St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica, Chennai

San Thome Church, officially known as St Thomas Cathedral Basilica and National Shrine of Saint Thomas, is a minor basilica of the Catholic Church in India, at the Santhome neighbourhood of Chennai, in Tamil Nadu.

Quotes

• The identification of the tomb discovered by the Portuguese as that of St Thomas has been thoroughly repudiated even by those scholars who are sympathetic to the Thomas legend. For example, Jesuit archeologist Fr H. Heras writes: 'Some early Portuguese writers have kept the details of the original account, and these details are quite enough for disclosing the untruthfulness of the discovery'. Another Christian scholar, T.K. Joseph, states with regard to the burial place of Thomas: 'I am fully convinced that it has never been in Mylapore. I have stated that many times'.
  • H. Heras in Neill, Stephen. History of Christianity in India: The Beginning to AD 1707. 2004: Cambridge University Press, 2004., Jospeh, T.K. Six St Thomases of South India: A Muslim Non-Martyr (Thawwama) Made Martyr After 1517 A.D. Bharatha Deepam Press, 1955. Quoted from Malhotra, R., Nīlakantan, A. (Princeton, N.J.). (2011). Breaking India: Western interventions in Dravidian and Dalit faultlines

• From the artifacts discovered by archeologists at San Thome, one can infer that the temple should have existed elsewhere and most probably it existed at San Thome beach . . . because remnants of the old temple were discovered at San Thome beach. In 1923 when archeologists conducted excavations at San Thome cathedral they discovered inscriptions and statues. The inscriptions indicated a temple. [. . .] Saint Arunagiri Nathar also mentions that Kapaleeswara temple existed by the side of the beach. . . . Hence, in conclusion, one can state that the old Kapaleeswara temple was destroyed by Portuguese in the fifteenth century and was built in its present place by Nattu Nayiniappa Muthaliar and son in the sixteenth century.
  • Rajasekharan, S. ‘Mylapore pilgrimage center – a historical and literary stud’.1989. Quoted from Malhotra, R., Nīlakantan, A. (Princeton, N.J.). (2011). Breaking India: Western interventions in Dravidian and Dalit faultlines

• Archeological studies by the Government of India confirm that the Portuguese built the church on the ruins of a Hindu temple. They have recovered an inscription of Rajendra Chola, the Imperial Chola who was devoted to the Vedic religion. A 1967 report of the Archaeological Survey of India on the recovery of the eleventh-century inscription of Rajendra Chola from San Thome Church in Madras states that the inscription mentions the Chola king as favored by Lakshmi, 'who grants him victory and prosperity'.
  • Malhotra, R., Nīlakantan, A. (Princeton, N.J.). (2011). Breaking India: Western interventions in Dravidian and Dalit faultlines citing Tamil Nadu Archeological Survey, 1967.