How Christianity really came to India (It wasn't Thomas) - Donald Fairbairn

When did Christianity arrive in India? There are three main possibilities:

1. The Apostle Thomas brought the gospel to India in the middle of the first century.

2. Pantaenus, a Jewish Christian philosopher from Alexandria, arrived in India in the second century and preached the Gospel to higher classes.

3. A large group of Persian Christians fled the Great Persecution in the fourth century. They traveled to India and brought Christianity with them. This is the version most accepted by historians.

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[danieljoshua]

All our history books in India teach that Christianity came to India in 52 AD by Apo. Thomas.

[MississippiDan]

This guy is ignoring the FACT that indian history teaches of Thomas bringing Jesus' teachings to India AND that churches still stand that were started by him!, 🙄

[smrithiparameshwaram]

St Thomas brought christanity in india especially in kerala, this is our belief and the truth

[Alj]

Christianity came into India(kerala) in A. D 52. It is the truth☦️☦️☦️

[donaldfairbairn]

This is Donald Fairbairn, the author. It is worth pointing out that I DO think Thomas went to India in the first century, and I think the Mar Thoma traditions are plausible. In the video and the book, my point is that not until 345 do we have direct contemporary evidence of Christian presence. Regarding Thomas and the first century, we have contemporary corroborating evidence and direct claims from three centuries later but not direct contemporary evidence. Looking at that evidence, many scholars reject the Thomas traditions. But I accept them.

[yeshuaismyrighteousness]

Read book Charitan Greek drama and Christians of Kerala which mentions Christians were there in south india before 120 AD

[gaitunlungtaothingpanmeis]

St Thomas' own tomb is in Chennai .. & hundreds of miracles has even happened..
Sometimes God doesn't reveal Everything to the learned.. in words of St Paul God chooses the lowly & downtrodden people to understand his works.. not always the highly learned..

[haarithyjomy]

St Thomas bodily remains were taken back to Italy from Mylapore (Tamil Nadu)

[hibots]

St Thomas brought Christianity in india. In kerala there were many Jewish communitys. At that time jews used to come to Kerala for trading snd used to settle in kerala . There ste many synagogues and jew Streets in kerala especially in kochi where trading was mainly focused in that particular area. St Thomas came to preach about christ to that particular jews and later started preaching to the indians.

[Fatkidlovecake]

When you say persian Christians by any chance do you mean Assyrians LoL😂😂? Bro how do you skip the church of the east and assyrians in india

[alexandermathews]

St. Thomas brought Christianity to India in AD 52. it is 100% TRUTH and it is the TRUTH

[titaniumsteel]

Saint Thomas spread Jesus and good news to India 100% truth

[charlesmartel]

the gospel activities of St.Thomas in North India, as well as Gondophernes have evidence. The existence of this King has now been established by the coins recovered from Punjab, Sind, and Afghanistan (A. E. Medylcott, India and the Apostle Thomas). Dr. Bellew recovered a stone scripture, kept in the Lahore Museum, about the Parthian empire ruled by Gondophernes. This stone scripture is known as Takht-i-Bahi stone. The regime of Gondophares begins in CE 46, i.e. during the first half of the First Century (Kudapuzha, Xavier, The History of Indian Church). This agrees well with the period of St. Thomas’s visit to India.

[skarmat]

It was clear to the Jews in ancient times that when the Mashiach (Hebrew for the Messiah or the Christ- the Anointed one) comes, as per the prophecies of the Tanakh, he would first proclaim his kingdom to the Jews and then to the Gentiles. After Christ's resurrection He gave the great commission to his Apostles (including Thomas) to go out into the world and proclaim the Good News (the Gospel) to all the nations. The Latin rite and the Syro Malabar rite are the only two individual or Sui Iuris Churches within the Catholic Church which have a continuous Church history from the first century until today established by an Apostle. Hymns of St. Ephrem (4th century), a beloved saint from Syria describes the martyrdom of Apostle Thomas in India. The reason for the Apostle Thomas to arrive in India was because of a Jewish community that lived on the Malabar coast. coins recovered from Kerala strongly support the idea of a flourishing Indian trade in spices with Arabia, China and other East Asian countries in the first century. It is reasonable to assume that Thomas started his ministry with the proclamation of the Messiah kingdom to Jews and then the natives. Early Christian writings of the third and fourth century about the missionary work in south eastern coast of India lend credence to the traditions that India had a strong Christian presence since the first century. Eusebius of Caesaria (4th century), a church historian and Bishop, wrote that Pantaneus visited India about AD 180 and says that he found a Gospel of Matthew written in Hebrew, left with the Christians there by St. Barthlomew. Jerome in his writings mentions a deputation sent from India to Alexandria. This deputation requested Demetrius (127-232 AD), the bishop of Alexandria (Egypt), to send Clement of Alexandria (150 AD- 215 AD) to India. As per the traditions of the St. Thomas Christians, Thomas established seven churches in south India. Today there are above 4 million St. Thomas Christians belonging to various denominations (Syro-Malabar Catholic, Syro Malankara Catholic, Syrian Orthodox, Jacobite, Mar Thoma Church etc) in South India.

[eclipseeventsigns]

One the biggest evidences is that the the scriptures in India were in Aramaic - not Greek. Aramaic went east. Greek went west. Aramaic was the lingua franca of the Parthian empire and that entire region.

[iscool]

This doesn't explain why people started saying that Thomas brought the gospel to them shortly after the Persian Christians.

[martinjohn]

Our ancestors in Kerala witnessed the real truth: Saint Thomas did indeed land in Kerala. This belief is deeply rooted in our faith and heritage, supported by a strong oral tradition and historical miracles. The families that were converted by Apostle Thomas, and their generations are still alive today. During the first half of the 16th century itself, various Portuguese missionaries reached Kerala and worked actively among the St. Thomas Christians. The arrival of Westerners in Kerala had a dual impact: it introduced new religious practices like Catholics and caused divisions within the saint Thomas Christian community. Despite attempts to split and control, the resilient Saint Thomas Christians community of Kerala managed to preserve its unique heritage and continue its traditions. We don't worship idols or photos, we worship God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit....Go and learn our history first and make videos

[PeaceVigil]

This is incorrect. Christianity in India is almost as old as Christianity itself. The oldest Christian church in India is from AD 52 in Palayoor, Kerala.

[darkroomentertainment]

Then whose tomb was portugese took from india? The bricks used to built the tomb were similar to the bricks used in 1century constructions....

[glory]

The Government of India in 1964 and 1973 issued postage stamps to commemorate anniversaries of St. Thomas’ life and work in India.