Doubting Thomas to St. Thomas in India

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Statue of St.Thomas at the entrance

Welcoming with the historical arch built by Armenians, St. Thomas Shrine is above the hill top, which is also the martyrdom place of St. Thomas, the disciple of Jesus Christ. Snaking its way up through the zigzag steps, the entire mountain is dotted with numerous neem trees. As we climb up, we pass through Stations of the Cross until reaching the top of the hill.

The monumental church built by Europeans, during the 15th century stood as the converging point for all the Europeans during the colonial era. The chapel consists of invaluable paintings of each disciple of Jesus Christ, which also describes the execution of each of them in a different fashion.

With possession of various relics, the centre of the altar is adorned with a stone cross chiselled by St. Luke. Right behind the church, we can witness an age old banyan tree, with several branches penetrated into the ground.  Several religious orders, convents and an orphanage function in the mount to continue the good work of their master. 

As we walk around the church, we can get the bird’s view of the whole city. With the spectacular view of the airport, the entire place is filled with perpetual rumbling sound of the flights’ landing and taking off.

Over the years the place has lost its charm, as part of the mountain is scratched up for erecting buildings and the concrete floor filling up the entire holy ground.

Church on the Hillock









Location: St. Thomas Mount, Ramapuram, Parangi Malai, St.Thomas Mount, Tamil Nadu 600016, India

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