St. Thomas: St.Mary's Church, Thiruvithancode, India.

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5.

St. Mary’s Church, Thiruvithancode, India

                    There exists a belief that St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ, sailed to India in 52 A.D. Some historians say that he reached the Malabar coast in India through North India. 
        St. Thomas constructed a small granite church at Thiruvithancode in India in 57 A.D. The church exists even today. In fact,  it is the oldest existing church in the world.
     It is believed that St. Thomas had built seven  churches in Kerala before the construction of this one. He left this place before its   completion. Therefore, this church is  called Arappalli. Ara in Malayalam means half, and palli means church. Arappalli means half church. These churches are called "Seven and a Half Churches". In Malayalam they are called Ezharappallikal. 
      On the contrary, the authorities of this church say  that this church had been built with the patronage of the then Royal House.  Therefore, it is called Arappalli. Arasan  in Tamil stands for king.

Present(November 2011) St. Mary's Church, Thiruvithancode. Two original granite pillars are visible at the middle portion. (Photo taken for www.temples-and-churches. blogspot.com )

A view from the road.(Photo taken for www.temples-and-churches.blogspot.com)

        The length of the original granite structure is about 13 metre, breadth  5 metre  and height  2.5 metre. The solid granite pillars are 0.6 metre thick. 

Extended front portion. or  western facade (Photo taken for www.temples-and-churches.blogspot.com)

      Keeping the above granite structure intact, it has been extended towards west. The roof tiles and the wooden items  seen above are later additions. Thus the western facade is a  later addition. 

Present alter. (Photo taken for www.temples-and-churches.blogspot.com)

         The present alter is at the original portion

The guide

          The guide gives one or two pieces of information. But one must have a knowledge about the "History of Venad" to understand the correctness or otherwise of his words.
                An incised cross is seen in one of the stones present in the original structure. The crosses like this one are a characteristic feature of the churches constructed by St. Thomas in India. Further, this is consistent with the belief that the original structure had never been a temple.

       The finishing inside the church is not as perfect as in the outside. Looking at the outer surface, one would put the age at, say,400 years. But, the inner side of the same rock piece appears very old. This indicates that some renovation works were carried out in the original structure about 300 to 400 years ago.
         It must be noted that there exists a 9th century Jain Monument at Chitharal, about 30 kilometre away from this place. The inside finishing of this church shows that it is definitely older than that Jain Monument.
           The church contains many very old articles chiselled in stone.  No other church in this area possesses such articles. 

The incised cross seen on a stone inside the original structure. This cross establishes the  fact  that  the original  structure  had  not been a temple.

It is believed that the following stone article  was used for baptism or for washing legs. 

An article used for washing legs?

        But the following stone articles are later additions.

A later addition

Another later addition made of stone

A later addition - made of stone - seen inside the church

Another stone article seen inside the church

         
     The church was blessed in 57 A.D or 63 A.D.  during the period of  Chera King Othayancheral. It is said that the water for blessing this church had been taken from the nearby  Manavalakkurichi sea. 

       St. Thomas had dedicated all his churches to  Holy Mary.

        In this connection, it must be noted that there were no saints at that time.
         Further, it is believed that St. Thomas was the only witness of the bodily Assumption of Holy Mary into heaven. It is believed that she  dropped her girdle - a thick string fastened around the waist to keep clothes in position - to him during Assumption.

       Furthermore, Angel Gabriel  had called Holy Mary  Blessed, and said that the fruit  in her womb also was Blessed. The fruit was compared to  Holy Mary and not vice versa. There  is diversity of opinion but the fact is that St. Thomas had built churches to Holy Mary only. 

      It is said that the capital of Venad Kingdom had been Thiruvithancode. Later the capital was moved to Kalkulam ( present Padmanabhapuram). King Marthanda Varma named his new country as Travancore only because his ancestors had ruled from Thiruvitamkode.     The following facts reinforce the view  that Thiruvithancode might have been the capital of Venad in ancient days. The Chera kings might have ruled from this place.

1           There is a road in front of the church. While cutting side drains on either   side of the road, big stone slabs of ancient days were removed. This is an indication of an ancient civilization. I noticed them on 15 November 2011. They are in danger of being  destroyed is a different matter.

Old stone  slabs and the new side drain.

Stone slabs

2  
 There exists an ancient Siva Temple at Thiruvithancode.

Plight of a  stone vessel seen in front of a stone shed

Another stone vessel  - stone tub- in danger of destruction.

3.   There exists an ancient stone load carrier, about 700 metre away on the southern side of the church.

An ancient Stone Load Carrier -A stone slab,  displaced from the top, lies on the ground

The nearest stone shed

4.   There are three stone sheds called ambalams –even today-on the northern side within a distance of 1 km.

The next stone shed. Now it is a reading room.

The third  stone shed

    St. Thomas  visited  India. There are many historical evidences for this. According to one view, he sailed to India to spread the christian faith among the Jewish diaspora present in Kerala at that time. According to another view, he sailed to India to spread the faith among Indians.

       St. Thomas might have gone through this place to Chennai.

       On the contrary, some people believe that he took some families from Chennai through sea and landed at Muttam harbour in the Kanyakumari District. The then King granted him 300 acre of land for this church.

        Some people say that St. Thomas preached to the elite only and constructed churches near the temples. Now, there are three temples in the vicinity of this church. In fact, there exists a temple just 6 metre away from this church on the eastern side.
      In contrast, some people say that temples were constructed  in this area only after 400 A.D. According to them, the church had been built long before the arrival of Hindus.

A temple seen at the back of the church.

       

Another temple seen on the left side of the church

Another temple seen in front of the church.

        The three stone sheds that still exist near to the church resemble the original structure of the church. The stone tubs seen in front of a stone shed is comparable to a stone tub - perhaps baptism tub- seen at an entrance to the church.
      There had been many such stone sheds in the Kanyakumari District. Only a few exist today. However, the age of these sheds would shed valuable clues to the age of the church. 
      

A stone tub seen in front of a stone shed.

Stone tub -baptism tub -  seen at an entrance of the church.

     Any stock of trees or any wooden items beneath this church or in the nearby areas also might give some clues to the age.

       Malankara Metropolitan Baselios Mar Thomas Didymos, on 16 December 2007, proclaimed the church as an International St. Thomas Pilgrim Centre.

If St. Thomas had really built this church, it must be the oldest standing church in the world.

Azakiyamandapam is a place about 52 km south of Trivandrum or 20 km north of Nagercoil in the National Highway- 47(NH- 47). Thiruvithancode is  2 km away from Azakiyamandapam in the Monday Market road.
Or
Thuckalay is a place about 18 km north of Nagercoil in the NH-47. Thiruvithancode is just 2 km away from this place.


For further reading visit: www.storyofananthapadmanabhan.blogspot.com
By
V.Sabarimuthu
26-3 Thattankonam
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Mulagumoodu 
PIN: 629167
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