Saint Thomas Christian cross

{{Short description|Ancient cross}} {{Use Indian English|date=October 2015}} {{Use dmy dates|date=October 2015}} {{Nasrani people}} {{Christianity in India sidebar}}

thumb|alt=Digital representation of the Saint Thomas Cross

'''Mar Thoma Sleeha (Saint Thomas Cross)''' or simply '''Mar Sleeva''' are ancient crosses associated with the community of Indian subcontinent, who trace their origins to the evangelism of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century CE. The Saint Thomas Christians, which is one of the oldest Christian communities of the world,<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=lZUBZlth2qgC&q=Muziris ''The Encyclopedia of Christianity, Volume 5''] by Erwin Fahlbusch. Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing - 2008. p. 285. {{ISBN|978-0-8028-2417-2}}.</ref><ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=qhKGPprbQaYC&q=St.+Thomas ''The Jews of India: A Story of Three Communities''] by Orpa Slapak. The Israel Museum, Jerusalem. 2003. p. 27. {{ISBN|965-278-179-7}}.</ref><ref>Cf. The first dozen articles in the ''St Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India'', Vol. II,1973, Ed George Menachery</ref> survive in the Malabar region in state of Kerala, India and have a diaspora in other parts of the Indian subcontinent. The crosses are also associated with the Knanaya community of Kerala. Saint Thomas Christian crosses are known as '''Mar Thoma Sleeva''' (Saint Thomas cross),<ref name="Saint Thomas cross">''Vazhuthanapally, ”Archaeology of Mar Sliba”''.</ref> '''Indian cross''',<ref name="O'Flynn2017">{{cite book |last1=O'Flynn |first1=Donnel |title=Holy Cross, Life-Giving Tree |date=2017 |publisher=Church Publishing, Inc. |isbn=978-0-8192-3368-4 |page=74}}</ref> or '''Persian Cross''' in English, as well as '''''Nasrani Sthambam''''' in Malabarese.

''Mar Thoma Sleeva'' are found at Kadamattom, Muttuchira, Kothanalloor, Kottayam, Pallippuram and Alangad in the South Indian state of Kerala. Saint Thomas Christian Crosses have been also found in other parts of the Indian subcontinent, such as Agacaim (Goa), St Thomas Mount (Tamil Nadu), Anuradhapura (Ceylon), Taxila (Pakistan),<ref name="nasrani.net">{{cite web |date= 29 February 2008 |publisher=Nasrani.net |url=http://nasrani.net/2008/02/29/analogical-review-on-st-thomas-cross-the-symbol-of-nasranis/ |title=Analogical review on Saint Thomas Cross - The symbol of Nasranis-Interpretation of the Inscriptions }}</ref> and in Baltistan.<ref name="Pamir2020">{{cite web |title=A huge "Cross" is found in the highlands of Kavardo mountains in Pakistan's Baltistan region |url=https://pamirtimes.net/2020/06/14/a-huge-cross-is-found-in-the-highlands-of-kavardo-mountains-in-pakistans-baltistan-region/ |work=Pamir Times|access-date=5 September 2020 |language=en |date=14 June 2020 |quote=He further calls the Kovardo cross as 'a typical Thomanian Cross of India' and is astonished by the size of it.}}</ref> Floriated Indian crosses are found at Kottakkavu, Pallipuram and Niranam.<ref name="Stone Crosses of Kerala"/> The large open-air rock crosses known as ''Nasrani Sthambams'' are found on the facades of many Thomasine Churches. Before the arrival of Portuguese explorers,{{When|date=February 2024|reason=When did the Portuguese explorers arrive? Maybe add a wikilink to a page about it if there is one?}} there were more than 150 Syriac churches in Malabar/Kerala.<ref name= "William Logan ">Malabar Manual by William Logan - 1996 published by Asian Educational Services</ref>

==Etymology== Mar Thoma Sleeva (also written as Mar Thoma Slīva) is a Syriac-language term which means Saint Thomas cross.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Antony |first=M. T. |year=2011 |title=Saint Thomas Cross: A Religio-Cultural Logo of Saint Thomas Christians |url=https://www.nasrani.net/2010/10/09/saint-thomas-cross-a-religio-cultural-logo-of-saint-thomas-christians |journal=The Way of Life, A Festschrift in Honour of Prof. Dr Varghese Pathikulangara, CMI |publisher=Denha Services Publications |pages=237–270 |isbn=978-93-81207-00-0 |via=NSC Network}}</ref> alt=Vector illustration of Mar Thoma Sleeva or Saint Thomas Cross|thumb|Vector illustration of Mar Thoma Sleeva or Saint Thomas Cross Antonio Gouvea states in his 16th-century work ''Jornada'' that the old churches of Saint Thomas Christians were full of crosses of the type discovered at S. Thome (Mylapore).<ref name="ReferenceA">Antonio Gouvea, ''Jornada of Dom Alexis de Menezes''</ref> He also states that veneration of the cross is an old custom in Malabar. ''Jornada'' is the oldest known written document which calls the cross ''cross from (of) Sam Thome (Mylapore). ''The original phrase used is ''Cruz de Sam Thome'', meaning "Cross of (from) St. Thomas". For this reason, it can also mean "Cross from Sam Thome", where Mylapore is equivalent to ''Sam Thomé'', the name that the given by the Portuguese to the city of Mylapore. Gouvea also writes about the veneration of the Cross at Cranganore (Kodungallur), mentioning it as Cross of Christians''.<ref name="ReferenceA" />''

== Locations ==

Mar Thoma Sleeva can be found at the following locations:

{| class="wikitable" style="width: 95%;" |- ! colspan="5" style="background-color: #7F1734; color: white;" | The crosses are at the following locations:<ref name="nasrani.net"/> |- ! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 1%;" | Sl. no. ! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 6%;" | Location ! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 20%;" | Preserved at ! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 40%;" | Image ! style="background-color: #D4B1BB; width: 33%;" | Notes

|- valign="top" style="background-color: white;" | style="text-align: center;" | 3 | style="text-align: center;" | Kottayam, Kerala | style="text-align: center;" |'''Saint Mary's Knanaya Valiyapalli''' |thumb|Persian Cross Dated Between the 7-8th Century (Left Altar) - Kottayam Knanaya Valiyapally |Believed to have originally been exhibited at the churches built by the merchant Knai Thoma in Kodungallur. Later moved to Kaduthuruthy Knanaya Church due to the destruction of the Knanaya settlement of Kodungallur in a battle between the Kingdom of Kozhikode and the Kingdom of Kochi in 1524. Finally moved to St. Mary's Knanaya Church Kottayam at its erection in 1550 CE.

The left altar cross was dated between the 7th and 8th century by Assyriologist C.P.T Winkworth in 1928.

|- valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;" | style="text-align: center;" | 4 | style="text-align: center;" | Kottayam, Kerala | style="text-align: center;" |'''Saint Mary's Knanaya Valiyapalli''' | 150px|thumb|Persian Cross Dated to the 10th Century (Right Altar) - Kottayam Knanaya Valiyapallythumb|Persian Cross Dated to the 10th Century (Right Altar) - Kottayam Knanaya Valiyapally |Believed to have originally been exhibited at the churches built by the merchant Knai Thoma in Kodungallur. Later moved to Kaduthuruthy Knanaya Church due to the destruction of the Knanaya settlement of Kodungallur in a battle between the Kingdom of Kozhikode and the Kingdom of Kochi in 1524. Finally moved to St. Mary's Knanaya Church Kottayam at its erection in 1550 CE.

The right altar cross was dated to the 10th century by Assyriologist C.P.T. Winkworth in 1928.

|- valign="top" style="background-color: white;" | style="text-align: center;" | 7 | style="text-align: center;" | Kothanalloor, Kerala |style="text-align: center;" | '''St Gervasis and Prothasis Church'''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.kothanalloorchurch.org/ |title=kothanalloorchurch.org |access-date=8 November 2010 |archive-date=28 September 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070928161238/http://www.kothanalloorchurch.org/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> | |Under Syro-Malabar Catholic Eparchy of Palai.

|- valign="top" style="background-color: #F7F0F2;" | style="text-align: center;" | 8 | style="text-align: center;" | Agasaim, Goa | style="text-align: center;" |'''Pilar Seminary Museum''' | | |- valign="top" style="background-color: white;" | style="text-align: center;" | 9 | style="text-align: center;" | Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka | style="text-align: center;" |'''Anuradhapura museum''' | |This cross is considered to be the oldest cross in Sri Lanka. It was found in 1912 during excavations of Anuradhapura. |}

Other similar crosses: * Xi'an, China. On the Xi'an Stele (also known as the "Nestorian Stele"), erected in 781, there is a cross rising from a lotus, surrounded by a pair of symmetrical clouds. The lotus consists of seven petals, and two branches with flowers are depicted on either side of the main pattern. At the top of the cross is a glowing flame motif (similar to the dove above the cross in the case of the St. Thomas crosses).<ref>{{cite thesis |last=Zhou |first=Yixing |date=2020 |title=Studies on Nestorian Iconology in China and part of Central Asia during the 13th and 14th Centuries |pages=113-114}}</ref><ref>Plates 34a, 34b. {{cite book |last1=Gillman |last2=Klimkeit |first1=Ian |first2=Hans-Joachim |date=1999 |title=Christians in Asia before 1500 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=0-7007-1022-1}}</ref> 250px|thumb|Taxila Cross at Lahore Cathedral * Taxila, Pakistan. It is a very small cross that found in a field near the ancient city Sirkap near Taxila. The cross is kept at the Cathedral Church of the Resurrection, Lahore.<ref>Picture and description in the ''St Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India'', Ed. George Menachery, Vol.I, 1982 in article Christianity in Pakistan by Bishop Young,</ref><ref name="taxila_cross_1984">{{cite book|url=http://www.pcbcsite.org/?page_id=58|title=Shadows in the Dark (Pakistan Christian History Monograph No. 1)|last=Rooney M.H.M|first=Fr. John|publisher=Christian Study Center, Rawalpindi|year=1984|pages=42–45|url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318114524/http://www.pcbcsite.org/?page_id=58|archive-date=18 March 2012|df=dmy-all}}</ref> However, experts point out that the cross shares only one characteristic with other St Thomas crosses: mostly equilateral, with arms of equal length. They claim that the Christian antiquity of this cross cannot be conclusively proven, as the same characteristic is also observed in pre-Christian Buddhist crosses and Swastika-variants found in the region, and even in Greek crosses.<ref name="taxila_cross_1984"/><ref name="expresstribune_2011">{{Cite news|url=https://tribune.com.pk/story/307594/taxila-cross/|title=Taxila Cross - The Express Tribune|date=2011-12-16| first=Salman| last=Rashid| work=The Express Tribune|access-date=2017-12-23|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://odysseuslahori.blogspot.com/2014/07/TaxilaCross.html|first=Salman| last=Rashid|title=Taxila Cross|access-date=2017-12-23|date=2014-07-05}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://odysseuslahori.blogspot.com/2013/03/st-thomas-in-taxila.html|first=Salman| last=Rashid|title=St Thomas in Taxila|access-date=2017-12-23|date=2013-03-10}}</ref> * An Indian cross is depicted on the rock-piece at the front of the Parur (North) church, first published in the ''St Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India'', Vol.II, 1973, Ed. George Menachery. * There is a St Thomas cross in stone on the porch of the Church of St Thomas the Apostle, Killinghall, carved by Charles Mawer of Leeds.<ref>See image: :File:St Thomas Killinghall 667.JPG</ref>

===Interpretation of the inscriptions=== In 1873, an archaeologist named Arthur Coke translated the inscriptions as follows: ::"In punishment by the cross (was) the suffering of this one; ::He who is the true christ, and God above and Guide ever pure."<ref>''On some Pahlavī inscriptions in South India'' (1873) by Arthur Coke Burnell, page 11</ref>

F. C. Burkitt and C. P. T. Winckworth, the then-reader of Assyriology in the University of Cambridge, studied the inscriptions and produced a translation, which was then discussed at the 1925 International Congress of Orientalists at Oxford.{{Citation needed|date=February 2024|reason=Contradiction: The wikilinked page claims there was no congress held at Oxford in 1925, and that it was held in 1928.}}

The interpretation is as follows:

::"My Lord Christ, have mercy upon Afras son of Chaharbukht the Syrian, who cut this (or, who caused this to be cut)."<ref>The Journal of Theological studies (1929), P-241, NSC Network (2007)</ref> On the large cross, there is this additional sentence in Estrangelo Syriac. (Galatians 6:14) ::"May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ."

The inscription at Kadamattom church when translated is,

::"I, the beautiful bird of Nineveh has come to this land. Written by me Shapper, who was saved by the Holy Messiah from misery."

===Symbolism of Mar Thoma Sleeva=== Unlike crosses in other traditions, the St Thomas cross does not carry the effigy of the Christ. In addition to this unique quality, each of its elements carry symbolic meanings. Generally the Cross symbolizes life rather than death and suffering.<ref name= "TheNazrani ">{{cite web |publisher=Thenazrani.org |url=http://thenazrani.org/cross.htm |title=St Thomas Cross |access-date=25 August 2008 |archive-date=4 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204063209/http://www.thenazrani.org/cross.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> *Lacking the effigy of Jesus, the St Thomas cross presages the discovery of the empty tomb, glorifying the Resurrection of Jesus.<ref name="Stone Crosses of Kerala">{{cite web |date=16 January 2007 |url=http://nasrani.net/2007/01/16/ancient-stone-crosses-of-kerala-saint-thomas-cross-nazraney-sthambams-persian-crosses/ |title=Stone Crosses of Kerala |publisher=Nasrani.net }}</ref> *The four edges of the cross are floral in shape, symbolizing fruition and life from the tree of life. * The lotus flower beneath the cross is a symbol of Buddhism and India. A cultural adaptation of local imagery, the cross fixed on the lotus would symbolize Christianity in India in the first century. *The three steps below the Cross represent Golgotha, symbolically referring to the death of Jesus, also the three decks of the Ark and the ascent to Mt. Sinai. *Finally, the dove above the cross represents the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Holy Trinity according to the Christian tradition. It is this spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and bestows gifts upon the Church's faithful.

==Stone crosses of Kerala== {{multiple image | border = infobox | total_width = 500 | image_style = border:2; | perrow = 2 | image1 = | caption1 = Niranam Persian Cross | image2 = | caption2 = Pallippuram Persian cross was initially established at Gokkamangalam, in a deluge it was lost, later it was found at Mattel, Pallippuram | align = right }} 200px|thumb|Kottakavu North Paravur Mar Thoma Sleeva founded by Mar Sabor and Mar Aphroth

Kottakkavu Mar Thoma Syro-Malabar Church, North Paravur and St Mary's Syro-Malabar Forane Church, Pallipuram under the Major Archeparchy of Ernakulam-Ankamaly of the Syro Malabar Church and St Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church, Niranam under the Niranam diocese of the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church have the ancient, floriated Saint Thomas Christian crosses.<ref name="Stone Crosses of Kerala"/>

==Nasrani Sthambam== Nasrani Sthambams are giant open-air stone crosses.<ref name="menachery">Rock Crosses of Kerala, by George Menachery, 2000</ref> The plinths of these crosses represent lotus petals and lotus flowers, and they have square bases. They have various iconographic motifs, including elephants, peacocks and other animals.<ref>Rock objects in Kerala Churches, in George Menachery, Glimpses of Nazraney Heritage, SARAS, Ollur, 2005</ref> These crosses are found in Puthenchira, Parappukkara, Veliyanad, Kalpparambu, Angamaly, Kanjoor, Malayattoor, Udayamperoor, Kuravilangad, Uzhavoor, Chungam, Kaduthuruthy, Muthalakodam, Muttuchira, Kudamaloor, Niranam, Arakuzha, Kothamangalam, Chengannur, Thumpamon, Chathannur and many other places.<ref name= "Menachery ">Menachery, George. "Rock Crosses of Kerala". 2007.</ref><ref>George Menachery, Indian Church History Classics Vol.I "The Nazranies", Ollur, 1998. It has photos of dozens of Rock Crosses</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Plaza Crosses of St. Thomas Christians |url=https://www.sahapedia.org/plaza-crosses-of-st-thomas-christians |access-date=2022-04-06 |website=Sahapedia |language=en}}</ref>

==See also== * Nestorian cross

==References== {{Reflist}}

==External links== {{Commons category|Saint Thomas Christian cross}}

* {{cite web |url=http://thenazrani.org/cross.htm |title=St Thomas cross |access-date=25 August 2008 |archive-date=4 December 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161204063209/http://www.thenazrani.org/cross.htm |url-status=dead }} * {{cite web|url=http://nasrani.net/2008/02/29/analogical-review-on-st-thomas-cross-the-symbol-of-nasranis/ |title=Analogical review on St Thomas cross- The symbol of Nasranis|date=29 February 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101012062332/http://nasrani.net/2010/10/09/saint-thomas-cross-a-religio-cultural-logo-of-saint-thomas-christians/|archive-date=October 12, 2010|url-status=live}} * {{cite web|author=Antony Dr.Martin Thomas|url=http://nasrani.net/2010/10/09/saint-thomas-cross-a-religio-cultural-logo-of-saint-thomas-christians/#more-849|title= Saint Thomas Cross- A Religio Cultural Symbol Of Saint Thomas Christians|date=June 14, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200324042547/https://www.nasrani.net/2010/10/09/saint-thomas-cross-a-religio-cultural-symbol-of-saint-thomas-christians/|archive-date=March 24, 2020|url-status=live}} * {{cite web|url=http://www.indianchristianity.com/html/NewsDigest.htm|title= Menanchery article on Rock crosses of Kerala|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071102163747/http://www.indianchristianity.com/html/NewsDigest.htm|archive-date= 2 November 2007}} * {{cite web|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2003/12/25/fea08.html |title=Daily News report on Crosses in Sri Lanka|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930030731/http://www.dailynews.lk/2003/12/25/fea08.html|archive-date=30 September 2007}} * {{cite web|url=http://nasrani.net/2007/01/16/ancient-stone-crosses-of-kerala-saint-thomas-cross-nazraney-sthambams-persian-crosses/ |title=Stone Crosses of Kerala|date=15 January 2007 }}

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