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Portuguese missionaries arrive
Begin Latinization and European influence -
Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reaches India.
Impact: Marks the beginning of major European influence, which strengthened and expanded Christian institutions. -
Jesuit missionary Francis Xavier comes to India as a papal ambassador.
Impact: Begins widespread missionary work, baptism, and the establishment of early schools and churches. -
Latin Church enforces its rules
Ancient Indian Christian customs condemned
Syriac manuscripts destroyed.
Archbishop Menezes of Goa forces Latin customs on the St. Thomas Christians and suppresses Indian and East-Syrian traditions -
Stephen Caella and John Cabral were two Jesuits that visited Kamrup, Assam. This was the earliest Catholic presence. There was little to no long-term impact because no mission was permanently established.
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His nephew, Thomas, becomes the leader of the St. Thomas Christians
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St. Thomas Christians rebel against Portuguese authority
Major split in the community
After rumors that the Chaldean bishop Ahatallah was drowned
Thousands swear not to accept Portuguese rule
Archdeacon Thomas was declared bishop by 12 priests -
A bishop sent by the Jacobite patriarch arrives in Kerala
Introduced the West Syriac (Antiochene) liturgy -
Small groups of missionaries and travelers pass through Assam, but they do not create permanent missions. Christianity does not spread widely yet, but contact increases slowly.
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Mar Thoma IV sent a petition to Rome
Requested reunion and permission to keep traditional practices (like leavened bread) -
German Lutheran missionaries begin work in South India.
Impact: Start Christian education in both local languages and English; print early Tamil-language books. -
Another petition is sent requesting unity and withdrawal of the Portuguese bishop
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Catholic missionaries are visiting areas of Assam more often while traveling to Tibet and Bengal. These early contacts help prepare the region for large-scale missions