Christianity came to India in a.d. 52. Twenty years after the crucifixion of Christ, one of his apostles, St. Thomas, is said to have landed on the Malabar Coast, established a few churches and converted a number of local inhabitants in Kerala.
This was the first Christian settlement in the subcontinent – the Syrian Church. Today the ‘Syrian Christians’ (as they are known, owing to their spiritual practices and adoption of the Syrian liturgy) form the oldest Christian community in India.
The Syrian Orthodox Church functions as an autonomous body under its Indian prelate but remains loyal to the spiritual preeminence of the Patriarch of Antioch (the ancient capital of Syria).
he 15th century was marked by the advent of the Europeans and the beginning of a slow but sustained missionary activity that gained momentum in the 16th century.
The first church in North India was established in Lahore (now in Pakistan), under the rule of Akbar (1556-1605) the greatest Mughal emperor, known for formulating the Din-i-Illahi (‘Universal Religion’, formulated by combining the salient features of various religions).
No comments:
Post a Comment