4 ms·
My family is what is called St. Thomas Christian, part of a (fairly) endogamous and ancient community in South India. Though there is a lot of denomination dive
by lordleft 4y ago
My family is what is called St. Thomas Christian, part of a (fairly) endogamous and ancient community in South India. Though there is a lot of denomination diversity in the community these days, the most ancient denomination is Syrian Orthodox, which conducts its liturgy in Syriac, a dialect of Aramaic. This language is part of my linguistic heritage, even though I only know a word here or there.
- anonu 4y agoI've known about this. Fascinating history. So St Thomas somehow made it from the middle east to South India. The way I came to look into this history is interesting. As an Arabic speaker I was curious about the last name "Martoma" which was in the news some years back (for insider trading). It sounds like Mar Touma which is Arabic for St Thomas. I wonder how many people identify as St Thomas Christians in India?
- vrc 4y agoSeems like 6mm worldwide. They’re concentrated in the southern state of Kerala, and it seems you’re on to something about the Marthoma [0] [0] https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Thomas_Christians https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Thomas_Christians
- KMag 4y agoI've had colleagues of Indian descent with family names of Thomas, David, and John, presumably all due to St. Thomas Christian roots.
- Bayart 4y agoThe syro-malabar Catholics also use Syriac for their rite.