Saint Thomas Christian cross

Part of a series on
Saint Thomas Christians
History
Saint Thomas Thomas of Cana Mar Sabor and Mar Proth Tharisapalli plates Synod of Diamper Coonan Cross Oath
Religion
Crosses Denominations Churches Syriac language Music
Prominent persons
Abraham Malpan Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar Kayamkulam Philipose Ramban Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly Mar Thoma I Saint Alphonsa Sadhu Kochoonju Upadesi Kariattil Mar Ousep Geevarghese Dionysius of Vattasseril Geevarghese Mar Gregorios of Parumala Geevarghese Ivanios Euphrasia Eluvathingal Thoma of Villarvattom
Culture
Margamkali Parichamuttukali Cuisine Suriyani Malayalam
v t e

Part of a series on
Christianity in India
Communities Bengali Christians Bettiah Christians Bombay East Indians Marathi Christians Meitei Christians Mizo Christians Naga Christians Punjabi Christians Saint Thomas Christians Tamil Christians Telugu Christians
People Saint Thomas the Apostle Saint Alphonsa Saint Francis Xavier Saint Gonsalo Garcia Saint Euphrasia Eluvathingal Saint Kuriakose Elias Chavara Saint Mother Teresa Bl.Devasahayam Pillai Mar Sabor and Mar Proth Mar Baselios Eldho Paremmakkal Thoma Kathanar Thomas of Cana Ignatius Elias III Mar Gregorios of Parumala Mar Varghese Payyappilly Palakkappilly Mar Joseph C. Panjikaran Mathews Mar Athanasius Metropolitan Mar Geevarghese Dionysius Abraham Malpan Giuseppe Maria Bernini Sadhu Sundar Singh Palackal Thoma Malpan Mar Augustine Kandathil William Carey
Denominations Saint Thomas Christian denominations Catholic Latin Catholic Oriental Orthodox Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church, Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church Independent Oriential Orthodox Malabar Independent Syrian Church Church of the East Chaldean Syrian Oriental Protestant Christian Mar Thoma Syrian, St. Thomas Evangelical Protestant denominations Andhra Evangelical Lutheran, Assemblies Jehovah Shammah, Christian Revival Church, Church of North India, Church of South India, Garo Baptist, Indian Brethren, Indian Pentecostal Church of God, Church of God (Full Gospel), North Bank Baptist Christian, Northern Evangelical Lutheran, Methodist Church, Presbyterian, The Pentecostal Mission, Seventh-day Adventist, United Evangelical Lutheran
Organisations National Council of Churches in India All India Conference of Indian Christians All India Catholic Union
v t e

Mar Thoma Sleeva (Saint Thomas Cross) are ancient crosses associated with the community of

Mar Thoma Sleeva are found at

Mar Thoma Sleeva (also written as Mar Thoma Slīva) is a Syriac-language term which means Saint Thomas cross.^[10]

Antonio Gouvea states in his 16th-century work Jornada that the old churches of Saint Thomas Christians were full of crosses of the type discovered at S. Thome (Mylapore).^[11] He also states that veneration of the cross is an old custom in Malabar. Jornada is the oldest known written document which calls the cross cross from (of) Sam Thome (Mylapore). The original phrase used is Cruz de Sam Thome, meaning "Cross of (from) St. Thomas". For this reason, it can also mean "Cross from Sam Thome", where Mylapore is equivalent to Sam Thomé, the name that the given by the Portuguese to the city of Mylapore. Gouvea also writes about the veneration of the Cross at Cranganore (Kodungallur), mentioning it as Cross of Christians.^[11]

Locations

Mar Thoma Sleeva can be found at the following locations:

The crosses are at the following locations:[6]
Sl. no.	Location	Preserved at	Image	Notes
1	Mylapore, Tamil Nadu	Our Lady of expectations Church, St. Thomas Mount		Under Roman Catholic diocese of Chingelpet.
2	Alangad, Kerala	Saint Mary's Church, Alangad		Under Syro-Malabar Church.
3	Kottayam, Kerala	Saint Mary's Knanaya Valiyapalli		Believed to have originally been exhibited at the churches built by the merchant Knai Thoma in Kodungallur. Later moved to Kaduthuruthy Knanaya Church due to the destruction of the Knanaya settlement of Kodungallur in a battle between the Kingdom of Kozhikode and the Kingdom of Kochi in 1524. Finally moved to St. Mary's Knanaya Church Kottayam at its erection in 1550 C.E. The left altar cross was dated between the 7th and 8th century by Assyriologist C.P.T Winkworth in 1928.
4	Kottayam, Kerala	Saint Mary's Knanaya Valiyapalli		Believed to have originally been exhibited at the churches built by the merchant Knai Thoma in Kodungallur. Later moved to Kaduthuruthy Knanaya Church due to the destruction of the Knanaya settlement of Kodungallur in a battle between the Kingdom of Kozhikode and the Kingdom of Kochi in 1524. Finally moved to St. Mary's Knanaya Church Kottayam at its erection in 1550 C.E. The right altar cross was dated to the 10th century by Assyriologist C.P.T. Winkworth in 1928.
5	Muttuchira, Kerala	Ruha d' Kudsha Church		Under the Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Palai.
6	Kadamattam, Kerala	Saint George Church		Under Indian Orthodox Church .
7	Kothanalloor, Kerala	St Gervasis and Prothasis Church[12]		Under Syro-Malabar Catholic Major Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Angamaly .
8	Agasaim, Goa	Pilar Seminary Museum
9	Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka	Anuradhapura museum		This cross is considered to be the oldest cross in Sri Lanka. It was found in 1912 during excavations of Anuradhapura.

Other similar crosses:

• Cathedral Church of the Resurrection, Lahore.^[13][14] However, experts point out that the cross shares only one characteristic with other St Thomas crosses: mostly equilateral, with arms of equal length. They claim that the Christian antiquity of this cross cannot be conclusively proven, as the same characteristic is also observed in pre-Christian Buddhist crosses and Swastika-variants found in the region, and even in Greek crosses.^{[14][15][16][17]}
• An Indian cross is depicted on the rock-piece at the front of the Parur (North) church, first published in the St Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India, Vol.II, 1973, Ed. George Menachery.
• There is a St Thomas cross in stone on the porch of the Church of St Thomas the Apostle, Killinghall, carved by Charles Mawer of Leeds.^[18]

Interpretation of the inscriptions

In 1873, an archaeologist named Arthur Coke translated the inscriptions as follows:

"In punishment by the cross (was) the suffering of this one;

He who is the true christ, and God above and Guide ever pure."^[19]

F. C. Burkitt and C. P. T. Winckworth, the then-reader of Assyriology in the University of Cambridge, studied the inscriptions and produced a translation, which was then discussed at the 1925 International Congress of Orientalists at Oxford.^{[citation needed]}

The interpretation is as follows:

"My Lord Christ, have mercy upon Afras son of Chaharbukht the Syrian, who cut this (or, who caused this to be cut)."^[20]

On the large cross, there is this additional sentence in Estrangelo Syriac. (Galatians 6:14)

"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The inscription at Kadamattom church when translated is,

"I, the beautiful bird of Nineveh has come to this land. Written by me Shapper, who was saved by the Holy Messiah from misery."

Symbolism of Mar Thoma Sleeva

Unlike crosses in other traditions, the St Thomas cross does not carry the effigy of the Christ. In addition to this unique quality, each of its elements carry symbolic meanings. Generally the Cross symbolizes life rather than death and suffering.^[21]

• Lacking the effigy of Jesus, the St Thomas cross presages the discovery of the empty tomb, glorifying the Resurrection of Jesus.^[8]
• The four edges of the cross are
  floral in shape, symbolizing fruition and life from the tree of life
  .
• The parting of the waters beneath the cross represents Christ's baptism and his resurrection displaying his dominion over death and chaos. Variations of the cross show a lotus flower an adaptation of Indian cultural symbolism.
• The three steps below the Cross represent Golgotha, symbolically referring to the death of Jesus, also the three decks of the Ark and the ascent to Mt. Sinai.
• Finally, the
  Holy Trinity according to the Christian tradition. It is this spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and bestows gifts upon the Church's faithful
  .

• Nestorian cross

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Saint Thomas Christian cross.

• "St Thomas cross". Archived from the original on 4 December 2016. Retrieved 25 August 2008.
• "Analogical review on St Thomas cross- The symbol of Nasranis". 29 February 2008. Archived from the original on 12 October 2010.
• Antony Dr.Martin Thomas (14 June 2020). "Saint Thomas Cross- A Religio Cultural Symbol Of Saint Thomas Christians". Archived from the original on 24 March 2020.
• "Menanchery article on Rock crosses of Kerala". Archived from the original on 2 November 2007.
• "Daily News report on Crosses in Sri Lanka". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007.
• "Stone Crosses of Kerala". 15 January 2007.