REPORT
THOMAS AND CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA According to India’s 2011 census, Christianity is the third largest religion in the country and accounts for 2.3% of the total population. This is thanks to one of the apostles who came to these lands in 52 A.D. to spread the Word. Isaac Saravanan discovered Christianity almost by chance. The healing of a relative suffering from cancer led him to the path of Christ. He used to be Hindu and never thought of renouncing his faith until he knew the true Word and his life took an impressive turn.Now he preaches in his native India, where Christians have been persecuted for centuries.Like Isaac, there are 28 million Christians in this huge country of ancient culture. Indians are mostly Hindu. Among other things, Hindus do not eat beef and worship cows as a source of food and life. Many rural families own a dairy cow that they treat as if it were a member of the family, and it is common to see these animals roam the streets without being disturbed by people. A LITTLE HISTORY
Christianity in India is not recent. When the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama arrived in India in 1498, he found, to his surprise, that there were several Christian communities. He did not know that the apostle Thomas had been there first 1,500 years earlier. In the year 52 A.D., the apostle arrived in the exotic lands of India to fulfil the command of Jesus Christ: “Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature ...” (Mark 16:15-18) MISSIONARY MOVEMENT 18 WORLDWIDE Americas • Europe • Oceania • Africa • Asia
Christianity in India is not recent. When the Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama arrived in India in 1498,he found, to his surprise,that there were several Christian communities. He did not know that the apostle Thomas had been there first 1,500 years earlier.
