Thomas of Cana

Knai Thomman bhavan (building/monument), probably in Kodungallur, Kerala

Thomas of Cana is a figure in the history and traditions of the Saint Thomas Christian community of Kerala, India. He is said to have led a migration of Syriac Christians from the Middle East to India sometime between the 4th and the 9th century; this may reflect a historical migration that strengthened the ties between the Indian church and the Church of the East. The Thomas of Cana story also factors into traditions of the divide of the community into Northist and Southist factions; the Southists or Knanaya sometimes claim descent from Thomas of Cana and his followers.

History

Written accounts of Thomas of Cana (Knai Thomman) date to the India's Portuguese period.[1] Similar versions give dates for the events to AD 345; others as late as the 9th century.[1][2] The meaning of the Cana epithet is the land in between the rivers Euphrates and Tigris located in ancient Mesopotamia, also called by the name of "Ur," in present day Iraq .

In most accounts, Thomas is said to have been a Syrian merchant, distinct from Thomas the Apostle, who preceded him in evangelizing in India. According to the traditions, Thomas of Cana (Knai Thomman) led a group of 72 families, as well as clergymen, to the Malabar coast, migrant Jewish people who were settled in "UR" in ancient Mesopotamia currently present day Iraq, from from the five subtribes from Judea and one tribe from Benjamin. Copper plates referring to this story exist, dated AD 345.[3]

Though some scholars doubt the veracity of the Thomas of Cana tradition, others suggest it may reflect a historical migration of East Syrian Christians to India. This may have been the era in which the region's relationship with the Church of the East developed. Stephen Neill suggests that East Syrian Christians may have come to India specifically because there was already an established Christian community, to whom they imparted East Syrian traditions.[4]

Northists and Southists

The arrival of Thomas of Cana figures into traditions concerning the division of the Saint Thomas Christians into "Northist" and "Southist" factions. In these versions, the Southists or Knanaya are the direct descendants of Thomas of Cana and 72 families who have come with him from "UR" in ancient Mesopotamia or Present day Iraq, while the Northists descend from the pre-existing local native Indians converted by Thomas the Apostle.[5]

Notes

  1. 1 2 Baum & Winkler, p. 53.
  2. ↑ Vadakkekara, p. 239.
  3. ↑ Neill, p. 42.
  4. ↑ Neill, pp. 42–43.
  5. ↑ Swiderski 1988a, pp. 76–80.

References

Media related to Knai Thomman at Wikimedia Commons

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