Ezharapallikal: The Seven & Half churches of Saint Thomas
St Thomas, one of the Apostles of Jesus is widely considered to be the founder of Christianity in India and his travel to Kerala is the gateway to these efforts. It is believed that apart from preaching of the gospels, baptizing people he also made churches in places that he stayed at. The set of churches are called Ezharapallikal which constitutes 8 churches along the length of the Kerala west coast. St Thomas did not build any churches, he just placed crosses made of either stones or wood & his people later built churches for worship. The churches built also tracks his travel along the land & sheds light on how he influenced each community with his vision & faith in Jesus. The crosses placed were next to Jewish settlements in most places as they were present in Kerala from long before he came to these shores. It is said that his miracles also made Jews convert to Christianity.
St Thomas is said to have reached the shores of the Kodungaloor port which was known as Muzuris then in 52 AD. The post was popular with Arabs, Jews & Chinese who frequented these waters for trade but the Europeans did not come to the shores for long. St Thomas arrived in this busy port & started his preaching which struck a chord with the locals & he gained popularity. He learnt the local dialect & performed miracles for people to believe in Jesus, baptized people who wanted to follow Christianity & is said to have converted a sizeable population during his time in Kerala. Many believe that the St Thomas never came to the shores but archaic documents make us believe that he did come & his influence among the population is why many followed him & were termed as Thomas Christians.
All the churches which bear his name belong to different congregations of Christianity and this was the way of St Thomas who gave importance to all the faiths. The churches today are known by the congregation which looks after the church & its people. The first church St Thomas started was in Kodungallur which was the place he sailed to. In all places he is said to have converted different sections of the society. In Kodungallur it was the Jews. From Muzuris which was part of the Chera Kings, he sailed south to Kollam which was ruled by the Pandiyan kings. From Kollam he is said to have taken the backwater route to Niranam & stayed for over a year, later he travelled to the forests of Nilackal. His travel then was to the north & came to Kokkamangalam along the river. From here he travelled further north to Muzuris, stopping at Kottakavu to start another church. His final stop was in Palayur in Malabar where he is said to have converted sizeable Brahmin population. After around a decade in Kerala, he is said to have travelled to the East coast of the Peninsula & from here he was forced to flee to Kanyakumari where he is said to have started the final church which is called Arapally or Half church. Each church is a symbol of the way of St Thomas life, his grit and love for Jesus which enabled him to bring people under the Christian faith.
Kodungallur St Thomas Church
This beautiful church is the first place where St Thomas placed the stone cross in AD 52 & was the place which had settlements of Jews who were traders. Kodungallur thus is a place which initiated many faiths to India, from the Jews to Christians, to Islam. The church houses a relic of St Thomas right hand bone which was brought from Ortana, Italy.
The current church was built by the CMI Congregation in 1953 & is called the Marthoma Pontifical Shrine.
The church is close to the Boat Jetty at Azhikode & along the backwaters. The architecture of the church resembles that of the St Peter’s in Vatican. The church is a place where one can know the life of St Thomas in detail by way of a Light & Sound show conducted in the museum next to the church. The church is part of the most revered pilgrimage path for Christians as it takes them back to the roots & gives them a way to reach St Thomas himself.
Kollam St
Thomas Church
After the gospel preaching in Kodungallur, his followers asked him to take a journey to the port of Kollam which was another important trading harbor which was under the Pandiyan Kings. St Thomas sailed to Kollam which was a busy center of Cashew trading & had a sizeable fishing community.
When St Thomas arrived at the port around 54 AD, the word of his exploits had reached the shores. The Chettiars were the most important community here & they took a liking to the Apostle & his preaching. He is said to have converted a lot of these people & baptized around 1400 people here.
As per legends, during his time in Kollam his popularity grew and locals grew jealous of him & decided to conspire against him. An unmarried lady gave birth to an illegitimate child & the locals influenced her family to name St Thomas as the person responsible. The family under fear approved & went to the village council for justice. The village headmen called the Apostle to take responsibility of the child. St Thomas understood the conspiracy & walked to the child & asked the child who the father was; miraculously the child pointed its finger to a man in the crowd. Upon questioning, the men confessed to the truth & this miracle made all believe in St Thomas.
The original church which was made by St Thomas was completely destroyed by the Sea & the ruins of this church is said to be seen when the water recedes as per the locals. Today in its place one can see the Church for Our Lady of Purification which belongs to the Latin congregation. The church was built to its current in the last century & has a unique architecture with a hexagon façade & high roofs with well decorated altar.
Niranam St Thomas
Church
After staying in Kollam for an year, the apostle took a boat ride along the backwaters and travelled north to Niranam. This was a place which had mostly Brahmins & Nairs. Upon arrival the apostle baptized two families of Brahmins & two Nair families. One among the Brahmin family was the Pattamukkil family who were given the priestly powers for the church when St Thomas left for Nilackal. The family surrounds the church on all sides and is considered to one of the most faithful of the apostle.
The church built in 54 AD is considered to be the oldest churches in Kerala. The church has seen many reconstructions over the centuries. The tall granite cross at the entrance of the church is probably over 800 years old & is from the time of the 13th century when the church was reconstructed. The base of the cross has carvings that resemble that of a temple & opens to the water from where St Thomas is said to have arrived here.
The original cross which St Thomas placed here as per legends was uprooted by miscreants & thrown in the river after he left Niranam. The apostle was in Nilackal when he heard about this & is said to have sailed back to Niranam. The cross floated along the water & came to the other side of the river where St Thomas placed it again. He baptized around 1400 people here.
The present St Mary’s church stands now where St Thomas placed the cross the second time. The church is a beautiful work of architecture & has 5 altars inside. The main altar is dedicated to Saint Mary. The church where St Thomas first placed the cross is now where one can find the beautiful Jerusalem Marthoma church
Nilackal St
Thomas Chruch
St Thomas is said to have walked to Chayal which was the old name of Nilackal & was a prominent center of commercial trade. He is said to have stayed here for over a year and baptized around 1000 people. He had to leave Nilackal for a short while to go back to Niranam as the cross he had placed was thrown in the river.
The Nilackal area was considered to be the Garden of Ayyappa & the dense forests were close to Sabarimala. After St Thomas left Nilackal for his travel to Malabar, the families moved with him and the church was covered by dense vegetation & was neglected. The church was forgotten for the inability to access it due to presence of wild animals. The old church was finally discovered in 1902 by the British on a hunting mission which also found many houses nearby.
In 1957 the people of Nilackal decided to preserve the church as an ecumenical church to honor the beliefs of all denominations belonging to Christianity. The St Thomas Orthodox church today stands witness to the history with its simple structure & wooden doors.
Kokkamangalam
St Thomas Church
This was the place where the apostle actually built a small church for the people. He sailed along the backwaters to reach Gokkamangalam as it was known then & stayed here for over an year. He baptized around 1600 people here which include Brahmins & Nairs. The small place of worship had a cross that the apostle placed.
As per legend it is said that once St Thomas left the church, the locals stormed the small church and cut the wooden cross from the church & threw it in the river. The cross kept floating and travelled along the backwaters & people could not find it. The cross kept floating & finally came to rest in Pallipuram in the grasslands. It stayed there & finally a woman came to the banks to cut grass and accidently hit the cross with the sickle which made the cross bleed. The lady terrified by this ran to the village to report this event, people gathered near the cross and erected it in the church near the banks.
The cross over the centuries was lost in time; one can now see a replica of the cross along the banks of the Vembanad lake. The base of the cross has seven faces, six depicting the images of the other six churches & the seventh depicts the faith in Christ.
Kottakavu St
Thomas Church
The apostle again travelled to Malabar & reached the shores of Kottakavu which is near Paravur now & started his gospel preaching’s. People here knew the apostle from his initial years of preaching in Kodungaloor & they were happy to see him come back. This is one place where St Thomas is said to have erected a wooden cross.
One of the most talked about miracle of the apostle is said to have been conducted here. As per legends, when the apostle arrived at Kottakavu it was the time of great Hindu feast & a procession of the idol was carried over an elephant. Upon seeing the apostle, people recognized him & called names humiliating him. The apostle asked Jesus for divine help, the sky opened & thunderstorm stuck the procession. The elephant & priests who called him names were stuck with lightening & they collapsed to the ground. People understood the divinity of the apostle & fell to his feet for forgiveness. St Thomas then forgave everyone & revived all who had collapsed. This miracle made all in the procession embrace Christianity & be baptized by the apostle himself.
The Forane church today is a reconstructed structure as the whole place was destroyed by Tipu Sultan during his siege of Malabar. The wooden cross which was engraved in rock was also lost. The church reconstructed many times had its altar raised to the status of Privileged Altar by Pope Gregory in 1575. It is a beautiful church & the interiors of the church are a great example of gothic architecture.
Palayoor St
Thomas Church
The apostle came to Palayoor at the end of over a decade travelling along the west coast of Kerala & reached Palayoor which was a land of Brahmins. It is also said that this was the last coastal town on the west coast that St Thomas visited before leaving for the East coast for another decade of preaching. The church one sees today is considered to be built over an old temple or Jewish synagogue.
The legend behind the church has many notes to it. One day the apostle came to the place where priests were conducting Pitrpooja or rites for the ancestors where the priests were throwing water in the air while reciting mantras. St Thomas asked the priests if the pujas were for the Gods in the heaven shouldn’t the Gods take the water & not fall down! The priests laughed at this & said it was against the laws of nature. St Thomas said if there is a true God, his faith in Him will make the Gods accept the water. Just as he said, he picked up a palmful of water from the pond & threw in the air praying to the Holy Trinity. To the surprise of all around, the water stayed in the air & the pond stayed still with the cavity of water taken. All the priests took note of this miracle & asked for his blessings. It is said that St Thomas baptized them all with the water from the pond. Out of the 40 families in Palayoor all but one called the Orumanayoor got baptized. The priests of the Orumanayoor family while leaving Palayoor cursed the land & so the name Shapukadu (Chavakadu) came to being. Even today Brahmins do not eat or drink in and around Palayoor fearing the curse.
The church today is a simple structure & was named the apostolic church after it became the first church where St Thomas baptized his people. The church resembles that of a Hindu architecture with the entrance as a temple mandapam.
Thiruvithamcode
St Thomas Church
Known as the Arapally it is also called Amalagiri church & is the last of the churches built by St Thomas in India. The name Arapally refers to Half church but the name is not as literal but refers to the person who helped built the church. The feudal Chera King who ruled the southern Travancore region by the name of Arachan was the person responsible for building the church.
St Thomas was preaching along the east coast of Mylapore when the locals accused him and many others of wrong doings. They were made to run away, fearing persecution St Thomas with 64 families fled to the south & reached Kanyakumari. Here it is said that St Thomas met the revered Tamil poet Thiruvalluvar who asked the king to lend land & stones to the apostle so that they could build a church for his people. The king readily agreed and gave land, the church one sees now still has the stones given by Arachan. After the church was built St Thomas left to Mylapore. The exact date of when the church was built is not clear but it would be around 63 AD.
The church is a simple piece of architecture & one impressive fact is that the church has never been reconstructed.
The structure has been the same for over 2000 years. It is now the St Mary’s Orthodox Church & the stones bear the cross made by St Thomas himself. The church also has the Baptismal font outside which is as old as the church for all to see.
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It is important for every person irrespective of faith to follow the route of St Thomas & visit these churches to believe in human resolve. The apostle true to his word to Jesus spread the word of hope among people in India.
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