The Indian Christians of St Thomas

Fülszöveg

The Christians in Malabar, on the coast of southwest India, claim an unbroken religious tradition from the time of Thomas the Apostle, who (according to legend) visited India in the first century A.D. Certainly the Church had long been in existence when Vasco da Gama voyaged to India in 1498.
The community is a unique one. Living as a minority group on a busy trade route which has existed at least since Roman times, their faith h--developed on individual lines, but has been affected by frequent contact with other Christian sects. The result is an intricate and colourful form of Christianity of their own.
Leslie Brown (who was once Principal of one of their Theological seminaries) has in this book given a delightful and balanced account of the people and their beliefs. Setting out in Part I what is known of the history of the St Thomas Christians, he tells of their difficulties with well-meaning European reformers, their quarrels and their schisms. And yet there emerges the... Tovább

Fülszöveg

The Christians in Malabar, on the coast of southwest India, claim an unbroken religious tradition from the time of Thomas the Apostle, who (according to legend) visited India in the first century A.D. Certainly the Church had long been in existence when Vasco da Gama voyaged to India in 1498.
The community is a unique one. Living as a minority group on a busy trade route which has existed at least since Roman times, their faith h--developed on individual lines, but has been affected by frequent contact with other Christian sects. The result is an intricate and colourful form of Christianity of their own.
Leslie Brown (who was once Principal of one of their Theological seminaries) has in this book given a delightful and balanced account of the people and their beliefs. Setting out in Part I what is known of the history of the St Thomas Christians, he tells of their difficulties with well-meaning European reformers, their quarrels and their schisms. And yet there emerges the picture of a lively Christian community with a strong flourishing church. Part II deals with social life of the people, in which their religion plays an important role; Part III the forms of religious service are set out and explained — the Sunday service, daily prayers and special ceremonies all differ from other liturgies. The early faith of the Indian Christians of St Thomas is contrasted with their religion to-day.
This is a book which will interest students of Christian History and Comparative Religion, biit its appeal is not limited to them. Dr Brown, who went on to become Bishop and subsequently Archbishop of Uganda before returning to England as Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, has taken the opportunity offered by the present re-issue to add a section to this scholarly work bringing the history to 1980 and a concluding chapter to reflect on themes and development. Vissza