St. Thomas and India

Macrina said:

While there isn't specific proof of Thomas being in India, there is a strong tradition saying so, and the church there does go back very early, so it is quite possible.

I don't know about China.

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GratiaCorpusChristi said:

After a lot of talk with South Asian Christians belong to St. Thomas church and some more research on the matter, I'm rather convinced. There was a Jewish community in the southwestern tip of India (the state known as Kerela today) as early as the first century BC and it is quite possible that St. Thomas followed the path of Jewish settlements left over from the Babylonian exile from Syria to Mesopotamia, through Persian and Afghanistan and finally down the coast of India.

As with Coptic, Assyrian, and Armimean Christians, I believe the highly liturgical and sacrament practices of the St. Thomas Christians evidences that early Christianity retained the liturgical practices of Judaism and didn't discard them, and also viewed the Eucharist as the new temple in which the fullness of God's glory dwells.

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Chalkisle said:

There is proof in the form of steles, or stone monuments, that the Assyrian Christians went deep into the heart of China.

They also seem to have mixed SOME aspects of Christianity with Taoism ('Daoism'), although this seems to have been done in a minimal way.

I'm fascinated by very early Christian history!

Blessings, Chalk Isle

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GratiaCorpusChristi said:

After a lot of talk with South Asian Christians belong to St. Thomas church and some more research on the matter, I'm rather convinced. There was a Jewish community in the southwestern tip of India (the state known as Kerela today) as early as the first century BC and it is quite possible that St. Thomas followed the path of Jewish settlements left over from the Babylonian exile from Syria to Mesopotamia, through Persian and Afghanistan and finally down the coast of India.

As with Coptic, Assyrian, and Armimean Christians, I believe the highly liturgical and sacrament practices of the St. Thomas Christians evidences that early Christianity retained the liturgical practices of Judaism and didn't discard them, and also viewed the Eucharist as the new temple in which the fullness of God's glory dwells.

Click to expand...