The word of God was brought to India none other than Thomas the doubter one of the disciples of Jesus in AD50.Thomas was seen in Kerala at his early mission and the Keralaians were the first Christians in India.The Jews who arrived in Cochin in 562 BC after the destruction of the first temple is likely to be the early Christians along with Kerala converts.Thomas evangelized along Malabar coast of Kerala South India resulted 17,000 converts including members of four principle caste.Thomas is responsible to build the Thomiyar koil located in Kanyakumari district of Tamil nadu and it is regarded as the oldest church structure in the world.
The Manimegalai epic that was written in 3rd century briefly states the Christians in Kerala.The Christians were addressed as St.Thomas Christians and the Churches planted in Kerala were called after his name - Mar Thoma. Syriac is a classic language was widely spoken in Malabar coastal by the Jewish diaspora in Kerala.The Syriac spoken community formed the churches called Syrian churches which is commonly seen in Kerala till this days.The early Jewish Christians in Kerala were called Nazaraeans or followers of Jesus of Nazareth.
The Portuguese invasion changed the entire history of Nazaraeans Christians to which the Portuguese refuse to recognize the Jewish conversions.The arrival of Dutch and English paved way for further growth thus India saw arrivals of Protestant missionaries from Germany,Italy,Spain and England.Beginning 18th century Protestant Missionaries began working throughout India leading to the establishment of different Christian communities across the Indian subcontinent.The first Protestant mission was started in Visagapattinam in 1805 by the London Missionary Society.Early 19th century the missionaries turn their attention to North India.It took almost four years for the missionaries to win the souls in Nagaland. The mission works went further to work among the tribes in Garo hills.The heaviest concentration is among the tribes till this days.
