St. Francis Church & Santa Cruz Basilica -

Cherished Icons of Kochi’s

Christian Heritage

By Ammini Ramachandran


Christos e espiciarias! (For Christ and spices!) cheered the exuberant sailors of Vasco da Gama’s fleet when they anchored on the southwestern shores of India. Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama symbolized the emergence of the colonial era as he led an expedition of four ships through uncharted waters is search of spices. It is amazing that commodities sought for their qualities to season and preserve food, would become so directly associated with the message of Jesus Christ. However, the proselytizing part was disappointingly uncalled for: there were already plenty of Christians living on Kerala coast - Syrian Christians were a well established and flourishing community in Kerala for centuries.

The introduction of Christianity and the history of the Christian church in Kerala, just as the history of the Kerala Jews, is buried in obscurity. According to tradition, Apostle St. Thomas introduced Christianity and established the original church in Kerala in the year 52 A.D. He is said to have arrived at Kodungallor (the flourishing port of ancient times) and founded seven churches and eight bishoprics. From the 9th through 13th centuries many more Christians came from the Middle East for trade. Christian trade guilds were very powerful; Anjuvannam and Manigramam being the two most powerful guilds. The influx western Christians continued.

Centuries after St. Thomas’s arrival, and two years after Vasco da Gama’s landing, on a balmy and beautiful Christmas Eve, on December 24th 1500 A.D. to be exact, Gasper da Gama hastily navigated a fleet of Portuguese ships under the command of Admiral Pedro Alvarez Cabral to the shores of Kochi. In early December of 1500 A.D., a bitter fight for spices between the Arab traders of Calicut and the newly arrived Portuguese turned the Arabian Sea into a battlefield. The Portuguese found themselves surrounded by vengeful enemies in a hostile and belligerent atmosphere. They were eagerly looking for a helping hand, a friendly land along the coast, where they could find assistance and a regular supply of spices......more>