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Introduction
The Brahmin roots of the St. Thomas Syrian (Syriac) Christians, or Nazranees, of south-west India or Malankara (former Travancore-Cochin-Malabar, present day Kerala) have been indicated in several publications; mention has been made, for example by S.G. Pothen in his book THE SYRIAN CHRISTIANS OF KERALA (Asia Publishing House, 1963), of several high caste families including several Brahmin families - notably the Kalli, Kaliankara, Sankarapuri, Madapoor, Vyampilli, Muttedal, Kottakara and Pakalomattam families - who accepted the Gospel from Apostle Thomas during his missionary work in south-west India in the first century. Perhaps less well known and less documented are the possible Hebrew (Jewish/Israelite) roots of this ancient Christian community.
Israelites) first and then to the Gentiles, and they must have been guided by this principle when they divided the known inhabited world among themselves for evangelization. According to the late Dr. T.V. Philip, distinguished Mar Thoma Church Historian and author of EAST OF THE EUPHRATES EARLY CHRISTIANITY IN ASIA (ISPCK & CSS, 1998), Apostle Thomas is believed to have carried out more than one missionary journey to the East, as Apostle Paul is known to have to the West. Since even St. Paul is reported to have gone first to the Jews (or Israelites) and then turned to the Gentiles, Apostle Thomas too would have followed this pattern of preaching the Gospel first to the lost sheep of Israel in the East. The difference perhaps was that Apostle Thomas may have received a more enthusiastic welcome from his Hebrew (Jewish/Israelite) brethren, who had been cut off for long from Palestine and dispersed in Babylon/Persia and India. In the ACTS OF THOMAS, and also quoted in later publications such as THE LESSER EASTERN CHURCHES (AMS Press Reprint, New York, 1972) by Dr. Adrian Fortescue, and the book on the Cochin Jews (referred to later below), Apostle Thomas is reported to have visited Edessa and Babylon, where Christianity began among the Jews, and later the kingdom of Gondophares in Parthia (Northern India). According to Dr. Moraes, it was possibly the existence of a Jewish colony at Takshashila which drew him to this place, and the merchant Habban who brought him to India was a Christian one of those Parthian Jews who embraced Christianity on Pentecost day after hearing Apostle Peters sermon. Apostle Thomas later preached the Gospel in the island of Socotra and passed over to Cranganore (known as Muziris to Pliny the Elder) on the Malabar coast where too there was an ancient community of Hebrews (Jews/Israelites), considered by some to have existed from the days of King Solomon. William Logan of the former Madras Civil Service, in his book MALABAR MANUAL (Madras 1887 and Asian Educational Services, Delhi, 2004), mentions that the Jews of Malabar have at least traditions, which carry back their arrival on the coast to the time of their escape from servitude under Cyrus in the sixth century B.C. Apostle Thomas converted both Hebrews and Gentiles and established churches in Malabar, before going over to Mylapore where he was martyred.
The St. Thomas Nazranee Christians also share with the Jews the tradition of having received a royal charter engraved on copper plates, from the idealized Hindu emperor, Cheraman Perumal. Reference is also made by Prof Katz to the ancient copper plates kept in Holy Ark of the Cochin Synagogue, and the Jewish Malayalam folk song regarding them in which the leader of the Jews, Joseph Rabban, is referred to as the Syrian. Rev. Leslie Brown and S.G. Pothen, in their books on the St. Thomas Syrian Christians, mention of similar plates (chepped) granted to the Nazaranees - four or five of which are still in existence; these contain records of grants made to the Nazranees at Kollam (some of these are in the possession of The Mar Thoma Church). The full translations of the first and second sets of copper plates are given in Pothens book. What is especially noteworthy is that while the major part of the copper plate text is in the then extant local Vattezhuthu script, there are signatures in Middle Eastern languages including Hebrew (see pictures of the copper plates at http://www.marthomasyrianchurch.org/heritage.htm)! The implications are clear: there were significant numbers of Middle Eastern and Hebrew speaking members in the St. Thomas Nazranee community when the plates were written. Prof Katz has expressed the opinion that many among the present day Malayalee Nazranee (Nazarene) Syrian Christians are close kin to the Jews - not only the Southists among them who are eager to make the claim, but many among the Northists as well who may not have been too eager about emphasizing it. There are several Northist families, now settled in various places in modern day Kerala State, India and overseas, who have written family histories mentioning ancestral links to ancient Cranganore Nazranees, but without specifically highlighting any Hebrew links. The apparent indifference may be the result of a combination of various social, political and religious considerations, over the centuries. In the past, those who have had a Brahmin heritage as well to speak of may have preferred to highlight that part of their possible ancestral Hebrew-Brahmin roots, as this perhaps was more prestigious in the Indian society context. Such an attitude might have led to their eventually forgetting about their Hebrew roots altogether. Or, it could be the result of the sincere acceptance by the early St. Thomas Nazranee Christians of the principle that There is neither Jew nor Greek.....for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. Or, it may even be a wish to dissociate themselves from members of a community which (unfortunately) came to be branded as Christ killers. Whatever the reason(s) may have been, the Hebrew link is, nevertheless, evident in several past and present common customs and traditions. These are similar to or derived from ancient Hebrew traditions, and are being followed by the Northists among the St. Thomas Nazranee Syrian Christians too though they are now divided into several denominations. It must be noted, tragic as it is, that the Nazranee community was forced to give up many of their Hebrew-related customs & traditions by the Roman Catholics at the Synod of Udayamperoor (Diamper) in 1599; a decree was also issued to surrender all records and books in Syriac, and a literary holocaust was carried out, consigning them to the flames - an act comparable to the vandalism of Omar, who by similar wanton destruction ordered the noble library of Alexandria to be consumed by the flames - as mentioned by S.G. Pothen. Whether the Brahmins who received the Gospel from Apostle Thomas were all Hindu Brahmins or were some of them Brahmin-like strict law observant Hebrews (Jews and/or Israelites) following a patriarchal family system too, is a matter to be considered further. Prof. Katz & Goldberg have indicated that the ancient Jewish community of Malabar had several customs and traditions apparently similar to those of the Brahmins, such as 1) a hereditary priesthood paralleling the Brahmins, 2) a fastidious system of dietary regulations, 3) complex laws governing family purity and 4) ascetical tendencies in certain holidays, especially Passover and Yom Kippur and other fasts. Prof. Katz too has expressed the view that Namboothiri Brahmins appeared on the scene only later, around the 8th century or so. Apostle Thomas, according to tradition, ordained the first priests from two families, Pakalomattam and Shankarapuri. Since both Hebrews and Gentiles are reported to have accepted the faith from the Apostle, wouldnt it be more likely and logical that selections for priesthood were made from Hebrew converts who were already familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures and the Messianic prophecies, rather than Hindu Brahmin converts or other Gentiles whose familiarity till then lay in the Hindu/Jain/Buddhist Scriptures?
signatures have been reported from Jewish/Israelite populations that indicate Cohen origins (A patrilineal priestly line in Judaism - Aarons descendents), and also the priestly tribe of Levi. One of the well known firms offering genetic genealogy testing is FamilyTreeDNA based in Texas. Their website (www.familytreedna.com) provides links to a wealth of information on the subject. They also maintain databases and offer facilities to join a Surname/Community or Geographic DNA project for their DNA tests at special rates, and listing with other members of the community who also have had their DNA tests done and results obtained. Such a project for Syrian Christians of Kerala exists and may be found at http://www.familytreedna.com/public/SyrianChristiansOfIndia, of which Jacob Thomas Manakalathil is the Administrator. This project has just begun and members of the wider Nazranee community now have the opportunity for genetic genealogy testing to obtain reliable scientific evidence regarding their patrilineal and matrilineal ancestral origins Middle Eastern and/or Indian. The above site provides links to the Y-DNA and mtDNA results of Syrian Christians who have joined the project and have had their Y-DNA and mtDNA tested; currently the number is about 35, which is very small compared to the overall size of the Nazranee/Syrian Christian population. But certain trends are evident. Of the results so far, the Y-DNA results indicate middle-eastern origin/roots among many Nazranees, and in some cases these apparently include the possibility of Hebrew, Levite and Cohanim ancestry as well! If the Y-DNA tests confirm Levite/Cohanim genetic ancestral links of Nazranees, it could then mean that the Namboothiri/Brahmin origins statements may have to be looked upon as a misnomer for priestly class: Namboothiri = Brahmin = Priestly class, and Levite/Cohen = Priestly class; therefore, a phrase such as a priestly class origin like Brahmins to denote Nazranees of Levite/Cohen ancestry during the early centuries could have evolved over the centuries to just Brahmin origin! This need not mean that there were no Indian Brahmin converts at all, but is stated only to show how the Brahmin origin concept could have become very widespread among the Nazranees, even among those with Hebrew origins. Many recorded Nazranee family histories may thus need correction to incorporate their real Hebrew/Israelite origins; the question remaining is, how many would show the courage to search for, find and accept the genetic genealogy facts that could be revealed by modern science and DNA analysis? Perhaps the Nazranee Diasporas and their younger generations would take up this challenge and search for their Hebrew roots!
Conclusions
Summarizing the discussions above, we have seen that: 1. Scholarly opinion indicates that in the past the term Nazarenes, or Nazranees, has traditionally referred to followers of Yeshu the Nazarene, from Hebrew (Jewish/Israelite) background. 2. The Apostles were apparently aware where the dispersed Hebrew (Jewish/Israelite) communities were. It must have been the ancient Hebrew settlements on the Malabar coast that attracted Apostle Thomas to this region; and as was the practice of the Apostles, he would have preached the Gospel first to the Hebrews and then to the Gentiles. 3. Historic and cultural analysis of the Nazranee community does indicate evidence of Hebrew roots. The early Nazranee priesthood selections may therefore have been from Hebrew converts who were already familiar with the Old Testament Scriptures and the Messianic prophecies. 4. Modern genetic genealogy (Y-DNA) tests provide scientific support for possible middle-eastern ancestry among at least some of the Nazranees; these include the possibility of Hebrew, Levite and Cohanim ancestry as well in some cases. The phrase a priestly class origin like Brahmins to denote Nazranees of Levite/Cohen ancestry could have, over the centuries, evolved to the phrase Brahmin origins, thus leading to the widespread use of the latter phrase when discussing Nazranee origins.