406 
many centuries afterwards, were shewn to Archbishop de Menezes 
at Tevalacaree. 
“ If one adds to these historical dales the name of Syrians 
retained by the St. Thome Christians, their distinct features, and 
complexion somewhat fairer than the rest of the Malabars, the 
style of their building, especially their churches; but above all, the 
general use of the Syrian, or rather Chaldaean language, which is 
still preserved in all their religious functions, even in those churches 
which have since embraced the Roman rite, and that to this day they 
take their Christian and family names from the Syrian or Chaldaean 
idiom, no doubt can remain but that the St. Thome Christians are 
originally a colony of Nestorians , who fled from the dominion of 
the Greek emperors, after Theodosius the Second began to per- 
secute the followers of the sect/’ 
“ They made at first some proselytes among the brahmins and 
Nairs, and were on that account much respected by the native 
princes; so that even at present they consider themselves equal in 
rank to either of the above two castes. They are in fact in much 
greater estimation among the Hindoos than the Christians con- 
verted by the Portugueze, and mostly picked up from the lowest 
caste. Many of the St. Thome Christians now preserve the man- 
ners and mode of life of the brahmins as to cleanliness, and 
abstaining from animal food. 
44 We learn from the Portugueze writers, that these Christians 
possessed upwards of one hundred villages, situated mostly in the 
mountainous part of the southern division of Malabar. Their ha- 
bitations were distinguished from those of the Hindoos by being 
mostly solid buildings, and collected in villages; not scattered and 
