ST. THOMAS COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCE, CHENNAI

St.Thomas the apostle also called ‘Didimus’ meaning ‘twin’ was one of the apostles of Jesus Christ. He is best known for questioning Jesus' Resurrection after death when first told of it, which was followed by his confession of faith “My Lord and My God”. St.Thomas the apostle arrived in the Kerala state of India in AD52. He arrived by sea to the port of Maliankara, the present Kodungallur in Kerala. He preached the word of God and established Churches at seven places. St.Thomas after his fruitful ministry in the Malabar Coast crossed over to the eastern parts of South India where also he had many converts and then on he moved as far as to Malacca and China. Later returning to India he came to Chennaipattinam or Madras. Being infuriated by his growing popularity, he was chased by the higher castes and took shelter in a cave near Little mount which is the present Guindy in Chennai and when he was about to be captured he escaped from that place through a hole on the roof of the said cave and took shelter in the shrine which he had built on the top of the St.Thomas Mount, Parinkimalai in Tamil. His pursuers caught up with him there and speared him into death while he was clinging on a cross inside the said shrine. Later his followers took his slained body and buried him on the seashore at Santhome in Mylapore, Chennai. At the St.Thomas day celebration at New Delhi organized by the Malankara Orthodox Syrian church on 18th December 1955, Dr. Rajendra Prasad, the President of India made the following observation in a speech “Remember St.Thomas came to India when many of the countries of Europe had not yet become Christians and so those Indians who traced their Christianity to him have a longer history and a higher ancestory than that of Christians of many of the European countries”. Christianity in India is as old as Christianity itself. Thus the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church founded by Apostle St.Thomas in AD52 is one of the oldest Churches with a rich legacy and tradition. His Holiness Moran Mar Baselios Marthoma Paulose II, Malankara Metropolitan and Catholicose of the East is the successor to this throne of St.Thomas and the head of the Malankara Orthodox Church. St.Thomas Orthodox Cathedral, Broadway is the first parish of the outside Kerala diocese and is considered to be the mother of all parishes. To have a parish of their own on this sacred soil is a great achievement for Orthodox Christians. This parish was originally built by the British government as a garrison for British soldiers and with the permission of the Anglican Bishop, the members started to share this church and the first Holy Eucharist was started in 1960. The first congregation consisted of 16 members. In the year 2016 this Cathedral will be celebrating its centenary. From a 16 member congregation this cathedral has grown tremendously into a big parish with three chapels. Presently there are more than 11 independent parishes in Chennai and almost all parishes can trace its origin to St.Thomas Orthodox Cathedral. It was a deep desire of the member of St.Thomas Orthodox Cathedral to start an education institution to enlighten the society and St.Thomas Matriculation Higher Secondary School in Broadway was established in 1958 under St.Thomas Syrian Cathedral Education and Charitable Trust. After serving the society through this school, it was decided to start a college for Arts & Science.