ARRIVAL OF ST. THOMAS IN INDIA AND HIS MISSIONS
HISTORIOGRAPHICAL APPROACH
Keywords:
Theology of Communication, St. Thomas, History of ChurchAbstract
A cursory glance at the enormous mass of literature dealing with Church history in general and that of India in particular makes one wonder if the bias of colonial historians besides the allurement of foreign largesse avidly sought by the missionaries both foreign and indigenous, has a devastating sway over the scholars dealing with the apostolate of St Thomas. Colonial historians of India regardless of any reasonable bounds would like to expatiate on the ‘civilizing
mission’ (missio civiliatrix) of the colonial masters and to elucidate the ‘white man’s burden’ which entailed in the “development of underdevelopment” of the colonies. They are not prone to concede the fact that India received Catholic faith from the preaching of an apostle of Christ before they themselves were brought to the Catholic faith. If anything good is found in India, it should have its origin from the colonial masters, they may hold.
References
J.N. Farquhar, “The Apostle Thomas in North India,” Bulletin of John Ryland’s Library 10 (1926) 80-111; J.N. Farquhar & G. Garitte, The Apostle Thomas in India according to the Acts of Thomas, ed., Jacob Vellian, Kottayam, 1972, 40.
James Kurikilamkatt, First Voyage of the Apostle Thomas to India: Ancient Christianity in Bharuch and Taxila, Banglore: Asian Trading Corporation, 2005.
Montague R. James in The Journal of Theological Studies 7 (1906) 635-6.
“S. Thomas et l’Inde a propos d’un livre récent,” Le Muséon 25 (1906) 262-271.
Günther Bornkamm, Mythos und Legende in den apokryphen Thomasakten: Beiträge zur Geschichte der Gnosis und zur Vorgeschichte des Manichäismus, Göttingen, 1933, 121. Cfr. George Nedungatt, Quest for The Historical Thomas: Apostle of india, Banglore, 2008, 96.
Lourens P. Van den Bosch, “India and the Apostolate of St. Thomas,” in J.N. Bremmer, The Apocryphal Acts of Thomas, Leuven: Peters, 2001, 125-148.
Kurikilamkatt, 84-85. He makes references to the reports of excavations conducted by ASI. Sir John Marshall, Excavations at Taxila, Annual Report, 1912-13 & A. Cunningham, The Ancient Geography of India, 111.
Benedict Vadakkekara, Origin of Christianity in India: A Historical Critique, Delhi, 2007, 137-146.
George Mark Moraes, A History of Christianity in India from Early Times to St.Francis Xavier: A.D. 52-1542, Bombay, 1964, 25-33.
A.M. Mundadan, History of Christianity in India Vol. I, From the Beginning up to the Middle of the Sixteenth Century, Bangalore, 1989, 61.
T.K. Joseph, “St.Thomas in South India: A critical View of the Legend,” Indian Antiquary 55 ( 1926) 221-223.
