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oral and literary traditions and other well-structured documents that mention the
Apostle Thomas’ arrival, preaching and martyrdom in India. It is important to
understand that the real question is not related to the early presence of Christianity
in India, but rather to the identity of Thomas.
There are strong traditions that claim there were migrations of Christians from
West Asian countries from the fourth century. It is believed that there was an
exodus of Christians from Persia to India in the fourth century and later in the
seventh century. 48 Consequently, active contact with Syria was maintained, and
thus Indian Christians had bishops from western Asia until the coming of the
Portuguese in the fifteenth century. From the very beginning, the Syriac heritage
has been a source of inspiration and prestige for the Thomas Christians, who
themselves were known as Syrian Christians. Thus, when the Portuguese came to
India towards the close of the fifteenth century, they found a powerful Indian
Christian community, which traced their origin to Apostle Thomas. It is
significant to note that many key leaders as well as followers of early
Pentecostalism, especially in south India, came from this Syrian community of
Christians. They are still proud of the ancient Syrian-Christian tradition and the
non-western origin of Christianity in India 49
2.2.2. Western Mission
It was the arrival of the Portuguese from the close of the fifteenth century that
brought Indian Christianity into a strong relationship with western Christianity.
48
For more discussion on the Persian origin of Christianity in India, see Mingana, Early Spread of
Christianity, 4-5.
49
For details on the Syrianness of Kerala Pentecostals, see Pulikottil, ‘East and West Met,’ 13-15.
56