Pentecostal Saint Thomas Christians
Pentecostal Saint Thomas Christians, also called Pentecostal Syrian Christians, are the ethnic Saint Thomas Christians (Nasranis) affiliated to various Pentecostal and independent Neo-Charismatic churches. Sometimes, the Kerala Brethren are also erroneously lumped together with Pentecostals. The community is native to the Indian state of Kerala, and shares in the legacy of early Christianity in the region, traditionally traced to the missionary activities of Saint Thomas the Apostle in the first century (AD 52–72). Prior to their conversion to Pentecostalism, they belonged to traditional Saint Thomas Christian denominations.[3][4][5][6][7]
Origin[edit]
Pentecostalism in Kerala, has its origins in the activities of German–American missionary George E. Berg and his Indian co-workers, in 1911.[8][9] The first converts came from a small Kerala Brethren congregation based in Thuvayur, near Adoor.[10] This group, which was led by Paruttupara Ummachan, became the first Pentecostal congregation of South India.[11][12] During his Kerala tour, Berg also got acquainted with a few more young men, who accompanied him to Bangalore, where they received their Pentecostal instruction.[10] Two of them, Umman Mammen and Pandalam Mattai, worked as Pentecostal evangelists, after their return to Kerala.[10][11][13]
In 1912, Berg returned to the United States, where he met Robert F. Cook.[14] Berg convinced Cook about the mission in India. So in 1913, Cook joined Berg, in Bangalore.[14] In the coming years, Cook made several missionary journeys to Kerala, and financially supported the original native Pentecostal evangelists of Kerala, as well as the congregation of Thuvayur.[14][11] Additional help came from Mary Chapman, an Assemblies of God missionary, who arrived in Trivandrum, by this time.[15][16] Soon other foreign evangelists followed.[17][12] In the first half of the 1920s, a large number of Kerala Brethren (mostly ex–Mar Thomites)[18][19] became Pentecostals.[20]
Independent 'New–Generation' Churches[edit]
Neo–Charismatic churches were founded at the turn of the twentieth century, by individuals who left traditional Saint Thomas Christian denominations, with a craving for prayerful renewal, revitalization, faith healing and miracles. There was also a general discontent with the rigid clergy-oriented, liturgical framework of traditional churches, that offered little or no room for revival.[36][37][6] Many new–generation churches espouse Prosperity theology, and are particularly popular with the financially insecure St. Thomas Christian diaspora.[38][39][40] Neo–Pentecostal worship is usually spirit–filled with clapping, singing, ecstatic dancing and miracles, as opposed to the codified liturgical worship in traditional churches.[41][42]
Prominent Neo–Pentecostal churches with predominantly St. Thomas Christian members include Heavenly Feast, Covenant People, Parra etc. Heavenly Feast was founded in 1998, by Matthew Kuruvilla (originally Malankara Orthodox).[6][41][43] Regular Sunday worshippers in the Heavenly Feast headquarters in Kottayam, number about 15,000.[41] Covenant People was founded by Jose Anathanam (originally Syro-Malabar Catholic) in 1996. About 60 percent of Covenant People affiliates are former Syro-Malabar Catholics and 40 percent are from other historic St. Thomas Christian denominations.[44][45][46] Parra, which means Rock, was founded in Thiruvalla by wealthy, young Middle East returnees, to cater to English-speaking Kerala youth, typically raised abroad.[41]
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Numbers[edit]
A 2016 study under the aegis of the Govt. of Kerala, based on the data from 2011 Census of India and Kerala Migration Surveys, counted 213,806 Pentecost/Brethren affiliates in Kerala.[1] On a rough reckoning, 70 percent of all Keralite Pentecostals or 149,664 people are Saint Thomas Christians. Pentecostals comprise 3.5 percent of all Keralite Christians and 0.6 percent of the total population of Kerala.[67] 47.2 percent of all Keralite Pentecostals live in Pathanamthitta district, followed by Kollam district (11.1 percent), Thiruvananthapuram district (10.5 percent) and Idukki district (10.4 percent).[68] 12.7 percent of all Christians in Pathanamthitta district are Pentecostals.[69]
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