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St.Thomas Day (July 3rd)

St.Thomas Day

Christianity was brought to Kerala and thus to India by St.Thomas the Apostle in AD 52. The 3rd of July is observed in Kerala as his martyrdom day. It is believed that St.Thomas was killed on this day at Mylapore in Chennai (capital of Tamilnadu) .

It is believed that the Apostle established Ezharappalli or seven and a half churches in Kerala, of which only four exist today. The half, may be called so, because it was not completed. Two churches, one at Malayattoor and the other at Thiruvamkode - now part of Kanyakumari district, Tamilnadu, are claimants to this rare honour. The church built on a hill in Malayattoor has become the most famous of pilgrim centres dedicated to St.Thomas. Among the others, the church at Niranam in Thiruvalla displays a marked influence of the ancient traditional temple architecture. Over the centuries all these churches have undergone several renovations .

Today, there are five broad sects of christianity in Kerala - the Roman Catholic Church following the Syriac, Latin or Malayalam liturgies, the Orthodox Syrian Church, the Mar Thoma Syrian Church, The Church of South India and the Nestorian Church. Together Christians form 23 percent of the state's population.

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