Oldest Churches of Tamilnadu
This video shows famous Churches in Tamilnadu.
01.Velankanni Matha Church,Velankanni,Nagapattinam district.
02.St.Xavier's Cathedral, Nagercoil, Kanyakumari district.
03.Santhome Cathedral Basilica,Chennai.
04.Devasahayam Mount Church,Aralvaimozhi,Kanyakumari district.
05.Poondi Matha Basilica,Poondi,Thanjavur district.
06.St.Thomas Mount Church,Chennai.
07.All Saints Church,Muttom, Kanyakumari district.
08.Arockiya Annai Shrine,Vadipatti,Madurai district.
09.St.Mary's Orthodox Church,Thiruvithamcode,Kanyakumari district.
10.St.Lourde's church,Theppakulam,Tiruchirapalli district.
Christianity in the state of Tamil Nadu, India is believed to be almost 2000 years old, But in reality it reference started to appear in Tamil Literature from Sixteenth Century onwards only. Letters and several documents of Sixteenth century Jesuit Fathers indicate introduction of Christianity in Sixteenth century by St Francis Xavier in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu . St. Thomas, the Apostle, one of the Apostles of Jesus Christ who was claimed to have landed in Malabar Coast (modern day Kerala) in AD 52. In the colonial age a large number of Portuguese, Dutch, British and Italian Christians came to Tamil Nadu. Priests accompanied them not only to minister the colonisers but also to spread the Christian faith among the non-Christians in Tamil Nadu. Currently, Christians are a minority community comprising 6% of the total population.[1] Christians are mainly concentrated in the southern districts of Tamil Nadu - Kanyakumari (48.7% of the population, 2001[1]), Thoothukudi (17%, 2001) and Tirunelveli (11%, 2001).
The Roman Catholic Church (Latin Rite), the Church of South India, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church, the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church, the Evangelical Church of India, the Pentacosts, the Apostolics, and other evangelical denominations constitute the Christian population in Tamil Nadu. The Latin Rite of Roman Catholic Church is the oldest and the largest among all. With 15 dioceses including the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madras and Mylapore and the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Madurai, the Latin Rite has a homogeneous presence throughout the state. The second largest church by number of members is the Church of South India with 8 dioceses in Tamil Nadu. They are Coimbatore Diocese, Kanyakumari Diocese, Madras Diocese, Madurai-Ramnad Diocese, Thoothukudi - Nazareth Diocese, Tirunelveli Diocese, Trichy-Tanjore Diocese and the Vellore Diocese. Church of South India Synod, the highest administrative body of the Church of South India, is in Chennai. The vast majority of Christians in Tamil Nadu are either members of the Latin Rite Roman Catholic Church or the Church of South India. The Pentecostal Mission (TPM) is headquartered in Chennai.
In 1996, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church created its first `Diocese of Thuckalay` in Kanyakumari district, (which was under the Syro-Malabar Catholic Archdiocese of Changanassery in Kerala till then), of Tamil Nadu. The same year the Syro-Malankara Catholic Church has also newly established the `Diocese of Marthandam` (bifurcated from its Archdiocese of Trivandrum) in Kanyakumari district. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church established its first diocese Chennai Diocese in the year 1979. St. Thomas Mount in Chennai, the place where St. Thomas, one of the disciples of Jesus Christ, was believed to have been martyred,is an important pilgrimage site for Indian Christians. The Santhome Basilica, supposedly built atop the tomb of St. Thomas, and the Vailankanni Basilica of Our Lady of Good Health—revered churches by India's Roman Catholics—are good examples of majestic church architectures in Tamil Nadu.