Did St. Thomas really went to Chennai?
According to the Christian History Institute, he did: After the Holy Spirit came upon the apostles, Thomas carried the gospel eastward. Strong traditions link his name with Iran and India. All agree that he was martyred. Thomas probably died in India, at Mylapore near Madras (Chennai). According to the best record we have, an angry pagan priest drove a spear through his body while he knelt in prayer. Unfortunately, Portuguese adventurers destroyed precious documents that might have shed light on Thomas’ history. The Portuguese thought that the Christians of Malabar were heretics. And so the writings of Christians who have an ancient church named for Thomas and who can point to a tomb where he was buried, are lost forever. Wikipedia has the same story: While exploring the Malabar coast of west India in 1498, the Portuguese encountered Christians who traced their foundations to Thomas. However, the Catholic Portuguese did not accept the legitimacy of local Malabar traditions, and they be
