Christianity in Tamil Nadu

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San Thome Basilica, Chennai is built over the site where St.Thomas
is believed to be originally interred
Church at Yercaud
Thiruvithamcode Arappally under Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church is believed to be built by Thomas the Apostle
Our Lady of Lourdes Latin Catholic Church in Tiruchirappalli
St. Sebastian's Church in Coimbatore

Christianity in the state of

twelve apostles, landed in Malabar Coast (modern day Kerala) in AD 52.[1][2] In the colonial age many Portuguese, Dutch, British and Italian Christians came to Tamil Nadu. Priests accompanied them not only to minister the colonisers but also to spread the Christian faith among the non-Christians in Tamil Nadu. Currently, Christians are a minority community comprising 6% of the total population.[3] Christians are mainly concentrated in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu - Kanyakumari (47.7% of the population, 2011[3]), Thoothukudi (19%, 2011) and Tirunelveli
(15%, 2011).

The

Vellore Diocese. Church of South India Synod, the highest administrative body of the Church of South India, is in Chennai. The vast majority of Christians in Tamil Nadu are either Latin Catholics or members of the Church of South India. The Pentecostal Mission
(TPM) is headquartered in Chennai.

Salvation Army in Tamil Nadu

The Salvation Army is an International Christian Church and charitable organisation. There are six territories in India; Eastern, Western, Northern, Central, South Eastern and South Western Territory. Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry come under the Central and South Eastern Territory. There are more than 1000 churches over Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry. School, colleges, homes, shelters, and medical services are provided here. The Salvation Army does missionary, medical, educational, emergency disaster, and social services.

The Salvation Army operation commenced on 27 May 1892 as a result of the vision received by Major Deva Sundaram at "Medicine Hill" near Nagercoil in Kanyakumari District. He had been praying and fasting with three officers in South Tamil Nadu. As the Army experienced rapid growth in South India, the Territory was separated from Southern Territory on 1 October 1970. States included in the territory: Tamil Nadu, Pondicherry. 'The Salvation Army' in Tamil: Ratchaniya Senai in Malayalam: Raksha Sainyam. Languages in which the gospel is preached: English, Malayalam, Tamil. Periodicals: Chiruveeran (Tamil), Home League Quarterly, Poresatham (Tamil), The Officer (Tamil)

Saint Thomas Christian denominations

In 1996, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church created its first `Diocese of Thuckalay` in Kanyakumari district, (which was under the

Roman Catholics
—are good examples of majestic church architectures in Tamil Nadu.

Christianity In Kanyakumari District

One of the disciples of Jesus Christ,

mylaudy

Demographics

Christians in Tamil Nadu
Year Number Percentage
1951 1,427,382 4.74
1961 1,762,954 5.23
1971 2,367,749 5.75
1981 2,798,048 5.78
1991 3,179,410 5.69
2001[4] 3,785,060 6.06
2011[5] 4,418,331 6.12

Population by districts

Districts with significant percentage of Christians as per 2001 census
District Christian (numbers) Christian (%)
Tamil Nadu 3,785,060 6.02
Kanyakumari 745,406 44.47
Thoothukudi 262,718 16.71
The Nilgiris
 87,272 11.45
Tirunelveli 296,578 10.89
Tiruchirappalli 218,033 9.02
Chennai 331,261 7.63
Dindigul 145,265 7.55
Ramanathapuram 84,092 7.08
Tiruvallur 169,719 6.16
Kanchipuram 170,416 5.92
Sivaganga 67,739 5.86
Thanjavur 124,945 5.64
Ariyalur 36,261 5.21
Pudukkottai 66,432 4.55
Coimbatore 185,737 4.35
Viluppuram 115,745 3.91
Virudhunagar 68,295 3.90
Madurai 86,352 3.35
Cuddalore 73,611 3.22
Theni 33,830 3.09
Nagapattinam 45,780 3.07
Vellore 102,477 2.95
Tiruvarur 31,621 2.70
Tiruvannamalai 55,180 2.52
Erode 55,414 2.15
Perambalur 8,412 1.70
Salem 50,450 1.67
Karur 13,863 1.48
Dharmapuri 39,019 1.37
Namakkal 13,137 0.88
Districts with significant percentage of Christians as per 2011 census
District Christian (numbers) Christian (%)
Tamil Nadu 4,418,336 6.12
Kanyakumari 8,76,299 46.85
Thoothukudi 2,91,908 16.68
The Nilgiris
 84,610 11.51
Tirunelveli 3,42,254 11.12
Tiruchirappalli 2,46,156 9.04
Dindigul 1,69,945 7.87
Chennai 3,58,662 7.72
Ramanathapuram 91,139 6.73
Kanchipuram 2,56,762 6.42
Tiruvallur 2,33,633 6.27
Sivaganga 75,481 5.64
Thanjavur 1,33,971 5.57
Coimbatore 1,90,314 5.50
Ariyalur 37,403 4.95
Pudukkottai 72,850 4.50
Viluppuram 1,38,279 4.00
Virudhunagar 67,405 3.47
Madurai 97,711 3.22
Cuddalore 83,334 3.20
Theni 37,574 3.02
Nagapattinam 47,579 2.94
Vellore 1,11,390 2.83
Tiruppur 70,015 2.82
Tiruvannamalai 66,987 2.72
Tiruvarur 33,621 2.63
Erode 55,899 2.48
Krishnagiri 36,898 1.91
Perambalur 10,310 1.82
Salem 58,450 1.55
Karur 16,863 1.55
Namakkal 16,898 0.98
Dharmapuri 14,089 0.94

Important basilicas

San Thome Basilica

Santhome Cathedral built in 1523

St. Thomas Mount
. The basilica is built over the site where he was believed originally to be interred.

San Thome Basilica is the principal church of the

Catholic Archdiocese. In 1956, Pope Pius XII raised the church to the status of a Minor Basilica, and on 11 February 2006, it was declared a national shrine by the Catholic Bishops' Conference of India. The San Thome Basilica is a pilgrimage centre for Christians in India. This church is a very important site in the world for Christians.The church also has an attached museum at back.[6]

Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health,Velankanni

Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health in Velankanni, Tamil Nadu Entrance

The

Christ Child to a slumbering shepherd boy, the curing of a lame buttermilk vendor, and the rescue of Portuguese sailors from a violent sea storm.[7]

Although all three apparitions ultimately resulted in the erection of a

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary (8 September), the day of their safe landing. More than 500 years later, the nine-day festival and celebration is still observed and draws nearly 5 million pilgrims each year. The Shrine of Our Lady of Vailankanni, also known as the "Lourdes of the East,"[8] is one of the most important Christian religious sites frequented by Christians in India
.

Basilica of Our Lady of Snows, Thoothukudi

Basilica of Our Lady of Snows, Thoothukudi

Basilica di Santa Maria Maggiore in Rome
. The site is known for Portuguese architecture and Portuguese prayers and now it is recognised as a Tamil Nadu notable pilgrim site.

St. Francis Xavier's Cathedral, Kottar

St. Xavier's Cathedral, Kottar, kanyakumari district

Catholic church, as a gesture of goodwill, as per the church records. There was already a small church, in the same place where St. Xavier Church stands at present, dedicated to Mary the Mother of God, since AD 1544. Church records indicate that St. Xavier Church was built in 1600. In 1865, the Shrine of Mary was renovated and enlarged. In 1930, the church was raised to the status of a cathedral. The annual festival is celebrated during November – December
, lasting for 10 days.

Popular Church of South India (CSI) churches in Tamil Nadu

Contributions to literature

Thambiran Vanakkam first Tamil Christian book (1578)
Tamil New Testament (1713)

Christians of Tamil Nadu who have made concrete contributions to Tamil language and Tamil literature are

Christians who had been born in Europe, but were adopted to Tamil culture and made major contributions to Tamil language and literature are

Christian pilgrimages

List of denominations

  • Roman Catholic

Apostolic Christian Assembly[11]

List of Tamil Christians

Further reading

  • William Strickland, `THE JESUIT IN INDIA`, London/Dublin,1852. Reprint: Asian Educational Services, New Delhi,2001.(
    ISBN 81-206-1566-2
    ).

See also

References

  1. ^ Whitehouse, Thomas (1873). Lingerings of light in a dark land: Researches into the Syrian church of Malabar. William Brown and Co. pp. 23–42.
  2. ISBN 9780521548854
    .
  3. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ^ "Total population by religious communities". Censusindia.gov.in. Archived from the original on 19 January 2008. Retrieved 20 November 2014.
  5. ^ "Indian Census 2011". Census Department, Government of India. Archived from the original on 13 September 2015. Retrieved 25 August 2015.
  6. ^ "Basilica of the National Shrine of St.Thomas". SanThomeChurch.com. Archived from the original on 2 March 2010. Retrieved 20 February 2010.
  7. ^ "History of Velankanni". Archived from the original on 27 October 2009. Retrieved 12 February 2011.
  8. ^ Hindus join in India's Marian pilgrimage on Catholic World News
  9. ^ "Thiruvithamcode church to be global pilgrim centre". The Hindu. 7 December 2007. Archived from the original on 9 December 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  10. ^ "The History of the Dohnavur Fellowship and Mission".
  11. ^ a b c d e World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 368
  12. ^ a b c World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 369
  13. ^ "Church of South India". Archived from the original on 19 April 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  14. ^ "Church of North India". Archived from the original on 10 April 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  15. ^ Dohnavur Fellowship of Tamil Nadu, India
  16. ^ a b c d e f g World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 370
  17. ^ World Christian Encyclopedia, Second edition, 2001 Volume 1, p. 371
  18. ^ "Latest biography news about vijay". www.vikatan.com. 27 December 2021. Archived from the original on 27 December 2021. Retrieved 27 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  19. ^ Daily, Keralakaumudi (21 February 2020). ""I was born as a Christian, my wife is a Hindu": Vijay's father SA Chandrasekhar responds to allegations". Keralakaumudi Daily. Archived from the original on 4 January 2022. Retrieved 4 January 2022.
  20. ^ "அன்று கண்ட முகம் - மாதுரி தேவி". antrukandamugam.worpress. 16 November 2011. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
  21. The Telegraph. Archived from the original
    on 2 November 2012. Retrieved 31 July 2011.
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