Thazhekad, is the site of one of the earliest

St Thomas Christian The Saint Thomas Christians, also called Syrian Christians of India, ''Marthoma Suriyani Nasrani'', ''Malankara Nasrani'', or ''Nasrani Mappila'', are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians in the state of Kerala (Malabar region), ...

communities in

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 ...

. Once a prosperous inland port, during heyday of

Muziris Muziris ( grc, Μουζιρίς, Old Malayalam: ''Muciri'' or ''Muciripattanam'' possibly identical with the medieval ''Muyirikode'') was an ancient harbour and an urban centre on the Malabar Coast. Muziris found mention in the ''Periplus of ...

. The landscape was changed with the great floods of 1341AD. It is the site of the Thazhekad Sasanam, a stone inscribed with one of the earliest surviving edicts granting special privileges to the St Thomas Christians. The inscription can be dated palaeographically to between the 8th and 10th centuries. The Thazhekad St Sebastian church is one of the oldest in Kerala dating back to AD 800. The church is also the largest pilgrimage center in the

Irinjalakuda Irinjalakuda is a municipal town in Thrissur district, Kerala, India. It is the headquarters of Irinjalakuda Revenue Division and Mukundapuram Taluk. After Thrissur, this town has most number of administrative, law-enforcement and judicial of ...

Diocese. The churches and temples in the area were ravaged by

Tippu Sultan Tipu Sultan (born Sultan Fateh Ali Sahab Tipu, 1 December 1751 – 4 May 1799), also known as the Tiger of Mysore, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore based in South India. He was a pioneer of rocket artillery.Dalrymple, p. 243 He int ...

's army, during his invasion of the south, between 1789 and 1791.

References

{{coord, 10, 19, 59, N, 76, 16, 21, E, type:city, display=title Saint Thomas Christians History of Thrissur district