“When looking at the literature on the life of St. Thomas, it is not mentioned anywhere that he came to India.” – Dr. R. Nagaswamy
Thiruvananthapuram: The effort made by some interested quarters to link the Muziris excavations with the visit of St. Thomas Apostle has been criticised by eminent archaeologist and former director of the Tamil Nadu Archaeological Survey of India, R. Nagaswamy.
“When looking at the literature on the life of St. Thomas, it is not mentioned anywhere that he came to India. It is only a myth, which has now been connected with the excavations at Pattanam, near Kodungalloor,” the former visiting professor of Jawaharlal Nehru University told Express.
In fact, the ancient Muzirs port must have been located in Kodungalloor and not in Pattanam because all major ports in ancient times were situated at river mouths. And so it is safe to assume that Muziris was at Kodungalloor, where the river joins the sea.
He felt there was a hidden agenda by certain sections to propagate the idea that Muziris was connected to Pattanam, where St. Thomas is believed to have landed, and not with Kodungalloor.
Myth cannot be called history. Connecting myth with history could only create confusion and distort history, he said. “There is no substantial evidence to say that Pattanam is connected with Muziris. How was this conclusion reached? Those who claim to have found materials to connect Pattanam with Muziris have forgotten that these materials were also found in the eastern and the western costs of the country,” said Nagaswamy. – Express Buzz & IBNLive, Thiruvananthapuram, August 7, 2011
♦ Include St. Thomas Church in Muziris says Bishop Dr. Joseph Karikkassery
Paravoor: St Thomas Church in Maliankara which was constructed as a historical monument of the visit of St Thomas Apostle, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ, who landed in Maliankara in AD 52, should be included in the Muzaris Heritage Project, urged Kottapuram Bishop Dr. Joseph Karikkassery.
Bishop Karikkassery visited the church in Maliankara, the monument constructed to perpetuate the visit of the apostle.
St Thomas is believed to have disembarked from a trading vessel at Kodungalloor Maliankara and baptised several people in various parts of the country. Cardinal Tisserant representing the Holy See, had installed the historical monument at St Thomas Church in Maliankara.
Bishop Karikkassery was accompanied by Diocese Chancellor Fr. Nixon Kattassery and Procurator Fr. Tegy Thanippilly. They were received by Fr. Joshy Muttickal and Fr. Shyjan Panackal at the church. – Express Buzz, Paravoor, April 21, 2011
References
- See Pattanam: A rupture in the cultural history of Kerala. This blog exposes the Christian bias in Prof. Cherian’s theories regarding Musiris. Prof. Cherian heads the Pattanam dig.
- See Acta Indica: The St. Thomas In India History Swindle and The Ishwar Sharan Archive
Filed under: india | Tagged: archaeological survey of india, christianity, early christianity, history, kudungallur, maliankara, muziris, pattanam, r. nagaswamy, religion, roman catholic church, st. thomas, st. thomas myth |
http://english.mathrubhumi.com/amp/news/kerala/rampant-irregularities-detected-at-kchr-kerala-kerala-council-for-historical-research-corruption-1.1478483
Access on November 21 2016
Rampant irregularities detected at KCHR
By: Priyan R S
November 4, 2016, 05:05 PM IST
Thiruvananthapuram: Rampant irregularities pointing to corruption were detected at the Kerala Council for Historical Research (KCHR) headquartered here.
It has emerged that the Director himself was involved in creation of fake government documents, illegal appointments and financial irregularities worth crores.
It is alleged that Director had obtained the licence for Pattanam excavation after submitting fake documents at the Archaeological Survey of India.
Since its establishment in 2001, General Council has not been convened even once. The General Council should include four MLAs, three Municipal Chairmen, six Panchayat Presidents, one district panchayat president and six social scientists.
The Executive Council exists for namesake and it is not being convened as per the rules. The AG report has clearly pointed at the financial irregularities detected in the institution since 2007. The Director has made six foreign visits without the government’s sanction.
Apart from this, building and land were brought without permission. The report also says that government money was deposited with different banks violating financial code and treasury code.
In addition to this, the institution which was functioning under the Cultural Department was later made under the Higher Education Department, allowing the Director to avail UGC pay scale while increasing the age threshold for his retirement.
In a grave violation of rules, Cheriyan still continue to hold the post despite passing 60 years of age. This is happening in the absence of any government order.
Evidence proving that the Director does not have the qualification to order archaeological excavation AG’s report on foreign tour conducted without government approval AG’s report showing government fund deposited in other banks.
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WOW at last AT LAST an Indian identifies early christians (jews) from the fallacy that was called Roman Catholicism after Emperor Constantine who used the cross as a symbol during crusades and murdered MANY MANY innocent people including believers who did not agree with Rome. Moreover this so called harlot church persecuted the jews wherever they went. So yes St Thomas promoting a cross is very hard to digest but yes the pre roman christianity in Kerala was very jewish with aramaic as the language used for the services. Whether it was st Thomas or the assyrians between 4th and 9th century we don’t know BUT India China and a lot more was under Church of the East based in Iraq before any portugese set foot in kerala. I know because i was born into the church of the east and it’s not in communion with rome. Does not even agree with it most points. Rome killed our bishops for 15 years. There were no clergy for 15 years after portugese because of their allergy towards a hebrew oriented church even holding the passover when the jews celebrate it.
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Arul Hrudhayaraj, your calling on Opus Dei for help to deal with the criminal bishops named is rather extraordinary.
Opus Dei is itself an arch criminal Catholic organisation and it is already established in India mostly in the so-called secular media for production of pro-Christian propaganda and the suppression of news items reporting crime in the Church. This is why we never hear of the many sexual abuse cases, of nuns and children, in the mainstream Indian media.
Opus Dei’s founder, Catholic priest “St.” Josemaría Escrivá was himself a sexual predator who fathered sons and then sexually abused them. These charges have been made by the young men themselves against their father.
So please apply your mind to the subject of Opus Dei before you comment again! Indian Christians like yourself are the most ill-informed and superstitious community in the country–never mind that you get the best education.
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Opus Dei has to come to India to redeem Indian Christians.
When thousands of bishops, pastors, priests have been booked, jailed, accused of for sexual scandals, crimes and murders, these fathers indulge in the Thomas myths and frauds.
Already, the following bishops involved have been caught in the frauds, swindling etc.,
1. Arulappa who funded M. Deivanayagam and others was mysteriously declared as dead, immediately, when he had settled the case with his accomplice Acharya Paul alias Ganesh Iyer out of Madras High court.
2. Chinnappa, who again funded Deivanayagam for the Tamizhar Samayam Conference has been caught with several cases pending in Madras High Court. Recently, his friend Devasagayam came out with his list of frauds, land grabbing etc.
3. Lawrance Pias another axiliary bishop and close friend of Chinnappa and Deivanayagam has also been alleged with such murky deals.
Ironically, all have been connected Thomas frauds.
What about these Kerala bishops?
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What Indian Christians ignore is the fact that there was no cross or crucifix associated with Christianity until after the 3rd century. Early Christians including Apostle Thomas were practising Jews and the cross was an abhorrent symbol for them because of its use for torture and execution by the Romans.
Christians borrowed the cross from Pagan sources after the 3rd century as a symbol of identification. Prior to the 3rd century Christians used a fish symbol to identify themselves.
There was also no compiled Bible in the 1st century. That came after Emperor Constantine had various independent acts and gospels and Old Testament books edited and compiled into one book after the Council of Nicaea in the 4th century.
Associating Apostle Thomas with a cross and a Bible is simply ridiculous. These two items by themselves disprove the false history that Indian bishops are trying to foist on Indians.
Orpheus crucified 3rd century BCE
There is doubt among scholars about the authenticity of this crucified Orpheus image. It is now believed by some art historians to be a medieval fake. Some date it to 3rd century BCE and some to 3rd century CE.
This fish symbol was used by Christians to identify themselves for the first three centuries.
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