Christianity in Tamil Nadu

Thiruvithamcode Arappally under Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church is believed to be built by Thomas the Apostle

Christianity in the state of Tamil Nadu, India is the second largest religion in the state. According to tradition, St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles, landed in Malabar Coast (modern day Kerala) in AD 52.^[1]^[2] In the colonial age many Portuguese, Dutch, British and Italian Christians came to Tamil Nadu. Priests accompanied them not only to minister the colonisers but also to spread the Christian faith among the non-Christians in Tamil Nadu. Currently, Christians are a minority community comprising 6% of the total population.^[3] Christians are mainly concentrated in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu - Kanyakumari (47.7% of the population, 2011^[3]), Thoothukudi (19%, 2011) and Tirunelveli (15%, 2011).

The Catholic Church—including the Latin Church, Syro-Malabar Church, and Syro-Malankara Catholic Church—the Church of South India, the Pentecostals, The Salvation Army Church, the Jacobite Syrian Christian Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Evangelical Church of India, the Apostolics, and other evangelical denominations constitute the Christian population in Tamil Nadu. The Latin Church of the Catholic Church has 15 dioceses including the Archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore and the Archdiocese of Madurai, and has a homogeneous presence throughout the state. The second-largest church by the number of members is the Church of South India with 8 dioceses in Tamil Nadu. They are Coimbatore Diocese, Kanyakumari Diocese, Madras Diocese, Madurai-Ramnad Diocese, Thoothukudi – Nazareth Diocese, Tirunelveli Diocese, Trichy-Tanjore Diocese and the Vellore Diocese. Church of South India Synod, the highest administrative body of the Church of South India, is in Chennai. The vast majority of Christians in Tamil Nadu are either Latin Catholics or members of the Church of South India. The Pentecostal Mission (TPM) is headquartered in Chennai.

^ Whitehouse, Thomas (1873). Lingerings of light in a dark land: Researches into the Syrian church of Malabar. William Brown and Co. pp. 23–42.
^ Neill, Stephen (2004) [1984]. A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 45. ISBN 9780521548854.
^ ^a ^b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[1] Whitehouse, Thomas (1873). Lingerings of light in a dark land: Researches into the Syrian church of Malabar. William Brown and Co. pp. 23–42.

[2] Neill, Stephen (2004) [1984]. A History of Christianity in India: The Beginnings to AD 1707. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. p. 45. ISBN 9780521548854.

[census2001.tn.nic.in-3] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 5 March 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2012.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

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