Talk:Dioceses of Saint Thomas of Mylapore

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There is some confusion in this article about the three sites in Chennai (formerly Madras) associated with the Apostle Thomas. The site of St. Thomas' death (incorrectly identified in this article) is known as St. Thomas Mount, and is the site of an originally Portuguese-built church from the 16th century. Santhome Basilica, identified in this article with the place of Thomas' death, was actually the site of his burial (his relics were removed to Chios and then Italy, where they remain today), as well as the site of an ancient Nestorian church. The place where St. Thomas lived, according to legend, during his local preaching career in Mylapore (a neighborhood in Chennai) is call the "small mountain" or Chinnamalai in Tamil. Thus, Chennai boasts three shrines directly associated with the life and death of St. Thomas, all of which have churches erected in his memory:

1. Chinnamalai - a cave where he lived and prayed 2. Saint Thomas Mount - the site of his martyrdom 3. Santhome Basilica (the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Chennai) - the site of his burial and resting place of his relics before they were moved to the West in the third century CE.

John G. Roberts III

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[edit] OR?

I think the following sentence may be a possible OR. Would like some comments on it.
However, the above story is not corroborated by logic, considering the fact that Santhome Church is nowhere near St. Thomas Mount. Hence, an alternative theory is that whilst he lived on the Mount and was allegedly killed there, his remains were moved back to the place he lived in earlier and were venerated.
Is there any reference backing this? Cheers ώiki Ѕαи Яоzε †αLҝ 20:26, 24 September 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Reason for 'prod'

[edit] Original Research

The article is largely filled with unsubstantiated claims and original research. Example:

various theories -- some of them probably absurd -- have been put forward to identify Calamina with Mylapur, or with St. Thomas's Mount. One suggested that Calamina might be a modification of Cholamandalam (i.e. the kingdom of the Cholas as the surrounding country was in the beginning of the Christian era). On maturer reflection he has found it far more reasonable to believe that Calamina was an ancient town at the foot of the hill at St. Thomas's Mount, that has wholly disappeared, as many more recent, historic Indian cities have disappeared, built as they were of mud, except for their temples arid palaces which were of exquisitely wrought stone. This much is certain: till Europeans settled in the place there was no Indian name even for the hill. This is shown by the present, Indian name, Faranghi Malai 'hill of the Franks', denoting both the hill and the town around its base, a service which the English name St. Thomas's Mount equally renders.

[edit] POV

An unsubstantiated racist tirade against Brahmins:

India's maritime trade languished and died out about the fourth century. Though the country was thus cut off from all communication with the external world, the succession of bishops was kept up till the revival of Brahminism at Mylapur in the seventh century, when there was a ruthless massacre of Jains and Christians.

The Bishop of Mylapur and his priests were put to death, and the remnant of his flock fled across the country to the mountains of the west. As the sees on the west coast were vacant at the time, the Apostolic succession was interrupted, and on the death of their last priests the Christians kept the light of their faith burning by lay baptism, the recitation of their prayers, wearing a cross and surreptitious visits to the tomb of the Apostle in the ruined church at Mylapur; they were helped by the fact that shortly after the massacre, Mylapur had been overwhelmed by the sea, which returned to its bed after wrecking the city and causing the Brahmins to flee and build a new, almost purely Brahmin Mylapur a mile further inland. The site of old Mylapur, now a sand dune, would have been wholly forgotten but for its interest for the Indian Christians.

-RavichandarMy coffee shop 15:54, 25 May 2008 (UTC)