Christianity in India

Christianity, according to tradition (and now supported by recent research), arrived in India in the first century through the apostle Thomas. St. Thomas converted many South Indians who continued to practice Christianity until present. It was further consolidated by the arrival of Syriac Jewish-Christians now known as Knanaya people in the second century C.E. This ancient ethnic Christian community of Kerala is known as Nasrani or Syrian Christian. The Nasrani people and especially the Knanaya people within the Nasranis have strong Jewish historical ties. Their form of Christianity is one of the most ancient: Syriac Christianity which is also known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and referred to in India as Saint Thomas Christians. It should be noted that the term "Saint Thomas Christians" is a loose term that many non-Nasranis Christians in Kerala are often labeled. The vast majority of Christians in Kerala are not the original Nasrani/Knanaya but indigenous local converts.

Roman Catholicism reached India during the period of European colonization, which began in 1498 when the Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama arrived on the Malabar coast.Christian missionary activity increased in the early 1800s. Today Christianity is the third largest religion of India making up 2 - 2.5% of the population. Christians are most prevalent in the northeast in states such as Nagaland,Mizoram, south India, major metro areas, and in western states such as Goa.