8 



ecclesiastical student. Their venerable antiquity, their preserva- 

 tion for so many centuries in the midst of Paganism, the respec- 

 tabiUty of their character, and above all the strong, and independ- 

 ant support, which their copies of the sacred volume have given 

 to the purity of the canon of Scripture as preserved in the Wes- 

 tern churches, all conspire to attract and fix our attention to 

 their past history and their present state. 



In attempting to put together the materials that are scattered 

 through different writers on these subjects, I shall observe the fol- 

 lowing order. First to trace from the monuments of antiquity that 

 remain to us, their ancient History. Secondly their ecclesiastical con- 

 cerns from the arrival of the Portuguese amongst them to the 

 present time ; and Thirdly, Xkitix general character, customs and 

 political condition. 



I must crave the indulgence' of the Society if in the first branch 

 of our enquiry (which from the perplexity and obscurity of the sub- 

 ject is all that the present paper can embrace) there is less of general 

 interest, and less of absolute certainty than the following stages will 

 supply. The authorities I have followed are Apemanin Biblia 

 OrientaUs, Paul in India Christiana Orientahs, La Croze Chris- 

 tianisme des Indes, and Geddes' History of the Church of Malabar. 



The strong and universal tradition of antiquity assigns India as a 

 part of the province of the ApOstle St. Thomas.* The fact that he 

 preached the Gospel on these shores where we are now assembled, 

 and that this was the scene of his martyrdom is attested by ecclesi- 

 astical records of high antiquity both in the Latin, the Greek and 

 Syrian Churches. The town of Maliapoor is mentioned as the 

 place of his mission and " The Hill of Calamina' is made illus- 

 trious by his crown of Martyrdom : Jerome, Gregory, and Nicepho- 

 rus mention this as the commonly received opinion of the Church 

 in their time i. e. in the 5th century. The Roman Martyrology says 

 expressly that the Apostle suffered martyrdom in India. Cyrus 

 (i. e. St. Thomas) Re liquice prima ad urban Edessam deinde 

 Othoman translatce sunt. Now the ancient Nestorians, and at this 

 day the Catholic christians celebrate the removal of his remains 

 annually on the 1st day of July and call it Dohorana, Calamina, 

 where Sophronius also, as well as the Roman Martyrology places 

 his martyrdom, is not now found either in India or in any other 

 part of the world. The celebrated Father PauHn, (or as he is more 

 usually called Fra Bartolomeo) conjectures that the word might 



* Assemar. Biblia Orientalis IV. p. 205, &c. and 435. 



