﻿374 ACCOUNT OF THE ST. THOME' CHRISTIANS 



Christians of the Mountains. Since tb.e deatli of the 

 last .'vjchbi.shop, the Government of Goa^ viio had 

 foriiieily tiie ii.iminarion, thought proper to appoint 

 only a V^icar (ieneral, v, ho resides atpres'jnt cX Pecke 

 paltiporte. Me is a native of Malabar^ ax Syrian ex- 

 traction, of the name of Thom 1/ ills a m a kkl. These 

 imited St. Ihornc Christians rerain only the pecu- 

 liarity of the Chalda^an language. heiuL:,' still w^.^i\ in 

 their churclses, 1or uhirh they ;.refnr\'.ished uuh the 

 necessary books, from tlic Coni^ragatio cit prcpa- 

 ganda jtde : printed at Home '7; 4, under tlie litle, 

 Orao Chaldaiciis JJisso! Beatorum Apostolcrum juxta 

 ritum ecclesim Malaharia^, and Ordo Chaldaicus ri^ 

 tuum et Lectiomtm juxta morem ecclesice Islaiaba- 

 o-ius. Romoi 1775. 



The St. 'I home or Syrian Christians, of both de- 

 scriptions, never claimed the particular protection of 

 either the Portuguese or Dutch, as the new Cl'^ristians 

 do, but considered thenisehes as subjects of the dif- 

 ferent Kajas in whose districts they lived ; and as long- 

 as the old Hindoo sjstem, and the former division of 

 the country, under a variety of pett> Rajas, was pre- 

 served, they appear to have enjoyed the same degree 

 of freedom, ease, and consideration, as the Aairs. 

 But when the Rajas of Travancore and Cochin had 

 subjected to themselves all the petty Rajas and chieis 

 whose respective territories were situated within the 

 lines o^ '1 ravancore, they also ovirturned the whole 

 political system established l)y Chkruma Perl ma i ; 

 and by setting aside the in.munities and privileges 

 of the higher casts, tliey established a mott oppres- 

 sive despotism, in the room of the former miid li- 

 mited Oligarchy: and weouglit not to l)e much sur- 

 prized to behold the piesent v. retched situation of 

 those formerly so flourisliing Syrian viiliges, ijince 

 "we see the Bramins 'ci\(\ JSairs stript of must of their 



old 



