The Southist (Knanaya) branch of the Kerala church remembers a Syriac merchant, Thomas of Cana, leading dozens of Christian families from Persia to Kodungallur and receiving privileges from a local ruler — knitting the ancient Indian church more closely to the Church of the East. The traditional date is AD 345, though a number of scholars place the migration centuries later.
Saint Thomas Christian tradition; discussed in Medlycott (1905) — public domain. The date is traditional and disputed.
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