Christianity in India

According to the tradition of Indian Christians, the Apostle Thomas brought Christianity to India in 52. He arrived in Kodungallur , now the state of Kerala, and founded the Seven Churches of the Apostle Thomas there , and also read sermons on the territory of the current states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu ^[7] . It is believed that he suffered a martyrdom and was killed by a brahmana on Mount St. Thomas in Chennai , and was buried on the site of the current Cathedral of St. Thomas. ^[8] .

According to some historians, India began to trade intensively with Central Asia, the Mediterranean and the Middle East, both along mountain roads (from the north) and along seaways (west and south coasts) long before the new era. From this it can be assumed that Christian merchants settled in Indian cities along the trade routes ^[9] .

According to the 3rd-century apocrypha Acts of the Apostle Thomas , originally written in Syriac , when the apostles divided the areas of future sermons in Jerusalem, it was decided that Thomas would go to India. The latter, having arrived in North-West India, christened King Gondofar and his brother, which marked the birth of Christianity in India. ^[9] Nevertheless, historians consider the Acts of Thomas to be a rather romantic literary work, formed under the influence of the traditions of the Indo-Parthian kingdom , than a historical record. At that time, Buddhism , only recently brought to the north-west of India, received great success in cosmopolitan cities, such as Taxila , where Greeks, Bactrians, Scythians and Indians met ^[9] .

According to the Travancore Manual , Thomas Kansky , a merchant and missionary from Mesopotamia, brought Christianity to India around 345. ^[10] He brought 400 Christians from Baghdad with him. , Nineveh and Jerusalem at Kodungallur . He and his companion, Bishop Joseph of Edessa, sought refuge from King Cheraman Perumal, fleeing persecution by the Persian king Shapur II , pursuing anti-Christian policies. A colony of Syrian Christians, based in Kodungallur, became the first known written community of the Christian community in South India ^[11] . A number of historians have come to the conclusion that Thomas Kansky was confused with the 1st-century apostle Thomas, as a result of which the cult of the Apostle Thomas appeared in India ^{[12] [13] [14] [15]} .

Although the exact origin of Christianity in India remains unclear, it is generally accepted that Christianity in India appeared so long ago that it spread there long before it appeared in many countries of Western and Eastern Europe ^{[16] [17]} .

The Syrian-Malabar community, known as Nasran, was reinforced by an influx of Persian colonial immigrants, Manichaean refugees, and others. The Syrian Church of Kerala was in canonical unity with the Syrian Church and under the jurisdiction of the Patriarch of Antioch and the Patriarch of Babylon until the Portuguese arrived at the end of 15 century. Bishops came from Syria.

The South Indian epos " Manimekalai " (2-3 centuries AD) mentions the early Christian sect of Nasrani under the name "Essani". Embassy of Alfred in 833 AD e. described the Nestorian Christians as a prosperous and high-status community on the Malabar coast. Marco Polo also mentions Nasrani and their ancient church on the Malabar coast in his work Il Milione .

In the early modern era, the first of the Christian missionaries to the Indian coast landed the French. The French preacher Jordanus Catalani arrived in Surat in 1320. At the end of his mission in Gujarat, he arrived in Kollam in 1323. He not only revived Christianity in these places, but also converted many thousands of people into it. As the first bishop in India, he also led a religious community in Calicut , Mangalore , Thanh and Bharuch ^[18] .

Portuguese missionaries landed on the Malabar coast at the end of the 15th century , contacted the local Christians of the Church of St. Thomas and tried to Latinize the liturgical rite. At that time, the Church of St. Thomas followed the East Syrian rite. During this period, foreign missionaries also converted many local residents to Christianity. This led to the formation of the Roman Catholic community in Kerala. Nowadays, Roman Catholics in Kerala form the community of Christians of St. Thomas, adopting the Latin rite, mainly living in central Kerala, as well as Christians converted by the Portuguese, living mainly in southern Kerala.

The papal bull Romanus Pontifex transferred the patronage over the spread of Christianity in Asia into the hands of Portuguese missionaries. The Portuguese colonial government in Goa supported the mission in India with various benefits for baptized Christians. They distributed rice to the poor, provided a good position in the Portuguese colonies to the middle class and military support to local rulers ^[19] . The early Roman Catholic missionaries, especially the Portuguese, led by the Jesuit St. Francis Xavier (1506–1552) extended their influence further from their strongholds on the west coast and attracted many converts. As a result of Portuguese missionary activity, many converts Indians combined Christianity with many old customs (they received the contemptuous nickname "rice Christians") ^[19] . Such behavior was seen as a threat to the purity of the Christian religion. Francis Xavier in a letter from 1545 to the King of Portugal, Juan III, demanded the establishment of the Inquisition in Goa. The Inquisition was established 8 years after his death and turned out to be extremely brutal - many Christians, as well as Indians and Jews, became its victims (the persecution of the latter was illegal, since formally the competence of the Inquisition concerned only apostates from Christianity) ^{[20] [21] [22]} .

In modern Goa there are a large number of Catholics, about 30% of the population. The relics of Francis Xavier are exhibited in a glass coffin for public visits at the Basilica of Good Jesus in Goa .

Mangalore is one of the most important regions on the west coast, where there are a large number of Christians. In 1321, the French Dominican monk Jordanus Catalani from Severac landed in Bhatkal near Mangalore and founded a mission there. He managed to convert many to Christianity ^[18] . However, the Portuguese failed to establish their influence in Mangalore due to opposition from the empire ruler Vijayanagara, Krishnadevreva and fearless Queen Bednor of Mangalore. Mangalore Catholics were mainly descendants of Catholics from Goa who fled from there during the wars between the Portuguese and Marathi, as well as during the Inquisition in Goa. Later, the chapel of St. Aloysius was built in Mangalore, resembling the Sistine Chapel in Rome ^[23] .

In Mumbai, high-ranking Hindus were solemnly converted to Christianity by Portuguese missionaries in the 16th century . After the defeat of the Portuguese from the Marath Empire and the loss of their influence in India, a lot of changes occurred in connection with the arrival of the British. Catholics from Goa began to move to northern Konkan . On the occasion of Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, the North Concan Christians, formerly known as the “Portuguese Christians”, abandoned this name and adopted the name “East Indians” ^[24] .

Since the beginning of the 18th century , Protestant missionaries began to spread actively on the Indian peninsula, which led to an increase in the number of Christian communities. In 1793, the British Baptist missionary William Carey arrived in India. He acted in Serampur , Kolkata and in a number of other places, founded the Serampur College, translated the Bible into Bengali ^[25] . His activities continued until his death in 1834. In 1833, Anthony Norris Groves arrived in India from the Plymouth Brothers community. He carried out missionary work in the Godavari delta until his death in 1852. Mormon missionaries, including Hugh Findlay, arrived in Bombay and Poon in the early 1850s, but their activities were unsuccessful.

In the Ahmednagar region, now the state of Maharashtra, most Christians are Protestants, not Catholics, which distinguishes it from other regions. These Protestants are also called Marathi Christians. Missionaries began to preach the gospel in these places from the beginning of the 19th century . The percentage of Christians to the other population of Ahmednagar is currently only 4%. In the small village of Haregaon , Srirampur district, the majority are Catholics. Thousands of Catholics annually come to Haregaon to the Matmauli (Virgin Mary) festival on September 7–8 ^[26] .

The total number of Christians in India, according to the 2001 census, is 24,080,016 people, or 2.34% of its population. However, this number does not correspond to the real number of Christians, since the authorities do not allow Indian citizens to change their religious affiliation after they reach school age. Thus, people who converted to faith in Jesus Christ and were even baptized can be recorded as Hindus.

Most of the Christians in India - Catholics - according to 1993, make up about 17.3 million people. ^[6] , including 408,725 members of the Syro-Malancar Catholic Church ^[28] and 3,674,115 parishioners of the Syro-Malabar Church ^[29] . In January 1993, the Syro-Malabar Church , and in February 2005 the Syro-Malankar Church received a higher status of the Supreme Archbishopric from Pope John Paul II . The Syro-Malabar Church is the second largest among 22 Eastern Catholic churches , recognizing the Pope as "the visible head of the whole church."

In addition, thanks to the missionaries in India, many Protestant churches appeared. The largest Protestant denominations are Pentecostals and independent charismatics (6.3 million ^[30] ), the Church of South India (5.95 million ^[31] ), the Baptists (5 million ^[32] ) and the Church of North India (2.4 million ^{[ 31]} ).

Armenian Christians in India

In the 19th century, several large Armenian communities existed in India. Today, the following Armenian churches operate in India:

• Armenian Church of St. Nazareth in Calcutta ^[46] ;
• Armenian Church of the Holy Virgin Mary in Chennai ^[47] .
• Church of St. Gregory in Calcutta
• St. Peter's Church in Mumbai (Bombay)
• Church of St. John in Chinsur .
• Church of the Holy Virgin in Saidabad
• Church of the Virgin Mary (Saidabad)
• Chapel of the Holy Trinity (Tangra Church)

Russian Orthodox Christians in India

A Russian Orthodox church in honor of St. Thomas is being built on the territory of the Embassy of the Russian Federation in the city of New Delhi . Since the beginning of the 2000s, services have been regularly held in the home church , which is arranged in a small room in the residential sector of the embassy. The parishioners of the temple are primarily Russians and representatives of other Slavic peoples living or traveling in India.

In 2012, the Anglican bishop Polycarp Nehamaia converted to Orthodoxy, the Russian Orthodox Church accepted him through anointing. Together with Bishop Polycarp, who became a layman, five parishes of fifty were received, subordinate to his church-administrative authority in the Anglican church. All parishes are located in the Indian state of Maharashtra : the parish of St. Andrew in Brahmapery , the parish of St. Thomas in the city ​​of Mule , the parish of St. John, the parish of St. Peter, St. Simon, the Holy Trinity Church in the city of Chandrapur . ^[48]

A characteristic feature of Christianity in India is that there is a “de facto” caste system that is not provided for in the Bible. Traditional Indian castes underwent a serious transformation in local Christian communities: they became much smaller (due to the small number of communities), but the result was their rigidity and impermeability. In many churches in India, priests can only be occupied by people from the higher castes. The Roman Catholic Church has repeatedly paid attention to this anomaly, but no serious attempts have been made to overcome the caste division of Indian Christians.

Castes among Christians in India

Conflict between Hindus and Christians

Historically, since the founding of the Christian community, relatively peaceful coexistence has been maintained between them and the Indians. After the arrival of the European colonialists, violent missionary activity began in the south and northeast of India. Many local peoples were converted to Catholicism. At the same time, converts retained many of their customs. In particular, the Indian caste preserved the caste system ^[49] . The untouchables account for up to 70% of the Christian population of India ^[50] .

Aggressive proselytism by Christian missionaries during the years of British domination in the 19th century caused a negative reaction from Muslims and Indians, who felt threatened by their traditional way of life. Proselitism was one of the many causes of the Indian uprising of 1857. On the other hand, Christians influenced the worldview of many Hindu reformers of the 19th century, in particular, such as Brahmo Samaj . On the other hand, Indian Christians, especially those who did not belong to the early communities, preserved many Hindu customs, for example, the Hindu festival of diwali ^[51] .

In the 20th century, the rivalry between Hindus and Christians resulted in an inter-party struggle and extremism on both sides. Christian missionary work among the lower caste Hindus led to the emergence of “hidden Christians,” especially among the untouchables.

On January 23, 1999, Australian , who worked for Christian missionaries, was burned alive with his two sons, who came to spend their holidays in India with their parents. His killer was an activist of the Hindu organization Vishwa Hindu Praishad .

The Tripura state government found evidence that the Tripura Baptist Church supported the Tripura National Liberation Front terrorist group, a separatist group that attacked and killed Indians in the region, leading to the cessation of Hindu festivals. ^[52] Terrorist groups enjoyed the moral support of the American Baptist churches of the United States - their representative John Sundquist made an official appeal in their support on February 26, 1998 ^[53] .

Nagaland rebels are a coalition of rebel groups operating in Nagaland in northeast India. “Christianity is an essential element of the identity of the Naga,” since about 95% of them are Christians ^[54] . According to Gordon Minz,

... the religious problem cannot be ignored ... Since a large number of nagas are Christians ... then the federal government of Naga can play on the fear of many nagas that, within the framework of the Indian Union, the religious freedom of the Christian minority may be impaired. The independence movement, which can dress up in the clothes of both nationalism and religious justice, initially has an advantage. And there is no doubt that the Naga rebels are truly sincere and pious believers. Singing hymns and prayers form an important part of their daily practice in their jungle. ... Many Baptist preachers actively promote the ethnic cleansing of the region from Hindus and other non-Christians.

- ^[55]

According to a 2011 Catholic Secular Forum (CSF) report, attacks on Christians by extremist Hindu groups are currently occurring in almost all Indian states, with 2141 reported cases of violence against Christians. Nearly half of the violence in 2011 was committed in the southwestern state of Karnataka, and Christian discrimination is particularly common in the states of Orissa, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh. The victims are mainly women and children ^[2] .

Conflict between Muslims and Christians

Muslims in India and Pakistan, in the case of conversion to Christianity, are humiliated, intimidated, attacked. In Kashmir, a 50-year-old Christian convert named Bashir Tantrai was killed, allegedly by Islamic extremists, on November 21, 2006. ^[56]

Christian priest K.K. Alavi, who converted to Christianity from Islam, caused the anger of the Muslim community and received many threats. The militant Islamic group, The National Development Front , launched an active campaign against him. ^[57]

• Protestantism in India
• Catholicism in India
• Orthodoxy in India
• Apostle Thomas
• Malankar Orthodox Church
• Syro-Malabar Catholic Church

• Christianity: Encyclopedic Dictionary. T. 3. - M., 1998 .-- S. 395-458
• Shourie, A. (1994). Missionaries in India: Continuities, changes, dilemmas. New Delhi: ASA Publications.
• Madhya Pradesh (India)., Goel, SR, Niyogi, MB, & Voice of India. (1998). Vindicated by time: The Niyogi Committee report on Christian missionary activities. New Delhi: Voice of India.
• Panikkar, KM (1969). Asia and Western dominance. New York: Collier Books.
• Goel, SR (1996). History of Hindu-Christian encounters, AD 304 to 1996. New Delhi: Voice of India. ISBN 81-85990-35-2

• A History of the Church of England in India
• Catholic encyclopedia - entry on India
• St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India
• Churches in india
• Christian Pilgrimage sites in India