Christianity’s history in India stretches back nearly two thousand years. It arrived long before European colonialism, and later took a very different form once Portuguese missionaries arrived by sea.
Must Know
St. Thomas and the Kerala Landing, 52 CE
- FactTradition holds that the Apostle St. Thomas brought Christianity to Kerala around 52 CE.
- ResultThis gave rise to India’s ancient community of St. Thomas Christians.
A Tradition Over a Thousand Years Older Than Europe’s
- FactSt. Thomas Christians developed their own distinct liturgical and church traditions over centuries.
- TakeawayThis predates any European missionary contact with India by well over a thousand years.
Francis Xavier on India’s Western Coast
- FactPortuguese missionary Francis Xavier arrived in the 16th century and became one of the most influential Catholic missionaries in Asia.
- ResultHe worked extensively along India’s western coast.
The Synod of Diamper, 1599
- FactThe Synod of Diamper, held in 1599, was a Portuguese-led church council in Kerala.
- ResultIt attempted to bring the older St. Thomas Christian tradition under Roman Catholic authority.
Latinization: Suppressing Older Customs
- FactThe Synod of Diamper pushed for Latinization of local Christian practice.
- ResultIt suppressed several of the St. Thomas Christians’ own older customs and texts.
Good to Know
Independent Roots, Not a Colonial Import
- FactThe St. Thomas Christian tradition shows that Christianity in India is far older than European colonial contact.
- TakeawayIt has independent roots stretching back to the very first century.
Part of a Larger Colonial Presence
- FactFrancis Xavier’s mission work was part of a much larger Portuguese colonial and religious presence on India’s western coast.
- TakeawayIt was not an isolated individual effort. See ModHist0076 — Portuguese, Dutch and Danish Trading Companies in India.
Lasting Tension, Lasting Resistance
- FactThe Synod of Diamper’s push for Latinization created lasting tension.
- TakeawayMany St. Thomas Christians resisted the imposition of Roman practices onto their own centuries-old tradition.
What Latinization Actually Meant, Step by Step
- Fact“Latinization” was not a vague label. The synod passed over 200 detailed decrees in about a week, under Archbishop Aleixo de Menezes of Goa.
- HowOld Syriac-language manuscripts were declared heretical and ordered corrected or burned. The ancient East Syriac liturgy was rewritten to remove passages judged doctrinally suspect. Latin vestments and rituals replaced local custom.
- TakeawayThe synod also downgraded the community’s own leadership. Its ancient Metropolitanate was reduced to a subordinate diocese, placed directly under the Portuguese Archdiocese of Goa rather than left self-governing.
Exam Point of View
One Apostle, Two States
- FactTradition holds that St. Thomas landed at Muziris, near modern Kodungallur in Kerala, in 52 CE. But he is traditionally said to have been martyred later at St. Thomas Mount, near Mylapore in present-day Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
- WhyThese are two different states, and exams sometimes test whether you know his story doesn’t stay in Kerala. His ministry moved along both coasts of South India before his death.
- LinkVerified against Maravankudieruppu, St. Thomas Apostle of India.
The Coonan Cross Oath: When the Synod’s Victory Broke
- FactThe Synod of Diamper’s win for Latinization did not last unchallenged. In 1653, a large part of the St. Thomas Christian community took the Coonan Cross Oath at Mattancherry, publicly rejecting Portuguese and Jesuit authority.
- WhyThis is the specific, nameable event behind the “lasting splits” in Kerala’s Christian community. One faction that emerged from it aligned instead with the Syriac Orthodox Church of Antioch, forming what became the Malankara Church.
- LinkVerified against Kerala Tourism, Coonan Cross Oath.
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Great to Know
One Council, Many Churches
- FactThe tension the Synod of Diamper created eventually led to lasting splits within Kerala’s Christian community.
- TakeawayIt produced multiple distinct churches that still exist today, some aligned with Rome and others that broke away to preserve older Syriac traditions.
Two Very Different Chapters of One Religion
- FactThe St. Thomas tradition’s ancient, indigenous roots contrast sharply with the Portuguese-era mission’s colonial character.
- TakeawayThese are two very different chapters of the same religion’s history in India, separated by more than fourteen centuries.
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