iScrapbook

My family gathers for any occasion. Sometimes we find reasons to gather just to catch up with each other and to allow younger ones get to know each other better.

Today, I attended my niece baptism. It has been a ritual for me to attend baptism of all my nephews and nieces. This one was held at the St. Thomas Church at Sentul. Like all family events, we get to meet all relatives from all over for occasions like this.

St Thomas church is unique compared to other churches that I have attended before. St Thomas Church has its origin from India. It started in the first century in Kerala, India. These Christians are known as St Thomas Christians who follow Syriac Christianity. In the sermons and prayers, certain sections were conducted in Syriac language which is a dialect of Aramaic.

St Thomas came to India in the 1st century at Kerala and began preaching gospels to the people living in Kerala. St Thomas was able to convert the Brahmin families living in the area. Eventually, St Thomas established seven Christian communities and churches in Kerala.

In the early days, St Thomas Christians evolved around the Hindu culture. Among them was the practice of caste system. St Thomas Christians were classified into caste system in accordance to the Hindu tradition. Thus, St Thomas church was Hindu in culture, Christian in religion, and Judeo-Syro-Oriental in worship.