![StThomasCross](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a4/StThomasCross.jpg)
St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Kokkamangalam which holds a midway position among the seven churches founded by St. Thomas, is in the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly, in the
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
n
state of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
. A portrait of St. Thomas is venerated here and was brought from the
Carmelite
, image =
, caption = Coat of arms of the Carmelites
, abbreviation = OCarm
, formation = Late 12th century
, founder = Early hermits of Mount Carmel
, founding_location = Mount Car ...
Monastery
A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer which ...
Mannanam in 1897 by "", pursuant to a revelation. This portrait is mounted in a decorated waft of great artistic value.
St. Thomas sailed to
Kokkamangalam
Kokkamangalam also known as Gokkamangalam is a village in Alappuzha district of Kerala state, south India. It is situated in between Cochin and Kumarakom and on the western shore of Vembanad Lake, 5 km east of the town of Cherthala, which ...
where he preached the
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
for about a year.
1600 people converted to Christianity through him according to the narration in "
Rampan Pattu", an ancient form of
Christian folk-song prevalent in Kerala. He formed a Christian community at Kokkamangalam and enshrined a Cross for the faithful. This cross was later cut off by saboteurs, and thrown into the Lake Vembanad, through which it floated up to
Pallippuram, where it is enshrined.
The Relic of Apostle St. Thomas enshrined here was brought from
Ortona
Ortona (Neapolitan language, Abruzzese: '; grc, Ὄρτων, Órtōn) is a coastal town and municipality of the Province of Chieti in the Italy, Italian region of Abruzzo, with some 23,000 inhabitants.
In 1943 Ortona was the site of a Battle o ...
in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...
by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
in November 1999. Special
Novena prayers are held on Friday evenings to venerate the Relic. Devotees who aspire for jobs in foreign countries seek the intercession of the Apostle here.
References
External links
*http://www.stthomasdiocese.org/syromalabar-church
{{Churches of Kerala
Archdiocese of Ernakulam-Angamaly
Catholic pilgrimage sites
Churches in Alappuzha district