Christianity in India

Back in the day (ahem ... it was in the 1990s), I travelled to South India to take classes.  One of the classes I took was on the history of Christianity in the area.  Here are some pictures I took (back when we had to use film and couldn't tell if the pics were going to turn out. Ack.)

So, as we've learned, St. Thomas was purported to have travelled to India, where he shared the Gospel.  He was supposedly martyred in Chennai, where there is a shrine memorializing his death.  The first three pictures are of t1) he stone (carved with a cross) where he was pierced with a lance, 2) an outdoor statute of the crucifixion with Thomas included, and 3) an outdoor shrine where people can pray to St. Thomas.

Throughout India there are various roadside shrines to different gods and goddesses.  Here is a Christian roadside shrine with a small statue of the Virgin Mary.

Below is a small village church in the State of Tamil Nadu.

As we've learned, the Europeans came to India and missionized heavily. Some of the first to come were the Portuguese, who brought Catholic Christianity.  Below is the oldest Catholic Church in India, located in the state of Kerala in the city of Kochi.  This church, built in 1503, is dedicated to St. Francis. It was also the original burial site of Vasco de Gama (his remains were later removed to Lisbon).