Christians of St. Thomas

Also known as Nestorian Christians of Malabar, Syrian Christians of India

Religion

An ancient Christian community on the Malabar coast claiming foundation by St. Thomas, with fourteen hundred churches and two hundred thousand souls under the bishop of Angamala (metropolitan of India). The community had a foreign racial mixture, excelled in arms and arts, cultivated palm trees and engaged in pepper trade. They adhered to the Nestorian patriarch, used Syriac liturgy commemorating Theodore and Nestorius, rejected the title 'Mother of God,' and venerated the cross without images. They were subjected to Portuguese pressure at the Synod of Diamper but later reasserted their faith under Dutch and English protection.

Type: Religion
First appears: Book 1 · Ch. 210
Books: 1

History

BOOK 1The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire / Table of Contents with links in the HTML file to the two Project Gutenberg editions (12 volumes)
An ancient Christian community on the Malabar coast claiming foundation by St. Thomas, with fourteen hundred churches and two hundred thousand souls under the bishop of Angamala (metropolitan of India). The community had a foreign racial mixture, excelled in arms and arts, cultivated palm trees and engaged in pepper trade. They adhered to the Nestorian patriarch, used Syriac liturgy commemorating Theodore and Nestorius, rejected the title 'Mother of God,' and venerated the cross without images. They were subjected to Portuguese pressure at the Synod of Diamper but later reasserted their faith under Dutch and English protection.