Portland gazette and Maine advertiser. (Portland, Me.) 1805-1818, 1813-05-10
lks Seriati Cbriaians.

infbsi ,giss.
TIE Syrian Cbrjqians.
The Syrian Chriiiians, otherwife called ST..
Thomas Chriisians, inhahit the interior of
Ma'abar aud Travancore, in the South-weil'
cru part OF India The tradition amoug them
i,,thst the Goipel wa. planted in India by the
spoie Thomas. Landing a, Craogaoor, he
was well received by the king oil the eoun.ry,
whole fon he baptized and sffervsr ordain
ed a aeaeou. after continuing some ,.nns
at Cranganor, he viited the cosit of Coro
randel. and preae he'd the Gofpe at Melspoor
and fnaly az St. Thomas Mount, where ne
was put to dszth. Al paroor. near Cfanga.
nor, there is church, iuppoied to he the OIL
def in Malabar, that ftill bears the name of
this apone ~ am fa,isfed." lays Or. Bueh-
,nan." that we have AZ good au hority for he.
Iitving that the apoft.e Ihoma. died in India,
q, that The apoltle Peer died at Rome"
Tia, Chrilians early eI,ited ia India is
fact fully ateled PaniaIus of Alexandria
vi6ted that couE,rv about the year le9 aud
found Chrntian. there. The primare OF 10.
Jia was prefer, a, the eouacil of Nice in The
wear s25. The next year Frumeniius was
coniecrated TO tina, office, and he founded
ih"f NhuISDes vi "A
sihae at the fyned OF sides in P ~ lhyiia ia
the year $50 In the 9Th century hr'a-
ian bihop from antioch, accompanied by
final colony Of Syrian,, emigraied TO India, and
feiled on the coat OF Mziabar. The syiian
Chr,ians enjoyed .uccefiion Of b'fiops APP
pained by the pa'riArch of Antioch, from the
teginnlng of The third century Till they were
invaded hy The portugueie
When Vaco de Cana arrived at Coo hin,
in,heyear 1913, he found on the coat OF
MAabar, more han hundred ChFill,an chur
thes. Asioon a, the Portuguese were able,
they compelled the churches nearea the lea
coait TO acknowledge The lup. emacy at The
pope Al the lame time they burned all the
sYrisc Chsliale books, on which they cou d
lay their haeds THIS was ia the year 1889
Tie churches which were thus fusdued. are
called the S,rs Romas Chriiiians. ThoIe in the
interior would not fuom, to Rome. They
he'd to tbs mountains, hid their books. aud
~, ,hemielves under the protection Of The
nahve princes. This feparatiou took pace ia
the year 1853 The churches which thus pre-.
iervet fine remsins Of their ancient liberty,
sseaied che Sy,,aa Chriitlsns
of ihsie there are at prsient forty-fve ohur.
chs, eompi defending according to one account
25ooo, according To suoihft 30 600 people,
aeir yeraacuar tongue IL the Ma'abar their
liturgy, as well as their Scriptures, is locked
up "a the Syriae language. Tho the body of
ne peop'e are isnoi AIT, formal, and dead, ia
aTdaa, are 10 be found smaug them VINO a
ao'n their protection. When DR.. Buchanan
naied them ia lso6, they had NOT Jingle
printed copy Of the icripiure,, and hui very
lev eop'e' IN Manuscript, the meaiures
Which have hnee been adopted to fupply them
With bibles will lie noticed IN snoher place
The Swo- Roman CbyiRianS.
The Syro-Romsn chrrilisns have IN Msla-
mar, one hundred and rune ehusches, tefides
iho'e ~ 1isvAneore. o theie tx y four are
sossrnsd hy the popes asolto' vicar in
M''ahAr. lthe hifhop of Vsrayo.i) aud forty.
ave ~ tie arch hiihop OF Crsnganor The
10 large dioeeies Of the h,ilop. of Cochin &
ss.lon are IA rraVaneore fhe Syro Roman
sAaiehes contain upwards Of 100 coo people,
ass'ehea along he lea eoali tnro' the whole
"'sni ct ais'sy "a
The Baek 1epf.
n the in'e Tor OF Iaiabar and Travsncore
na'tiiude. VI b aek Iews who removed TO
.1'Aaiier 'the de'iiu.tion OF the fra temple
q esep eomp!eri0u hss been burnt upon