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Christianity is India's third-largest religion. The total number of Christians in India as per Census in 2001 are 24,080,016 or 2.34 per cent of the population. The works of scholars and Eastern Christian writings state that Christianity was introduced to India by Thomas the Apostle, who visited Muziris in Kerala in 52 AD to spread the gospel amongst Kerala's Jewish settlements. Although the exact origins of Christianity in India remain unclear it is widely believed that Christianity in India is almost as old as Christianity itself and spread in India even before it spread to many Christian nations of Europe.
From the late 19th century, the fastest growing Christian communities have been located in the northeast, mainly in Mizoram, Nagaland and Meghalaya. The states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu in South India and Nagaland, Mizoram and Meghalaya in North-East India account for 60% of India's total Christian population.
Major Christian Denominations in India
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Church Name
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Population (Approx)
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Orientation
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Catholic Church
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1,18,00,000
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Roman Catholic-Latin Rite
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Syro-Malabar Church
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39,47,396
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Roman Catholic-East Syrian Rite
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Malankara Orthodox Church
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25,00,000
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Oriental Orthodox
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Jacobite Syrian Church
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10,00,000
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Oriental Orthodox
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Malankara Mar Thoma Church
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9,00,000
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Oriental Eastern(Reformed)
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Syro-Malankara Church
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5,00,000
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Roman Catholic-West Syrian Rite
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Chaldean Syrian Church
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40,000
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Church of the East
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Malabar Independent Church
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10,000
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Oriental Orthodox
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CSI/CNI (together)
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50,50,000
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Protestant
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Lutheran
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12,50,000
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Protestant
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Indian Brethren
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10,00,000
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Protestant
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India Pentecostal Church of God
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6,00,000
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Protestant
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Baptist
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23,00,000
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Protestant
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Christianity in Kerala
Christianity is the third-most practiced religion in Kerala with 19% (60,57,427 : 2001 census) of the population according to the Indian census. Among the main Christian denominations in Kerala are the Indian (Malankara) Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholics of the Latin Rite, Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church and the Jacobite Syrian Orthodox Church.The state of Kerala is home to the Saint Thomas Christian community, an ancient body of Christians who are now divided into several different churches and traditions.
The origins of Christianity in Kerala go back to the earliest period of the Church itself. In fact, there is a tradition among the Christian people of Kerala that St. Thomas the Apostle, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, landed on the Kerala coast in 52 A.D., preached the Gospel, organized Christian communities in several places and established seven churches in Kerala and then at last got martyrdom in Mylapore, Chennai, in 72 A.D. More >>
Major Christian Denominations in Kerala (Click for more details)
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Indian Christianity
