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St. Thomas Christian Church |
The St. Thomas
Christian Church, also known as The Church of The East, traces its history and
apostolic succession back to the very origins of Christianity through one of the
original apostles of Jesus, the Christ, namely, St. Thomas. Beginning at
Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost, the church was instituted by the Avatar Jesus
and passed on to his apostles. It was, at first, a Church of the East, notably
of Jerusalem and Antioch. In time it was extended through missionary efforts of
the apostles and their disciples to the major population and cultural centers
both in the East and in the West. In each region where the Church was
established, a local headship grew up in the form of priests and bishops. All
were united by a common faith and by the spiritual leadership of the five
Apostolic Patriarchates. Five major seats of Christianity were
established-Jerusalem, Antioch, Rome, Alexandria, and Constantinople. The two
seats which were to impact the growth of Christianity the most were Rome and
Constantinople, the "West" and the "East."
St. Thomas,
known as Didymus Judas Thomas, traveled through Persia wherein it was said that
he ordained many of the magi, and then into India along the Malabar coast, where
he established the Christian Church in southern India, and converted many to
christian belief. After Thomas' death the church continued to grow, though
isolated from patriatchate dominion. In the mid-fourth century, the Catholicos
of the East, sent a bishop, priests and deacons into the area which still
preserved Christianity in accordance with the teachings of St. Thomas. As the
study of the history of Christianity reveals, a separation began to grow in
those early years which finally resulted in the Great Schism in 1054 between the
East and the West, who each had developed very different churches, both
culturally and theologically. Today Christendom remains divided into three
principal sections: Protestant, Roman Catholic and the Orthodox. Certain Eastern
church bodies refused to accept the christological definition of the Council of
Chalcedon (457 A.D.) and these are referred to as the Ancient Eastern Churches.
Into this latter group fall the St. Thomas Christians. The dissidents of the
Ancient Eastern Churches became known as "monophysites" and by the mid-sixth
century, monophysite bishoprics were created throughout the East through the
efforts of Jacob Baradeus. Their members were known as Syrian Jacobites.
The St. Thomas
Christians were monophysite with a tenuous connection to Antioch through the
Sassanid Empire, but that link was broken when they stressed their autonomy.
Although secluded in the remote area of Southern India and out of range of the
continued struggle and dissonance within the various "factions" of Christianity,
history details other events affecting them, including the Muslim invasion and
in the early 16th century, the arrival of the Portuguese to India. For a time,
the St. Thomas Christians lived in harmony with the Portuguese sponsored
churches, but by the end of the century, Jesuit pressure became too great. When
the Synod of Diamper attempted to sever the Syrian Church from its past and from
its patriarch in Babylon, resentment ended in a revolt. Most of the Syrians
seceded from Rome, but Rome managed to win some back. Those who did not return
were free to look elsewhere for a bishop and in 1665, Mar Gregory, was sent from
the Jacobite Patriarch in Antioch. Even though the Nestorian Patriarch of the
Ottoman Empire attempted to establish authority over the Malabar church, the
majority of the Syrians remained loyal to the Jacobite bishop. By 1758, there
were established at least five different communities within the St. Thomas
Christian Church: The Latins, the Syro-Malabarese, the Church of the East, the
Jacobites, and those who would no longer accept any foreign domination over
their faith. For about four hundred years controversy raged between these
communities. The Jacobites stayed in the background yet had established contacts
with the English consuls, the result of which caused members of the Anglican
Missionary Society to bring the ancient church to light. Interference again
created disharmony and the Archbishop of Canterbury was requested to keep his
clergy in restraint. The autonomy of the Indian Christians was as cherished as
was their historic connections with the ancient apostolic churches in the Middle
East. When the "foreign" patriarch of their own church made insistent claims
upon them, they rebelled, just as they had against Rome two hundred years
earlier. The Jacobite Patriarch, Mar Peter, arrived in India in 1874 and during
his three year stay, he divided the church into seven dioceses and consecrated
new bishops naming them all Metropolitans. One of the new Metropolitans was
Thomas Mar Athenasius II. When he died, he was replaced by Paul Mar Athenasius
III, who in turn consecrated Francis Xavier Julius Alvares. In 1892 this Bishop
consecrated an American priest, Joseph Rene Vilatte, who was entitled Mar
Timotheus, Archbishop of the Old Catholic Church in America.
In 1914, Villate consecrated
Frederick E. Lloyd, who, in turn, consecrated Samuel Gregory Lines in 1923. In
1933, Lines consecrated Howard E. Mather, and on August 26, 1963, Mather and
another bishop, Cyrus Starkey, consecrated Joseph Vredenburgh as Mar Timotheus
Josephus Narsai Vredenburgh, the Patriarch and Presiding Bishop in America today
of the Federation of St. Thomas Christians. In 1994 the St. Thomas Christian
Church was founded and incorporated by priests who were ordained by bishop, Rev.
Mother Shirley Chambers, was consecrated by Bishops Joseph Vredenburg, Jack
Brownell and Michael Whitney. The purpose of the St. Thomas Christian Church is
to maintain and continue the flow of the mystical teachings of St. Thomas, the
origins of which are to be found in Kabalastic concepts of Judaism and in the
Vedic concepts of Hinduism, incorporated into Christianity from the historically
acknowledged sojourn of the Avatar Jesus in India.
The discovery of the Gospel of
Thomas in 1945, a text unaltered and undistorted, has porven to be one of the
most important finds in the history of Christianity. Acknowledged by theologians
to most accurately quote the sayings of Jesus, the text verifies the fact that
the ministry of Jesus was that of the mystical tradition. Now as mankind
prepares to move into new world consciousness, the mystical tradition of the St.
Thomas Christian Church, evolving from the most ancient of historical times and
lineage, moves into that world, expressing understanding applicable to it, yet
retaining its spiritual heritage.
St. Thomas
Christians throughout the world are historical representatives, the fruit and
continuation, of the ancient Churches of the East where the Avatar Jesus, the
Christ, founded the church. The teachings of the Christ reflect the mysticism
inherent in the culture into which he was born as well as those acquired from
his travels into the land of the Vedas, India, historically recorded in schools
and monasteries within that area. It is those teachings as conveyed by the
Apostle Thomas to the church he established in India that the St. Thomas
Christians, despite struggle, dissonance and controversy, have endeavored to
preserve in their purest sense.
The Church of
Christ, as are the St. Thomas Christians, is neither Latin nor Greek; neither
Eastern nor Western, but in the true sense of the word, Catholic, as that word,
from Greek, means "universal" that is, has no limitations in time or place. It
is the new dispensation of God, through Jesus, the Christ, given for all people,
as opposed to the Jewish church of the old dispensation which was limited in its
vocation. The people of this universal, sacramental and apostolic church
believe, teach and practice the maintenance of the original and mystical
teachings of the apostles and of the wisdom teachings brought forward through
the religious tradition. The Church of the East is a protector and guardian of
the Truths taught by Jesus to the apostles, practiced by them and passed on to
their successors in true and unaltered and written form. It is a Church which
has preserved the purity of the teachings of Christianity and which interprets
those teachings in the light of today's mysticism.
St. Thomas Christian Church
2531 Briarcliff Rd.
Suite 217
Atlanta, Georgia 30329
Telephone (404)320-1038 Fax (404) 320-1042
