Christianity in India

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Indian Christians

1st row: Sonia Gandhi • Varghese Palakkappillil • Mother Teresa

• Asin Thottumkal

2nd row: Dino Morea • John Abraham • Pandita Ramabai • Lara

Dutta

3nd row: Genelia D'Souza • James Michael Lyngdoh • George

 Fernandes • Anna Chandy

4rd row: Ivan Dias • Leander Paes • Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy •

Diana Hayden

Total population

24,080,016 (2001)[1]
2.3% of the Indian Population

Regions with significant populations

Goa, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, North-Eastern States, Southern India

Languages

Malyalam, Tamil, Konkani, Telugu, English and various Indian

languages

Religion

Predominantly Roman Catholic and Protestant. Significant

communities of Pentecostal, Baptist and Syrian Orthodox

Related ethnic groups

St. Thomas Christians, Goan Catholics, East Indians,

Mangalorean Catholics, Khasis, Mizos, Nagas, Anglo-Indians

Christianity is India's third-largest religion, with approximately 24 million followers,

constituting 2.3% of India's population.[2] The works of scholars and Eastern Christian
writings state that Christianity was introduced to India by Thomas the Apostle, who
visited Muziris in Kerala in 52 CE to spread gospel amongst Kerala's Jewish settlements.
[3][4][5]
Although, the exact origins of Christianity in India remain unclear, it is generally
agreed upon that Christianity in India is almost as old as Christianity itself and spread in
India even before it spread to many predominantly Christian nations of Europe.[6][7]

Today Christians are found all across India and in all walks of life, with major
populations in parts of South India, the Konkan Coast and the North-East. Indian
Christians have contributed significantly to and are well represented in various spheres of
national life. They include former and current chief ministers, governors and chief
election commissioners.[8][9] Indian Christians also have one of the highest literacy, work
participation and sex ratio figures among the various religious communities in India.[10][11]
[12]
Most Christians in India are Catholic (Latin rite). The Eastern rites include the Syro-
Malabar Catholic Church and the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, which are
prominent in Kerala. Major Protestant denominations include the Mar Thoma Syrian
Church, the Church of South India (CSI), the Church of North India (CNI), Presbyterian
Church of India, Indian Pentecostal Church, the Pentecostal Mission and other
evangelical groups. The Christian Church runs thousands of educational institutions and
hospitals contributing significantly to the development of the nation.[13]

Contents
[hide]

• 1 Early Christianity in India

o 1.1 The Arrival of St. Thomas
o 1.2 4th Century Missions
o 1.3 Jesus in India Theories
• 2 Medieval Period
• 3 Modern Period
o 3.1 The Arrival of Catholicism
o 3.2 The Arrival of Protestant Missions
• 4 Art and Architecture
• 5 Culture
• 6 Prominent Indian Christians
• 7 Demographics
• 8 Conflicts
o 8.1 Hindu-Christian conflict
o 8.2 Muslim-Christian conflict
• 9 See also
• 10 References

• 11 External links

Early Christianity in India

The Arrival of St. Thomas

Main articles: Syrian Malabar Nasrani and Saint Thomas Christians

A Peutinger Table's depiction of Muziris near the tip of India where St. Thomas is
believed to have landed in 52 A.D.

According to Indian Christian traditions, the apostle Thomas arrived in Kodungallur (also
Muziris), Kerala, established the Seven Churches and evangelized in present day Kerala
and Tamil Nadu.[14]

As with early Christianity in the Roman Empire, it is assumed that the initial converts
were largely Jewish proselytes among the Cochin Jews who are believed to have arrived
in India around 562 BC, after the destruction of the First Temple.[15][16] Many of these
Jews presumably spoke Aramaic like St. Thomas, also a Jew by birth, who is credited by
tradition with evangelizing India.

A historically more likely claim by Eusebius of Caesarea is that Pantaenus, the head of
the Christian exegetical school in Alexandria, Egypt went to India during the reign of the
Emperor Commodus and found Christians already living in India using a version of the
Gospel of Matthew with "Hebrew letters."[17] This is a plausible reference to the earliest
Indian churches which are known[by whom?] to have used the Syriac New Testament.
Pantaenus' evidence thus indicates that Syriac-speaking Christians had already
evangelized parts of India by the late 2nd century.
San Thome Basilica in Chennai is built over the site where St.Thomas is believed to be
originally interred

An early 3rd-century Syriac work known as the Acts of Thomas[18] connects the tradition
of the apostle Thomas' Indian ministry with two kings, one in the north and the other in
the south. The year of his arrival is widely disputed due to lack of credible records.[3]
According to one of the legends in the Acts, Thomas was at first reluctant to accept this
mission but the Lord overruled the stubborn disciple by ordering circumstances so
compelling that he was forced to accompany an Indian merchant, Abbanes, to his native
place in northwest India, where he found himself in the service of the Indo-Parthian king,
Gondophares. The apostle's ministry reputedly resulted in many conversions throughout
this northern kingdom, including the king and his brother.[18] The Acts of Thomas
identifies his second mission in India with a kingdom ruled by King Mahadwa, one of the
rulers of a 1st-century dynasty in southern India. According to the tradition of the Mar
Thoma or “Church of Thomas,” Thomas evangelized along the Malabar Coast of Kerala
State in southwest India, though the various churches he founded were located mainly on
the Periyar River and its tributaries and along the coast, where there were Jewish
colonies. He reputedly preached to all classes of people and had about seventeen
thousand converts, including members of the four principal castes. According to legend,
St. Thomas attained martyrdom at St. Thomas Mount in Chennai and is buried on the site
of San Thome Cathedral.[19]
Detail of a stained glass window at the Anglican St. Thomas Cathedral, Mumbai showing
Thomas the Apostle in the centre flanked by St. Gabriel and St. Michael on either side.
St. Thomas occupies a position of immense significance in Indian Christianity
irrespective of denominational differences

Critical historians treated the Acts of Thomas as an idle tale and denied the historicity of
King Gundaphorus until modern archeology established him as an important figure in
North India in the latter half of the 1st century. Many coins of his reign have turned up in
Afghanistan, the Punjab, and the Indus Valley.[citation needed] Remains of some of his
buildings , influenced by Greek architecture, indicate that he was a great builder.[citation
needed]

Although little is known of the immediate growth of the church, Bar-Daisan (AD 154-
223) reports that in his time there were Christian tribes in North India which claimed to
have been converted by Thomas and to have books and relics to prove it.[18] Certainly by
the time of the establishment of the Sassanid Empire (AD 226), there were bishops of the
Church of the East in northwest India, Afghanistan and Baluchistan, with laymen and
clergy alike engaging in missionary activity.[18]

Despite lively trade between the Near East and India via Mesopotamia and the Persian
Gulf, the most direct route to India in the 1st century was via Alexandria and the Red Sea
taking advantage of the Monsoon winds, which could carry ships directly to and from the
Malabar coast. The discovery of large hoards of Roman coins of 1st-century Caesars and
the remains of Roman trading posts testify to the frequency of that trade. Historian
Vincent A. Smith wrote, “It must be admitted that a personal visit of the Apostle Thomas
to South India was easily feasible in the traditional belief that he came by way of
Socotra, where an ancient Christian settlement undoubtedly existed. I am now satisfied
that the Christian church of South India is extremely ancient... ”.[18]
Relationship of the St. Thomas Christian groups

4th Century Missions

The renovated Mar Thoma Church, Kodungaloor; the first Christian church in India, built
52 A.D.

India had a flourishing trade with Central Asia, Mediterranean, and Middle East, both
along mountain passes in the north and sea routes along the western and southern coast,
well before the start of Christian era, and it is likely that Christian merchants settled in
Indian cities along trading routes.[19]

The Chronicle of Seert describes an evangelical mission to India by Bishop David of

Basra around the year 300;[20] this metropolitan reportedly made many conversions,[21] and
it has been speculated that his mission took in areas of southern India.[22] According to
Travancore Manual, Thomas of Cana, a Mesopotamian merchant and missionary,
brought a mission to India in 345 AD.[23] He brought 400 Christians from Baghdad,
Nineveh, and Jerusalem to Kodungallur. He and his companion Bishop Joseph of Edessa
sought refuge under King Cheraman Perumal from persecution of Christians by the
Persian king Shapur II. The colony of Syrian Christians established at Kodungallur may
be the first Christian community in South India for which there is a continuous written
record.[24] A number of historians claim that Thomas of Cana was confused with the 1st
century apostle Thomas by India's Syrian Christians sometime after his death and became
their Apostle Thomas in India.[25][26][27][28]

Jesus in India Theories

The ancient navigation route from the Judeo-Roman world to the Malabar coast
Main article: Jesus in India

There are also two sets of distinct accounts of Jesus travelling through India.[29]
According to the first set of accounts, Jesus traveled and studied in India between the
ages of twelve and thirty. According the second set of accounts, Jesus did not die on the
cross, but after his apparent death and resurrection he journeyed to Kashmir to teach the
gospel, and then remained there for the rest of his life.[29][30] The origin of the first set of
accounts is attributed to Russian author Nicolas Notovitch who published the book La vie
Inconnue du Jesus Christ (The Unknown life of Jesus Christ) in 1894.[29] Other writers
have suggested, however, that Notovitch's claims were a hoax.[31]

The origin of the second set of accounts is attributed to Kashmiri author Mirza Gulam
Ahmed who published the book Masih Hindustan Mein (Jesus in India) in 1899.[32] These
two accounts are generally not presented in combination. While travel between Middle-
East and India was common during those times, these accounts are not given serious
thought and treated as speculation since there is no historical account, either in early
Christian writings or Indian historical accounts, to either confirm or refute Jesus traveling
to India.[29]

Medieval Period

A set of palm leaf manuscripts from the 15th or 16th century, containing Christian
prayers in Tamil. They are thought to be the work of early missionaries, or of the Syrian
Malabar church

The Syrian Malabar Nasrani community was further strengthened by various Persian
immigrant settlers, the Christian-Jewish Knanaya colonies of 3rd century,
Manichaeanism followers, Babylonian Christians settlers of 4th century AD, the Syrian
settlements of Mar Sabor Easo and Proth in 7th century AD and the immigrant Persian
Christians from successive centuries. Archaeological excavations at Pattanam show that
the ancient port town of Muziris was in modern Kerala. The Periplus of the Erythraean
Sea describes it as a port of “leading importance”. The Kerala Syrian Church was in
communion with the Assyrian Church of the East till the Portuguese arrival in the late
15th century. Bishops came from Syria[citation needed].

The South Indian epic of Manimekalai (written between 2nd and 3rd century CE)
mentions the Nasrani people by referring to them by the name Essanis. The embassy of
Alfred in 833 CE described the Syrian Christians as being prosperous and enjoying high
status in the Malabar coast. Marco Polo also mentioned the Nasranis and their ancient
Church in the Malabar coast in his writings Il Milione. The Saint Thomas Christians still
use the Syriac language, (a dialect of Aramaic, also the language which Jesus spoke[33]) in
services. This group, which existed in Kerala relatively peacefully for more than a
millennium, faced considerable persecution from Portuguese evangelists in the 16th
century.[34][35] This later wave of evangelism spread Catholicism more widely along the
Konkan coast. [36][37]

Modern Period
The Arrival of Catholicism
St. Francis CSI Church, in Kochi, built in 1503, is the oldest European church in India

The French Dominican missionary Jordanus Catalani was the first European to start
conversion in India. He arrived in Surat in 1320. After his ministry in Gujarat he reached
Quilon in 1323. He not only revived Christianity but also brought thousands to the
Christian fold. He brought a message of good will from the Pope to the local rulers. As
the first bishop in India , he was also entrusted with the spiritual nourishment of the
Christian community in Calicut , Mangalore, Thane and Broach (north of Thane).[38]

Portuguese-Tamil Primer (1554). One of the earliest known Christian books in an Indian
language

Portuguese missionaries reached the Malabar Coast in the late 15th century.They made
contact with the St Thomas Christians in Kerala (who were following Eastern Christian
practices at that time) and sought to introduce the Catholicism among them. Throughout
this period, foreign missionaries also made many new converts to Christianity. Early
Roman Catholic missionaries, particularly the Portuguese, led by the Jesuit St Francis
Xavier (1506-52), expanded from their bases on the west coast making many converts.
With the Papal bull Romanus Pontifex the patronage for the propagation of the Christian
faith in Asia was given to the Portuguese. The Portuguese colonial government in Goa
supported the mission in India with incentives for baptized Christians. They offered rice
donations for the poor, good positions in the Portuguese colonies for the middle class and
military support for local rulers.[39] As a result of these incentives many converted Indians
were opportunistic Rice Christians, who practiced their old religion alongside
Christianity.[39] This was seen as a threat to the immaculateness of the Christian belief. St.
Francis Xavier, in a 1545 letter to John III of Portugal, requested an Inquisition be
installed in Goa. However the Inquisition, considered one of the most violent institutions
in the History of Goa targeted Hindus, Jews, and many newly converted Christians,[40][41]
[42]
was only installed eight years after St.Francis Xavier's death. Modern-day Goa has a
substantial Roman Catholic population with around 30% of the population professing the
faith. The undecayed body of St. Francis Xavier is still on public view in a glass coffin at
the Basilica of Bom Jesus in Goa.

Mangalore is another significant region on the west coast which has a huge Christian
population. In 1321, the French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani of Severac (in south-
western France), who also worked in Quilon arrived in Bhatkal, a place near Mangalore
and established a missionary station there. Many locals were converted to Christianity by
Jordanus. .[38] The Portuguese were however unable to establish their presence in
Mangalore as a result of the conquests of the Vijayanagara ruler Krishnadevaraya and
Abbakka Rani of Ullal, the Bednore Queen of Mangalore. Most of Mangalorean
Catholics were not originally from Mangalore but are descendants of Goan Catholics who
fled Goa during the Portuguese-Maratha Wars and the Goan Inquisition.

The origin of Christianity in North Konkan, was due to the proselytizing activities of the
Portuguese in the 16th century. The French Dominican friar Jordanus Catalani of Severac
(in south-western France) started evangelizing activities in Thana.[43] On the occasion of
The Golden Jubilee of Queen Victoria, the Christians of North Konkan, in Maharashtra
who were known as Portuguese Christians discarded that name and adopted the
designation East Indians.[44] Marathi Christians are Protestants and are therefore distinct
from East Indian Christians who are predominately Roman Catholics and inhabitants of
the North Konkan region. Marathi Christians can be found in the areas of Ahmednagar,
Solapur, Pune & Aurangabad. They were converted through the efforts of the American
Marathi Mission, The SPG Mission, and the Church Mission Society of Church Of
England in early 18th Century. British Missionary William Carey was instrumental in
translating the Bible into the Marathi language.[45]

The Arrival of Protestant Missions

William Carey translated the Bible into Bengali, Sanskrit, and numerous other languages
and dialects

Established in 1818 by the Serampore Trio, the Sentate of Serampore is the not only the
first modern university in India but also the premiere Protestant Theological university in
India

The first Protestant missionaries to set foot in India were two Lutherans from Germany,
Bartholomäus Ziegenbalg and Heinrich Pluetschau, who began work in 1705 in the
Danish settlement of Tranquebar. They translated the Bible into the local Tamil language,
and afterwards into Hindustani. They made little progress at first, but gradually the
mission spread to Madras, Cuddalore and Tanjore. Today bishop of Tranquebar is the
official title of a bishop in the Tamil Evangelical Lutheran Church (TELC) in South India
which was founded in 1919 as a result of the German Lutheran Leipzig Mission and
Church of Sweden Mission. The seat of the Bishop, the Cathedral and its Church House
("Tranquebar House") is in Tiruchirappalli.[46]

Beginning in the 18th century, Protestant missionaries began working throughout India,
leading to the growth of different Christian communities. In 1793, William Carey, an
English Baptist Minister came to India as a Missionary. He worked in Serampore,
Calcutta, and other places as a missionary. He started the Serampore College. He
translated the Bible into Bengali.[47] He worked until his death in 1834.
The London Missionary Society was the first Protestant mission in Andhra Pradesh
which established its station at Visakhapatnam in 1805.[48] Anthony Norris Groves, a
Plymouth Brethren missionary came to India in 1833. He worked in the Godavari delta
area until his death in 1852. John Christian Frederick Heyer was the first Lutheran
missionary in the region of Andhra Pradesh. He founded the Guntur Mission in 1842. He
studied Sanskrit and medicine in Baltimore, and set sail for India from Boston in 1841
with three other missionary couples on the ship Brenda. He traveled to India a second
time in 1847, spending a decade, mainly in the Guntur district of Andhra Pradesh state, in
southern India, where he ministered and performed yeoman service to the people there.
Supported initially by the Pennsylvania Ministerium, and later by the Foreign Mission
Board of the General Synod, Heyer was also encouraged and assisted by British
government officials. He established a number of hospitals and a network of schools
throughout the Guntur region.[49] Mormon missionaries, including Hugh Findlay, arrived
in Bombay and Pune in the early 1850s, but did not meet with success.

During the 19th century, several American Baptist missionaries evangelized in the
northeastern parts of India. In 1876, Dr. E. W. Clark first went to live in a Naga village,
four years after his Assamese helper, Godhula, baptized the first Naga converts. Rev. and
Mrs. A.F. Merrill arrived in India in 1928 and worked in the southeast section of the Garo
Hills.[50] Rev. and Mrs. M.J. Chance spent most of the years between 1950-1956 at
Golaghat working with the Naga and Garo tribes. Even today the heaviest concentrations
of Christians in India continue to be in the Northeast.[51]

Art and Architecture

The Nasrani Menorah of the St. Thomas Christians

Main article: List of cathedrals in India

There are a large number of items of artistic and architectural significance in the religious
and domestic life of Indian Christians.[52] Altars, statues, pulpits, crosses, bells and
belfries of churches along with other household items are among the many things that
form part of the Sacred art of the Indian Christians.[52] Church art and architecture of
Kerala from the beginning of Christian presence in the region have been greatly
influenced by those of other nations and religions as they have been influenced by
Kerala’s wealth of artistic and architectural traditions.[53]
Christian art and architecture in Kerala in pre-European periods has not only developed
from contact with the countries that had trading posts there but also from indigenous
forms and techniques of art and architecture. The advent of the Portuguese, the Dutch, the
French, and the English has had a great deal of influence on the art and architecture of the
church in Kerala.[53] The description of the visits of a Portuguese Archbishop Dom
Menezes to various churches before the arrival of western powers in India throws some
light on the structures and arrangements of the churches before western elements and
types were introduced into Kerala. There were three striking objects of significance in
front of the typical Malabar churches, either inside the courtyard or just outside it: (1) the
open-air granite(rock) cross which the present writer has christened Nazraney Sthamba
(2)Kodimaram (Dwajasthamba) or Flag-staff made of Kerala's famed teak wood (e.g. at
Parur), and often enclosed in copper hoses or paras (as at Changanassery, Pulinkunnu, or
Chambakkulam), or made out of some other wood or other material (3) the rock
Deepasthamba or lampstand.[52]

The tower of St.

Altar of the St. All Saints
The Basilica of Se Cathedral is Paul's Cathedral,
Mary's Church in Cathedral,
Bom Jesus one of the oldest Kolkata was
Kottayam; also Allahabad built
completed in and most rebuilt along the
can be seen are in 1887 is one of
1605 is celebrated lines of the Bell
two Persian the finest
considered one of religious Harry Tower of
crosses from 7th examples of
the best examples buildings in Goa Canterbury
century on either Gothic Revival
of Baroque and is one of the Cathedral
side; The church architecture in
architecture in largest churches following the
was originally India.
India in Asia. 1934 Calcutta
built in 1550
earthquake
Sacred Heart Cathedral in New Delhi

St. Philomena's church in Mysore

The ornate monumentality of the European churches was introduced to India when parts
of Malabar coast came under the jurisdiction of the Portuguese in the 16th century. They
introduced the Romano-Portuguese style, which was assimilated with such artistic and
structural finesse by the artists of Kerala, that it created some of the finest pieces of
artistry. This laid the foundations for Indian Baroque.[52] After the arrival of Vasco da
Gama and more especially after the commencement of Portuguese rule in India, distinct
patterns of Christian art developed within the areas of Portuguese influence, mostly along
the coasts of the peninsula. The Portuguese were great builders and promoted architecture
more than any other form of fine art. St. Francis Church, Kochi is the first European
place of worship in India and incidentally also the place where Vasco da Gama was first
buried. The Christian art of Goa reached its climax in church building.[52]

Indian Christian art and architecture during the British Raj has expanded into several
different styles as a result of extensive church building in different parts of the country.
The style that was most patronized is generally referred to as the British Regency style
which included Neo-Gothic and Gothic Revival architecture.[54] Most Protestant
cathedrals and churches in India conform to this style. St. Paul’s Cathedral, Kolkata is a
typical example of the Gothic Revival style. St. Mary’s church, Chennai, the first
Anglican Church built east of the Suez is one of the first examples of colonial
architecture in India.[55] French and Danish influences on Christian art and Architecture in
India can be seen in their respective colonies.[56] Today one can see a harmonious
blending of the East and the West in the Christian art and architecture of India.[53]

Culture
St. Mary's Church, Secunderabad decorated in preparation for Midnight Mass on
Christmas

While Christians in India do not share one common culture, it is for the most part a blend
of Indian and European cultures. It differs from one region to another depending on
several factors such as the prevailing rite and tradition and the extent of time for which
Christianity has existed in those regions. The St. Thomas Christians of Kerala (the first
region in India to be proselytized by Christian missionaries) have a distinctively different
culture when compared to Christians in other parts of the country.[57] Historical ties with
the Syriac Orthodox Church and assimilation of Indian traditions have contributed to the
development a unique culture among Kerala’s Christians.[57] The use of ornamental
umbrellas for Christian religious festivities illustrates the indigenous character of
Kerala’s Christianity.[58]

Goa was colonized by the Portuguese in 16th century AD; as a result of which Goan
Chrisitans have adopted a more western culture.[59] The dance, song and cuisine of Goa
has been greatly influenced by the Portuguese.[60] Contemporary Goan Christian culture
can be best described as an increasingly anglicized Indo-Latin culture.[61] Mangalorean
Catholics are descended mainly from the Goan Catholic settlers, who had migrated to
South Canara from Goa, a state north of Canara, between 1560 and 1763 during the Goa
Inquisition and the Portuguese-Maratha wars. After migration to Mangalore, they adopted
the local Mangalorean culture, but retained many of their Goan customs and traditions.[62]
Christianity in other parts of India spread under the colonial regimes of the Dutch,
Danish, French and most importantly the English from the early 17th century to the time
of the Indian Independence in 1947. Christian culture in these colonial territories has
been influenced by the religion and culture of their respective rulers.[63] In some parts of
Maharashtra such as Vasai and Ahmednagar, local Christian culture and tradition does
not differ much from that of their Hindu neighbors. They are considered to be less
anglicized Christians comapared to other Indian Christians.[64]
An Indian Catholic girl receives her first communion

Children participating in the Goan carnival circa 1980. The carnival is celebrated
annually in February before the start of Lent

Religion plays a significant role in the daily life of Indian Christians. India ranks 15
among countries with highest church attendance. Religious processions and carnivals are
often celebrated by Catholics.[65] Cities with significant Christian populations celebrate
patron saint days. As in other parts of the world, Christmas is the most important festival
for Indian Christians. Anglo-Indian Christmas balls held in most major cities form a
distinctive part of Indian Christian culture.[66] Good Friday is a national holiday. All Souls
Day is another Christian holiday that is observed by most Christians in India.[67] Most
Protestant churches celebrate harvest festivals, usually in late October or early
November.[68] Christian weddings in India conform to the traditional white wedding.
However it is not uncommon for Christian brides particularly in the south to wear a
traditional white wedding sari instead of a gown.[69]

Contemporary Christian culture in India draws greatly from the Anglican culture as a
result of the influence of the erstwhile British Raj. The Anglican Book of Common
Prayer is a widely used supplement for worship in the two major Protestant
denominations: Church of South India and Church of North India.[70] Today Christians are
considered to be one of the most progressive communities in India.[71] Urban Christians
are to a greater extent influenced by European traditions which is considered an
advantage in the business environment of urban India; this is given as an explanation for
the large number of Christian professionals in India's corporate sector.[72] The Christian
church runs thousands of educational institutions which have contributed to the
strengthening of Christian culture in India.

Prominent Indian Christians

Main article: List of notable Indian Christians
Government and Politics
Current President of the Indian National Congress Party and chairperson
Sonia Gandhi of the ruling United Progressive Alliance. She was named the third most
powerful woman in the world by Forbes magazine in the year 2004[73]
Governor of Tamil Nadu from 1988 to 1990 and Governor of
P.C. Alexander
Maharashtra from 1993 to 2002.[8]
Margaret Alva Governor of Indian state of Uttarakhand from July 2009[74]
George Founder member of the Janata Dal (United) party and defence minister in
Fernandes the National Democratic Alliance (India) Government (1998–2004)[75]
Ajit Jogi First Chief Minister of the state of Chhattisgarh[76]
Oscar Minister of state (independent charge) of the Ministry of Labour and
Fernandes Employment in Dr. Manmohan Singh's first UPA government in India.[77]
Y. S.
Chief Minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh from 2004 to 2009.
Rajasekhara [78]
Reddy
Oommen
Chief Minister of Kerala from 2004 to 2006[79]
Chandy
P. A. Sangma Former Speaker of Lok Sabha and Chief Minister of Meghalaya.[80]
Agatha Sangma The youngest Minister of State in the current Cabinet.[81]
James Michael Chief Election Commissioner of India from 2001 to 2004. He was also
Lyngdoh awarded the Ramon Magsaysay Award[82]
Francisco
Chief Minister of Goa from 24 November 1999 to 24 October 2000[83]
Sardinha
Sunith Francis Chief of Army Staff of the Indian Army from 1990 to 1993 and the
Rodrigues current Governor of the Indian State of Punjab[84]
Oscar Dawson Former Chief of Naval Staff of India[85]
First woman judge in India and probably the second in the world to reach
Anna Chandy
a high court judgeship in 1959.[86]

St. Alphonsa's birth centenary commemorative coin released by the Reserve Bank of
India in 2010
Religion
 Founder of the Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata, India in 1950 was
Mother Teresa
Albanian Catholic.[87]
First Indian woman to be canonized as a saint in the Roman Catholic
St. Alphonsa
Church.[88]
St. Gonsalo Garcia First Roman Catholic saint from India[89]
Current Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of
Ivan Dias
Peoples in the Roman Curia[90]
First Adivasi (tribal) Indian to be created a Cardinal in the Roman
Telesphore Toppo
Catholic church[91]
First Saint of both the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church and
St. Gregorios
Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church[92]
An eminent Indian Christian social reformer and founder of the
Pandita Ramabai
Pandita Ramabai Mukti Mission.[93]
Varghese
Founder of the Congregation of the Sisters of the Destitute[94]
Palakkappillil
Succeeded Mother Teresa as Superior General of the Missionaries of
Sister Nirmala
Charity in March 1997[95]

Frieda Pinto
Arts, Sports and Cinema
Indian actress and professional model best known for her performance as
Frieda Pinto
Latika in her debut film Slumdog Millionaire[96]
Diana
Indian model, actor and former Miss World.[97]
Hayden
Indian actress, UNFPA Goodwill Ambassador and former Miss Universe
Lara Dutta
2000.[98]
Indian professional tennis player who currently features in the doubles
Leander Paes
events in the ATP tour and the Davis Cup tournament[99]
Mahesh Indian professional tennis player widely regarded as among the best
Bhupathi doubles players in the world with 11 Grand Slam titles to his credit.[100][101]
Viren Former captain of India's national field hockey team that finished seventh at
Rasquinha the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens[102]
Dino Morea Indian actor and former model[103]
Wendell Rodricks was the first India designer to be invited to IGEDO (the world's
Rodricks largest garment fair);[104] also the first Indian designer to open the Dubai
 Fashion Week.
Genelia
Indian film actress, model, and host[105]
D'Souza

Demographics
Part of a series on

Christianity
in India

Background

Nasrani

St. Thomas Christians

(history)

Ancient Crosses of India

Synod of Diamper
Coonan Cross Oath

People

St. Thomas the Apostle

St. Francis Xavier
St. Gonsalo Garcia
Devasahayam Pillai
St. Alphonsa Muttathupadam
Thomas of Cana
Mother Teresa
Mar Augustine Kandathil
Mar Sapor and Prodh
 Marthoma Metrans
St. Gregorios of Parumala
St. Baselios Eldho
Fr. Kuriakose Elias Chavara
Fr. Varghese Palakkappillil

St. Geevarghese
Mar Dionysius

William Carey

Churches

Andhra Evangelical Lutheran

Chaldean Syrian
Church of North India
Church of South India
Jacobite Syrian
Latin Catholic
Malankara
Malankara Orthodox Syrian
Malabar Independent Syrian
Mar Thoma
Presbyterian
St. Thomas Evangelical
Syro-Malabar Catholic
Syro-Malankara Catholic
The_Pentecostal_Mission

Indian Christianity
portal

v·d·e
Distribution of Christian population in different Indian states[106]

The total number of Christians in India as per Census in 2001 are 24,080,016 or 2.34% of
the population.[2]

The majority of Indian Christians are Roman Catholics accounting for a total of 17.3
million members,[107] including 500,000 members of the Syro-Malankara Church[108] and
3,900,000 of the Syro-Malabar Church. In January 1993 the Syro-Malabar Church and in
February 2005 Syro-Malankara Church were raised to the status of major archiepiscopal
churches by Pope John Paul II. The Syro-Malabar Church is the second largest among 22
Eastern Catholic Churches who accept the Pope as the "visible head of the whole
church".

Most Protestant denominations are represented in India, as a result of missionary

activities throughout the country, such as American Missionary Association, The SPG
Mission, Church Mission Society of Church Of England and many From European and
Australian Missionaries. The largest Protestant denomination in the country is the Church
of South India, since 1947 a union of Presbyterian, Reformed, Congregational,
Methodist, and Anglican congregations with approximately 3.8 million members. It is
also one of four united churches in the Anglican Communion.[109] A similar Church of
North India had 1.25 million members.[110] These churches are in full communion with the
Anglican Communion. The Mar Thoma Church has 700,000 members,[111] and derives
from the Malankara Jacobite Syrian Church, which numbers 1.2 million. The Mar Thoma
Church in communion with the Anglicans, but not a full member. In 1961, the
evangelical wing of the church came out of Mar Thoma Church and formed the St.
Thomas Evangelical Church of India which has 10,000 members.[112] Syrian Orthodox
Church of Malabar rites 1,200,000 members,[113] respectively. There were about
1,267,786 Lutherans,[114] 648,000 Methodists,[115] and 2,392,694 Baptists in India.[116]
Pentecostalism, another denomination of Protestantism, is also a rapidly growing religion
in India. It is spreading greatly in northern India and the southwest area, such as Kerala.
The major Pentecostal churches in India are the Assemblies of God, The Pentecostal
Mission (TPM — founded in 1923.[117][118]), Indian Pentecostal Church of God (IPC) with
900,000 members.[119] New Apostolic Church founded in 1969, with total adherents of
1,448,209.[119] The New Life Fellowship Association (founded in 1968) now has
approximately 480,000 adherents, and the Manna Full Gospel Churches and ministries
(founded in 1968 with connections to Portugal) has 275,000.[119] Evangelical Church of
India now has over 680 churches with a 250,000 community.[120] Another prominent
group is the Brethren. They are known by different names: Plymouth Brethren, Indian
Brethren, Kerala Brethren. The Presbyterian Church of India has 823,456 members.[121]

From the late 19th century, the fastest growing Christian communities have been located
in the northeast, in the Seven Sister States, among the Khasis, Mizos, and the Nagas.
Today Christians are most prevalent in the northeast, and in the southwestern states of
Kerala and Goa. The states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in South India and Nagaland,
Mizoram and Meghalaya in North-East India account for 60% of India's total Christian
population.[122]

Christian Denominations in India

Church Name Population Orientation
Catholic- Latin Rite 11,800,000 Roman Catholic
Catholic- Syro-Malabar Church 3,947,396[123] Catholic East Syrian Rite
Malankara Jacobite Syrian Orthodox
900,000 Oriental Orthodox
Church
Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church 1,600,000 Oriental Orthodox
Malabar Independent Syrian Church 35,000 Oriental Orthodox
Roman Catholics East Syrian
Catholic- Syro-Malankara Church 500,000
Rite
Chaldean Syrian Church 30,000 Church of the East
Church of South India 3,800,000 Protestant
Church of North India 1,250,000 Protestant
900,000 (Approx)
Mar Thoma Syrian Church [124] Reformed
Seventh-day Adventist Church 1,000,000[citation needed] Protestant
Methodist Church in India 648,000 Protestant
Baptist 2,392,694 Protestant
Lutheran 1,267,786[125] Protestant
Indian Brethren 1,000,000 Protestant
Presbyterian Church of India 823,456 Protestant
St. Thomas Evangelical Church 30,000 Protestant
Worldwide Faith Missions 12,000 Protestant
Evangelical Church 250,000 Protestant
New Apostolic Church[119] 1,448,209 Protestant
India Pentecostal Church of God 600,000 Protestant
New Life Fellowship Association[119] 480,000 Protestant
Manna Full Gospel Churches[119] 275,000 Protestant
Philadelphia Fellowship Church of
200,000 Protestant
India[119]
Unitarian Union of Northeast India 10,000 Unitarian
[126]
Jehovah's Witnesses 33,089 Restorationism
States with highest percentage of Christians in 2001
State Population Christian (%) Christian (numbers)
India 1,028,610,328 2.3 24,080,016
Mizoram 889,000 90.5 804,545
Nagaland 1,990,000 90.0 1,791,398
Meghalaya 2,319,000 70.3 1,630,257
Manipur 2,294,000 34.0 779,960
Goa 1,343,998 26.0 349,439
Kerala 31,841,000 19.0 6,049,790
Caste Demographic data reported by the Sachar Committee on Muslim Affairs in
2006 [127]
Religion Scheduled Caste Scheduled Tribe Other Backward Class Other Caste
Buddhism 89.50% 7.40% 0.4% 2.7%
Sikhism 30.70% 0.90% 22.4% 46.1%
Hinduism 22.20% 9.10% 42.8% 26%
Christianity 9.00% 32.80% 24.8% 33.3%
Islam 0.80% 0.50% 39.2% 59.5%

Conflicts
Hindu-Christian conflict

Pope John Paul II with M. G. Ramachandran on his visit to Madras in 1984

Historically, Hindus and Christians have lived in relative peace since the arrival of
Christianity in India from the early part of the first millennium. In areas where
Christianity existed in pre-European times like Kerala, land to build churches was often
donated by Hindu kings and Hindu landlords. The arrival of European colonialists
brought about large scale missionary activity in South India and North-East India. Many
indigenous cultures were converted to Christianity. Sometimes they were voluntary, and
other times they were coerced. The Goan Inquisition is pointed out as a blot in the history
of Goa. In more contemporary periods, Hindu-Christian amity still exists unlike the other
parts in India.

Aggressive proselytizing by Christian missionaries under British rule was a cause of

resentment among Hindus and Muslims in the 19th century, who felt that their cultures
were being attacked. This was one of the several causes of the Indian Rebellion of 1857
against the British Raj. The role of the Anglican padres and chaplains in that conflict is
recounted in William Dalrymple's The Last Mughal[128] Also, many Christian ideals
prompted reform movements within the Hindu society in the 19th century, the most
notable being the Brahmo Samaj, which was influenced by British Christian
Unitarianism.[citation needed] Hindus who have converted to Christianity in more recent times
typically retain their social customs, including caste practices and combine Hindu
customs with Christianity to achieve a unique brand of Indian Christianity.[129]

A church that has been burnt down during the 2008 Religious violence in Orissa

There has been an increase in anti-Christian violence in recent years particularly in the
states of Gujarat and Orissa; which is usually perpetrated by Hindu nationalists. The acts
of violence include arson of churches, re-conversion of Christians to Hinduism by force
and threats of physical violence, distribution of threatening literature, burning of Bibles,
raping of nuns, murder of Christian priests and destruction of Christian schools, colleges,
and cemeteries.[130][131] An Australian missionary Graham Staines and his two sons were
torched alive while sleeping on 22 January 1999 in Orissa. According to some, the
number of incidents of anti-Christian violence has multiplied since the Hindu nationalist
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) began its rule in March 1998.[131] Vishva Hindu Parishad
(VHP), Bajrang Dal, and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh are generally held responsible
for violence against Christians in India.[131] Sangh Parivar and local media were involved
in promoting anti-Christian propaganda in Gujrat.[131] In its annual human rights reports
for 1999, the United States Department of State criticised India for "increasing societal
violence against Christians."[132] The report on anti-Christian violence listed over 90
incidents of anti-Christian violence, ranging from damage of religious property to
violence against Christians pilgrims. A rationale offered for violence against Christians in
India is that the community is growing at an alarming rate through forced conversions.
As a response to allegedly aggressive missionary activity four Indian states Rajasthan,
Madhya Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, and Tamil Nadu (later repealed) have passed laws
restricting or prohibiting religious conversion.

The Government of the state of Tripura has claimed that it has evidence that the Baptist
Church of Tripura has been supporting the terrorist group National Liberation Front of
Tripura. The NLFT is a separatist group that has been accused of forcing tribals to
become Christians and has banned Hindu festivals.[133]

Many Mangalorean Catholics who refused to embrace Islam were imprisoned into such
dungeons at Seringapatam

Muslim-Christian conflict
The Jamalabad fort route. Mangalorean Catholics had traveled through this route on their
way to Seringapatam

In spite of the fact that there have been relatively fewer conflicts between Muslims and
Christians in India in comparison to those between Muslims and Hindus, or Muslims and
Sikhs, the relationship between Muslims and Christians have also been occasionally
turbulent. With the advent of European colonialism in India throughout the 16th, 17th
and 18th centuries, Christians were systematically persecuted in a few Muslim ruled
kingdoms in India.

Perhaps the most infamous acts of anti-Christian persecution by Muslims was committed
by Tippu Sultan, the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore against the Mangalorean Catholic
community from Mangalore and the erstwhile South Canara district on the southwestern
coast of India. Tippu was widely reputed to be anti-Christian. The Captivity of
Mangalorean Catholics at Seringapatam, which began on 24 February 1784 and ended on
4 May 1799, remains the most disconsolate memory in their history.[134]

The Bakur Manuscript reports him as having said: "All Musalmans should unite together,
and considering the annihilation of infidels as a sacred duty, labor to the utmost of their
power, to accomplish that subject."[135] Soon after the Treaty of Mangalore in 1784, Tippu
gained control of Canara.[136] He issued orders to seize the Christians in Canara,
confiscate their estates,[137] and deport them to Seringapatam, the capital of his empire,
through the Jamalabad fort route.[138] However, there were no priests among the captives.
Together with Fr Miranda, all the 21 arrested priests were issued orders of expulsion to
Goa, fined Rs 2 lakhs, and threatened death by hanging if they ever returned.[135]

Tippu ordered the destruction of 27 Catholic churches, all beautifully carved with statues
depicting various saints. Among them included the Church of Nossa Senhora de Rosario
Milagres at Mangalore, Fr Miranda's Seminary at Monte Mariano, Church of Jesu Marie
Jose at Omzoor, Chapel at Bolar, Church of Merces at Ullal, Imaculata Conceiciao at
Mulki, San Jose at Perar, Nossa Senhora dos Remedios at Kirem, Sao Lawrence at
Karkal, Rosario at Barkur, Immaculata Conceciao at Baidnur.[135] All were razed to the
ground, with the exception of the The Church of Holy Cross at Hospet,owing to the
friendly offices of the Chauta Raja of Moodbidri.[139]

According to Thomas Munro, a Scottish soldier and the first collector of Canara, around
60,000 of them,[140] nearly 92 percent of the entire Mangalorean Catholic community,
were captured, only 7,000 escaped. Francis Buchanan gives the numbers as 70,000
captured, from a population of 80,000, with 10,000 escaping. They were forced to climb
nearly 4,000 feet (1,200 m) through the jungles of the Western Ghat mountain ranges. It
was 210 miles (340 km) from Mangalore to Seringapatam, and the journey took six
weeks. According to British Government records, 20,000 of them died on the march to
Seringapatam. According to James Scurry, a British officer, who was held captive along
with Mangalorean Catholics, 30,000 of them were forcibly converted to Islam. The
young women and girls were forcibly made wives of the Muslims living there.[141] The
young men who offered resistance were disfigured by cutting their noses, upper lips, and
ears.[142] According to Mr. Silva of Gangolim, a survivor of the captivity, if a person who
had escaped from Seringapatam was found, the punishment under the orders of Tippu
was the cutting off of the ears, nose, the feet and one hand.[143]

The Archbishop of Goa wrote in 1800, "It is notoriously known in all Asia and all other
parts of the globe of the oppression and sufferings experienced by the Christians in the
Dominion of the King of Kanara, during the usurpation of that country by Tipu Sultan
from an implacable hatred he had against them who professed Christianity."[135]

The British officer James Scurry, who was detained a prisoner for 10 years by Tipu
Sultan along with the Mangalorean Catholics

Tippu Sultan's invasion of the Malabar had an adverse impact on the Syrian Malabar
Nasrani community of the Malabar coast. Many churches in the Malabar and Cochin
were damaged. The old Syrian Nasrani seminary at Angamaly which had been the center
of Catholic religious education for several centuries was razed to the ground by Tippu’s
soldiers. A lot of centuries old religious manuscripts were lost forever. The church was
later relocated to Kottayam where it still exists to this date. The Mor Sabor church at
Akaparambu and the Martha Mariam Church attached to the seminary were destroyed as
well. Tippu’s army set fire to the church at Palayoor and attacked the Ollur Church in
1790. Furthernmore, the Arthat church and the Ambazhakkad seminary was also
destroyed. Over the course of this invasion, many Syrian Malabar Nasrani were killed or
forcibly converted to Islam. Most of the coconut, arecanut, pepper and cashew
plantations held by the Syrian Malabar farmers were also indiscriminately destroyed by
the invading army. As a result, when Tippu's army invaded Guruvayur and adjacent
areas, the Syrian Christian community fled Calicut and small towns like Arthat to new
centres like Kunnamkulam, Chalakudi, Ennakadu, Cheppadu, Kannankode, Mavelikkara,
etc. where there were already Christians. They were given refuge by Sakthan Tamburan,
the ruler of Cochin and Karthika Thirunal, the ruler of Travancore, who gave them lands,
plantations and encouraged their businesses. Colonel Macqulay, the British resident of
Travancore also helped them.[144]
His persecution of Christians also extended to captured British soldiers. For instance,
there were a significant amount of forced conversions of British captives between 1780
and 1784. Following their disastrous defeat at the battle of Pollilur, 7,000 British men
along with an unknown number of women were held captive by Tipu in the fortress of
Seringapatnam. Of these, over 300 were circumcised and given Muslim names and
clothes and several British regimental drummer boys were made to wear ghagra cholis
and entertain the court as nautch girls or dancing girls. After the 10 year long captivity
ended, James Scurry, one of those prisoners, recounted that he had forgotten how to sit in
a chair and use a knife and fork. His English was broken and stilted, having lost all his
vernacular idiom. His skin had darkened to the swarthy complexion of negroes, and
moreover, he had developed an aversion to wearing European clothes.[145] During the
surrender of the Mangalore fort which was delievered in an armistice by the British and
their subsequent withdrawal, all the Mestizos and remaining non-British foreigners were
killed, together with 5,600 Mangalorean Catholics. Those condemned by Tipu Sultan for
treachery were hanged instantly, the gibbets being weighed down by the number of
bodies they carried. The Netravati River was so putrid with the stench of dying bodies,
that the local residents were forced to leave their riverside homes.[135]

In modern times, Muslims in India who convert to Christianity are often subjected to
harassment, intimidation, and attacks by Muslims. In Kashmir, the only Indian state with
a Muslim majority, a Christian convert and missionary named Bashir Tantray was killed ,
allegedly by militant Islamists in 2006.[146]

A Christian priest, K.K. Alavi, who is a convert from Islam, recently raised the ire of his
former Muslim community and has received many death threats. An Islamic extremist
group named "The National Development Front" actively campaigned against him.[147]

See also

Christianity by Country

Africa[show]
Algeria • Angola • Benin • Botswana •
Burkina Faso • Burundi • Cameroon • Cape
Verde • Chad • Comoros • Côte d'Ivoire •
D.Rep. of Congo • Djibouti • Egypt •
Eritrea • Ethiopia • Gabon •
 Ghana • Guinea-Bissau • Kenya •
Lesotho • Liberia • Libya •
Madagascar • Mali • Mauritania •
Mauritius • Morocco • Mozambique •
Namibia • Niger • Nigeria •
Somalia • Sudan • Tanzania

Asia[show]
Bangladesh • Bhutan •
Brunei • Burma • Cambodia •
China • Hong Kong • India •
Indonesia • Japan • Kazakhstan •
Korea • Laos • Malaysia •
Maldives • Mongolia • Myanmar •
Nepal • North Korea • Pakistan •
Philippines • Russia • Singapore •
South Korea • Sri Lanka • Taiwan •
Tajikistan • Thailand • Turkmenistan •
Uzbekistan • Vietnam

Europe[show]
Albania • Armenia • Austria •
Azerbaijan • Belarus • Belgium •
Bosnia & Herzegovina • Bulgaria •
Cyprus • Denmark • Finland •
France • Georgia •
Germany • Greece •
Iceland • Ireland • Italy •
Jersey • Kosovo • Lithuania •
Luxembourg • Macedonia • Netherlands •
Norway • Malta • Moldova •
Montenegro • Poland • Portugal • Romania •
Russia • Turkey • Ukraine • United Kingdom

North America[show]
Antigua & Barbuda • Belize • Canada •
Costa Rica • Cuba • Dominican Republic •
El Salvador • Guatemala • Mexico •
Nicaragua • Panama • United States

South America[show]
Brazil • Chile • Colombia •
Ecuador • Guyana • Paraguay • Peru

Middle East[show]
Afghanistan • Bahrain •
Iran • Iraq • Israel •
 Jordan • Kuwait •
Lebanon • Oman • Qatar •
Saudi Arabia • Syria •
United Arab Emirates • Yemen

Oceania[show]
Australia • East Timor • Fiji •
Kiribati • Marshall Islands • Micronesia •
Nauru • New Zealand •
Palau • Papua New Guinea Samoa •
Tonga • Tuvalu • Vanuatu •

Full list • v · d · e

• List of notable Indian Christians

• Church of South India
• List of cathedrals in India
• List of Roman Catholic missionaries in India
• List of Protestant missionaries in India
• History of Pentecostalism in India
• Christianity in Goa
• Christianity in West Bengal
• Christianity in Tamil Nadu
• Christianity in Kerala
• Telugu Christian
• Christianity in Maharashtra

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• This article includes material from the 1995 public domain Library of Congress
Country Study on India.
• Trec International
• International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention
• American Baptist Convention
• The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopedia of India, Vol.I (India), Vol.II (Kerala)

External links
• Indian Christianity
• Christians of India
• A History of the Church of England in India
• History of Syrian Church in India
• Catholic encyclopedia - entry on India
• St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India
• Churches In India
• Orthodox Church in India
• Christian Pilgrimage sites in India
• History of Syrian Orthodox Church in India
• Divine Recruits
• Christians in Secular India
• Non institutional Christians in India - following the example of the Christians in
the Bible

[show]v · d · eChristianity in Asia

[show]v · d · ePart of a series on Christianity

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