Oriyur

Oriyur
village
Country  India
State Tamil Nadu
District Ramanathapuram
Languages
  Official Tamil
Time zone IST (UTC+5:30)
Nearest city Devakottai

Oriyur is a small village located in Ramanathapuram district, Tamil Nadu, India. It is 35 kilometers from Devakottai, Sivagangai(Dt).

It is a Christian pilgrim center, as it is home to the martyrdom of St. John de Britto, a Portuguese Jesuit better known as ‘Arulanandar’ in Tamil. It was in this place that St. John de Britto was beheaded in 1693 and the sand dune is said to have turned red, stained by the blood of the saint.

There are references about Oriyur in Tamil Literature. So its history can be traced back long before the advent of the missionary.

References

The Catholic Encyclopedia