SAN THOME CHURCH, CHENNAI

SAN THOME CHURCH CHENNAI

     [Family Visit to the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary Convent, Chennai St. Thomas Mount mylapur on 26^th February,2011. The Family team includes Prof John Kurakar, Prof.Molly Kurakar, Mr George Jacob & Mrs Annie George Jacob. The team participated the family meet at the convent. Sr Tresa George & Sr Stella and other inmates gave a warm reception.

          There are three places in chennai that stand out as monuments of honour, speaking aloud about the presence, activity and the martyrdom of St. Thomas, the Apostle of india. They are 1. Little Mount, 2. St Thomas Mount, 3. San Thome Cathedral Basilica.

St Thomas built a church at San Thome. After his martyrdom, his body was buried in the Church built by him. A pot containing earth, moistened by his blood and the lance with which he was pierced were both buried in his tomb. The foundation for a new Church was laid on 2nd july 1523. The Church was rebuilt and erected as a Parish. Father Penteado from Portugal was the first Parish Priest. In 1893 His Excellency, Dom Henry Joseph Reed Da Silva, Bishop of Mylapore demolished the old Cathedral and laid the foundation for the new Basilica, to commemorate the Golden Jubilee Day of the Episcopal Consecration of His Holiness Pope Leo XIII. In this church the second tower, asmaller one, points to the exact place where the Apostle was buried. The new Basilica was constructed and consecrated on 1st April 1896 AD. The tip of the cross on the spire is 155 feet from the ground level. In this Church, the statue of our Lady of Mylapore is enthroned, before which St Francis Xavier prayed intensely for several days while he stayed in mylapore.

The Bishop of Dacca consecrated a new bell on 9th may 1896, His Excellency, Dom A S Valente, Patriarch of the East Indies consecrated the main altar of the Cathedral. The Bishop of Mylapore consecrated the altar of Saints Peter and Paul on 29th June  1896 AD. Asun-dial from the old Cathedral is placed on the rear side of the Sacristy. This Cathedral Basilica is a matter of pride to the nation and to all of us, because it is built over the tomp of St Thomas. There are three Basilicas, all over the world, that are built over the tomb of the apostles. The first one is St peter's Basilica in Rome, the second one on the tomb of St james, and the third one is the tomb chapel of St Thomas in San Thome Cathedral Basilica in chennai. The Cathedral Basilica was restored and consecrated on 12th December 2004 by the Apostolic Nuncio His Excellency Archbishop Pedro Lopez Quintana and Cardinal Ivan Dias of Mumbai. On 8th September 2005 the present Archbishop of Madras Mylapore His Grace, Most Rev Dr A M Chinnappa SDB DD Ph D issued a decree officially elevating this Cathedral parish as a Shrine of the Archdioces
      According to local beliefs, Thomas was one of the first Christians to reach India and to preach Christianity. He is believed to have reached South India in AD 52, and spent the last years of his life in a cave on this hill. Tradition states that Thomas was killed with a

Spear in AD 72 by persons hostile to him. Thus, the hillock acquired the name St. Thomas Mount.There are references to the Mount, the traditional site of the death of the Apostle Thomas, and churches and monasteries at the site, in the writings of the the early doctors of the Church dating back to the 4th century of the Christian era. The site was an important centre of pilgrimage for Christians from not only India but abroad too. The fame of this shrine had spread to Europe as early as 883AD. Practically all early travellers to South India have written about the shrine, including Marco Polo in 13th century.

A shrine dedicated to "Our Lady of Expectation"(Mother Mary) was built at the actual spot of St.Thomas` death in 1523 on top of the mount. It is believed that the altar of this shrine was built on the spot where St.Thomas died in 72 AD. 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, reputed to have been chiseled by the Thomas himself, became known as the 'Bleeding Cross' as it has stains resembling blood stains which reappear even after being scrubbed off. It is also supposed to 'bleed' afresh periodically. It first 'bled' publicly during Mass in 1558 and the last record occasion when it 'bled' was in 1704. Fr. Guy Tachard, a Roman Catholic priest has recorded about this as explained by then Vicar, Fr. Gasper Coelho. 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 even today. 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 shrine administration is in the hands of the newly formed diocese of Chengalpattu.

The annual Festival of Our Lady of Expectation is celebrated on 18 December in a grand manner for which pilgrims come to the shrine from all over South India St. Thomas Day is celebrated on the 3rd of July, in memory of his martyrdom.

During the Easter season, faithful climb the steps to the church, singing hymns and saying the "Way of the Cross" prayerspetrus woskan, an Armenian merchant paved the way with granite steps in order to make the climbing easy. It is also said that the oil paintings and beautifully carved pulpit are also from the same Armenian benefactor.

Adjoining the church, is the convent of the "Holy Apostles Convent", managed by the priests of the  Franciscan missionaries of Mary(FMM) order. Attached to this there is a home for the physically and mentally challenged children run by the nuns of the convent.

 Little Mount Shrine

The Little Mount (locally known as the Chinnamalai—the small mount), is a rocky prominence where the Apostle had chosen a tiny cave as his home and led a spartan prayerful life in solitude, often praying on the top of the hill and preaching to the crowds. Today, this monument hewn out of rock with its small narrow opening has an altar with the image of St. Thomas used as a prayer home. To the east of this cave is an opening, supposedly that of a tunnel through which the Apostle fled from his assailants to St. Thomas Mount. The faithful believe that the opening (window) was miraculously made and through this Thomas 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 believed 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 marks the spot where Thomas supposedly preached.

St. Thomas Garrison Church

St. Thomas Garrison Church is a 175 year old Church located at the foothills of the Mount. Built by the British, it is a magnificent Church.

In the year 1824, the Mount Church commonly and popularly known as GARRISON CHURCH was designed to seat 460 persons at a cost of Rs.35,000/- providing accommodation only for the Garrison of Mount. The estimates and plans were revised to seat 600, at a cost of Rs.39,455/- to serve the purpose of both the Garrisons stationed at Mount and Pallavaram. The erection took place in 1825/26 and was completed at a cost of Rs.43,773/-. It was solemnly consecrated and named in honour of Thomas on 31 October 1830, by Bishop Turner of Calcutta. On September 27, 1949 the Church of South India was formed from then on it become part of Church of South India, Diocese of Madras as ST. THOMAS (GARRISON)and ST. STEPHEN ENGLISH Pastorate.

St. Thomas Sand

St. Thomas Sand is the sand taken from the tomb of Thomas at Mylapore in Chennai , India. The relics of St.Thomas, the Apostle, had been already transferred to Italy and Portugal via Syria. However,the sand from the tomb here in Chennai is considered to be a relic of the Apostle, and the credulous Christians believe that it has miraculous healing powers. They procure small quantities of sand and either carry it with them or keep it in their homes. The belief is a long-standing one, for  Marco Polo mentioned the custom in his travel records.

Prof. John Kurakar