e country.
Today, there are five distinct branches of Christianity in Kerala, the
Roman Catholic Church following either Syrian, Latin or Malayalam
liturgies, the Orthodox Syrian Church, the Mar Thomas Syrian Church, the
Church Of South India and the Nestorian Church.
The Arabs had a long relationship with Kerala, dating back to several
centuries, probably even before the Christain era. It was around the 8th
century AD that Islam came to Kerala from over the seas.
Legend has it that the last of the great monarchs of the Chera empire,
Cheraman Perumal, embraced Islam and set sail to Mecca. His conversion
served as a fillip to the spread of Islam in Kerala.
The Zamorins of Kozhikode also encouraged the Muslims. In later years,
the invasions of Hyder Ali and Tipu Sultan of Mysore spawned an increase
in the number of Muslims in north Kerala.
One of the pioneers of the Hindu renaissance was Sankaracharya or Adi
Sankara (7th century AD), who founded a school of Vedic studies. His
philosophy of 'Advait Vedanta' stressed the oneness of the individual
soul with the all pervading cosmic force, 'brahmin'.
Sankara's preaching combined the best of Hinduism and Buddhism. This
philosopher-saint set up 'mutts' (religious centres) in the four corners
of India, Badrinath in the northern Himalayas, Puri in the east, Dwarka
in the west and Sringeri in the south.
In effect, he laid the foundations of a cultural synthesis, which
constitutes the religious history of India. Since the Hindu gurus
imparted their philosophy in Sanskrit, the language of scholars, they
wielded little influence over the masses.
The saints and savants of the Bhakti cult, by popularising simple Hindu
devotional literature in local dialects, generated intense religious
enthusiasm among the masses and this eventually precipitated the decline
of Jainism and Buddhism in Kerala.
The Jew Of Kerala
The Jews reached Kerala in the 1st century AD they came to Muziris
fleeing the Pogroms in their homelands and settled in places like Parur
They became a prosperous trading community under the patronage of Hindu
rulers like Bhaskar Ravi Varman, whose grant of privileges can be seen
in the 1000 AD copper plated preserved in the Mattancherry Synanogue.
Under Portuguese duress, the Jews shifted to Kochi, where they
established the now famous Jew town. With the formation of Israel, most
of Jews in Kochi migrated home, leaving behind barely a hundred members
of the community.