Seriously interesting... 5

St Thomas; Feast of St Thomas
The Feast of Martyrdom of St Thomas is commemorated on 21 st December, which is an occasion to remember the great pain took by the Holy Apostle to reach to our country and preach the gospel. According to the tradition, he was speared to death at Mylapore near Madras on 21 st December 72. This day inspires us to be brave like the Apostle in accomplishing great tasks for the God.

Dukharana, the greatest Feast of the Syro-Malabar Christians, which is the commemoration of the martyrdom of St. Thomas the Great Apostle of Jesus Christ, is at hand. With great solemnity we celebrate this feast of our Patron, St Thomas the Apostle on 3rd July.

We are familiar with the Johannine passages referring to St Thomas the Apostle (Jn 11:16; 14:4-6; 20:24-29). After the resurrection of Jesus, Thomas insists upon a close encounter with Him at the end of which Thomas makes the perfect confession of faith in Jesus we ever have in the Bible; “My Lord and my God”. Through this insistence his personal relationship with Jesus was strengthened.

We the Chennai Syro Malabar Christians celebrated Dukrana on 1st July at San Thome Basilica were the relics of St. Thomas the Apostle rests. It was the faith proclamation day of Chennai Syro Malabar Christians to the Catholics and non Catholics of Chennai.

Seriously interesting.... 4.

St Thomas ... STONE CROSS AT PANDARAKULAM

THE STONE CROSS OF ST. THOMAS AT PANDARAKULAM erected during his mission in the southern Pandian Kingdom, is a famous stone cross with the inscription “I.N.R.I.” carved by his own hands in a  style peculiar to St. Thomas himself.

Interesting things in India;6

The Musalman Daily

“The Musalman Daily”, is one of the oldest Urdu-language daily newspaper published from Chennai in India, and is probably the only one in the world that is still being handwritten. This four-page evening paper has managed to retain the old school look despite the availability of modern printing technology. “The Musalman Daily” has been around for the past 82 years since it’s inception in 1927 by founder Syed Azmathullah.

All four pages of the newspaper are handwritten by calligraphers, before being mass-produced with a printing press. The calligraphers, known as katibs, work in a little corner of a 800 sq. ft. one-room office. It takes three hours using a pen, ink and ruler to transform a sheet of paper into news and art. They don't have many facilities — only two wall fans, three bulbs and a tube light. Only last year did the editorl had a computer and a printer installed in his office so advertisers could email ads. 

Seriously interesting.... 3.

St Thomas ... Relics of St Thomas

The great treasure of India, most probably the whole of the remaining relics of St. Thomas the Apostle in Ortona, through the benevolent hands of Abba Marcos Orthodox Coptic Bishop for the territory of France, has reached the land of India (the southern Pandian Kingdom) where St. Thomas commenced his First Mission in 33 A.D. to 46 A.D. in these pictures are now preserved in the archives of the Superior of SSPX in India at: The Priory of the Most Holy Trinity, 8A/3 Seevalaperi Road, Annie Nagar, Palyamkottai, Tamil Nadu 627 172, India.

Email from Craig…

From: Craig

Sent: Wednesday, 11 July 2012 12:57 p.m.

To: Ann

Subject: RE: INDIA here we come

(refer below)  it’s in Chennai.  we are going to Chennai.  there are taxis and Tuk Tuks in Chennai. So we can go to it!

Is there rose water in Chennai? I hope you’re not going all spiritual on us!  this happens a lot with people who visit India!

…………………………………………………………………………………………..

  From: Ann
Subject: RE: INDIA here we come
To: Craig
Date: Wednesday, 11, July, 2012, 10:07 AM

Read 1^st 2 blog posts ;  I really want to go to that church in town and the church on the mount can we do that?

It is the same as going to the Vatican!!!

Seriously interesting... 2

St Thomas; The Shrine on the Little Mount

PHOTOS of RELICS; The bleeding cross carved by St. Thomas on large stone, on which he fell and died, presently made the altar....

PHOTOS of RELICS Picture of Mother Mary, traditionally attributed to St. Luke and brought to India by St. Thomas

PHOTOS of RELICS; Piece of a hand Bone of St. Thomas which touched the wound of jesus, it was brought from Edessa and preserved in the Mylapore St.Thomas Museum

St. Thomas Mount, Parangimalai is a small hillock located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Located near the neighbourhood of Guindy and very close to Chennai International Airport, St. A shrine dedicated to "Our Lady of Expectation" (Mother Mary) was built in 1523 on top of the mount. It is believed that the altar of this shrine was built on the spot where St.Thomas' death may have occurred. At the northern foot of the mount, is a gateway of four impressive arches surmounted by a cross bearing the inscribed date 1547. A flight of 160 steps leads up to the summit of the mount. There are fourteen stations of the cross erected on the way to the summit.

In 1547, an excavation unearthed a stone cross with old Sassanid Pahlavi inscriptions on it. The cross, believed by Christians to have been chiselled by Thomas himself, became known as the 'Bleeding Cross' as it purportedly has stains resembling blood stains which reappear even after being scrubbed off. Thomas is supposed to have clutched this cross as he lay dying. When it was discovered, the cross was built into the wall being the altar of the church, which it adorns today; St.Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Church On either side of the chancel there are framed oil paintings depicting the twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ. Above the altar is an oil painting of The Madonna, which is believed to be one of the seven painted by Luke the Evangelist and brought to India by Thomas. This picture of the Madonna is considered to be the oldest Christian painting in India.

The annual Festival of Our Lady of Expectation is celebrated on 18 December. Saint Thomas day is celebrated on the 3rd of July, in memory of his death; on the 21^st December in the year 72.  My birthday is 21^st December....hmmm...interesting. Ann

Little Mount is a hillock, which is eighty feet above sea level. A cave on the hillock provided him an ideal shelter. The amazing feature of the cave is that one can still see the fingers of St.Thomas clearly imprinted on the rocks of the cave. Little Mount Shrine

There are many literary works that proudly attest to the fact that Santhome offers shelter to St.Thomas the Apostle. He was a favourite of the local king Mahadevan. However, his ministers disliked him. He took refuge in the jungle of Little Mount, which is about four miles away from Santhome.

The Little Mount (locally known as the Chinnamalai —the small mount), is a rocky prominence where Thomas had chosen a tiny cave as his home and led a spartan prayerful life in solitude, often praying on the top of the hill. Today, there is a monument hewn out of rock with its small narrow opening has an altar with the image of St. Thomas known to be a prayer home. To the east of this cave is an opening, supposedly that of a tunnel through which he fled from his alleged assailants to St. Thomas Mount. The Christian believes that the opening (window) was made and through this Thomas may have escaped from his enemies who were waiting in front of the entrance. Near the tunnel's entrance is a clearly visible palm print. This hand-print and the footprint at the foot of the hillock, are supposed to be those of Thomas himself.

Little Mount has an ancient church built by the Portuguese in 1551. At the entrance is a portrait of Thomas and Portuguese inscription, while a masonry cross at the top of the hill.

There is also a miraculous spring called St.Thomas fountain. This was an answer of the Apostle to the thirsty people who used to come and listen to him. The water from this spring offers healing to all who drink it trusting in the powerful intercession of St.Thomas.

Seriously interesting.... 1.

St Thomas ... travelled to Chennai

Thomas the Apostle, also called Doubting Thomas or Didymus (meaning "Twin," as does "Thomas" in Aramaic") was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is best known for questioning Jesus' resurrection when first told of it, then proclaiming "My Lord and my God" on seeing Jesus. He was perhaps the only Apostle who went outside the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel. He is also believed to have crossed the largest area, which includes the Parthian Empire and India.

Christians regard Mylapore as the original burial site of St. Thomas the Apostle, before his body was moved to Edessa. The San Thome Basilica stands on this site.Christian tradition holds that St. Thomas arrived in Kerala from Israel in 52 A.D. preached between 52 A.D. and 72 A.D., when he was martyred on St. Thomas Mount.

In all the world, there are only three churches which are built over the tomb of an apostle of Jesus Christ;. St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela built over the tomb of St James in Spain and the Basilica of the National Shrine of St Thomas built over the tomb of St Thomas, Chennai, India.

San Thome Basilica is a Roman Catholic minor basilica, in the city of Chennai (Madras), India. It was built in the 16th century by Portuguese explorers, and rebuilt again with the status of a cathedral by the British in 1893. The British version still stands today. It was designed in Neo-Gothic style, favoured by British architects in the late 19th century.

      Visiting Hours:7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.

A REGISTER OF RELICS,  mentions the wrist bone of St. Thomas at Cranganore (now Koddungalloor) and the head of a lance, a pot with some blood stained earth and some bones in the tomb of the Apostle at Mylapore, Madras:     

      “He is said to have landed near Cranganore (now Kodungalloor), Kerala, in 52. The Marthoma Pontifical Shrine there has one of his wrist bones, from the hand that was poked into the side of Christ, supposedly the only relic of Thomas outside Italy.

Mylapore is located a few kilometres to the south of the British-built area of Chennai city. It extends from Triplicane and Teynampet in the west up to the sea-coast. It is bounded by Royapettah to the north. Its southern frontier corresponds roughly with that of River Adyar. It extends for around 4 kilometres from north to south and 2 kilometres from east to west.

St.Thomas is renowned for working numerous miracles. His tomb was opened four times in the history of the Shrine.

It was opened for the first time to cure an ailment of the son of the Raja Mahadevan. St.Gregory of Tours recorded this in his book 'De Miraculis Sti Thomae'. It was opened for the second time between 1222 and 1235 when most of the Saint's relics were removed to Ortona in 1258 for a troubled journey on the East Coast of India. His relics are present in Ortona even today.

It was opened for the third time in 1523 by the Portuguese who arrived at Mylapore to rebuild the ruined Church over the tomb of the Apostle, St.Thomas. Dom Jose Pinharno, the bishop of Mylapore, opened it for the fourth time in 1729 to give pilgrims the earth from the sepulcher. It was at this time a bright light appeared from the tomb.