THIRD INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
HISTORY OF EARLY CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA
AND
MIDDLE EAST
(13th – 16th September , 2008 )
Venue: Hotel Century Park, Amman , Jordan.
Hosted by
The International Centre for the Study of Christianity in India ( ICSCI)
The Middle Council of Churches (MECC), Jordan
and
The Ecumenical Studies Centre, Amman.
The International Conference on Early Christianity Series
The aim of the International Conference on early Christianity series is to study objectively the history of our early churches in India and other Asian countries and to remove the wrong notion that Christianity was brought to the Asian countries mainly by the European missionaries after the 15th century AD. It also aims at establishing the fact that Christianity is an Asian religion and that its history should be presented with a clear perspective avoiding unnecessary distortions. It also aims at illustrating with objective evidences the origin and growth of this magnificent religion in the Middle East and its spread through out Asia in the form of the Eastern Churches by the Apostles starting from St. Thomas onwards.
The First International Conference
The First International Conference on the History of Early Christianity in India was organized in New York in August 2005. It was the very first attempt in history to bring together research scholars and theologians in one place in order to promote academic discussions and dialogues at length on the various aspects of the history of early Christianity in the Indian soil. Hundreds of scholars from various countries assembled at the premises of the Concordia College, Bornxville, New York, and presented research papers. The purpose of the conference was to establish the existence of early Christianity in the Indian soil with well documented evidences and to analyse its strong impact on medieval and classical India until the advent of Vasco da Gama, whose epoch making visit inaugurated a new chapter in the cultural and political history of this great nation. This core objective was perfectly achieved through this significant international meet and it was a resounding success.
The Seed for the Second Conference
At the concluding session of this New York conference, the delegates and observers voted unanimously for hosting a second conference and that could be in India. The need for undertaking an intensive research on the history of early Christianity on a wider Asian perspective was emphasized by our scholars at subsequent meetings and as a result of the deliberations it has been decided to take into account the study of the history of early Christianity in other parts of Asia as a sub-theme along with the main theme namely the history of early Christianity in India. This decision was arrived with a strong conviction that this conference will generate rich data to study early Indian Christianity with a wider Asian outlook. This in turn would help our scholars to have a better understanding of Indian Christianity in relation to its history in the neighbouring countries as well.
Early Christianity- An Asian Perspective
History of early Christianity in India is surely not an isolated phenomenon; it is an integral part of the history of early Christianity in Asia. Consequently, it is imperative to study the history of early Christianity in the Indian soil with a wider Asian perspective which will help to bring Christians together in Asia. This would bring about a fresh perspective since there has been a misleading assumption that Christianity is a western religion brought by the European Missionaries only after the 15th century AD.
Historically speaking , early Christians in India had very close identity with those Christians in Syria and ‘Persia’, since this is regarded as the region from where St. Thomas came. It is appropriate here to mention that early Christianity of Asia comprised of the churches that were to the East of the Roman Empire in the early centuries of the Christian era.
Christianity developed in various countries of Asia in the context of dialogue with the local cultures exerting mutual impact both on the local context as well as its own core concern. Islam in western Asia, Hinduism in India, Buddhism in Thailand, China and Japan have been deeply influenced by early Christianity, especially by the East Syrian (Nestorian) Christianity through such dialogical process. All these factors constrain us to approach the history of early Christianity in the Indian soil with a wider Asian perspective.
Limitations in the Existing Data
History in early India is different from history as conceived in Europe and other countries. There were no pure historical documents in India with chronological details and whatever was available as ancient historical documents had more of fictional elements. Literature was the main source for reconstructing history. These were not meant to document facts. The author of the text interpreted facts in his own impressionistic way. As a result, there has been mythicization in the “historical materials” and any attempt to demythicize would lead to distortion of history.
The Two Traditions
There are two important views about the origin of Christianity in India ; One is that Christianity came to India through the work of the apostles St. Thomas and St. Bartholomew. The other view is that the merchants and the missionaries of East Syrian or Persian church brought Christianity to India. The Indian tradition on the advent of St. Thomas to Malabar seems to be very concrete, supported by many historical evidences. The Acts of Judas Thomas written in Syriac by the Edezza circle in 3rd century A.D. seems to be the earliest record that speaks about this tradition. In addition to this, a number of stray passages in the writings of Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea, Rufinus of Aquileia, Socrates, Ephrem of Nisibis, Gregory Nizianzus, Ambrose and Jerome speak about the visit of St. Thomas to India. There are still some who deny this claim. St. Ephrem composed hymns glorifying St.Thomas whose relics were being venerated in a shrine at Edizza aat a time when this great Syrian poet - theologian was living. Another work namely The Teaching of the Apostles in Syriac (Didascalia) also speaks of the same tradition. According to this work “India and all its own countries and those bordering on it even to the farther sea, receives the Apostles hand of the priest- hood from Judas Thomas, who was guide and ruler in the church he built there”.
There is another tradition which speaks at length about the advent of St. Bartholomew to India. But we are yet to find adequate internal evidences although St. Jerome and Eusebius of Caesarea of the 4th century AD speak about this tradition. These two writers refer to this tradition while speaking about the visit of Pantaenous to India in the 2nd century A.D. According to Eusebius , “Pantaenous is said to have gone among the Indians where a report is that he discovered there the gospel according to St. Matthew among some who knew Christ ; Bartholomew, one of the Apostles had preached to them and had left them the writings of St. Matthew in Hebrew letters. According to St. Jerome, Demetrius, Bishop of Alexandria, sent Pantaenous to India”. But a few scholars deny the advent of Bartholomew to India. According to them, Jerome would have mistaken Ethiopia for India. But scholars like A.C. Perumalil and G.M. Moraes thought otherwise. According to them, Bombay region on the Konkan coast, where an affluent Jewish community lived, may be the place referred to with regard to the visit of Bartholomew. Since the traditions about Bartholomew and St. Thomas intermingled, the references about Bartholomew might have been lost in course of time. According to A.C. Perumalil, Bartholomew Christians continued as a separate community until the coming of the Portuguese and then merged with the Christians of Bombay.
The Malabar Tradition
The South Indian belief about St. Thomas is preserved in an oral tradition. St. Thomas Christians who claim their Christian origin from St. Thomas also have kept this oral tradition. Historians consider the Coromandal tradition of St. Thomas as very ancient when compared to the Malabar tradition. This Malabar tradition about St. Thomas is a later tradition but it is strong and vital. This tradition associates St. Thomas with definite places and specific families. The Malabar tradition which associates St. Thomas with Palaiyur, Parur, Kokkamangalam and Niranam does not contradict with any other tradition.
The Coromondal Tradition
The Coromondal tradition centres on Mylapore where the tomb of the apostle is found. Marcopolo, the Venetian traveler, visited the tomb in A.D.1295 and no rival tradition has contradicted this belief. It is said that the Christians of Malabar enjoyed peace during the early centuries and they were supported by Non-Christian rulers. There is also a tradition that says that St. Thomas conferred priesthood on the members of certain families in Malabar.
Syria, Persia, India
Over a period of time, the early Christian community in India is believed to have suffered a decline. It was constituted by groups of Christians who came from Persia and hence there was a close link between Christianity in India and the early church of Persia. The Chronicle of Seert, an important East Syrian document of the7th century AD makes a reference to a Bishop named David who evangelised the Indian people between 250 - 300 AD. Among the 325 Bishops who attended the Nicaean Council, one John of Persian, is mentioned who, according to the History of Gelasius, was the bishop of the whole of Persia and Greater India.
The East Syrian Christians
Many groups of East Syrian Christians are often mentioned as having migrated to Malabar. Among them one group is associated with Thomas of Cana (4th C. AD) and another with two saintly men Sapor and Potto (of 9th or 10th C. AD). The Malabar tradition, as per the Portugese records, and the local accounts, distinguish Thomas, the Apostle from Thomas of Cana. For some reason or the other, the East Syrian church was looked upon with suspicion by the Portugese in the 16th C. AD. and some western missionaries. They accused the Thomas Christians of falling a prey to the heresy of Nestorianism. But the Thomas Christians deny this vehemently.
Early Christianity in Tamilnadu
Christianity in Tamilnadu during this period of early history was a very potent force and its ethics and other theological codes find powerful expression even in secular Tamil Classics like Tirukkural and Naladiyar. Its impact is felt in the native worship and especially in the local religions like Saivism and Vaishnavism. It is obvious that India received a number of missionaries many of whom belonged to Asia and other parts of the world. The Yavanar, probably people from Greece and Rome, spread the message of Christianity in the length and breadth of Indian soil.
Impact on Indian Religious Traditions
Thus we understand that Christianity was deeply rooted in the Indian ethos, thanks to the works of proselytism by men of eminence starting with St. Thomas. But most of the ancient records have been lost or destroyed, and Christianity might have undergone a sea-change owing to adversity and persecution. It left strong impact on the other religions of India ; it was instrumental for the emergence of many number of Indian religions. Its presence is felt in all religions of India in various forms. Its impact on the emergence of Mahayana Buddhism, especially in the conception of the Bodhisatva as well as the second coming of the Maitreya Buddha, is note worthy. Early Indian Christianity, a part of ancient oriental Christianity, gave strength and vigour to Indian culture and Indian ethos in multifarious ways. The influence exerted by early Christianity on the Indian ethos was indeed tremendous although its physical presence today is not very glamourous as it is shrouded by the misinterpretations and misrepresentations of the later historians of this country.
Need for an Asian perspective
We are sure that the reconstruction of the early Christianity in India will shed new light on the history of Indian Philosophy and Indian Culture in general and this will give new orientation and new perspective to our understanding of the classical and medieval culture and civilization. The so-called Hindu historians of our day failed to see the history of India as a whole since their approaches are partial and fragmentary giving stress only to Hinduism, neglecting the other forces instrumental for the building up of Indian culture. What we need today is a holistic view of the Indian culture with objective assessment of the internal as well as external evidences and a balanced presentation of facts. Through the First International Conference on the History of Early Christianity in India from the advent of St. Thomas to Vasco de Gama successfully hosted in New York from 13th to 16th August 2005, we are able to generate rich data on all aspects of early Christianity which are now in the process of editing. The multi volume of the proceedings of this conference will be brought out soon.
The Theme of the Third Conference
After organizing very successfully the Second International Conference on the History of early Christianity in India with an Asian perspective in January 2007, the ICSCI has decided to organize the Third International Conference in Jordan in 2008. In the Business Session of the Second International Conference it has been unanimously decided to study the inter relationship between early Christianity in India and the Middle East in a very systematic way so that the data generated through the first two conferences and the conclusions arrived at through this project should be strengthened on a strong foundation. For a better understanding of the Eastern Churches it is indispensable to have a thorough knowledge about the origin and growth of Christianity the in Middle East which is its birth place. India has very close commercial and cultural ties with the countries of the Middle East which has not been studied objectively. The participants of the Second International Conference were of the opinion that the Third Conference to be organized in Jordan will throw new light on our existing data about the external history of India especially India’s relationship with the Middle East. Therefore, it has been decided that the theme of the Conference shall be the history of early Christianity in India and the Middle East.
The organizers from the ICSCI discussed in detail about this project with our partners in the Middle East especially with the Middle East Council of Churches (MECC) and the Ecumenical Studies Centre in Amman in June 2007 and decided to have the Conference in the above theme in Amman, the capital of Jordan . It has been decided to have totally 80 research papers, 40 papers about early Christianity in India and 40 papers about early Christianity in the Middle East. It is also decided to invite scholars of early Christianity all over the world to participate and to present research papers on various aspects of this religion in India and the Middle East.
Areas of deliberations
The following are the broad areas for the academic deliberation and the delegates are expected to select any topic either from the list or from other sources and to submit the synopsis to the Organizing Committee. On approval they may prepare the full paper and present the same before the learned participants of the Conference.
Execution of the Project
There shall be two important main committees with a number of sub-committees to monitor and execute the project. Delegates will be selected and invited from various organisations all over the world. Persons who have done intensive study on the above topics will be invited as delegates.
International Organising Committee
A Committee consisting of representatives from various countries and Organisations all over the world will be constituted to offer guidelines and suggestions in the successful conduct of the conference programmes.
Working Committee
A Committee consisting of few local representatives has been constituted to monitor and execute this project with the help of the various sub-committees constituted to look after the variety of works.
Conference Programme – Tentative
The programme shall continue for four days with an inaugural session, a valedictory session and eight academic sessions which will be divided into many more sub-sessions depending upon the number of papers. There shall be three cultural programmes in the evenings. There shall be a post-conference tour to various Biblical important places in and around Jordan on 17th and 18thSeptembr. A special tour programme to Holiland is arranged separately on 19th and 20th to the interested participants. The seminar papers will be published in several volumes.
Style- Sheet for Contributors.
1. The total number of pages of research papers may range from 15 to 45 depending upon the data available and the nature of interpretations required.
2. Manuscripts should be submitted in duplicate. They must be typed or printed on one side only; double-spaced with sufficient margins on all sides to facilitate editing and styling. All notes should also be typed or printed double-spaced .
3. Notes should be consecutively numbered and presented at the end of the paper.
4. Lengthy quotations should start on a separate line and be indented; shorter quotations should run into the text with single quotation marks.
5. Citations from archival sources must specify the archival location including the town and country where an archive is located. In case of recorded oral material, the location of the recording should be specified. In other cases, the name and location of the oral informant should be clearly stated. For inscriptions, the title of the volume with publication details should be mentioned. For other details kindly follow the “M.L.A. Handbook for Writers of Research Paper”. (fifth edition) or “Writing Research Papers – A guide” by James. D. Lister.
For more information about the ICSCI and the Institute of Asian Studies visit our website: www.icsci.in , www/xlweb.com/heritage/asian
For further details on the Conference, please contact the co-ordinators.
Indian Co-ordinator
Dr. G. John Samuel
Founder-Director
Institute of Asian Studies,
Chemmancherry, Sholinganallur P.O.
Chennai – 600 119. INDIA
Telephone: Office: 24502212
24501851
24500831
Residence: 24964831
Mobile 9840526834
Fax : 24502212
e mail: chairman@icsci.in
ias@xlweb.com
Co-ordinator in US
Dr. Daniel Chelliah,
President,
Global Micro-Credit Consultants &
Investors Group,
12711 North Cliff Road,
Bowie MD 20720
USA.
Co-ordinators in the Middle East.
1. Mr. George Hazou,
President, MECC, Jordan
2. 2. The Rt. Rev. Archimandrit Prof. Dr. Qais Sidiq,
President, Ecumenical Studies Centre,
P.O Box. 410286
Amman – 11141
Jordan.
Telephone: 96265673067 / 9
Fax: 96265673047.
E mail: ecumenicalcentre@hotmail.com
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