details on Keralite Tradition.
RAMBAN PATTU TRADITIONS
This is from History of Christianity in India, Vol. I, (p.30-32). by <b>Fr. A. Mathias Mundadan, Professor of Church History and Theology at the Dharmaram Pontifical Institute, Bangalore
</b>
//âThomas coming from Arabia Landed at Maliankara in AD50, in Danur Month. After a short stay there he Proceeded to Mailapuram and from there went to China, Coming back to Mailapuram Port, he sailed to Maliankara, being invited by the King of Thiruvacnchikalam(Modern Kodungaiyur) and founded several Churches there in Cran(where he arrived in 51) Baptisised th King, 3000 Pagans, and 40 Jews in Kollam, Chayal, Niranam(to which place the cross was transferred from the infidel village of tirupleshwaram, kokamangalam, kottakayal(Parur) and Palayur.
In AD.59, Kanni Month he was called back to Mailapuram by the king of Choran and imprisoned for Palace Money Cheating. The kings brother died and saw Palace in Heaven, came back alive and tries to buy it, king and 700 converted. Stayed there for 2.5 Years. Then the Apostle returns to Malabar, via Malayattur and visited the Old places: Cranganore, Kottakayal,... staying in each place for a year and conferring on the faithful the sacrament of confirmation. In Chayal the Apostle took leave of the Christians, telling them that they would not see him again. In 69, he departed there lands to the Lands of TAMILS. Lots of Miracles, brings 19 Dead to Life, Cured 220 Paralytic, make 200 Dumb to speak and 250 hopelessly diseased to be cured. In all converted 17,550 persons, of whom 6,850 Persons, 2,300 Kshatriyas, 3,750 Vaisyas and 4,250 Sudras. During the visit in Malabar, the Apostle made sure Ordaining Priests and Consecrated Bishops.
Back in Mylapur AD72, Karkadaga Month 3rd, Apostle on the way to Little Mount, some Devotees of Kali going to Goddess Kali Temple for a Sacrifice, they wanted Thomas to take part in their worship, however with the sign of cross, Thomas Destroyed the Temple and the Devotees in their Fury pierced Thomas with a Lance. With a Prayer in his Lips Thomas gave up his Spirit on a rock in the forest near the shore of the Sea and his Soul flew up to the Heaven in the form of white dove accompanied by Angels in a vision he Promised his help to all those who prayed in the Tomb.â//
Personally having read many many books on Thomas fables, none of the books gives a full contents and I am not able to go beyond this this, however I have been downloading left-right and center from Various Websites with Google searches over last 4-5 years, including from Hamsa.org, etc., amounting 100MB of contents and I Give here almost a complete portion from one such download- though I am sure it has lot of additions over this Ramban Pattu.
//The Songs of Thomas Which is handed down through generations and written down in 1601- By tradition these songs were written by Thomas Rambaan the first Brahmin convert to Christianity
The first of the Apostles visit lasted for eight days. During this short stay the Apostle had made several conversions. He then proceded to Taxila and later traveled all through the land of India and China.
The song tells that Prince Peter or Kepha of Muziris (actually means Egyptians. This word is even today is used to denote foreigners from Middle East) who was one of the Apostle's first converts visited St. Thomas in the Pandya Kingdom (Andhra Pradesh) and requested him to return to Malabar. Apostle came back to Coromandal coast. The request was granted and the Apostle accompanied Prince Kepha to Kerala, where headed by the other members of the Cranganore royal family three thousand non-Christians received the faith and were baptized in the course of eighteen months. Among these converts there were forty members of the Jewish community including Rabbi Paul of the Cranganore Synagogue where every Saturday the Apostle used to go and read and explain the Old Testament for the Jewish congregation. Though Rabbi Paul received baptism and became a Christian, a good number of the Cranganore Jewish community continued to stick fast to their ancestral religion and gave the Christians the name "Nazaranis ", meaning followers of the man from Nazareth i.e.; Jesus Christ.
Kidangallor Evangelization
Besides Jews, Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Nairs, and Chettiars were among the earliest converts to Christianity. The first Brahmin convert was a young member of a Niranom Brahmin family that had settled down in Cranganore engaged in some business. The young man's conversion was not liked by his father, who decided to cast him away from the family. The Apostle called the young convert and asked him to live with him. The young man, who had received the Apostle's name in baptism agreed to live with him and came to be known as Thomas Maliyakal, in recognition of his Brahmin family name. Subsequently he was raised to priest hood, and after sometime was given the title of Ramban or Arch-priest. In course of time a Jewish Synagogue as well as a Hindu temple at Cranganore were transformed into Christian churches. Accompanied by Prince Kepha, who was consecrated as the Bishop of Cranganore and Malabar, St. Thomas left Cranganore to preach the Gospel elsewhere.
Kollam Evangelization
Quilon was the next scene of the labors of the Apostle. The majority of the people of Quilon belonged to the Chettiar caste, the recognized trading caste of the time. A good many of them accepted the Gospel attracted by the preaching of the Apostle and the miracles performed by him. Many inhabitants of Quilon hated the new religion and migrated from Quilon to Nanjinad to keep themselves away from the influence of the new religion; After erecting a cross for the worship of the converts who numbered about one thousand and four hundred, the Apostle left Quilon.
Nironam Evangelization
The Apostle and Prince Kepha proceeded from Quilon in a northeasterly direction and arrived at Thrikapaleswaram, near Niranom. Thrikapaleswaram had Hindu temples at that time, and to provide a place of public worship to the Christian community, the Apostle planted a cross a few furlongs away to the west of one of the temples. The non-Christian people in the locality did not like this and they pulled it out and cast it into the nearby river.
This desecration took place sometime after the Apostle had left the place for Chayal or Nileckal. Two Christians from Thrikapaleswaram went there and requested the Apostle to re-visit their place and set matters right. The cross that had been thrown out into the river moved downwards floating on the waters for some distance, and eventually rested on a strip of land on the opposite bank of the river. Here at Niranom a new site for a church was secured. During this second visit, the Apostle stayed at Niranom for two months and during this period two hundred persons were baptized by him giving new vigor and strength to the Christian community. Local tradition is that most of the Nambutiris having been made Christians by St. Thomas, left the place after giving the boxes containing the documents relating to their landed properties to a Kymal or Nair chieftain, who has since been known as Niranam Petti Kaymal. Of the various miracles performed by St. Thomas at Niranam, the most remarkable was the restoration of life to a child of a barber put to death by anti-Christian families, who wanted to throw the responsibility for the crime on the Apostle.
Nileckal Evangelization
The Apostle returned from Niranom to Chayal or Nileckal. According to the Ramban song the Apostle worked here for one year and during this period one thousand and one hundred persons were converted to Christianity.
Kokkamangalam Evangelization
Kokkamangalam, far to the north of Quilon, Niranom and Nileckal, was the next centre of the missionary activities of St. Thomas. The Ramban song says that the Apostle spent one year at Kokka-mangalam and baptized one thousand and six hundred persons to Christianity. After planting a cross and opening a church there the Apostle left the place. During the absence of the Apostle unknown hands removed the cross from its site and threw it into the nearby backwater lagoon. The cross moved with the water current and reached Pallipuram. The believers at Pallipuram installed the cross solemnly at a suitable place and a church was opened there.
Kottakuvu Evangelization
Kottakuvu near Parur was the next centre where the Apostle preached the Gospel and founded a church. According to the Ramban song the Apostle succeeded in receiving into the Christian fold one thousand seven hundred and seventy persons at this center.
Palayur Evangelization
From Kottakavu the Apostle proceeded to Palayur, one of the strongest Brahmin centers in Kerala. A prosperous Brahmin community was living there from ancient times. The place where the Jewish community had their residence at Palayur is still called Jewish hill. Orthodox Brahmins of those days used to perform every dayy five Yajnas. Punja-yajnas, and one of these was the "pilhrte yajna" and it consisted of offering libations of water to the spirits of their deceased ancestors. While some of the Brahmins were engaged in performing their Pithru-yajna by throwing up hand-fuls of water, in. a tank near one of the Palayur temples the Apostle saw this and enquired about the significance of this action. Since the explanation given did not satisfy him, the Apostle said: "lf your performance is acceptable to the gods, they can manage that the drops of' water remain suspended in the air, instead of falling down." The Brahmins retorted that such a tiling was impossible being against the laws of nature. The Apostle then assured them that God. the One, True, Almighty God, would have the handfuls of water suspended in the air, and also allow a cavity to be seen on the surface of the water indicating the spot from where the water had been taken, if only they believed in the true God and accepted the new faith, preached by him. The Brahmins present there expressed their readiness to accept the new faith on the condition stated by the Apostle. Then the Apostle prayerfully cast a handful of water high up in the air from the tank. The water stood still in the air after reaching a certain height. Subsequently, at the bidding of the Apostle it fell down at his feel in the shape of flowers. The majority of the Brahmins present there now became followers of the Apostle. He taught them the new faith and baptized them. Those who refused to accept the new faith left the village having cursed it, and since then it has come to be called Chowghat. The cursed forest, where a Brahmin can neither take food or drink.
Quoted from "A History of Christianity in Kerala" by Dr. C.V.Cherian//- This ends that website Article.
Any body who has little followed the âChurch spread Thomas In India-Fablesâ, the Churches have been proudly claiming that they have many Ancient Crosses installed by St.Thomas. I saw One such cross is in Chennai Alandur, Parangi malai or Thomaiyar Malai (St.Thomas Mount) the new name, Church, it has inscriptions in Pahlavi Language dated to 9th Century CE. Two such in Kerala are i) Cross on the right-side altar in Valiyapalli church, Kottayam, Kerala; ii) Cross in the Jacobite Church, Kadamattam, Kerala.
For the benefit of Friends, Cross or Crucifix are regular part of Church, only from 6-7th Centuries. Its Origen is from Constantine who as per legends wrote âChristianâ on his Tents and bed-sheets after been blessed in a dream and that gave Success. The first letters in Greek were âxrâ- called Chi-Roe which over time got combined to form Crucifix.
I Quote here for this-
âT<b>he use of the Crucifix was not general before the 6th Century and the representation of our Lord suffering or dead is yet more recent; it began about 13th Cen, and only became general with the Spanish influence of the Counter Reformation</b>.â Page-131; The Catholic Encyclopedic Dictionary.
MORE ON ANCIENT CROSSES.-All these Crosses are different from the Normal Christian Crosses â They have a Dove in top of an equal cross(more a Plus). This belongs to more the Manichaean sect and not Christian.
<b>Manichaean sect- founder Manes or Mani, 216-276AD, </b>claimed to be the promised "Comforter" that Yeshu (Jesus) â<b>i.e., Paraclete,</b> prophesied would come after Him. (He was also considered the Buddhist Maitreya.) He is said to have Divine revelations and as the S<b>ealing and the Last Prophet in the order of Zoroaster, Moses-Jesus and Buddha</b>. The Dove Represents MarMani.
Manichaean sect Found in Arabia, was prosecuted by both Romans and later Islam. They ran with their Treasures and came to India and China, in around 9th/10th Centuries.
Keralaite Churches Claimed Kodungallur as the earlier Muzuri of Sangam Period, and in each of the above 7 ½ Churches or close by places have Fables called Traditions of incidents with Apostle Thomas- one or two was in the article I said earlier.
Next is Thomas Forming or building Churches- Nowhere in any part of World does any building has been separately been used as Church till about 225 CE or so; till then Christianity was small sects and their assemblies were in one of the members houses. If Paul or Peter did not build Churches- why Thomas should do it below the Sea?
HOW RELIABLE IS RAMBAN SONG Or Other Keralite Traditions?
<b>Rev.A.M.Mundaden says-</b>
<b>âIndian Tradition is clearly influenced by the accounts of the Acts of Thomas and also by the East Syrian Tradition.. Some of the elements of the Sacraments pf Confirmation may be regarded as details, which have crept in to the Account from the Portuguese Sources P.32
The so called details available are mostly the fruit of fertile imaginations, generously employed to fill the gaps and provide facile interpretation. P-3
</b>
The Church Story Spreaders have been very clever when they refer Thomas fables they always say âTRADITIONâ- AND What does Tradition means - Rev.A.M.Mundaden says-
â.. whole story which lies shrouded in Legends, fables, fictions and confusing details. Quiet often One has no other option but tto fall back on what is claimed as tradion. No wonder then that Speculations,Surmises and Presumptions have characterized many studies of the period. To avoid filling into such pitfalls⦠out of a large basket of all sorts of materials all claiming to be Tradtion-facts: Legends, Myths, wishful thinking, telescoping of events easy hormonisation etc., P-2
Ramban Song as per Church claims was composed in 17th Century. But one of the Nasrani Thomas Christian website says that Linguistically it can be dated to 19th Century.
(In my previous posting I showed Kodungallur was not Muzuri,and these areas were Human Occupied in 8th Century CE; I read articles that little inside from Kodungallur-a place called Pattanam ( Pattanam, a sleepy town in Ernakulam district; separated from the Thrissur District and Cranganore by a section of River Periyar Pattanam, near North Paravur, on the opposite side of Kodungallur) many Archaelogical evidences to be the Sangam Town. YOU CAN EXPECT CHURCHES WOULD CHANGE FABLES TOWARDS THIS SITE AREA AND PROOFS FROM ANCIENT WOULD FOLLOW FOR THIS PLACE.)
Death date as per Roman Traditions put for Thomas as December-21, and Syrian Traditions to July-3.
Ramaban Pattu as given earlier âKarkadaga Month 3rdâ would put a date of around 17th or 18th of June or July (Vishu year and first month starts on 14/15th April), people familiar with Malayalam months can confirm. Malayalam Kollam Era Pechanga was used for dating. This Kollam Era itself starts from 9th Century only.
(But on the look of it July-3 of Syrian was just changed and written as Karkadaga Month 3rd , by people with No Panchanga Idea, when world changed to Gregorian Calendar from Julian in 16th Century, removing 12 days, which is applied in this Fable- Friends can look on it.
<b>A Peculiar book written by Malayalam Author P.V.MATTHEW, in 1986 called âActa Indica- </b>The Acts of St.Thomas in Indiaâ has lot of researches and his findings are worth discussing (though the Author has built altogether different Visit of Thomas to some other place In Kerala, and Bluffs so much which I would analyse in another post shortly). However what would be interesting from <b>foreword </b>to this book by Chevalier <b>K.C.Chacko, Retd. Vice Chancellor-Calicut & Cochin Universities </b> is This bookâ Malayalam version-âThe History of Christianity in theSpice Landâ was Hailed by â<b>KERALA HISTORY Associationâ as the âBEST HISTORIC BOOK published in 1984).</b>
Erudite Mr. K.C.Chacko, a Christian himself says-â But I have chosedn to look at history dispassionatey, without compromising my faith, which is not tied up with the History or Historicity of the St.Thomas Christians. Mr. K.C.Chacko has summarized some of the conclusions given by P.V.MATTHEW-hailed by KERALA HISTORY Association, mostly occupied by Church Scholars.
//1. â¦. Contention of the nonexistence of Coastal Belt including Cranganore where St.Thomas is supposed to have landed and established Churches in the neighbouring places at that time is note-worthy.
2. <b>The Firm assertion that St.Thomas was martyred in Calamina, which is not Mylapore, but is th Bahrain Island in Persian Gulf.</b>
3. The Advent of Nambudiris in Kerala from Kashmir is sometime in 8th or 9th Century A.D., and the story of conversion of Nambudiris to Christianity by St.Thomas has no credibility.
4. The Possibility of St.Thomas preaching in South American Continent between AD.48-68
12. The colonization of Knanites cannot be 345 AD; it must have been in 745 AD and originally they were Manicheans from Armenia, converted to Christianity in the 16th Century only.//
Friends,
I quote from my last post
//Holy seeâs Publisher âBurn Oares & Wash Boune Ltdâ has Published Multi Volume ââButlerâs Lives of Saintsâ Edited by Rev.Alban Butler (with Nihil Obstat & Imprimatur from Two Archbishop for its Doctrinal Acceptance) says-
â.. the Syrian Greek who was probably the fabricator of the Story would have been able to learn from Traders and Travelers such details as the name Gondophorus with Tropical details.. Pages 213-218, in Volume December.
The Authors have gone through all the major works of the claims of St.Thomas Indian visit claims and one of the highly acclaimed work of âThe Early Spread of Christianity in Indiaâ â Alfred Mingana connected this with Apostle Thomas visit claims and clearly affirms-
. â It is likely enough that the Malabar Coast was evangelized from Edessa at a later date, and . that in the course of time a confused tradition connected this with Apostle Thomas himself.â //
And I explained that AT Edessa Christianity was introduced in 2nd Century only, a follow-up of that, this time little more Authentic from Catholic Encyclopedia from Online site-
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/05282a.htm/
/<b>/The exact date of the introduction of Christianity into Edessa is not known. It is certain, however, that the Christian community was at first made up from the Jewish population of the city. According to an ancient legend, King Abgar V, Ushana, was converted by Addai, who was one of the seventy-two disciples. (For a full account see ABGAR.) In fact, however, the first King of Edessa to embrace the Christian Faith was Abgar IX (c. 206). Under him Christianity became the official religion of the kingdom. As for Addai, he was neither one of the seventy-two disciples as the legend asserts, nor was he the Apostle Thaddeus, as Eusebius says (Hist. Eccl., IV, xiii), but a missionary from Palestine who evangelized Mesopotamia about the middle of the second century, and became the first bishop of Edessa.//</b>
By the name of Keralaâ and of Coramandel Tradition â Gudnapar or Gundaphorus was fabricated as Kandappa Rajah and Mazdai as Mahadevan or Machcha Devan. Once Coins of a King in North-West of India A King Gondophorus was found in 19th Cen. Middle and Gondophorus could have mostly reigned around late 1st Centruy BCE-early 1st Cent.CE. Of Course there are difference in Opinion on his dating and Matching that with Acta Thomas.
Now we hardly find Kandappa Raja and MachchaDevan vanishing, same way we can see Pattanam giving way to Cranganore.
The Keralite Coast attracted Refugees from 4th Century, when RC religion was formed and those who failed to accept Roman Christianity were killed by Churchâs sword. These small group was added by a little Larger consignment in 8th Century prominent for Thomas of Kana, who was the founder of the most of the 7and half churches, Manicheans or Nestorians mostly.
But the first Refugees were all Syrians who themselves has no Apostolic Connection as the Catholic Encyclopedia confirms. As per New Testament book âActs of Apostlesâ mostly written by the Same author of who wrote âgospel according to Lukeâ now dated to 2nd Century, Apostle all of them never left Jerusalem permanently. They had a meeting in around 48 with Paul on accepting Pagans without Circumcision. Again there was another meeting in the end, where in Paul was arrested, and in none of the hearings did Paul call one Single Witness who had seen the âso-called Resurrection OF Jesus Witnessâ but Paul used âDivide an Escapeâ- by Dividing the Jews as Pharisees and Sadducees, and Note None of the Apostles came forward to save Paul who were all there only.
On Ramban Pattu Tradition www.stmaryssharjah.com,
and article titled ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE- Written by Mr. Mathen Manathala says-
<b>âThis tradition has many contradictions and factual errors. First of all there were no Brahmins in the Malabar Coast until the eight century. Secondly, the places where he is supposed to have founded churches were non existent as those parts of the western coast were still under the Arabian Sea. Thirdly, ordination of Kassesos and âRambansâ was not practiced in Christianity until the first quarter of the second century any where in the world. The only written evidence to this Malabar tradition is found in the âRamban Pattuâ supposed to be written in early 17th century, but the language used denotes a much later time, sometime in the 19th century.â</b>
Marcopoloâ hearsay says that the Saint in the Temple was killed accidentally when a lower caste man sent an Arrow from Bow for Hitting Peacock, hit Him, Looks like the story that of Lord. Krishnaâ killing story and I am trying to givemore information on that also.
Jesus of Galilee clearly told his Disciples, â Do not take to the lands of Samaritans, go only to Jewsâ in Matthew 10.
Our Churdh Fable Makers then make a story of Jews in India before 1st Century CE, let us see what is the Truth in coming posts.
The Archaelogical findings at Mylapur include a proof for Sivan Temple and Muruga and much more in my next post.
I WANT TO finalise m books draft both in Tamil and English, I WOULD LIke suggestions by all friends, also if anyway I could meet mr.IshwarCharan- Guide me, I am in Chennai, now.
DEVAPRIA SOLOMON