Guest guest Posted November 16, 2004 Report Share Posted November 16, 2004 Fw: Missionary attempts to distort Indian HistoryTo: vrinparker (AT) (DOT) co.in,kavindra (AT) telus (DOT) netFrom: wagle (AT) mail (DOT) holyname.orgDate: Mon, 8 Nov 2004 16:38:45 -0500Dear Vrin and Jeffrey,Could you pls forward this to other members of Vedic Friends? By the way, Ihave still not received a response to my application to become a member ofVFA.This situation with the Missionaries conference next year is scary!! Anythoughts as to how we can counter this move on their part?=================================================----- Forwarded by Sharad Wagle/HNH on 11/08/2004 04:30 PM -----Sharad Wagle/HNH 11/08/2004 04:30 To PM indicjournalists cc indicjournalists Subject Re: Missionary attempts to distort Indian History(Document link: Sharad Wagle) The event planned for 2005 mentioned in the announcement below is a partof what has been going on as a massive organized and well funded programto rewrite history, so as to show that Hinduism was derived from earlyChristianity.Stage 1 of making Hinduism illegitimate was to show that Hinduismoriginated in British colonial times. But many items could not beexplainedas they were earlier. Stage 2 was to show that these came from islam -suchas bhakti.Stage 3 is now to go even deeper and show how early Christianity broughteven those aspects that Muslims or British did not.A scholar in charge of the 15 volume Mahabharata project of which halfthe volumes are done already, made the statement that Gita should bedated at around 5th century CE. (This in my opinion gives them enoughtime to make it fit into the Christian origins of Gita.) He said thatGita was grafted into what was a violence prone religion, just to makeMahabharata look mild and ethical. This is far more insidious than theAryan invasion theory.So the strategy is grand and long term. Look at the way mentioned in theannouncement they have divided into teams with plans etc. Look at thelistof topics at the end into which they organized the work to be done. THEYMEAN BUSINESS. They do have enormous library archives as Christianinstitutions took control over most documents and never returned them.Access is also limited to insiders in many instances and/or at veryheavyfees which Indian scholars cannot afford.In contrast with clarity of purpose and concreteness of plans, Hindusscholars (the very few that are there) are lost in nostalgia andchauvinistoptimism about 5,000 years old invincibility via mantras, and otherloftybaloney.The role of the Indian Government over the years or at least itscomplicity is horrifying. The institute named below which is doing thisis The Institute of Asian Studies. It is affiliated to the University ofMadras and to Pondicherry University for conducting research programmesleading to Ph.D. degrees and is recognized by the University GrantsCommission of the Government of India.WHY IS THERE NO PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION IN INDIA TO FORCE THEGOVERNMENT TO ENSURE EQUAL ACCESS BY OPPOSING SCHOLARS TO ALL THEARCHIVAL DOCUMENTS THESE MISSIONARIES WILL UTILIZE? WHY NOT A MECHANISMTO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD AT THIS NASCENT STAGE?Please suggest ways to counter and put a full stop to this missionaryattempt to distort Indian History.There is no integrated set up to defend Hindus at the level ofconferences, seminars and proceedings, where much is done by the enemiesofHinduism .Missionaries have a corporate set up, and are able to organisethemselves.Now they are carrying the distortion into the heart of Americanfinancialcapital - New York .Please visit www hamsa.org first - to have full grasp of the subjecthttp://www.xlweb.com/heritage/asian/christianity-conference.htmFIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE / SEMINAR ON THE HISTORY OF EARLYCHRISTIANITY IN INDIA(From the advent of St. Thomas to Vasco de Gama)(13th - 16th August 2005 in New York)The history of Christianity in India is traceable to theadventof St. Thomas soon after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. But this hasbeena subject of controversy for a long time owing to lack ofdocumentaryevidences. Now, we are able to get lot of evidences both internalandexternal to testify to the existence early Christianity in India fromtheperiod of St. Thomas.History in early India is different from history asconceivedin Europe and other countries. There was no pure historical document inIndia with chronological details and whatever is available as ancienthistorical documents are a blending of historical facts with fictionalelements. Literatures were the main sources for reconstructing historyandthey were not very particular in documenting facts as they were but indepicting facts as the author of the text interpreted in his ownimpressionistic way. Consequently, there are lot of mythicization in theso-called historical materials and any attempt to demythicize them willsometime leads to distortion of history.There are two important views about the origin ofChristianityin India ; One holds that Christianity came to India through the worksofthe apostles St. Thomas & St. Bartholomew. The other view is that themerchants and the missionaries of East Syrian or Persian Church broughtChristianity to India. The Indian tradition on the advent of St. ThomastoMalabar seems to be a very concrete tradition supported by lot ofhistorical evidences. The Acts of Judas Thomas written in Syriac by theEdezza circle in 3rd century A.D. seems to be the earliest record thatspeaks about this tradition. In addition to this, a number of straypassages in the writings of Origen, Eusebius of Caesarea, Rufinus ofAquileia, Socrates, Ephrem of Nisibis, Gregory Nizianzus, Ambrose andJerome speak about the visit of St. Thomas to India, even though therearestill some others who deny this claim. St. Ephrem composed hymnsglorifying St.Thomas whose relics were being venerated in a shrine atEdizza where this great Syrian poet - theologian was living.Another work namely The Teaching of the Apostles inSyriac(Didascalia) also speaks about the same tradition. According to thiswork"India and all its own countries and those bordering on it even tothefarther sea, receives the Apostles hand of the priest hood fromJudasThomas, who was guide and ruler in the Church he built there". Thereisanother tradition which speaks at length about the advent ofSt.Bartholomew to India. But we are not able to come across adequateinternalevidences although St. Jerome and Eusebius of Caesarea of the 4thcenturyAD speak about this tradition. These two writers refer to thistraditionwhile speaking about the visit of Pantaenous to India in the 2ndcenturyA.D.According to Eusebius , "Pantaenous is said to have goneamongthe Indians where a report is that he discovered there the Gospelaccording to St. Matthew among some who knew Christ ; Bartholomew, oneofthe Apostles had preached to them and had left them the writings of St.Matthew in Hebrew letters. According to St. Jerome, Demetrius, Bishop ofAlexandria, sent Pantaenous to India". But few other scholars deny theadvent of Bartholomew to India and according to them, Jerome would havemistaken Ethiopia to India. But scholars like A.C. Perumalil and G.M.Moraes proved the otherwise. According to them, Bombay region on theKonkan coast may be the place referred to with regard to the visit ofBartholomew. Since the traditions about Bartholomew and St. Thomasintermingled, the references about Bartholomew might have been lost incourse of time. According to A.C. Perumalil, Bartholomew Christianscontinued as a separate community until the coming of the Portuguese andthen merged with the Christians of Bombay.The South Indian tradition about St. Thomas is preserved inanoral tradition and in the tradition about St. Thomas Christians whoclaimtheir Christian origin from St. Thomas. Historians consider theCoromandaltradition of St. Thomas as very ancient to the Malabar tradition. TheMalabar tradition about St. Thomas is comparatively later but it isstrongand vital. This tradition associates St. Thomas with definite placesandspecific families. The Malabar tradition which associates St. ThomaswithPalaiyur, Parur, Kokkamangalam and Niranam is not contradicting withanyother tradition. The Coromondal tradition centres on Mylapore where thetomb of the apostle is pointed out. Marcopolo, the Venetian travellor,visited the tomb in A.D.1295 and no rival tradition has contradictedthistradition. It is said that the Christians of Malabar enjoyed peaceduringthe early centuries and they were supported by Non-Christian rulers.Thereis a tradition that St. Thomas conferred priesthood in the members ofcertain families in Malabar.The Early Christian community in India is alleged tohavesuffered decline in due course and it was constituted by groupsofChristians who came from Persia and hence there were closerelationshipbetween Christianity in India and the Early Church of Persia.TheChronicle of Seert, an important East Syrian document of 7th centuryADmakes reference to a Bishop namely David who evangelised the Indianpeoplebetween 250 - 300 AD. In the list of the 325 Bishops who attendedtheNicaean Council is mentioned one John of Persian, who, according totheHistory of Gelasius, was bishop of the whole of Persia and GreaterIndia.Many groups of East Syrian Christians are often mentionedasmigrated to Malabar. Among them one group is associated with ThomasofCana (4th C. AD) and another with two saintly men Sapor and Potto (of9thor 10th C. AD). The Malabar tradition whether recorded by the Portugeseorlocal accounts, is always careful to distinguish Thomas, the ApostlefromThomas of Cana.Somehow or other, East Syrian Church was looked upon bythePortugese in 16th C. AD. and by some western missionary withsuspicion.They accused the Thomas Christians of fallen into the heresyofNestorianism which the Thomas Christians vehemently deny.Christianity in the Tamilnadu during this phase ofearlyhistory was a very potential force and its ethics and othertheologicalcodes find powerful expression even in secular Tamil ClassicslikeTirukkural and Naladiyar. Its impact is felt in the native worshipandespecially in the local religions like Saivism and Vaishnavism. Itisobvious that India received a number of missionaries many of whombelongedto Asia and other parts of the world. The Yavanar, probably peoplefromGreece and Rome, spread the message of Christianity in the lengthandbreadth of Indian soil.Anyhow, we are able to understand that Christianity wasdeeplyrooted in the Indian milieu, thanks to the works of proselytism by menofeminence starting from St. Thomas. But most of the records have beenlostor destroyed and Christianity might have underwent lot of sea-changesowingto many a time of adversity faced by it. It has left its strong impactonthe other religions of India ; it was instrumental for the emergencemanynumber of Indian religions. Its presence is felt in all religions ofIndiain various forms. Its impact on the emergence of Mahayana Buddhism,especially in the conception of the Bodhisatva as well as the secondcomingof the Maitreya Buddha, is indeed marvelous. The Early IndianChristianity,which was a part and parcel of the ancient oriental Christianity, gavestrength and vigour to Indian culture and Indian ethos inmultifariousways. The deep impact exerted by the early Christianity in the earlyIndian ethos was indeed tremendous although its physical presence wasnotvery glamourous today as it was shrouded by the misinterpretations andmisrepresentations of the later historians of this country.The aim of the present conference is to establish theexistenceof early Christianity in Indian soil with objective and welldocumentedevidences and to study its strong impact on medieval and classicalIndiauntil the advent of Vasco de Gama whose epoch - making visitinaugurated anew chapter in the cultural, and political history of this greatnation.We are sure that the reconstruction of the early Christianity in Indiawillshed new light on the history of Indian Philosophy and Indian Cultureingeneral and this will give new orientation and new perspective toourunderstanding of the classical and medieval culture and civilization.Theso-called Hindu historians of our day failed to see the history of Indiaasa whole since their approaches are partial and fragmentary givingstressonly to Hinduism neglecting the other forces instrumental for thebuildingup of Indian culture. What we need to day is a wholesome and completeviewof the Indian culture with objective assessment of the internal as wellasexternal evidences and balanced presentation of facts. We are surethatthis conference will throw new light not only on the early ChristianityofIndia but also to help to reconstruct the history of India as a whole.Proposed Topics - Tentative1. History of Christianity in India - Problems and Perspectives2. Advent of St. Thomas.3. Land and Sea-routes of the early Christian Missionaries4. The countries from where Christian Missionaries came and thegeographical areas of their activities.5. Early Christianity and the important sea-ports of India6. Early Christian activities in India - An overview7. Early Christians in Tamilnadu8. Early Christians and Sangam Tamil Society.9. Early Christianity with special reference to Canron in SangamLiteratureand Thirukkural.10. Early Christians in Malabar.11. Early Christians in North India.12. Early Christian Missionaries and Martyrs.13. The External History of Early Christianity - An overview14. Advent of St. Bartholomew15. Foreign Records on St. Bartholomew.16. Apocrypha & early Christianity in India17. Acts of St. Thomas18. Gospel of St. Thomas19. St. Thomas and the North Indian king Gondabarus.20. Early Christianity and Yavanar (Greeks - North India)21. Early Christianity and Yavanar (Romans - South India)23. Early Christianity and Yavanar (Jews and Syrians)23. The Churches established by St. Thomas24. St.Thomas - Santhome and Mylapore25. Mylapore and Christianity26. Tirukkural and Christianity27. Inscriptions in St. Thomas Mount.28. An objective assessment of the various traditions on St. Thomas29. Christianity and its impact on earlier indigenous texts30. Early Christianity and Oral traditions31. Linguistic evidences32. Excavations etc.33. Christianity and the origin of Sanskrit.34. Christianity and Indian Myths.35. Christianity and Early Indian literature.36. Christianity and Indian Theology.37. Early Indian Christianity- Numismatic evidences.38. Early Indian Christianity- Iconographic evidences.39. Early Indian Christianity- Epigraphic evidences.40. Thomas of Cana and Syriac traditions41. Nestorians and Syrian Christians42. Foreign Records on Early Christianity - An overview43. Hebrew44. Greek45. Syriac46. Ethiopic47. Arabic48. Persian49. Latin50. Coptic51. Spanish52. Italian53. Armenian54. Sanskrit55. Records in other languages56. Characteristic features of Early Christianity57. Other foreign reports on Medieval Christianity58. Marcopolo's report about Christianity in Mylapore.59. Divisions and Denominations in Early Christianity.60. Early Christianity and Native Culture - An overview61. Buddhism and Christianity62. Christ versus Krishna - concepts and mythmaking63. The second coming of Christ and Maitreya Buddha64. Christianity and Bodhisatva65. Impact of Trinity in Hinduism66. Christianity and Saktham67. Christianity and Saivism68. Christianity and Vaishnavism69. Christianity and Kaumaram70. Christianity and Ganapathyam71. Christianity and Sowram72. Christianity and the Brahmasutra.73. Christianity and the Bhagavat Gita74. Christianity and the Six Dharshanas.75. Christianity and Advaida.76. Christianity and Vedanta.77. Christianity and Agamas.78. Christianity and the Upanishads.79. Christianity and the Ithihasas.80. Christianity and the Siddhar Movement.81. Impact of Christianity in devotional literature82. Marriage metaphor in Indian Literature.83. The theme of suffering in Job and Harichandra.84. Bible and the Oriental images.85. Oriental themes and expressions in the Bible86. Mode of worship among early Christians87. Liturgy and devotional literature in early Christianity88. Shared features of early Indian Christianity with the OrientalChristianity in other parts of Asia.89. Impact of Early Christianity on Indian life - An overview.90. Culture91. Art and Architecture92. Performing Arts93. Folk traditions94. Literature95. Language96. Royal patronage for Christianity97. Christianity and Indian Political history98. Christianity and Indian Social history.99. Early Christianity in other parts of Asia.100. Dilution and Corruption in Early Indian Christianity.101. Restoration of Early Indian Christianity.102. Symbols of Early Indian Christianity.103. Roots of Sikkhism and Early Indian Christianity.104. Early Christianity in Kerala.105. St. Thomas Christians in the Context of Indian Culture.Execution of the ProjectThere shall be three important main committees with a numberofsub-committees to monitor and execute the project. Delegates willbeselected and invited from various organisations all over theworld.Persons who have done intensive study on the above topics will beinvitedas delegates.I. International Advisory CommitteeA committee consisting of 12 scholars of internationalreputemay be constituted to offer guidelines on the methodology, thematictreatment and in editing the papers.II. International Organising CommitteeA Committee consisting of 12 representatives fromvariouscountries and Organisations all over the world will be constituted toofferguidelines and suggestions in the successful conduct of theconferenceprogrammes.III. Working CommitteeA Committee consisting of few local representatives has beenconstituted to monitor and execute this project with the help of thevarious sub-committees constituted to look after the variety of works.Conference Programme - TentativeThe programme shall continue for five days with an inauguralsession, a valedictory session and eight academic sessions which will bedivided into many more sub-sessions depending upon the number ofpapers.There shall be five cultural programmes in the evenings. The programmeisfixed tentatively to July 2005. The seminar papers will be published in4volumes.Style-Sheet for Contributors1. The total number of pages of research papers shall vary from 15 to45depending upon the data available and the nature ofinterpretationsrequired.2. Manuscripts should be submitted in duplicate. They must be typedorprinted on one side only; double-spaced with sufficient margins onallsides to facilitate editing and styling. All notes should also be typedorprinted double-spaced.3. Notes should be consecutively numbered and presented at the end ofthepaper.4. Lengthy quotations should start on a separate line and beindented;shorter quotations should run into the text withsinglequotation marks.5. Citations from archival sources must specify the archivallocationincluding the town and country where an archive is located. Incaseof recorded oral material, the location of the recording shouldbespecified. In other cases, the name and location of the oralinformantshould be clearly stated. For inscriptions, the title of the volumewithpublication details should be mentioned. For other details kindlyfollowthe "M.L.A. Handbook for Writers of Research Paper". (fifth edition)or"Writing Research Papers - A guide" by James. D. Lister.This Conference is organised jointly by theInstituteof Asian Studies, Chennai, India, The Centre for the Study ofChristianLiterature and Culture in Indian Languages (CSCLC), Chennai, India, andfewother academic centres of advanced research in other countries. Formoreinformations about the Institute of Asian Studies and the CSCLCvisitxlweb.com/heritage/asian and www.csclc.org.For further details on the Conference, please contact:Dr. G. John SamuelFounder-Director,Institute of Asian Studies,Chemmancherry, Sholinganallur P.O.Institute of Asian Studies home page India Matrimony: Find your life partner online. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 17, 2004 Report Share Posted November 17, 2004 There are many books on inquisition in goa which will show the true colors of the so called people.Do read them and publicize them,the so called move by these people will fail. -- In vediculture, Vrin Parker <vrinparker> wrote: > wagle@m... wrote:Fw: Missionary attempts to distort Indian History > vrinparker, > kavindra@t... > wagle@m... > Mon, 8 Nov 2004 16:38:45 -0500 > > Dear Vrin and Jeffrey, > Could you pls forward this to other members of Vedic Friends? By the way, I > have still not received a response to my application to become a member of > VFA. > This situation with the Missionaries conference next year is scary!! Any > thoughts as to how we can counter this move on their part? > ================================================= > > ----- Forwarded by Sharad Wagle/HNH on 11/08/2004 04:30 PM ----- > > Sharad Wagle/HNH > > 11/08/2004 04:30 To > PM indicjournalists > cc > indicjournalists > Subject > Re: Missionary attempts to distort > Indian History(Document link: > Sharad Wagle) > > > > > The event planned for 2005 mentioned in the announcement below is a part > of what has been going on as a massive organized and well funded program > to rewrite history, so as to show that Hinduism was derived from early > Christianity. > > Stage 1 of making Hinduism illegitimate was to show that Hinduism > originated in British colonial times. But many items could not be > explained > as they were earlier. Stage 2 was to show that these came from islam - > such > as bhakti. > > Stage 3 is now to go even deeper and show how early Christianity brought > even those aspects that Muslims or British did not. > > A scholar in charge of the 15 volume Mahabharata project of which half > the volumes are done already, made the statement that Gita should be > dated at around 5th century CE. (This in my opinion gives them enough > time to make it fit into the Christian origins of Gita.) He said that > Gita was grafted into what was a violence prone religion, just to make > Mahabharata look mild and ethical. This is far more insidious than the > Aryan invasion theory. > > So the strategy is grand and long term. Look at the way mentioned in the > announcement they have divided into teams with plans etc. Look at the > list > of topics at the end into which they organized the work to be done. THEY > MEAN BUSINESS. They do have enormous library archives as Christian > institutions took control over most documents and never returned them. > Access is also limited to insiders in many instances and/or at very > heavy > fees which Indian scholars cannot afford. > > In contrast with clarity of purpose and concreteness of plans, Hindus > scholars (the very few that are there) are lost in nostalgia and > chauvinist > optimism about 5,000 years old invincibility via mantras, and other > lofty > baloney. > > The role of the Indian Government over the years or at least its > complicity is horrifying. The institute named below which is doing this > is The Institute of Asian Studies. It is affiliated to the University of > Madras and to Pondicherry University for conducting research programmes > leading to Ph.D. degrees and is recognized by the University Grants > Commission of the Government of India. > > WHY IS THERE NO PUBLIC INTEREST LITIGATION IN INDIA TO FORCE THE > GOVERNMENT TO ENSURE EQUAL ACCESS BY OPPOSING SCHOLARS TO ALL THE > ARCHIVAL DOCUMENTS THESE MISSIONARIES WILL UTILIZE? WHY NOT A MECHANISM > TO LEVEL THE PLAYING FIELD AT THIS NASCENT STAGE? > > Please suggest ways to counter and put a full stop to this missionary > attempt to distort Indian History. > > There is no integrated set up to defend Hindus at the level of > conferences, seminars and proceedings, where much is done by the enemies > of > Hinduism . > > Missionaries have a corporate set up, and are able to organise > themselves. > Now they are carrying the distortion into the heart of American > financial > capital - New York . > > > Please visit www hamsa.org first - to have full grasp of the subject > > http://www.xlweb.com/heritage/asian/christianity-conference.htm > > > > FIRST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE / SEMINAR ON THE HISTORY OF EARLY > CHRISTIANITY IN INDIA > > > (From the advent of St. Thomas to Vasco de Gama) > > > (13th - 16th August 2005 in New York) > > > The history of Christianity in India is traceable to the > advent > of St. Thomas soon after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. But this has > been > a subject of controversy for a long time owing to lack of > documentary > evidences. Now, we are able to get lot of evidences both internal > and > external to testify to the existence early Christianity in India from > the > period of St. Thomas. > > History in early India is different from history as > conceived > in Europe and other countries. There was no pure historical document in > India with chronological details and whatever is available as ancient > historical documents are a blending of historical facts with fictional > elements. Literatures were the main sources for reconstructing history > and > they were not very particular in documenting facts as they were but in > depicting facts as the author of the text interpreted in his own > impressionistic way. Consequently, there are lot of mythicization in the > so-called historical materials and any attempt to demythicize them will > sometime leads to distortion of history. > > > There are two important views about the origin of > Christianity > in India ; One holds that Christianity came to India through the works > of > the apostles St. Thomas & 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 a very concrete tradition supported by lot of > 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, even though there > are > still some others who deny this claim. St. Ephrem composed hymns > glorifying St.Thomas whose relics were being venerated in a shrine at > Edizza where this great Syrian poet - theologian was living. > > > Another work namely The Teaching of the Apostles in > Syriac > (Didascalia) also speaks about 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 not able to come across 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 few other scholars deny the > advent of Bartholomew to India and according to them, Jerome would have > mistaken Ethiopia to India. But scholars like A.C. Perumalil and G.M. > Moraes proved the otherwise. According to them, Bombay region on the > Konkan coast 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 South Indian tradition about St. Thomas is preserved in > an > oral tradition and in the tradition about St. Thomas Christians who > claim > their Christian origin from St. Thomas. Historians consider the > Coromandal > tradition of St. Thomas as very ancient to the Malabar tradition. The > Malabar tradition about St. Thomas is comparatively later 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 is not contradicting with > any > other tradition. The Coromondal tradition centres on Mylapore where the > tomb of the apostle is pointed out. Marcopolo, the Venetian travellor, > visited the tomb in A.D.1295 and no rival tradition has contradicted > this > tradition. It is said that the Christians of Malabar enjoyed peace > during > the early centuries and they were supported by Non-Christian rulers. > There > is a tradition that St. Thomas conferred priesthood in the members of > certain families in Malabar. > > > The Early Christian community in India is alleged to > have > suffered decline in due course and it was constituted by groups > of > Christians who came from Persia and hence there were close > relationship > between Christianity in India and the Early Church of Persia. > The > Chronicle of Seert, an important East Syrian document of 7th century > AD > makes reference to a Bishop namely David who evangelised the Indian > people > between 250 - 300 AD. In the list of the 325 Bishops who attended > the > Nicaean Council is mentioned one John of Persian, who, according to > the > History of Gelasius, was bishop of the whole of Persia and Greater > India. > > > Many groups of East Syrian Christians are often mentioned > as > 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 whether recorded by the Portugese > or > local accounts, is always careful to distinguish Thomas, the Apostle > from > Thomas of Cana. > > > Somehow or other, East Syrian Church was looked upon by > the > Portugese in 16th C. AD. and by some western missionary with > suspicion. > They accused the Thomas Christians of fallen into the heresy > of > Nestorianism which the Thomas Christians vehemently deny. > > > Christianity in the Tamilnadu during this phase of > early > history was a very potential 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. > > > Anyhow, we are able to understand that Christianity was > deeply > rooted in the Indian milieu, thanks to the works of proselytism by men > of > eminence starting from St. Thomas. But most of the records have been > lost > or destroyed and Christianity might have underwent lot of sea- changes > owing > to many a time of adversity faced by it. It has left its strong impact > on > the other religions of India ; it was instrumental for the emergence > 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 indeed marvelous. The Early Indian > Christianity, > which was a part and parcel of the ancient oriental Christianity, gave > strength and vigour to Indian culture and Indian ethos in > multifarious > ways. The deep impact exerted by the early Christianity in the early > Indian ethos was indeed tremendous although its physical presence was > not > very glamourous today as it was shrouded by the misinterpretations and > misrepresentations of the later historians of this country. > > > The aim of the present conference is to establish the > existence > of early Christianity in Indian soil with objective and well > documented > evidences and to study its strong impact on medieval and classical > India > until the advent of Vasco de Gama whose epoch - making visit > inaugurated a > new chapter in the cultural, and political history of this great > nation. > 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 to day is a wholesome and complete > view > of the Indian culture with objective assessment of the internal as well > as > external evidences and balanced presentation of facts. We are sure > that > this conference will throw new light not only on the early Christianity > of > India but also to help to reconstruct the history of India as a whole. > > Proposed Topics - Tentative > > > 1. History of Christianity in India - Problems and Perspectives > 2. Advent of St. Thomas. > 3. Land and Sea-routes of the early Christian Missionaries > 4. The countries from where Christian Missionaries came and the > geographical areas of their activities. > 5. Early Christianity and the important sea-ports of India > 6. Early Christian activities in India - An overview > 7. Early Christians in Tamilnadu > 8. Early Christians and Sangam Tamil Society. > 9. Early Christianity with special reference to Canron in Sangam > Literature > and Thirukkural. > 10. Early Christians in Malabar. > 11. Early Christians in North India. > 12. Early Christian Missionaries and Martyrs. > 13. The External History of Early Christianity - An overview > 14. Advent of St. Bartholomew > 15. Foreign Records on St. Bartholomew. > 16. Apocrypha & early Christianity in India > 17. Acts of St. Thomas > 18. Gospel of St. Thomas > 19. St. Thomas and the North Indian king Gondabarus. > 20. Early Christianity and Yavanar (Greeks - North India) > 21. Early Christianity and Yavanar (Romans - South India) > 23. Early Christianity and Yavanar (Jews and Syrians) > 23. The Churches established by St. Thomas > 24. St.Thomas - Santhome and Mylapore > 25. Mylapore and Christianity > 26. Tirukkural and Christianity > 27. Inscriptions in St. Thomas Mount. > 28. An objective assessment of the various traditions on St. Thomas > 29. Christianity and its impact on earlier indigenous texts > 30. Early Christianity and Oral traditions > 31. Linguistic evidences > 32. Excavations etc. > 33. Christianity and the origin of Sanskrit. > 34. Christianity and Indian Myths. > 35. Christianity and Early Indian literature. > 36. Christianity and Indian Theology. > 37. Early Indian Christianity- Numismatic evidences. > 38. Early Indian Christianity- Iconographic evidences. > 39. Early Indian Christianity- Epigraphic evidences. > 40. Thomas of Cana and Syriac traditions > 41. Nestorians and Syrian Christians > 42. Foreign Records on Early Christianity - An overview > 43. Hebrew > 44. Greek > 45. Syriac > 46. Ethiopic > 47. Arabic > 48. Persian > 49. Latin > 50. Coptic > 51. Spanish > 52. Italian > 53. Armenian > 54. Sanskrit > 55. Records in other languages > 56. Characteristic features of Early Christianity > 57. Other foreign reports on Medieval Christianity > 58. Marcopolo's report about Christianity in Mylapore. > 59. Divisions and Denominations in Early Christianity. > 60. Early Christianity and Native Culture - An overview > 61. Buddhism and Christianity > 62. Christ versus Krishna - concepts and mythmaking > 63. The second coming of Christ and Maitreya Buddha > 64. Christianity and Bodhisatva > 65. Impact of Trinity in Hinduism > 66. Christianity and Saktham > 67. Christianity and Saivism > 68. Christianity and Vaishnavism > 69. Christianity and Kaumaram > 70. Christianity and Ganapathyam > 71. Christianity and Sowram > 72. Christianity and the Brahmasutra. > 73. Christianity and the Bhagavat Gita > 74. Christianity and the Six Dharshanas. > 75. Christianity and Advaida. > 76. Christianity and Vedanta. > 77. Christianity and Agamas. > 78. Christianity and the Upanishads. > 79. Christianity and the Ithihasas. > 80. Christianity and the Siddhar Movement. > 81. Impact of Christianity in devotional literature > 82. Marriage metaphor in Indian Literature. > 83. The theme of suffering in Job and Harichandra. > 84. Bible and the Oriental images. > 85. Oriental themes and expressions in the Bible > 86. Mode of worship among early Christians > 87. Liturgy and devotional literature in early Christianity > 88. Shared features of early Indian Christianity with the Oriental > Christianity in other parts of Asia. > 89. Impact of Early Christianity on Indian life - An overview. > 90. Culture > 91. Art and Architecture > 92. Performing Arts > 93. Folk traditions > 94. Literature > 95. Language > 96. Royal patronage for Christianity > 97. Christianity and Indian Political history > 98. Christianity and Indian Social history. > 99. Early Christianity in other parts of Asia. > 100. Dilution and Corruption in Early Indian Christianity. > 101. Restoration of Early Indian Christianity. > 102. Symbols of Early Indian Christianity. > 103. Roots of Sikkhism and Early Indian Christianity. > 104. Early Christianity in Kerala. > 105. St. Thomas Christians in the Context of Indian Culture. > > > Execution of the Project > > There shall be three 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. > > I. International Advisory Committee > > A committee consisting of 12 scholars of international > repute > may be constituted to offer guidelines on the methodology, thematic > treatment and in editing the papers. > > II. International Organising Committee > > A Committee consisting of 12 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. > > III. 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 five 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 five cultural programmes in the evenings. The programme > is > fixed tentatively to July 2005. The seminar papers will be published in > 4 > volumes. > > Style-Sheet for Contributors > > 1. The total number of pages of research papers shall vary 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. > > This Conference is organised jointly by the > Institute > of Asian Studies, Chennai, India, The Centre for the Study of > Christian > Literature and Culture in Indian Languages (CSCLC), Chennai, India, and > few > other academic centres of advanced research in other countries. For > more > informations about the Institute of Asian Studies and the CSCLC > visit > xlweb.com/heritage/asian and www.csclc.org. > > For further details on the Conference, please contact: > > Dr. G. John Samuel > Founder-Director, > Institute of Asian Studies, > Chemmancherry, Sholinganallur P.O. > > Institute of Asian Studies home page > India Matrimony: Find your life partneronline. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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