1.
India
–
India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and it is bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the southwest, and the Bay of Bengal on the southeast. It shares land borders with Pakistan to the west, China, Nepal, and Bhutan to the northeast, in the Indian Ocean, India is in the vicinity of Sri Lanka and the Maldives. Indias Andaman and Nicobar Islands share a border with Thailand. The Indian subcontinent was home to the urban Indus Valley Civilisation of the 3rd millennium BCE, in the following millennium, the oldest scriptures associated with Hinduism began to be composed. Social stratification, based on caste, emerged in the first millennium BCE, early political consolidations took place under the Maurya and Gupta empires, the later peninsular Middle Kingdoms influenced cultures as far as southeast Asia. In the medieval era, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Christianity, and Islam arrived, much of the north fell to the Delhi sultanate, the south was united under the Vijayanagara Empire. The economy expanded in the 17th century in the Mughal empire, in the mid-18th century, the subcontinent came under British East India Company rule, and in the mid-19th under British crown rule. A nationalist movement emerged in the late 19th century, which later, under Mahatma Gandhi, was noted for nonviolent resistance, in 2015, the Indian economy was the worlds seventh largest by nominal GDP and third largest by purchasing power parity. Following market-based economic reforms in 1991, India became one of the major economies and is considered a newly industrialised country. However, it continues to face the challenges of poverty, corruption, malnutrition, a nuclear weapons state and regional power, it has the third largest standing army in the world and ranks sixth in military expenditure among nations. India is a constitutional republic governed under a parliamentary system. It is a pluralistic, multilingual and multi-ethnic society and is home to a diversity of wildlife in a variety of protected habitats. The name India is derived from Indus, which originates from the Old Persian word Hindu, the latter term stems from the Sanskrit word Sindhu, which was the historical local appellation for the Indus River. The ancient Greeks referred to the Indians as Indoi, which translates as The people of the Indus, the geographical term Bharat, which is recognised by the Constitution of India as an official name for the country, is used by many Indian languages in its variations. Scholars believe it to be named after the Vedic tribe of Bharatas in the second millennium B. C. E and it is also traditionally associated with the rule of the legendary emperor Bharata. Gaṇarājya is the Sanskrit/Hindi term for republic dating back to the ancient times, hindustan is a Persian name for India dating back to the 3rd century B. C. E. It was introduced into India by the Mughals and widely used since then and its meaning varied, referring to a region that encompassed northern India and Pakistan or India in its entirety
India
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Flag
India
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The granite
tower of
Brihadeeswarar Temple in
Thanjavur was completed in 1010 CE by
Raja Raja Chola I.
India
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Writing the will and testament of the Mughal king court in Persian, 1590–1595
2.
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum
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The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Thiruvananthapuram is an archdiocese located in the city of Thiruvananthapuram in Kerala, India. The 75 parishes and 44 Mission stations of the Diocese are grouped together into 8 Vicariates in 3 Episcopates, at present we have 133 incardinated priests in the Archdiocese including those retired, studying and working for other Dioceses and 27 religious priests. It was then that I really began to feel that such is the kingdom of heaven, I started to teach them catechism and I saw immediately that they were very intelligent. This is what St. Francis expressed 450 years ago, Trivandrum Latin archdiocese is headquartered in Keralas capital city Thiruvananthapuram, formerly known as Trivandrum. It is situated between north latitudes 8°17 and 8°54 and east longitudes 76°41 and 77°17, the archdiocese is bounded by the Arabian Sea on the West and Western Ghat on the East. The wooded highlands on the Western Ghats in the eastern and northeastern borders give Thiruvananthapuram some of the most enchanting picnic spots, a long shoreline, with internationally renowned beaches, historic monuments, backwater stretches and a rich cultural heritage make this district a much sought after tourist destination. The Diocese is bounded on the north by the Diocese of Quilon, on the east by the Ghats, on the west by the Arabian Sea, christianity in this part dates from the time of the arrival of the Portuguese in India and perhaps earlier. But unfortunately with the suppression of the Society of Jesus, this missionary enterprises came to a close, the second phase of the missionary enterprise in the Diocese begins with the dawn of the present century. Bishop of Quilon was transferred to the newly erected Diocese of Trivandrum which was entrusted to the Carmelites of the Flanders Province, on May 20,1955, this territory was definitely integrated in the Diocese of Trivandrum. The Liturgical and Catechetical renewal initiated by Bishop Bernard Pereira after the II Vatican Council marks the beginning of renewal in the Diocese, St. Xaviers College, Thumba, All Saints College and various other pioneering contributions of Bp. Pereira made a strong footing for the growth of the Diocese of Trivandrum and our former President of India, Sri. The turning point in the history of the Diocese was its Golden Jubilee year in 1987, the telling example to this fact is the 1512 Basic Christian Communities. In these units, more and more lay people come forward to share responsibilities, a conscious effort is made to read the Bible, to understand its message and to put it into practice in day to day life. Devotion to our Blessed Mother is spread out through praying the Rosary, social evils are fought and several charitable activities are carried out. The problems existing between the families are discussed and solved, a smooth relationship among the parishners are created. On June 14,1996 the Diocese of Trivandrum lost territory to the newly erected Diocese of Neyyattinkara and they are committed to its mission of transforming the whole Diocese of Trivandrum into a People of God under the able leadership of Bishop Soosa Pakiam. On 17 June 2004, Holy Father Pope John Paul II has elevated the Diocese of Trivandrum into an Archdiocese, on 2 February 2016 Holy Father Pope Francis appointed Rev. Fr. Christudas Rajappan as the new bishop of the diocese
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum
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St. Joseph's Cathedral
Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Trivandrum
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St. Joseph's Cathedral at night
3.
Roman Catholic
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The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church or the Universal Church, is the largest Christian church, with more than 1.28 billion members worldwide. As one of the oldest religious institutions in the world, it has played a prominent role in the history, headed by the Bishop of Rome, known as the Pope, the churchs doctrines are summarised in the Nicene Creed and the Apostles Creed. Its central administration is located in Vatican City, enclaved within Rome, the Catholic Church is notable within Western Christianity for its sacred tradition and seven sacraments. It teaches that it is the one church founded by Jesus Christ, that its bishops are the successors of Christs apostles. The Catholic Church maintains that the doctrine on faith and morals that it declares as definitive is infallible. The Latin Church, the Eastern Catholic Churches, as well as such as mendicant orders and enclosed monastic orders. Among the sacraments, the one is the Eucharist, celebrated liturgically in the Mass. The church teaches that through consecration by a priest the sacrificial bread and wine become the body, the Catholic Church practises closed communion, with only baptised members in a state of grace ordinarily permitted to receive the Eucharist. The Virgin Mary is venerated in the Catholic Church as Queen of Heaven and is honoured in numerous Marian devotions. The Catholic Church has influenced Western philosophy, science, art and culture, Catholic spiritual teaching includes spreading the Gospel while Catholic social teaching emphasises support for the sick, the poor and the afflicted through the corporal and spiritual works of mercy. The Catholic Church is the largest non-government provider of education and medical services in the world, from the late 20th century, the Catholic Church has been criticised for its doctrines on sexuality, its refusal to ordain women and its handling of sexual abuse cases. Catholic was first used to describe the church in the early 2nd century, the first known use of the phrase the catholic church occurred in the letter from Saint Ignatius of Antioch to the Smyrnaeans, written about 110 AD. In the Catechetical Discourses of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem, the name Catholic Church was used to distinguish it from other groups that call themselves the church. The use of the adjective Roman to describe the Church as governed especially by the Bishop of Rome became more widespread after the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and into the Early Middle Ages. Catholic Church is the name used in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. The Catholic Church follows an episcopal polity, led by bishops who have received the sacrament of Holy Orders who are given formal jurisdictions of governance within the church. Ultimately leading the entire Catholic Church is the Bishop of Rome, commonly called the pope, in parallel to the diocesan structure are a variety of religious institutes that function autonomously, often subject only to the authority of the pope, though sometimes subject to the local bishop. Most religious institutes only have male or female members but some have both, additionally, lay members aid many liturgical functions during worship services
Roman Catholic
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Saint Peter's Basilica,
Vatican City
Roman Catholic
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St. Peter's Basilica,
Vatican City
Roman Catholic
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Pope Francis, elected in the
papal conclave, 2013
Roman Catholic
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Traditional graphic representation of the Trinity: The earliest attested version of the diagram, from a manuscript of
Peter of Poitiers ' writings, c. 1210
4.
Latin Church
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The Latin Church, commonly called Roman Catholic Church, sometimes Western Church, is the largest autonomous particular church sui iuris within the Catholic Church, applying Latin liturgical rites. There are 24 such sui iuris particular churches within the Catholic Church, all the other particular churches sui iuris, of which there are 23, originated farther east and are, therefore, collectively known as the Eastern Catholic Churches. Because of the migrations, members of all of these particular churches sui iuris are no longer confined to their areas of origin. A person is a member of or belongs to a particular church, a person also inherits or is of, a particular patrimony or rite. Since the rite has liturgical, theological, spiritual and disciplinary elements, Particular churches that inherit and perpetuate a particular patrimony are identified by metonymy with that patrimony. Accordingly, rite has been defined as a division of the Christian church using a distinctive liturgy, is considered equal to the Latin rite within the Church. It thus used the rite as a technical designation of what may now be called a particular church. Church or rite is used as a single heading in the United States Library of Congress classification of works. The last known use was Pope Pius XII in Humani generis who taught that the Mystical Body of Christ and the Roman Catholic Church are one. Most ecclesiologists - experts in the theology of the Church itself - instead use Roman Catholic to refer exclusively to the Latin Church. The reasons for this are that each of the 24 Catholic Churches sui iuris have a modifier - Maronite, Ukrainian, Roman, etc. - and that Latin and Roman are virtually interchangeable. Further, as Adrian Fortescue noted in his article in the 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia, today, the most common Latin liturgical rites are the Roman Rite, the Ambrosian Rite, the Mozarabic Rite, and variations of the Roman Rite. The 23 Eastern Catholic Churches share five families of liturgical rites, the Latin liturgical rites, like the Armenian, are used only in a single sui iuris particular church. In the Eastern Churches these sacraments are usually administered immediately after baptism, celibacy, as a consequence of the duty to observe perfect continence, is obligatory for priests in the Latin Church. Rare exceptions are permitted for men who, after ministering as clergy in other churches and this contrasts with the discipline in most Eastern Catholic Churches. In the Latin Church, a man may not be admitted even to the diaconate unless he is legitimately destined to remain a deacon. Marriage after ordination is not possible, and attempting it can result in canonical penalties, Latin Mass Church of Rome Particular church General Roman Calendar Eastern Catholic Churches Catholic Encyclopedia, Latin Church
Latin Church
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St. Peter's Basilica, burial place of
Saint Peter
Latin Church
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St. Peter's Basilica,
Vatican City
5.
Roman Rite
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The Roman Rite is the most widespread liturgical rite in the Catholic Church and is one of the Latin rites used in the Western or Latin Church. The Roman Rite has been adapted over the centuries and its Eucharistic liturgy can be divided into three stages, the Pre-Tridentine Mass, Tridentine Mass and Mass of Paul VI. The 2007 motu proprio Summorum Pontificum specifies the circumstances in which priests of the Latin Church may continue to use the form of the Roman Rite in the 1962 Roman Missal. While other rites use more poetic language, the Roman Rite is noted for its sobriety of expression, as each is shown, a bell is rung and, if incense is used, the host and chalice are incensed. Sometimes the external bells of the church are rung as well, other characteristics that distinguish the Roman Rite from the rites of the Eastern Catholic Churches are frequent genuflections, kneeling for long periods, and keeping both hands joined together. We find the prayers of our Canon in the treatise de Sacramentis, so our Mass goes back, without essential change, to the age when it first developed out of the oldest liturgy of all. The final result of our inquiry is that, in spite of unsolved problems, in spite of later changes, in a footnote he added, The prejudice that imagines that everything Eastern must be old is a mistake. Eastern rites have been modified too, some of them quite late. No Eastern Rite now used is as archaic as the Roman Mass, in the same book, Fortescue acknowledged that the Roman Rite underwent profound changes in the course of its development. In the interval, there was what Fortescue called a radical change and he quoted the theory of A. Leo, I began to make these changes, Gregory I finished the process and finally recast the Canon in the form it still has. We must then admit that between the years 400 and 500 a great transformation was made in the Roman Canon and this infusion Fortescue called the last change since Gregory the Great. The Eucharistic Prayer normally used in the Byzantine Rite is attributed to Saint John Chrysostom, the East Syrian Eucharistic Prayer of Addai and Mari, which is still in use, is certainly much older. However, by about 1800 the Roman Rite had quite abandoned rood screens, however, when Western Europe adopted polyphony, the music of the Roman Rite did become very elaborate and lengthy. Latin liturgical rites List of Catholic rites and churches Liturgical books of the Roman rite Pre-Tridentine Mass Mass of Paul VI Mass Tridentine Mass Baldovin, John F. Reforming the Liturgy, A Response to the Critics. The Reform of the Liturgy 1948-1975, a Short History of the Roman Mass. By Michael Davies, said to be based on Adrian Fortescues The Mass, A Study of the Roman Liturgy Metzger, History of the Liturgy, The Major Stages. Bodies of Worship, Explorations in Theory and Practice, a Challenging Reform, Realizing the Vision of the Liturgical Renewal. Johnson, Lawrence, J. Worship in the Early Church, foley, Edward, Mitchell, Nathan D. and Pierce, Joanne M
Roman Rite
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Altar of
Santa Cecilia in Trastevere in
Rome, as arranged in 1700
6.
Infant Jesus Cathedral
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The Infant Jesus Cathedral is a historic Roman Catholic church established by Portuguese during 1614, situated at Tangasseri in the city of Quilon, India. It is now the pro-cathedral of Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon, the Church remains as a memento of the Portuguese rule of old Quilon city. The history of Infant Jesus Cathedral dates back to 1503 when Tangasseri came under the control of the Portuguese, the Portuguese who came to Quilon in 1503 led by Afonso de Albuquerque made Tangasseri a well fortified city by building a fort, which was called San Thome Fort. Saint Francis Xavier established a church, a college, a press. In 1614, the Portuguese established the Infant Jesus church in its present location, later in 1661, Dutch gained control of Tangasseri and started deteriorating churches and other structures built by Portuguese. But in 1789, the Carmelites missionaries, who have arrived Quilon renovated this church, in 1838 when Malabar Vicariate was erected with Verapoly as headquarters, Quilon was joined to it. Tangasseri retained its position in ecclesiastical parlance and became the base for Carmelite expeditions. Quilon vicariate was formed in 1845, messenger Charles Hyacinth Valerga, pro-vicar Apostolic of Quilon died in Tangasseri on December 24,1864 and was buried in the church. Maria Ephrem Carrelon was consecrated in Tangasseri in 1866, Infant Jesus Church has been serving as the pro-cathedral of Kollam Diocese since 1886. Mortal remains of former Bishop of Quilon, Fr, Bishop Jerome M. Fernandez are also buried in the Infant Jesus Cathedral. As the old Pro-Cathedral was ageing, a plan for a new building both beautiful and large to accommodate the congregation was put forward. The old church was demolished and the stone was laid by the then bishop Rev. Dr. Joseph G Fernandez in the year 2000 during the tenure of Monsingor Paul Mullassery. Later in the year 2001 Rev. Dr. Stanley Roman became the Bishop of Quilon, george Mathew took charge as the parish priest in 2002 taking an active part in the completion of the church in the year 2005. The new structure was completed at a cost of ₹04,56,00,000 and was concentrated by Rev Telespher P Toppo on 3 December 2005, the church is rich and beautiful with mosaic paintings and glass paintings depicting various stages of Jesuss life. The biggest glass painting is of the patroness of the Diocese of Quilon, a huge Bell tower having 3 bells dating back 100 years is an adjacent structure to the cathedral along with a small shrine dedicated to Saint Joseph. A new modern Parish House cum Guest house is adjacent to the cathedral to accommodate the incoming guests as well as serves as the residence of the parish priest. A small chapel is located under the Cathedral and is used for prayer meetings. In the year 2015, the tower was renovated and three new shrines dedicated to various saints of the catholic world was concentrated
Infant Jesus Cathedral
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Infant Jesus Cathedral of
Quilon at
Tangasseri
Infant Jesus Cathedral
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Grave slab of Bishop Charles Hyacinth Valerga in Quilon
Infant Jesus Cathedral
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400-year-old Infant Jesus Cathedral at
Quilon -
Tangasseri. In 2006 it was demolished and replaced by a new building
7.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
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Our Lady of Mount Carmel is the title given to the Blessed Virgin Mary in her role as patroness of the Carmelite Order. The first Carmelites were Christian hermits living on Mount Carmel in the Holy Land during the late 12th and they built in the midst of their hermitages a chapel which they dedicated to the Blessed Virgin, whom they conceived of in chivalric terms as the Lady of the place. Our Lady of Mount Carmel was adopted in the 19th century as the saint of Chile. Traditionally, Mary is said to have given the Scapular to an early Carmelite named Saint Simon Stock, the liturgical feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is celebrated on 16 July. The solemn liturgical feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel was probably first celebrated in England in the part of the 14th century. Its object was thanksgiving to Mary, the patroness of the Carmelite Order, the institution of the feast may have come in the wake of the vindication of their title Brothers of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Cambridge, England in 1374. The Latin poem Flos Carmeli first appears as the sequence for this Mass, the Carmelite Order was the only religious order to be started in the Crusader States. In the 13th century, some of its people migrated west to England, setting up a chapter and this formed part of the Carmelite habit after 1287. In Stocks vision, Mary promised that those who died wearing the scapular would be saved, the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel is known to many Catholic faithful as the scapular feast, associated with the Brown Scapular of the Carmelite order. This is a devotional sacramental signifying the wearers consecration to Mary and this tradition grew gradually, as did the liturgical cult of St. Simon. The latter has been documented in Bordeaux, where Stock died, from the year 1435, in Ireland and England, from 1458, historians have long questioned whether Stock had the vision of Mary and the scapular. Although Simon Stock was never canonized, his feast day was celebrated in the church. In 1642, a Carmelite named Fr, john Cheron published a document which he said was a 13th-century letter written by Saint Simon Stocks secretary, Peter Swanington. Since the early 20th century, historians have concluded that this letter was forged, but Stocks vision was long embraced by many promoters of the scapular devotion. The forged Swanington letter claimed that 16 July 1251 was the date of the vision, Vatican II resulted in scrutiny of the Feast of Our Lady of Mount Carmel, as well as that of Saint Simon Stock, because of the historical uncertainties about the origins. The liturgies were revised and, in the 21st century, neither, even in the Carmelite proper, the Carmelite convent of Aylesford, England, was restored and a relic of Saint Simon Stock was placed there in 1951. The saints feast is celebrated in the dedicated to him. In addition, Carmen and María del Carmen have been given names for girls in Spanish-speaking countries
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
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Our Lady of Carmel by
Pietro Novelli, 1641
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
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Our Lady of Mount Carmel with angels and souls in
Purgatory. Baroque sculpture from
Beniaján (Spain)
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
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Our Lady of Mount Carmel,
Palmi.
Our Lady of Mount Carmel
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Beniaján, Spain
8.
Pope Francis
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Pope Francis is the 266th and current Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, a title he holds ex officio as Bishop of Rome, and sovereign of Vatican City. He chose Francis as his name in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Bergoglio worked briefly as a chemical technologist and he was ordained a Catholic priest in 1969, and from 1973 to 1979 was Argentinas provincial superior of the Society of Jesus. He became the Archbishop of Buenos Aires in 1998 and was created a cardinal in 2001 by Pope John Paul II and he led the Argentine Church during the December 2001 riots in Argentina, and the administrations of Néstor Kirchner and Cristina Fernández de Kirchner considered him a political rival. Following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI on 28 February 2013, throughout his public life, Pope Francis has been noted for his humility, emphasis on Gods mercy, concern for the poor, populist causes and commitment to interfaith dialogue. He maintains that the church should be open and welcoming. He does not support unbridled capitalism, Marxism, or Marxist versions of liberation theology, Francis maintains the traditional views of the church regarding abortion, euthanasia, contraception, homosexuality, ordination of women, and priestly celibacy. He opposes consumerism, irresponsible development, and supports taking action on climate change, in international diplomacy, he helped to restore full diplomatic relations between the U. S. and Cuba. Jorge Mario Bergoglio was born on 17 December 1936 in Flores and he was the eldest of five children of Mario José Bergoglio and Regina María Sívori. Mario Bergoglio was an Italian immigrant accountant born in Portacomaro in Italys Piedmont region, Regina Sívori was a housewife born in Buenos Aires to a family of northern Italian origin. Mario Josés family left Italy in 1929, to escape the fascist rule of Benito Mussolini, María Elena Bergoglio, the Popes only living sibling, confirmed that their emigration was not for economic reasons. His other siblings were Alberto Horacio, Oscar Adrián and Marta Regina, two great-nephews, Antonio and Joseph, died in a traffic collision. In the sixth grade, Bergoglio attended Wilfrid Barón de los Santos Ángeles and he attended the technical secondary school Escuela Técnica Industrial N°27 Hipólito Yrigoyen, named after a past President of Argentina, and graduated with a chemical technicians diploma. He worked for a few years in that capacity in the section at Hickethier-Bachmann Laboratory where his boss was Esther Ballestrino. Before joining the Jesuits, Bergoglio worked as a bar bouncer and as a janitor sweeping floors, in the only known health crisis of his youth, at the age of 21 he suffered from life-threatening pneumonia and three cysts. He had part of a lung excised shortly afterwards, Bergoglio has been a lifelong supporter of San Lorenzo de Almagro football club. Bergoglio is also a fan of the films of Tita Merello, neorealism, Bergoglio found his vocation to the priesthood while he was on his way to celebrate the Spring Day. He passed by a church to go to confession, and was inspired by the priest
Pope Francis
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Pope Francis
Pope Francis
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Jorge Mario Bergoglio (fourth boy from the left on the third row from the top) at age 12, while studying at the Salesian College.
Pope Francis
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Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio in 2008
Pope Francis
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Pope Francis with Argentine president
Cristina Fernández de Kirchner.
9.
Stanley Roman
–
Stanley Roman became the 13th bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon, India in 2001, and the education chairman of the Kerala Catholic Bishops Council. Stanley Roman was born on 4 June 1941 at Punalur in Kollam district and he is the 10th of the eleven children of Roman Fernandez and Elizabeth. After Bishop Romans primary education at St. John’s L. P, in 1959, he commenced philosophy studies at St. Joseph’s Pontifical Seminary, Aluva. After 2 years, he was chosen to pursue studies at the Pontifical Urban University, Rome. He was ordained priest by Cardinal Agagiani, the Prefect of the Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples at St. Peter’s Basilica, when Father Roman returned to Kollam, he was initially appointed as the Prefect of St. Raphaels Seminary. He continued his studies and received a Master of Arts, English Language and he then joined Fatima Mata National College, Kollam as an English instructor and the bursar, and later became its principal. After holding various posts in the Diocese, he was appointed the First Rector of Carmel Giri Major Seminary, Latin rite and he was nominated as the 13th Bishop of Kollam on 29 October 2001, while he was serving as the Rector of Carmelgiri Seminary. Dr. Roman was consecrated on 16 December 2001, in 2004, Bishop Roman founded the Pradhibhodayam education program, for scholastically gifted, but financially challenged members of the Diocese. In 2007, Bishop Roman inaugurated Jagat Jyoti Mandir, which is a Christian church incorporating Hindu cultural elements, the 75th birthday celebrations and the sacerdotal golden jubilee of Bishop Stanley Roman was held on June 4,2016. Following a request from the bishop, the celebration was made a low key affair, the high mass in connection with the celebrations was held at the Infant Jesus Cathedral at Tangasseri at 4 p. m. A 140-member choir added colour to the high mass, on the occasion, the Bishop conferred Papal recognitions on seven members of the laity from the diocese. The recognitions included one Chevalier, two Benemerenti and four Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice medals, Roman Catholic Diocese of Quilon, website http, //www. madhyamam. com/news/99312/110715
Stanley Roman
–
Stanley Roman, Bishop of Quilon
10.
Quilon
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Kollam or Quilon, formerly Desinganadu, is an old seaport and city on the Laccadive Sea coast of Kerala, India. The city is on the banks Ashtamudi Lake, Kollam has had a strong commercial reputation since the days of the Phoenicians and Romans. Fed by the Chinese trade, it was mentioned by Ibn Battuta in the 14th century as one of the five Indian ports he had seen during the course of his twenty-four year travels, desinganadus rajas exchanged embassies with Chinese rulers while there was a flourishing Chinese settlement at Kollam. In the 9th Century, on his way to Canton, China, Marco Polo, the great Venetian traveller, who was in Chinese service under Kublai Khan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, in his capacity as a Chinese mandarin. V. Nagam Aiya in his Travancore State Manual records that in 822 AD two East Syrian bishops Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, settled in Quilon with their followers. Two years later the Malabar Era began and Quilon became the city of the Malabar region ahead of Travancore. Kollam is a city on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake that took the title Gods Own Country without much demur. The braids of Ashtamudi Lake lie about 71 kilometres north of the state capital, the city hosts the administrative offices of Kollam district and is a prominent trading city for the state. The proportion of females to males in Kollam city is second highest among the 500 most populous cities in India, Kollam is the least polluted city in India. Four major trading centers/towns around Kollam are Kottarakara, Punalur, Paravur, There was also internal trade through the Punalur Pass connecting the ancient town to Tamil Nadu. The rail links later established to Tamil Nadu supported still stronger trade links, the factories processing marine exports and the processing and packaging of cashewnuts extended its trade across the globe. Kollam is the fourth most populous city in Kerala and the fifth largest in incorporated area and it is known for cashew processing and coir manufacturing. Ashtamudi Lake is considered the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala and is a prominent tourist destination at Kollam. The Kollam urban area includes towns such as Paravur in the south, Kundara in the east. Other important towns in the city suburbs are Eravipuram, Kottiyam, Kannanallur, Kollam appeared as Palombe in Mandevilles Travels, where he claimed it contained a Fountain of Youth. During the later stages of the rule of the Chera monarchy in Kerala, Kollam emerged as the point of trade. Kollam continues to be a business and commercial centre in the Southern Kerala. In 825 CE, the Malayalam calendar, or Kollavarsham, was created in Kollam at meetings held in the city, the present Malayalam calendar is said to have begun with the re-founding of the town, which was rebuilt after its destruction by a fire
Quilon
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From top clockwise:
RP Mall in
Downtown Kollam,
Lighthouse in
Tangasseri,
British Residency in
Asramam,
Kollam Junction railway station and
Kollam MEMU Shed, Aerial view of
Ashtamudi Lake,
Kollam Port,
Asramam Adventure Park, Jalakeli Kendram near
Kollam Beach
Quilon
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Kollam in the 1500s
Quilon
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Kollam in the 1700s
Quilon
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Kollam fort in 1756 after it had passed from Portuguese rule to the Dutch
11.
Tangasseri
–
Tangasseri or Thangassery is a heavily populated beach area on the shores of the Arabian Sea in Kollam city, Kerala, India. Tangasseri is located about 5 kilometres from the city centre and 71 kilometres from Thiruvananthapuram, archaeologists recently discovered Chinese coins and other artefacts along the coast, which reveal the historic background of the location. Kollam Port makes Tangasseri an important place on the world maritime map, in 1502, the Portuguese were the first Europeans to establish a trading centre in Tangasseri and the area soon became a major centre for the pepper trade. In the wars with the Moors and Arabs that followed, the ancient church of St Thomas was destroyed, tangasseris St Thomas Fort, built by the Portuguese in 1517, was destroyed in the subsequent wars with the Dutch. In 1661, the Dutch took possession of the city, the remains of both the Dutch and Portuguese forts can still be seen in Tangasseri. In the 18th century, the kingdom of Travancore first conquered Kollam, Tangasseri remains an Anglo-Indian settlement in character, though there are few Anglo-Indians in the population. The Infant Jesus Church in Tangasseri, an old Portuguese-built church, the old cathedral was demolished and replaced by a new cathedral at a cost of around ₹4.5 crore, it was consecrated and blessed on 3 December 2005. The metallic cross on the top is one of the largest crosses in India, Tangasseri is a picturesque seaside village with a three kilometre long beach on which stands a 144 feet tall lighthouse—a silent sentinel warning seamen since 1902 of the treacherous reefs. There are also ruins of Portuguese and Dutch forts and 18th century churches, the fishery harbour at Tangasseri is a basin for traditional fishermen, achieved by the construction of two breakwaters. The length of the breakwater is 2100 m and of the leeward breakwater 550 m. This provides sufficient beach length for landing facilities for all operational craft, Tangasseri is home to Keralas oldest schools, Mount Carmel Convent Anglo-Indian Girls High School and Infant Jesus School Kollam. Official website A brief history of Tangaserri
Tangasseri
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Tangasseri Gate
Tangasseri
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Tangasseri beach lighthouse
Tangasseri
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Fishing activities at Thangassery
12.
Kollam
–
Kollam or Quilon, formerly Desinganadu, is an old seaport and city on the Laccadive Sea coast of Kerala, India. The city is on the banks Ashtamudi Lake, Kollam has had a strong commercial reputation since the days of the Phoenicians and Romans. Fed by the Chinese trade, it was mentioned by Ibn Battuta in the 14th century as one of the five Indian ports he had seen during the course of his twenty-four year travels, desinganadus rajas exchanged embassies with Chinese rulers while there was a flourishing Chinese settlement at Kollam. In the 9th Century, on his way to Canton, China, Marco Polo, the great Venetian traveller, who was in Chinese service under Kublai Khan in 1275, visited Kollam and other towns on the west coast, in his capacity as a Chinese mandarin. V. Nagam Aiya in his Travancore State Manual records that in 822 AD two East Syrian bishops Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, settled in Quilon with their followers. Two years later the Malabar Era began and Quilon became the city of the Malabar region ahead of Travancore. Kollam is a city on the banks of Ashtamudi Lake that took the title Gods Own Country without much demur. The braids of Ashtamudi Lake lie about 71 kilometres north of the state capital, the city hosts the administrative offices of Kollam district and is a prominent trading city for the state. The proportion of females to males in Kollam city is second highest among the 500 most populous cities in India, Kollam is the least polluted city in India. Four major trading centers/towns around Kollam are Kottarakara, Punalur, Paravur, There was also internal trade through the Punalur Pass connecting the ancient town to Tamil Nadu. The rail links later established to Tamil Nadu supported still stronger trade links, the factories processing marine exports and the processing and packaging of cashewnuts extended its trade across the globe. Kollam is the fourth most populous city in Kerala and the fifth largest in incorporated area and it is known for cashew processing and coir manufacturing. Ashtamudi Lake is considered the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala and is a prominent tourist destination at Kollam. The Kollam urban area includes towns such as Paravur in the south, Kundara in the east. Other important towns in the city suburbs are Eravipuram, Kottiyam, Kannanallur, Kollam appeared as Palombe in Mandevilles Travels, where he claimed it contained a Fountain of Youth. During the later stages of the rule of the Chera monarchy in Kerala, Kollam emerged as the point of trade. Kollam continues to be a business and commercial centre in the Southern Kerala. In 825 CE, the Malayalam calendar, or Kollavarsham, was created in Kollam at meetings held in the city, the present Malayalam calendar is said to have begun with the re-founding of the town, which was rebuilt after its destruction by a fire
Kollam
–
From top clockwise:
RP Mall in
Downtown Kollam,
Lighthouse in
Tangasseri,
British Residency in
Asramam,
Kollam Junction railway station and
Kollam MEMU Shed, Aerial view of
Ashtamudi Lake,
Kollam Port,
Asramam Adventure Park, Jalakeli Kendram near
Kollam Beach
Kollam
–
Kollam in the 1500s
Kollam
–
Kollam in the 1700s
13.
Catholic
–
The use of terms catholicism and catholicity is closely related to the use of term Catholic Church. The earliest evidence of the use of term is the Letter to the Smyrnaeans that Ignatius of Antioch wrote in about 108 to Christians in Smyrna. In 380, Emperor Theodosius I limited use of the term Catholic Christian exclusively to those who followed the faith as Pope Damasus I of Rome. Numerous other early writers including Cyril of Jerusalem, Augustine of Hippo further developed the use of the term catholic in relation to Christianity. In Christian theology, and specially in ecclesiology, terms Catholicism, when used with small c, terms catholicism and catholicity generally designate theological doctrine of the catholicity of the Church without denominational connotations. A common belief in Catholicism is institutional continuity with the early Christian church founded by Jesus Christ, many churches or communions of churches identify singularly or collectively as the authentic church. The Bishop of Rome was also considered to have the right to convene ecumenical councils, when the Imperial capital moved to Constantinople, Romes influence was sometimes challenged. The first great rupture in the Church followed this Council and they are often called Ancient Oriental Churches. The next major break was after the Council of Chalcedon and this Council repudiated Eutychian Monophysitism which stated that the divine nature completely subsumed the human nature in Christ. This Council declared that Christ, though one person, exhibited two natures without confusion, without change, without division, without separation and thus is both fully God and fully human, the next great rift within Christianity was in the 11th century. This division between the Western Church and the Eastern Church is called the East–West Schism, several eastern churches reunited, constituting some of the Eastern Catholic Churches. Liturgical and canonical practices vary between all these particular Churches constituting the Roman and Eastern Catholic Churches, in all these cases the beliefs and practices of Catholicism would be identical with the beliefs and practices of the Church in question. However, in Roman Catholicism, the term catholic is understood as to cover those who recognize and are in standing with the Magisterium. The sense given to the word by those who use it to distinguish their position from a Calvinistic or Puritan form of Protestantism. It is then meaningful to attempt to draw up a list of common characteristic beliefs, the Roman Catholic Church includes the 23 rites who recognize the Magisterium. Belief in the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist, the belief that Christ is made manifest in the elements of Holy Communion, possession of the threefold ordained ministry of Bishops, Priests and Deacons. Belief that the Church is the vessel and deposit of the fullness of the teachings of Jesus and this teaching is preserved in both written scripture and in unwritten tradition, neither being independent of the other. A belief in the necessity and efficacy of sacraments, liturgical and personal use of the Sign of the Cross The use of sacred images, candles, vestments and music, and often incense and water, in worship
Catholic
–
Ruins of gothic Catholic church in
Liptovská Mara (
Slovakia).
Catholic
–
Ancient statue of
Saint Peter in the Basilica dedicated to him in the
Vatican.
Catholic
–
An
Italian priest during the sacrament of
Baptism
14.
Kerala
–
Kerala historically known as Keralam, is an Indian state in South India on the Malabar Coast. It was formed on 1 November 1956 following the States Reorganisation Act by combining Malayalam-speaking regions, spread over 38,863 km2, it is bordered by Karnataka to the north and northeast, Tamil Nadu to the east and south, and the Lakshadweep Sea to the west. With 33,387,677 inhabitants as per the 2011 Census, Malayalam is the most widely spoken language and is also the official language of the state. The region has been a prominent spice exporter since 3000 BCE, the Chera Dynasty was the first prominent kingdom based in Kerala, though it frequently struggled against attacks by the neighbouring Cholas and Pandyas. In the 15th century, the spice trade attracted Portuguese traders to Kerala, after independence, Travancore and Cochin joined the Republic of India and Travancore-Cochin was given the status of a state in 1949. In 1956, Kerala state was formed by merging Malabar district, Travancore-Cochin, Hinduism is practised by more than half of the population, followed by Islam and Christianity. The culture is a synthesis of Aryan and Dravidian cultures, developed over millennia, under influences from other parts of India, the production of pepper and natural rubber contributes significantly to the total national output. In the agricultural sector, coconut, tea, coffee, cashew, the states coastline extends for 595 kilometres, and around 1.1 million people in the state are dependent on the fishery industry which contributes 3% to the states income. The state has the highest media exposure in India with newspapers publishing in nine languages, mainly English, Kerala is one of the prominent tourist destinations of India, with backwaters, beaches, Ayurvedic tourism and tropical greenery as its major attractions. The name Kerala has an uncertain etymology, One popular theory derives Kerala from Kera and alam is land, thus land of coconuts, this also happens to be a nickname for the state due to abundance of coconut trees and its use by the locals. The word Kerala is first recorded in a 3rd-century BCE rock inscription left by the Maurya emperor Ashoka, the inscription refers to the local ruler as Keralaputra, or son of Chera. This contradicts the theory that Kera is from coconut tree, at that time, one of three states in the region was called Cheralam in Classical Tamil, Chera and Kera are variants of the same word. The word Cheral refers to the oldest known dynasty of Kerala kings and is derived from the Proto-Tamil-Malayalam word for lake, the earliest Sanskrit text to mention Kerala is the Aitareya Aranyaka of the Rigveda. It is also mentioned in the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, the two Hindu epics, the Skanda Purana mentions the ecclesiastical office of the Thachudaya Kaimal who is referred to as Manikkam Keralar, synonymous with the deity of the Koodalmanikyam temple. Keralam may stem from the Classical Tamil cherive-alam or chera alam, the Greco-Roman trade map Periplus Maris Erythraei refers to Keralaputra as Celobotra. According to Hindu mythology, the lands of Kerala were recovered from the sea by the warrior sage Parasurama. Parasurama threw his axe across the sea, and the water receded as far as it reached, according to legend, this new area of land extended from Gokarna to Kanyakumari. The land which rose from sea was filled with salt and unsuitable for habitation, so Parasurama invoked the Snake King Vasuki, out of respect, Vasuki and all snakes were appointed as protectors and guardians of the land
Kerala
–
A houseboat near
Alappuzha, Kerala
Kerala
–
Parasurama, surrounded by settlers, commanding
Varuna (the
Hindu God of water) to part the seas and reveal Kerala.
Kerala
–
A
dolmen erected by Neolithic people in
Marayur
Kerala
–
Silk Road map. The spice trade was mainly along the water routes (blue).
15.
Bishop
–
A bishop is an ordained, consecrated, or appointed member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within these churches, bishops are seen as those who possess the full priesthood, Some Protestant churches including the Lutheran and Methodist churches have bishops serving similar functions as well, though not always understood to be within apostolic succession in the same way. Priests, deacons and lay ministers cooperate and assist their bishop in shepherding a flock, the earliest organization of the Church in Jerusalem was, according to most scholars, similar to that of Jewish synagogues, but it had a council or college of ordained presbyters. In, we see a system of government in Jerusalem chaired by James the Just. In, the Apostle Paul ordains presbyters in churches in Anatolia, in Timothy and Titus in the New Testament a more clearly defined episcopate can be seen. We are told that Paul had left Timothy in Ephesus and Titus in Crete to oversee the local church, Paul commands Titus to ordain presbyters/bishops and to exercise general oversight, telling him to rebuke with all authority. Early sources are unclear but various groups of Christian communities may have had the bishop surrounded by a group or college functioning as leaders of the local churches, eventually, as Christendom grew, bishops no longer directly served individual congregations. Instead, the Metropolitan bishop appointed priests to each congregation. Around the end of the 1st century, the organization became clearer in historical documents. While Ignatius of Antioch offers the earliest clear description of monarchial bishops he is an advocate of monepiscopal structure rather than describing an accepted reality. To the bishops and house churches to which he writes, he offers strategies on how to pressure house churches who dont recognize the bishop into compliance. Other contemporary Christian writers do not describe monarchial bishops, either continuing to equate them with the presbyters or speaking of episkopoi in a city, plainly therefore we ought to regard the bishop as the Lord Himself — Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians 6,1. Your godly bishop — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 2,1, therefore as the Lord did nothing without the Father, either by Himself or by the Apostles, so neither do ye anything without the bishop and the presbyters. — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 7,1. Be obedient to the bishop and to one another, as Jesus Christ was to the Father, and as the Apostles were to Christ and to the Father, — Epistle of Ignatius to the Magnesians 13,2. Apart from these there is not even the name of a church, — Epistle of Ignatius to the Trallesians 3,1. Follow your bishop, as Jesus Christ followed the Father, and the presbytery as the Apostles, and to the deacons pay respect, as to Gods commandment — Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnans 8,1. He that honoureth the bishop is honoured of God, he that doeth aught without the knowledge of the bishop rendereth service to the devil — Epistle of Ignatius to the Smyrnans 9,1
Bishop
–
A 6th-century image of
Saint Augustine, bishop of
Hippo Regius.
Bishop
–
Ignatius, bishop of Antioch, student of
John the Apostle
Bishop
–
A bishop with other officials on an 11th-century grave in
Sweden.
Bishop
–
Johann Otto von Gemmingen,
Prince-Bishop of Augsburg
16.
Thomas the Apostle
–
Thomas the Apostle was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament. He is informally called doubting Thomas because he doubted Jesus resurrection when first told, followed later by his confession of faith, My Lord and my God, on seeing Jesus wounded body. According to undocumented traditions, the Apostle reached Muziris, in AD52 and baptized several people, after his death, the reputed relics of Saint Thomas the Apostle were enshrined as far as Mesopotamia in the 3rd century, and later moved to various places. In 1258, some of the relics were brought to Abruzzo in Ortona, Italy and he is often regarded as the Patron Saint of India, and the name Thoma remains quite popular among Saint Thomas Christians of India. Today scholars say the legends are no more possible for there is no written claim before centuries later. Thomas first speaks in the Gospel of John, in John 11,16, when Lazarus had recently died, the apostles do not wish to go back to Judea, where some Jews had attempted to stone Jesus. Thomas says, Let us also go, that we may die with him and he speaks again in John 14,5. There, Jesus had just explained that he was going away to prepare a heavenly home for his followers, Thomas reacted by saying, Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way. But when Jesus appeared later and invited Thomas to touch his wounds and behold him, Thomas showed his belief by saying, My Lord and my God. Jesus then said, Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed, blessed they that have not seen, and have believed. The name Thomas given for the apostle in the New Testament is derived from the Aramaic or Syriac, ܬܐܘܡܐ Toma, equivalently from Hebrew Teom, the equivalent term for twin in Greek, which is also used in the New Testament, is Δίδυμος Didymus. The Nag Hammadi copy of the Gospel of Thomas begins, These are the sayings that the living Jesus spoke. Early Syrian traditions also relate the apostles full name as Judas Thomas, some have seen in the Acts of Thomas an identification of Saint Thomas with the apostle Judas, brother of James, better known in English as Jude. However, the first sentence of the Acts follows the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles in distinguishing the apostle Thomas, when the feast of Saint Thomas was inserted in the Roman calendar in the 9th century, it was assigned to 21 December. 3 July was the day on which his relics were translated from Mylapore, traditionalist Roman Catholics and many Anglicans, still celebrate his feast day on 21 December. However, most modern liturgical calendars prefer 3 July, the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches celebrate his feast day on 6 October. Thomas is commemorated in common with all of the apostles on 30 June. He is also associated with the Arabian icon of the Theotokos, the Malankara Orthodox church celebrates his feast on three days,3 July,18 December, and 21 December
Thomas the Apostle
–
Eastern icon of Thomas
Thomas the Apostle
–
St. Thomas receiving the Virgin Mary's girdle from heaven.
Thomas the Apostle
–
The tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle in
Mylapore,
India.
17.
China
–
China, officially the Peoples Republic of China, is a unitary sovereign state in East Asia and the worlds most populous country, with a population of over 1.381 billion. The state is governed by the Communist Party of China and its capital is Beijing, the countrys major urban areas include Shanghai, Guangzhou, Beijing, Chongqing, Shenzhen, Tianjin and Hong Kong. China is a power and a major regional power within Asia. Chinas landscape is vast and diverse, ranging from forest steppes, the Himalaya, Karakoram, Pamir and Tian Shan mountain ranges separate China from much of South and Central Asia. The Yangtze and Yellow Rivers, the third and sixth longest in the world, respectively, Chinas coastline along the Pacific Ocean is 14,500 kilometers long and is bounded by the Bohai, Yellow, East China and South China seas. China emerged as one of the worlds earliest civilizations in the basin of the Yellow River in the North China Plain. For millennia, Chinas political system was based on hereditary monarchies known as dynasties, in 1912, the Republic of China replaced the last dynasty and ruled the Chinese mainland until 1949, when it was defeated by the communist Peoples Liberation Army in the Chinese Civil War. The Communist Party established the Peoples Republic of China in Beijing on 1 October 1949, both the ROC and PRC continue to claim to be the legitimate government of all China, though the latter has more recognition in the world and controls more territory. China had the largest economy in the world for much of the last two years, during which it has seen cycles of prosperity and decline. Since the introduction of reforms in 1978, China has become one of the worlds fastest-growing major economies. As of 2016, it is the worlds second-largest economy by nominal GDP, China is also the worlds largest exporter and second-largest importer of goods. China is a nuclear weapons state and has the worlds largest standing army. The PRC is a member of the United Nations, as it replaced the ROC as a permanent member of the U. N. Security Council in 1971. China is also a member of numerous formal and informal multilateral organizations, including the WTO, APEC, BRICS, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, the BCIM, the English name China is first attested in Richard Edens 1555 translation of the 1516 journal of the Portuguese explorer Duarte Barbosa. The demonym, that is, the name for the people, Portuguese China is thought to derive from Persian Chīn, and perhaps ultimately from Sanskrit Cīna. Cīna was first used in early Hindu scripture, including the Mahābhārata, there are, however, other suggestions for the derivation of China. The official name of the state is the Peoples Republic of China. The shorter form is China Zhōngguó, from zhōng and guó and it was then applied to the area around Luoyi during the Eastern Zhou and then to Chinas Central Plain before being used as an occasional synonym for the state under the Qing
China
–
Yinxu, ruins of an ancient
palace dating from the
Shang Dynasty (14th century BCE)
China
–
Flag
China
–
Some of the thousands of life-size
Terracotta Warriors of the
Qin Dynasty, c. 210 BCE
China
–
The
Great Wall of China was built by several dynasties over two thousand years to protect the sedentary agricultural regions of the
Chinese interior from incursions by
nomadic pastoralists of the northern
steppes.
18.
Pope John XXII
–
Pope John XXII, born Jacques Duèze, was Pope from 7 August 1316 to his death in 1334. Like his predecessor, Clement V, Pope John centralized power and income in the Papacy, the son of a shoemaker in Cahors, Jacques Duèze studied medicine in Montpellier and law in Paris, yet could not read a regal letter written to him in French. Duèze taught both canon and civil law at Toulouse and Cahors, on the recommendation of Charles II of Naples he was made Bishop of Fréjus in 1300. In 1309 he was appointed chancellor of Charles II, and in 1310 he was transferred to Avignon and he delivered legal opinions favorable to the suppression of the Templars, but he also defended Boniface VIII and the Bull Unam Sanctam. On 23 December 1312, Clement V made him Cardinal-Bishop of Porto-Santa Rufina, the death of Pope Clement V in 1314 was followed by an interregnum of two years due to disagreements between the cardinals, who were split into two factions. After two years, Philip, in 1316, finally managed to arrange a papal conclave of cardinals in Lyon. This conclave elected Duèze, who took the name John XXII and was crowned in Lyon and he set up his residence in Avignon rather than Rome, continuing the Avignon Papacy of his predecessor. John XXII involved himself in the politics and religious movements of many European countries in order to advance the interests of the Church and his close links with the French crown created widespread distrust of the papacy. Pope John XXII was an excellent administrator and efficient at reorganizing the Church and he had sent a letter of thanks to the Muslim ruler Uzbeg Khan, who was very tolerant of Christians and treated Christians kindly. John XXII has traditionally been credited with having composed the prayer Anima Christi, and the basis for the hymn Soul of Christ, Sanctify My Breast. On 27 March 1329 John XXII condemned many writings of Meister Eckhart as heretical in his papal bull In Agro Dominico, prior to John XXIIs election a contest had begun for the Holy Roman Empires crown between Louis IV of Bavaria and Frederick I of Austria. Louis IV was assisted in his dispute with the papacy by Marsilius of Padua. Louis IV invaded Italy, entered Rome and set up Pietro Rainalducci as Antipope Nicholas V in 1328, guelphic predominance at Rome was later restored, and Pope John excommunicated William of Ockham. However, Louis IV had silenced the claims and John XXII stayed the rest of his life in Avignon. In 1317, John XXII formally condemned the group of known as the Fraticelli. The experts disagreed among themselves, but the majority condemned the idea on the grounds that it would condemn the Churchs right to have possessions. On 12 November 1323, he issued the bull Quum inter nonnullos, influential members of the order protested, such as the minister general Michael of Cesena, the English provincial William of Ockham, and Bonagratia of Bergamo. In 1324, Louis the Bavarian sided with the Spirituals and accused the Pope of heresy, in 1328 Michael of Cesena was summoned to Avignon to explain the Orders intransigence in refusing the Popes orders and its complicity with Louis of Bavaria
Pope John XXII
–
Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII
–
17th-century engraving of Pope John XXII
Pope John XXII
–
Pope John XXII cameo
19.
St. Francis Xavier
–
Saint Francis Xavier, S. J. was a Navarrese-Basque Roman Catholic missionary, born in Javier, Kingdom of Navarre, and a co-founder of the Society of Jesus. He was a companion of Saint Ignatius of Loyola and one of the first seven Jesuits who took vows of poverty and chastity at Montmartre, Paris in 1534. He led a mission into Asia, mainly in the Portuguese Empire of the time and was influential in evangelization work. He also was the first Christian missionary to venture into Japan, Borneo, the Maluku Islands, in those areas, struggling to learn the local languages and in the face of opposition, he had less success than he had enjoyed in India. Xavier was about to extend his missionary preaching to China but died in Shangchuan Island shortly before he could do so and he was beatified by Pope Paul V on 25 October 1619 and canonized by Pope Gregory XV on 12 March 1622. In 1624 he was made co-patron of Navarre alongside Santiago, known as the Apostle of the Indies, and the Apostle of Japan, he is considered to be one of the greatest missionaries since Saint Paul. In 1927, Pope Pius XI published the decree Apostolicorum in Missionibus naming Saint Francis Xavier, along with Saint Thérèse of Lisieux and he is now co-patron saint of Navarre with San Fermin. The Day of Navarre in Spain marks the anniversary of Saint Francis Xaviers death, Francis Xavier was born in the royal castle of Xavier, in the Kingdom of Navarre, on 7 April 1506 according to a family register. Francis mother was Doña María de Azpilcueta y Aznárez, sole heiress of two noble Navarrese families and he was thus related to the great theologian and philosopher Martín de Azpilcueta. In 1512, Ferdinand, King of Aragon and regent of Castile, invaded Navarre, three years later, Francis father died when Francis was only nine years old. In 1516, Franciss brothers participated in a failed Navarrese-French attempt to expel the Spanish invaders from the kingdom. The Spanish Governor, Cardinal Cisneros, confiscated the lands, demolished the outer wall, the gates. In addition, the height of the keep was reduced by half, only the family residence inside the castle was left. In 1525, Francis went to study in Paris at the Collège Sainte-Barbe, University of Paris, in the early days he acquired some reputation as an athlete and a fine high-jumper. In 1529, Francis shared lodgings with his friend Pierre Favre, a new student, Ignatius of Loyola, came to room with them. At 38, Ignatius was much older than Pierre and Francis, Pierre was won over by Ignatius to become a priest, but Francis had aspirations of worldly advancement. At first Francis was not much taken with Ignatius and he regarded the new lodger as a joke and was sarcastic about his efforts to convert students. Only after Pierre left their lodgings to visit his family, when Ignatius was alone with the proud Navarrese, was he was able to break down Franciss stubborn resistance
St. Francis Xavier
–
A painting of St. Francis Xavier, held in the
Kobe City Museum.
St. Francis Xavier
–
The
castle of the Xavier family was later acquired by the Society of Jesus.
St. Francis Xavier
–
Church of
Saint-Pierre de Montmartre, Paris.
St. Francis Xavier
–
Conversion of the
Paravars by Francis Xavier in
South India, in a 19th-century colored lithograph.
20.
Pope Gregory XVI
–
Pope Gregory XVI, born Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari EC, reigned as Pope from 2 February 1831 to his death in 1846. He had adopted the name Mauro upon entering the order of the Camaldolese. Strongly conservative and traditionalist, he opposed democratic and modernising reforms in the Papal States and throughout Europe, against these trends Gregory XVI sought to strengthen the religious and political authority of the papacy. In the encyclical Mirari vos, he pronounced it “false and absurd, or rather mad, however, his harsh repression, financial extravagance and neglectfulness left him deeply unpopular domestically. He is the most recent pope to take the pontifical name Gregory, Bartolomeo Alberto Cappellari was born at Belluno in the Republic of Venice, on 18 September 1765, to an Italian lower noble family. His parents were from a village named Pesariis, in Friuli. At the age of eighteen Bartolomeo Cappellari joined the order of the Camaldolese and entered the Monastery of San Michele in Murano and he was ordained a priest in 1787. As a Camaldolese monk, Cappellari rapidly gained distinction for his theological and linguistic skills, was assigned to teach philosophy, Michele in 1787, at the age of twenty-two. In 1790, at the age of twenty-five, he was appointed censor librorum for his Order, in 1800 he became a member of the Academy of the Catholic Religion, founded by Pope Pius VII, to which he contributed memoirs on theological and philosophical questions. In 1805, at the age of forty, he was appointed abbot of the Monastery of San Gregorio on Romes Caelian Hill, from there he and a group of monks moved their little college to Padua in 1814. Twice he was offered a bishopric and twice he refused and he also negotiated a peace on behalf of Armenian Catholics with the Ottoman Empire. Gregory had never travelled outside Italy and was most familiar with Venice and he spoke Italian and Latin fluently, but no other European languages, and did not understand European politics. On 2 February 1831, after a fifty-day conclave, Cappellari was unexpectedly chosen to succeed Pope Pius VIII and his election was influenced by the fact that the cardinal considered the most papabile, Giacomo Giustiniani, was vetoed by King Ferdinand VII of Spain. There then arose a deadlock between the two major candidates, Emmanuele De Gregorio and Bartolomeo Pacca. What finally drove them to make a decision was a message from the Duke of Parma notifying them that revolt was about to break out in the northern Papal States. To resolve the impasse, the cardinals turned to Cappellari, at the time of election, Cardinal Cappellari was not yet a bishop, he is the most recent man to be elected pope prior to his episcopal consecration. The Monastery of S. Gregorio was the abbey from which Pope Gregory I had dispatched missionaries to England in 596. The Revolution of 1830, which overthrew the House of Bourbon, had just inflicted a blow on the Catholic royalist party in France
Pope Gregory XVI
–
Pope Gregory XVI
Pope Gregory XVI
–
Pope Gregory XVI, 1834
Pope Gregory XVI
–
Lithograph of Gregory XVI in 1831
21.
Vicariate of Malabar
–
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Verapoly is a Roman Catholic archdiocese belonging to the Latin rite, headquartred at Cochin city of the south Indian state of Kerala. The archdiocese has administrative control over the suffragan dioceses viz. Calicut, Cochin, Kannur, the headquarters is located in Kochi along the Malabar Coast in India. It was originally formed as the Vicariate of Malabar in 1657, Verapoly is the anglicised name of Varapuzha. The Archdiocese of Verapoly was originally known as the Vicariate of Malabar and it has its origin in 1657, with the arrival of Carmelite Missionaries, most prominent among whom was Father Joseph of St. Mary, better known as Joseph Sebastiani. By the efforts of Sebastiani a large number of seceders were brought back to the true fold, nevertheless, they refused to be under the authority of their lawful Archbishop or under any prelate of the Jesuit Order known as the Paulists. Rome, being informed of the situation by Sebastiani in person, for this purpose the Vicariate of Malabar was erected by Pope Alexander VII on 3 December 1659. Sebastiani was consecrated Titular Bishop of Hierapolis on 15 December 1659 and sent back to Malabar, with the title of Vicar Apostolic, the new Vicariate eventually established its headquarters in the island of Verapoly. Nevertheless, it survived under the Indian Prelate Parambil Chandy whom Sebastiani had consecrated as his successor before he left Malabar in 1663, before long Carmelites were allowed to resume their ministration which was by then extended also to the Catholics of the Latin Church who were under Portuguese protection. On 13 March 1709 by a Brief of Pope Clement XI Malabar Vicariate was suppressed, however in 1845, Quilon was severed from Verapoly as a Suffragan Vicariate. Dr. Leonard Mellano of St. Louis O. C. D. as its first Archbishop who was the 17th in the line of the Vicars Apostolic. Along with this in 1886 the diocese of Cochin was resuscitated and reconstituted with 34 Latin Churches taken from the Archdiocese of Verapoly, thus the Archdiocese of Verapoly came to consist exclusively of Latin Catholics. However, a percentage of the lay people in Archdiocese of Verapoly identifies themselves as the descendants of the St. Thomas Christians who were latinized by the European missionaries. Joseph Kalathiparambil, appointed on October 31,2016, the Archbishop was formally installed on December 18,2016
Vicariate of Malabar
–
Archdiocese of Verapoly Archidioecesis Verapolitana Varapuzha
22.
Diocese of Cochin
–
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Cochin is a diocese located in the city of Cochin in the Ecclesiastical province of Verapoly in India. The territory of the diocese of Cochin covers 235 square kilometers in the state of Kerala and it is situated between the Arabian Sea in the west, the Archdiocese of Verapoly in the north and in the east, and the Diocese of Alleppey in the south. The Dioceses Cathedral church and thus, seat of its Bishop, is Santa Cruz Basilica, the current Bishop of Cochin is Bishop Joseph Kariyil, appointed by Pope Benedict XVI on May 8,2009. The Diocese of Cochin, now diminutive in size due to successive bifurcations in the course of time, once used to be the Mother Diocese of many a bishopric in the Sub-continent
Diocese of Cochin
–
Santa Cruz Basilica
23.
Odoric of Pordenone
–
Odoric of Pordenone, OFM, also known as Odorico Mattiussi or Mattiuzzi, was an Italian late-medieval Franciscan friar and missionary explorer. His account of his visit to China was an important source for the account of John Mandeville, many of the incredible reports in Mandeville have proven to be garbled versions of Odorics eyewitness descriptions. Odoric was born at Villanova, a hamlet now belonging to the town of Pordenone in Friuli and he came from the Italian family of the Mattiussi, one of the families in charge of defending the town of Pordenone in the name of Ottokar II, King of Bohemia. This later gave rise to the rumours that the family was of Bohemian origin. According to the ecclesiastical biographers, in years he took the vows of the Franciscan order and joined their convent at Udine. In 1296 Odoric went as a missionary to the Balkans, friar Odoric was dispatched to the East in April 1318. Starting from Padua, he went to Constantinople via Venice and then crossed the Black Sea to Trebizond, from there he traveled and preached in Armenia, Media, and Persia. In all these countries the Franciscans had founded mission centers, from Sultanieh he proceeded by Kashan and Yazd, and turning thence followed a somewhat indirect route by Persepolis and the Shiraz and Baghdad regions, to the Persian Gulf. With another friar, James of Ireland, as his companion, he sailed from Ormus to India, landing at Thane, at this city St Thomas of Tolentino and his three Franciscan companions had recently been martyred for blaspheming Muhammad before the local qadi during a domestic violence case. Their remains had been gathered by Jordan of Severac, a Dominican who had them a short time before. He interred them at the church in Supera, near Vasai, Odoric relates that he disinterred these relics and carried them with him on his further travels. From India, Odoric sailed in a junk to Sumatra, visiting ports on the northern coast of that island. Thence, he visited Java, Borneo, Champa, and Guangzhou, from Guangzhou, he travelled overland to the great port of Quanzhou where there were two houses of his order. From Fuzhou Odoric struck across the mountains into Zhejiang and visited Hangzhou and it was at the time one of the great cities of the world and Odoric —like Marco Polo, Marignolli, and Ibn Batuta—gives details of its splendors. Passing northward by Nanjing and crossing the Yangzi, Odoric embarked on the Grand Canal and he remained there for three years, probably from 1324 to 1327. He was attached, no doubt, to one of the churches founded by the Franciscan Archbishop John of Monte Corvino and he also visited Yangzhou where Katarina Vilionis tombstone was found. On one of his trips, his ship was capsized by a typhoon but they landed safely in Bolinao, Pangasinan. He is said to have held a Mass there, in around 1324 and that would have pre-dated the Mass celebrated in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan, which is generally regarded as the first Mass in the Philippines, by some 197 years
Odoric of Pordenone
–
The departure of Odoric
Odoric of Pordenone
–
Odoric's tomb in
Udine
Odoric of Pordenone
–
The ancient Persian city of
Persepolis through which Odoric passed. The columns are nearly 25 meters (84ft) tall.
Odoric of Pordenone
–
Chinese depiction of the Blessed Odoric
24.
International Standard Book Number
–
The International Standard Book Number is a unique numeric commercial book identifier. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an e-book, a paperback and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, the method of assigning an ISBN is nation-based and varies from country to country, often depending on how large the publishing industry is within a country. The initial ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 based upon the 9-digit Standard Book Numbering created in 1966, the 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108. Occasionally, a book may appear without a printed ISBN if it is printed privately or the author does not follow the usual ISBN procedure, however, this can be rectified later. Another identifier, the International Standard Serial Number, identifies periodical publications such as magazines, the ISBN configuration of recognition was generated in 1967 in the United Kingdom by David Whitaker and in 1968 in the US by Emery Koltay. The 10-digit ISBN format was developed by the International Organization for Standardization and was published in 1970 as international standard ISO2108, the United Kingdom continued to use the 9-digit SBN code until 1974. The ISO on-line facility only refers back to 1978, an SBN may be converted to an ISBN by prefixing the digit 0. For example, the edition of Mr. J. G. Reeder Returns, published by Hodder in 1965, has SBN340013818 -340 indicating the publisher,01381 their serial number. This can be converted to ISBN 0-340-01381-8, the check digit does not need to be re-calculated, since 1 January 2007, ISBNs have contained 13 digits, a format that is compatible with Bookland European Article Number EAN-13s. An ISBN is assigned to each edition and variation of a book, for example, an ebook, a paperback, and a hardcover edition of the same book would each have a different ISBN. The ISBN is 13 digits long if assigned on or after 1 January 2007, a 13-digit ISBN can be separated into its parts, and when this is done it is customary to separate the parts with hyphens or spaces. Separating the parts of a 10-digit ISBN is also done with either hyphens or spaces, figuring out how to correctly separate a given ISBN number is complicated, because most of the parts do not use a fixed number of digits. ISBN issuance is country-specific, in that ISBNs are issued by the ISBN registration agency that is responsible for country or territory regardless of the publication language. Some ISBN registration agencies are based in national libraries or within ministries of culture, in other cases, the ISBN registration service is provided by organisations such as bibliographic data providers that are not government funded. In Canada, ISBNs are issued at no cost with the purpose of encouraging Canadian culture. In the United Kingdom, United States, and some countries, where the service is provided by non-government-funded organisations. Australia, ISBNs are issued by the library services agency Thorpe-Bowker
International Standard Book Number
–
A 13-digit ISBN, 978-3-16-148410-0, as represented by an
EAN-13 bar code
25.
Public domain
–
The term public domain has two senses of meaning. Anything published is out in the domain in the sense that it is available to the public. Once published, news and information in books is in the public domain, in the sense of intellectual property, works in the public domain are those whose exclusive intellectual property rights have expired, have been forfeited, or are inapplicable. Examples for works not covered by copyright which are therefore in the domain, are the formulae of Newtonian physics, cooking recipes. Examples for works actively dedicated into public domain by their authors are reference implementations of algorithms, NIHs ImageJ. The term is not normally applied to situations where the creator of a work retains residual rights, as rights are country-based and vary, a work may be subject to rights in one country and be in the public domain in another. Some rights depend on registrations on a basis, and the absence of registration in a particular country, if required. Although the term public domain did not come into use until the mid-18th century, the Romans had a large proprietary rights system where they defined many things that cannot be privately owned as res nullius, res communes, res publicae and res universitatis. The term res nullius was defined as not yet appropriated. The term res communes was defined as things that could be enjoyed by mankind, such as air, sunlight. The term res publicae referred to things that were shared by all citizens, when the first early copyright law was first established in Britain with the Statute of Anne in 1710, public domain did not appear. However, similar concepts were developed by British and French jurists in the eighteenth century, instead of public domain they used terms such as publici juris or propriété publique to describe works that were not covered by copyright law. The phrase fall in the domain can be traced to mid-nineteenth century France to describe the end of copyright term. In this historical context Paul Torremans describes copyright as a coral reef of private right jutting up from the ocean of the public domain. Because copyright law is different from country to country, Pamela Samuelson has described the public domain as being different sizes at different times in different countries. According to James Boyle this definition underlines common usage of the public domain and equates the public domain to public property. However, the usage of the public domain can be more granular. Such a definition regards work in copyright as private property subject to fair use rights, the materials that compose our cultural heritage must be free for all living to use no less than matter necessary for biological survival
Public domain
–
Newton's own copy of his
Principia, with hand-written corrections for the second edition
Public domain
–
L.H.O.O.Q. (1919). Derivative work by the
Dadaist Marcel Duchamp based on the
Mona Lisa.
26.
Catholic Encyclopedia
–
The first volume appeared in March 1907 and the last three volumes appeared in 1912, followed by a master index volume in 1914 and later supplementary volumes. It was designed to give its readers full and authoritative information on the cycle of Catholic interests, action. The Catholic Encyclopedia was published by the Robert Appleton Company, a company incorporated at New York in February 1905 for the express purpose of publishing the encyclopedia. The five members of the encyclopedias Editorial Board also served as the directors of the company, in 1912 the companys name was changed to The Encyclopedia Press. Publication of the volumes was the sole business conducted by the company during the projects lifetime. The encyclopedia was designed to serve the Roman Catholic Church, concentrating on information related to the Church and it records the accomplishments of Catholics and others in nearly all intellectual and professional pursuits, including artists, educators, poets and scientists. The volumes came out sequentially the first two in 1907 and the last three in 1912, The editors had their first editorial meeting at the office of The Messenger, on West 16th Street, New York City. The text received a nihil obstat from an official censor, Remy Lafort, on November 1,1908 and this review process was presumably accelerated by the reuse of older authorized publications. A first supplement was published in 1922, a supplement in nine loose-leaf sections was published by The Gilmary Society between 1950 and 1958. In 1912, a special completely illustrated commemorative volume was awarded to patrons who contributed to the start of the enterprise by buying multiple encyclopedia sets early on. The encyclopedia was later updated under the auspices of The Catholic University of America and a 17-volume New Catholic Encyclopedia was first published in 1967, and then in 2002. The Catholic Encyclopedia and its makers states that, The work is entirely new, the editors have insisted that the articles should contain the latest and most accurate information to be obtained from the standard works on each subject. Those who wrote new articles in English include Anthony Maas and Herbert Thurston, under United States copyright law, all works published in the United States before 1923 are in the public domain. Knight founded the website New Advent to house the undertaking, volunteers from the United States, Canada, France, and Brazil helped in the transcription of the original material. The site went online in 1995, and transcription work ended in 1997, in 2007, Catholic Answers published a watermarked version derived from page scans. This version has since replaced with a transcription of the Encyclopedia similar to that found at the New Advent website. The Catholic Answers transcription, however, is a transcription of the original text, whereas the New Advent version at times modernizes certain words. Other scanned copies of the 1913 Encyclopedia are available on Google Books, at the Internet Archive, wikisource also hosts a transcription project backed by the scans hosted at Commons
Catholic Encyclopedia
–
Cover page of 1913 Catholic Encyclopedia, Volume 1.
27.
Mar Sabor and Mar Proth
–
In 825 AD, the seaport of Quilon was part of the Venad Kingdom. The then ruling monarch, Iyyanadikal Thiruvadikal, welcomed the monks on their arrival and showered them with special privileges, maruvan Sapir Iso built the Nilalkkal ashram near St. Thomas Church in Chayal, he died and buried in Chayal ashram. The start of the Malayalam era, also referred to as Kollavarsham, is associated with Kollam, the era was started by these East Syrian Saints who settled in Korukeni Kollam, near to the present Kollam. The start of the ME has been dated to 825 AD and it also signified the independence of Malabar from the Cheraman Perumals. V. Nagam Aiya in his Travancore State Manual records that in 822 AD two Nestorian bishops Mar Sapor and Mar Peroz, settled in Quilon with their followers. Two years later the Malabar Era began and Quilon undoubtedly became the city of the Malabar region including Travancore. Tradition says that st. M. G. S and this was the period when the Cera-Pandya conflict was developing in the south. The foundation of Kollam in 825 A. D. must have coincided with victory of Chera in the Vel province. This incident reveals the practical wisdom of the rulers and throws light on the motivations of men who promoted ideas of religion. The Syrian Christian Monks who took advantage of the situation were equally clever, in the absence of materials for a detailed history, it is difficult to ascertain whether Mar Abo was a or missionary. Perhaps he was both at the time and there was no inherent contradiction between the two roles. ”This means that they did not remain as a separate group but rather they intermarried with the Hindus of Kerala. “The deity of the Tarsa Church was referred to the tevar. ”When they arrived on the Malabar Coast, Quilon, Angamaly, Kaduthuruthy and Cranganore had the largest population of Saint Thomas Christians in Kerala. Giovanni Empoli, who came to Quilon in 1503, estimated there were more than three thousand St. Thomas Christians in Quilon alone. Mar Sapor writes, the forgiving Miseha who saved me from persecution, though the Synod of Diamper in 1599 proclaimed Mar Sabor and Mar Proth heretics, the Christians of Malankara respected them. According to decisions of Synod of Diamper these saints of Malankara Nazranis were considered as schismatics, Mar Sabor gained the necessary rights from the local ruler of Kadamattom to build a church there. He established the church in the forest regions of Kadamattom in the 40th year of Kollam Era and he stayed there at first in a small home with a mother and a son. Afterwards he left for Thevalakara to visit an influential and reputed Nambuthiri family who were traditional ophthalmologists to the families in the adjoining area. This family is known as Thevalakara Vaidyan family and most of their members retain the surname Vaidyan
Mar Sabor and Mar Proth
–
Kottakkavu Sliva, the Persian cross founded by Mar Sabor and Mar Proth, is preserved at
Kottakkavu Mar Thoma Syro-Malabar Pilgrim Center, North Paravur.
Mar Sabor and Mar Proth
–
Mar Sabor
Mar Sabor and Mar Proth
–
Tomb of Mar Sabor at Marth Mariam church,
Thevalakkara
28.
Chera dynasty
–
The Cheras were the principal ruling dynasty of the present-day state of Kerala and to a lesser extent, parts of Tamil Nadu in South India. Along with the Ay kingdom and the Ezhimala kingdom, they formed the kingdoms of Kerala in the early years of the Common Era. The origins of the dynasty are unclear and it is understood that they were speakers of Proto-Tamil-Malayalam while some being practitioners of literary writing in Old Tamil. In fact, most of their history is reconstructed from the body of known as the Sangam literature written in Old Tamil around the 3rd century CE. While Pliny and Ptolemy refer to the Cheras as Calobotras, the Periplus refers to them as the Keprobotras, the earliest Sanskrit works which refer to the Cheras and Kerala is probably the Aitreya Aranyaka. It refers to the land as Chera-pada - and as one of the three peoples who did not follow some ancient injunctions, there are also brief references by Katyanana, Edicts of Ashoka, Patanjali and Kautilya though Panini does not mention of the land. However, it is the Tamil works collectively known as the Sangam literature that form the most important sources for a detailed history of the Cheras. These works roughly span the period 100 CE to 300 CE, among them, the most important sources for the Cheras are the Pattittupattu, the Agananuru, the Purananuru and the Silappatikaram. The exact antiquity of the Chera dynasty is difficult to establish, however, based on the travellers accounts and the Sangam literature, it can be confirmed that they were already existing around the 4th century BCE. The Sangam literature describes a line of Chera rulers. It records the names of the kings, the princes, the internal chronology of this literature is still far from settled and a connected account of the history of the period is an area of research. Uthiyan Cheralathan, Nedum Cheralathan and Senguttuvan Chera are some of the referred to in the Sangam poems. Senguttuvan Chera, the most celebrated Chera king, is famous for the legends surrounding Kannagi, the exact location of the Chera capital has been subject to some speculation. The Chera capital has been called, Vanchi and Karur in several works and this has led to several theories identifying the Chera capital in places called Karur in both Kerala and Tamil Nadu. However, it is clear that the capital was near the famous port known as Muziris. Pliny refers to Muziris as the Chera capital, while the author of the Periplus identifies the capital to be a couple of away from the mouth of the river at Muziris. Ptolemy who identifies the capital as Karoura gives a location that is very close to Muziris as well. The Cheras also seem to have battles with other neighbouring dynasties such as the Pallavas, the Rashtrakutas
Chera dynasty
–
Extent of Chera kingdom
Chera dynasty
–
Family tree of the kings of the Chera dynasty based on Sangam literature. The monarchs ruled in the first two centuries of the Common Era.
29.
Kollam Port
–
Kollam Port is one of Indias 20 major ports situated 4 kilometres from Downtown Kollam. It is the second largest port in Kerala by volume of cargo handled, located on the south west coast of India, under the name of Quilon Port it became one of the countrys most important trade hubs from the ninth to the seventeenth centuries. It was founded by Mar Abo at Thangasseri in 825 as an alternative to reopening the inland sea port near Backare, also known as Nelcynda and Tyndis to the Romans and Greeks and Thondi to the Tamils. V. Nagam Aiya in his Travancore State Manual records that in 822, the Chinese traders were one of the oldest foreign communities to settle in Kollam. That was the period when Kollam evolved as a trade center. In January 2014, the port trust discovered thousands of Chinese coins and stone age weapons at Kollam Port, revealing the historic background and this was the first discovery of such a quantity of artifacts at a port in India. Archaeologists believe that a city lies on the seabed of current Kollam Port. Today, ships frequently anchor at the port for shipping operations as well for urgent repairs when required, chief Minister Oommen Chandy launched the Coastal Shipping Project at Kollam Port on 9 November 2013 while passenger ships began operations in 2014. The first container ship, MV Suryamukhi arrived at Kollam port as part of the coastal shipping project on 18 January 2014, major shipping companies are now showing interest in the port to commence shipping operations. The companies have plans to choose the port as an intermediate base, at present, about four companies have assured their frequent presence at the port. Sooryamukhi, the ship of Kerala State Maritime Development Corporation has sailed to Mudra Port in Gujarat to load tiles. The Great Sea Shipping Company will also berth at the port soon, after modernization of the port, the first foreign ship anchored in the port on 4 April 2014. Now it is proven that huge ships can easily operate from Kollam Port. The tugs MT Chaliyar and MT Kerala along with a new German made Rs.12 crore crane are used for the operations in the port. The wharf at Kollam Port is 177 metres in length and 12 metres wide with a draught of 6.5 metres. The wharf is protected from the waves by a 2,100 metres seaboard breakwater, the length of the wharf will be increased to 200 metres in due course. In 2007, Kollam Port handled about 500,000 tonnes of cargo, several major modernization projects have been proposed for Kollam with Maladives port in order to transform it into the port city of Kerala. Projects already planned are some of the largest ever mooted for the state, a face lift of the Maruthadi-Iravipuram area will be carried out by the government as part of the Kollam Port City project and will include facilities for sports, fishing, tourism and entertainment
Kollam Port
–
Kollam Port as seen from
Thangassery
Kollam Port
–
Kollam in the 1500s
Kollam Port
–
A distant view of Kollam Port from
Thangassery harbour
Kollam Port
–
Kollam in the 1800s
30.
Tharisapalli plates
–
The inscription describes the gift of a plot of land to the Syrian Church at Tangasseri near Quilon, along with several rights and privileges to the Syrian Christians led by Mar Sapir Iso. The Tharisappalli copper plates are one of the important historical inscriptions of Kerala, the grant was made in the presence of important officers of the state and the representatives of trade corporations or merchant guilds. It also throws light on the system of taxation that prevailed in early Venad, as several taxes such as a tax, sales tax. It also testifies to the policy of religious toleration followed by the rulers of ancient Kerala. There are two sets of plates as part of document, and both are incomplete. The first set documents the land while the details the attached conditions. The signatories signed the document in the Hebrew, Pahlavi, the Tharisappalli copper plates are kept at Poolatheen Aramana of Malankara Marthoma Syrian Church K. Sivasankaran Nair, Venadinte Parinamam, D C Books,2005
Tharisapalli plates
–
References [edit]
31.
Paravur, Kollam
–
Paravur, or South Paravoor, is a town and a municipality in the Kollam district of the Indian state of Kerala. The lakes and sea coast of Paravur attract visitors and foreigners with the attraction the interconnection of Paravur Kayal. Paravur lies 21 kilometres from Kollam by road and can be reached within 15 minutes by train from Kollam Junction, Paravur Municipality consists of Kottapuram, Koonayil, Thekkumbhagam, Chillakkal, Perumpuzha, Nedungolam, Pozhikara, Maniyamkulam, Kurumandal, Kottamoola, Attinpuram & Kochalummoodu. Paravur Municipality is a Grade-II Municipality of Kerala, Paravur is located at 8.78 N76 E. It has an elevation of 10 metres. Paravur,21 kilometers from the Kollam, is a skirt of land stretching in between the backwaters and the sea. The famous Varkala beach is a mere 12 kilometres drive from here, there is an elevation of 6 metres above sea level, extending to 16 metres on the inland. As of 2011 India census, Paravur has a population of 43,739, males constitute 47% of the population and females 53%. Paravur has an literacy rate of 79%, higher than the national average of 59. 5%, male literacy is 81%. In Paravur, 10% of the population are under 6 years of age, total number of households are 9,155. Pozhikara was the headquarters of Paravur. Remnants of the old fort, Thaana and Anchalappees still remain, a mint of the erstwhile Travancore Kingdom for printing and punching their currencies was once situated at Paravur. Paravur panchayat was formed in 1936 as one of the four panchayats sanctioned by Sir C. P. Ramaswamy Iyer, the others were Boothapandi, Nedumangadu, and Perumbavoor. The so formed Paravur panchayat included nine territories-Thekkumbhagam, Kottappuram, Kongal, Pozhikara, Kurumandal, Koonayil, Kalakkode, Bhoothakkulam, sree Ramavarma koyi thampuram from Kilimanoor Palace was the first executive officer of the panchayat. The first election for Paravur panchayat was held in 1942 and Sri Achuthan Pillai became the first elected panchayat president, later Paravur became a Municipality on May 1,1988. For the first seven years it was ruled by special officers, in 1995 after the first Municipal election, Smt. Bhanumati became the first Municipal Chairperson, in April 2016, over 100 people were killed in a fireworks explosion at a local temple in the town. There are so many important roads in Paravur, connecting Kollam city and neighbouring towns like Varkala, Chathannoor, Parippally, Poothakkulam
Paravur, Kollam
–
From top:
Paravur railway station,
Paravur Lake(Kaayal), Aayiravilli Temple Festival, Pulimuttu in
Paravur Pozhikara
Paravur, Kollam
–
Entrance of
Paravur railway station
Paravur, Kollam
–
Paravur Lake – An evening scene from
Paravur Thekkumbhagam
32.
Travancore
–
The Kingdom of Travancore (/ˈtrævəŋkɔər/, Malayalam, തിരുവിതാംകൂർ Thiruvithamkoor, was an Indian kingdom from 1729 until 1949. It was ruled by the Travancore Royal Family from Padmanabhapuram, the official flag of the state was red with a dextrally-coiled silver conch shell at its center. In the early 19th century, the became a princely state of the British Empire. When the region was part of the Chera empire, it was known as Thiruvazhumkode. It was contracted to Thiruvankode, and anglicised by the English to Travancore. In course of time, the Ay kingdom, part of the Chera empire, which ruled the Thiruvazhumkode area, became independent, the Aayis controlled the land from present day Kollam district in the north, through Thiruvananthapuram district, all in Kerala, to the Kanyakumari district. There were two capitals, the one at Kollam and a subsidiary one at Thrippapur. The kingdom was also called Venad. Kings of Venad had, at times, travelled from Kollam and built residential palaces in Thiruvithamcode. By the time of King Marthanda Varma, the half of the kingdom had become dominant. During his reign, it absorbed the north and Thiruvithamcode or Travancore became the official name, Travancore was located at the extreme southern tip of the Indian subcontinent. Geographically, Travancore was divided into three distinct regions, the eastern highlands, the central midlands, and the western lowlands. Venad was a state at the tip of the Indian Subcontinent. Till the end of the 11th century AD, it was a principality in the Ay Kingdom. The Ays were the earliest ruling dynasty in southern Kerala, who, at their zenith and their capital during the first Sangam age was in Aykudi and later, towards the end of the 8th century AD, was at Quilon. Though a series of attacks by the resurgent Pandyas between the 7th and 8th centuries caused the decline of the Ays, the dynasty was powerful till the beginning of the 10th century, when the Ay power diminished, Venad became the southernmost principality of the Second Chera Kingdom. An invasion of the Cholas into Venad caused the destruction of Kollam in 1096, however, the Chera capital, Mahodayapuram, also fell in the subsequent Chola attack, which compelled the Chera king, Rama varma Kulasekara, to shift his capital to Kollam. Thus the end of the Second Chera dynasty in the 12th century marks the independence of Venad, the history of Travancore began with Marthanda Varma, who inherited the kingdom of Venad, and expanded it into Travancore during his reign
Travancore
Travancore
–
Flag
Travancore
–
Map of Travancore in 1871
Travancore
–
Canal scene, Travancore
33.
Cantonment Maidan
–
Cantonment Maidan or Peeranki Maidan or Peeringee Maidan is a historical ground, closely associated with the social and political history of Kerala. It is situated at the portion of Old Quilon town. It hosts the exhibitions, party meetings and citys main cultural. Cantonment Maidan is situated at the east of old Quilon city, two hundred years back, the maidan extended over a sizeable area of East Kollam. There were no railway connectivity in South Kerala then, in 1809, the local militia and the Army of Travancore stationed around Kollam attacked the British Garrison at the Cantonment Maidan on the heels of Velu Thampi Dalawa. The British force led by Col. Chalmers proved victorious in six hours lasted war. All the insurrectionist who participated in the war were court-martialled and got hanged at the maidan, apart from this, Cantonment Maidan has been the venue for many significant events. A compromise meeting was held here in 1915 as part of Pulayar-Nair Revolt at Perinad, also called the Kallumala Agitation, a statue of Ayankali can be seen at the maidan. Mahatma Gandhi addressed the people here On October 11,1927, historic Chingam 17 Struggle happened at Cantonment Maidan on September 2,1938 in which six people were killed in firing by the British police. As per the History of Modern Kollam penned by journalist late V. Lakshmanan, the four identified among them were Asramam Lakshmanan, Ayathil Balakrishna Pillai, Kolloorvila Moideenkunju, and Kureepuzha Kochukunju. Thousands marched from Polayathode to Chinnakkada led by state leaders, including Kumbalathu Sankupillai. Police arrested the speakers and opened fire at the gathering, British Police used to exhibit five cannons at the adjacent park accounts for the name Peeringee Maidan, by which name this ground was earlier called. These cannons were used for firing at the patriots of the land is now kept at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Police Museum in Kollam city. The present Armed Reserve Camp is situated at the old Cantonment ground, Kollam Asramam Maidan Polayathode Chinnakada Sree Narayana College, Kollam
Cantonment Maidan
–
An Exhibition going on at Cantonment Maidan
34.
Portuguese Empire
–
The Portuguese Empire, also known as the Portuguese Overseas, was one of the largest and longest-lived empires in world history and the first colonial empire. It existed for almost six centuries from the capture of Ceuta in 1415 to the grant of sovereignty to East Timor in 2002, the first era of the Portuguese empire originated at the beginning of the Age of Discovery. Initiated by the Kingdom of Portugal, it would eventually expand across the globe, in 1488, Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, and in 1498, Vasco da Gama reached India. In 1500, either by an accidental landfall or by the secret design. Over the following decades, Portuguese sailors continued to explore the coasts and islands of East Asia, establishing forts, by 1571, a string of naval outposts connected Lisbon to Nagasaki along the coasts of Africa, the Middle East, India and South Asia. This commercial network and the trade had a substantial positive impact on Portuguese economic growth. Though the realms continued to be administered separately, the Council of Portugal ruled the country and its empire from Madrid. As the King of Spain was also King of Portugal, Portuguese colonies became the subject of attacks by three rival European powers hostile to Spain, the Dutch Republic, England, and France. With its smaller population, Portugal was unable to defend its overstretched network of trading posts. Eventually, Brazil became the most valuable colony of the era until, as part of the wave of independence movements that swept the Americas during the early 19th century. The third era represents the stage of Portuguese colonialism after the decolonization of the Americas of the 1820s. The colonial possessions had been reduced to the African coastline, Portuguese Timor, the disastrous 1890 British Ultimatum led to the contraction of Portuguese ambitions in Africa. Macau was returned to China in 1999, the origin of the Kingdom of Portugal lay in the reconquista, the gradual reconquest of the Iberian peninsula from the Moors. There were several motives for their first attack, on the Marinid Sultanate. In 1415 an attack was made on Ceuta, a strategically located North African Muslim enclave along the Mediterranean Sea, although Ceuta proved to be a disappointment for the Portuguese, the decision was taken to hold it while exploring along the Atlantic African coast. At the time, Europeans did not know what lay beyond Cape Bojador on the African coast, under his sponsorship, soon the Atlantic islands of Madeira and Azores were reached and started to be settled producing wheat to export to Portugal. Fears of what lay beyond Cape Bojador, and whether it was possible to return once it was passed, were assuaged in 1434 when it was rounded by one of Infante Henrys captains, Gil Eanes. Once this psychological barrier had been crossed, it became easier to further along the coast
Portuguese Empire
–
The
Conquest of Ceuta, in 1415, was led by
Henry the Navigator, and initiated the Portuguese Empire.
Portuguese Empire
–
Map of Western Africa by Lázaro Luis (1563). The large castle in West Africa represents the
São Jorge da Mina (Elmina castle).
Portuguese Empire
–
Vasco da Gama 's departure to
India, in 1497
35.
Dutch Malabar
–
Dutch presence in the region started with the capture of Portuguese Quilon, and ended with the occupation of Malabar by the British in 1795. They possessed military outposts in 11 locations, Alleppey, Ayacotta, Chendamangalam, Pappinivattom, Ponnani, Pallipuram, Cranganore, Chetwai, Cannanore, Cochin, and Quilon. The Dutch virtually ruled Malabar for a period of over 130 years, the Kingdom of Cochin was under the complete influence of the Dutch and the king was a mere puppet of the Dutch East India Company. They enlarged the Royal Palace built by the Portuguese at Mattancheri for the King of Cochin, in 1744, an impressive country house, later called Bolgatty Palace, was erected on Bolghatty Island for the Dutch Governors. The Dutch contributed a work called Hortus Indicus Malabaricus on the medicinal properties of Malabar plants. In Cochin, the Dutch established an orphanage for poor European children, although also motivated by the lucrative pepper trade on Malabar, the primary aim for the Dutch in capturing the coast from the Portuguese was to secure Dutch Ceylon from Portuguese invasions. After failed attempts to capture the main Portuguese fort of Goa in 1604 and 1639, in 1650s the Dutch possessed only the unfortified factories at Kayamkulam and Cannanore. They took Quilon on 29 December 1658, but it was reconquered by the Portuguese on 14 April 1659. It was agreed that Calicut, the most powerful ruler in Malabar, according to the treaty between the two parties, Fort Cranganore was to be made over to Calicut after its successful capture. Van der Meyden dispersed a Nair detachment sent to stop his advance on the way, the Portuguese made no attempt to resist and fled by the backwaters. On March 21, Rijckloff Van Goens signed a treaty with the chief of Paliyam on a ship anchored off the coast. Dutch forces soon landed and attacked the palace of the queen at Mattanceri, subsequently, the queen was taken as a prisoner. Later in December 1661, Portuguese Quilon was captured by a Dutch expedition under Rijckloff Van Goens and this is often regarded as the beginning of the Dutch presence in Malabar. On January 3,1662 Van Goens was joined by the Calicut army in a siege of Fort Cranganore in the tropical heat, after a fortnight, the fort surrendered, and the Dutch demolished the structure with the exception of the bastion, where they stationed a garrison. A new treaty was now signed between Calicut and Van der Meyden, Calicut agreed to cede Fort Cranganore and Vypin to the Dutch after the capture of the Portuguese fort at Cochin. The allies moved towards Cochin and marched upon the palace of the Raja on 5 February 1662, the raja was killed in the subsequent battle along with two of his juniors. The Dutch installed another prince on the throne and proceeded to besiege the Portuguese fort, Cochin and the chief of Paliyam provided supplies to the Dutch, who faced heroic Portuguese resistance during the prolonged siege. The Native rulers of Porca and Cembakasseri kept the besieged supplied with provisions, though disrupted by monsoon rains and the deaths of the ruler of Calicut and important Dutch officers, the garrison finally capitulated on January 8,1663
Dutch Malabar
–
Quilon rulers submit to the Dutch at Quilon
Dutch Malabar
–
Flag
Dutch Malabar
–
The battle between the Dutch and the Portuguese in December 1661
Dutch Malabar
–
Capture of
Cochin in 1663.
36.
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
–
The 4th Portuguese India Armada was assembled in 1502 on the order of King Manuel I of Portugal and placed under the command of D. Vasco da Gama. It was Gamas second trip to India, along the way, in East Africa, the 4th Armada established a Portuguese factory in Mozambique, made contact and opened trade with the gold entrepot of Sofala and extorted tribute from Kilwa. Once in India, the set about attacking Calicut shipping and disrupting trade along much of the Malabar Coast. But the ruling Zamorin of Calicut refused to accede to Portuguese demands, the 4th Armada left without bringing the Zamorin to terms and leaving matters unresolved. Before departing, the established a crown factory in Cannanore and left behind a small patrol under Vicente Sodré. The Second India Armada, commanded by Pedro Álvares Cabral, had arrived in Portugal in the summer of 1501 in a terrible shape, ship and human losses were tremendous, its mission objectives failed. By the time this news was received, the 3rd India Armada under João da Nova had already departed, a commercial expedition unequipped to deal with the hostile turn of events in the Indian Ocean. As a result, King Manuel I of Portugal ordered a new fleet to be assembled, the command of the 4th Armada was offered to Pedro Álvares Cabral. But various factions in the Portuguese court and the Casa da India, opposed Cabrals appointment, however, Cabral had his own political supporters that could not be ignored. Finding this condition an unacceptable affront, Cabral withdrew his name in a huff, Manuel I immediately appointed Vasco da Gama himself as captain-major. The intrigues behind the appointment have been variously told, by some accounts, the initial offer to Cabral was a pro forma gesture to palliate his faction rather than an earnest offer. In other words, the never had any intention of letting Cabral lead the expedition. But that he had made a promise to Cabral and could not break it, on this hint, Gama produced a royal letter, promising Gama a determining role in any future India expedition, and demanded command of the expedition for himself. The king was caught between two commitments - honoring the letter to Gama, or his appointment to Cabral, hearing of the kings quandary, Cabral voluntarily withdrew his name to graciously allow Manuel I to honor his letter. But some later authors have interpreted the accounts differently, that King Manuel I was wholly behind Cabral, the vintena would continue until 1522. The 4th Armada was composed of 20 ships and between 800 and 1800 men, the Armada was originally envisaged as two squadrons -15 ships under the admiral to head to India,5 under the vice-admiral designated to patrol the mouth of the Red Sea. The exact composition of the three squadrons differs in the various accounts, the following list of ships should not be regarded as authoritative, but a tentative list compiled from various conflicting accounts. The list of names is from Gaspar Correias Lendas da Índia
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
–
The 4th India Armada (1502) From Memorias das Armadas
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
–
Vasco da Gama
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
4th Portuguese India Armada (Gama, 1502)
–
4th Armada of 1502 (from Livro de Lisuarte de Abreu)
37.
St Thomas Fort, Tangasseri
–
St. Thomas Fort also known as Tangasseri Fort, is a ruined fort located in the beach town of Tangasseri on the shores of the Arabian Sea in the city of Kollam, Kerala, India. It is located around 5 kilometres from the city center of Kollam and 71 kilometres from the state capital Thiruvananthapuram, Tangasseri was associated with the Chinese trade from the first millennium AD and later colonised by the Portuguese, Dutch and the British to become the gold village. According to Historians, Captain Rodriguez came to Quilon and was appointed as the captain of the factory and trade, St. Thomas Fort was built by the Portuguese under Afonso de Albuquerque for the protection of the newly developed trade. In 1505 the Portuguese established a port here, and in 1518 established its sovereignty through the construction of Fort St. Thomas. Later in 1661 the town and the fort were handed over to the Dutch who made it the capital of Dutch Malabar, the Dutch occupied the fort for several years. In 1795, the British East India Company took possession of the fort, in 1823 Fort St. Thomas accepted a lease by Travancore from the British Government for a period of twenty years. Fort St. Thomas was originally around 20 feet tall, today, the remains of the fort, popularly known as Tangasseri fort remain facing the beach. The government of India has taken over the fort and it is being considered an historical landmark, restoration of the fort is ongoing. At present, the fort is managed by the Archaeological Survey of India, mining rampant at Tangasseri fort Tangaserri a brief history
St Thomas Fort, Tangasseri
–
Front View of St Thomas Fort
St Thomas Fort, Tangasseri
–
Sketch of the Thangaserri, 1505. The fort can be seen close to the shore.
St Thomas Fort, Tangasseri
–
Old - St.Thomas Fort - Front-view
38.
Kollam Cantonment
–
Kollam Cantonment is a residential neighbourhood in the city of Kollam. It arose as a cantonment of the British Raj in the 17th century and it is now a thickly populated area of the city of Kollam. Some of the important business centres, shopping complexes and Government offices are located here, Kollam Junction railway station is also located near to cantonment area. City of Kollam was a trade hub in British India. Kollam Port was a flourishing and favorite port of Phoenicians, Arabs, old Quilon city was conquered by Portuguese, Dutch and British people during 16th to 18th centuries. The garrison was situated at the Cantonment Maidan during those days
Kollam Cantonment
–
Bhima Jewellers situated at Kollam Cantonment area
39.
Christianity in India
–
Christianity is Indias third-largest religion according to the census of 2011, with approximately 27.8 million followers, constituting 2.3 percent of Indias population. Old legends say that Christianity was introduced to India by Thomas the Apostle, Christians are found all across India and in all walks of life, with major populations in parts of South India, the Konkan Coast, and Northeast India. Indian Christians have contributed significantly to and are represented in various spheres of national life. They include former and current chief ministers, governors and chief election commissioners, Indian Christians have the highest ratio of women to men among the various religious communities in India. Christianity in India has different denominations, the state of Kerala is home to the Saint Thomas Christian community, an ancient body of Christians, who are now divided into several different churches and traditions. They are Eastern Syrian Saint Thomas Christian churches, the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, the Christian Church runs thousands of educational institutions and hospitals which have contributed significantly to the development of the nation. Roman Catholicism was first introduced to India by Portuguese, Italian, most Christian schools, hospitals, primary care centres originated through the Roman Catholic missions brought by the trade of these countries. Evangelical Protestantism was later spread to India by the efforts of British, American, German, even though Christians are a significant minority, they form a major religious group in three states of India - Meghalaya, Mizoram, and Nagaland. Other states with historic Christian population like Goa and Kerala, there the number, still Christianity is widespread across India and is present in all states. Two ancient testimonies exist about the mission of Saint Bartholomew in India and these are of Eusebius of Caesarea and of Saint Jerome. Both these refer to this tradition while speaking of the visit of Pantaenus to India in the 2nd century. Many of these Jews presumably spoke Aramaic like St. Thomas, also a Jew by birth and this is a plausible reference to the earliest Indian churches which are known to have used the Syriac New Testament. Pantaenus evidence thus indicates that Syriac-speaking Christians had already evangelised parts of India by the late 2nd century. An early 3rd-century Syriac work known as the Acts of Thomas connects the tradition of the apostle Thomas Indian ministry with two kings, one in the north and the other in the south, the year of his arrival is widely disputed due to lack of credible records. The apostles ministry resulted in many conversions throughout this northern kingdom, including the king. The Acts of Thomas identifies his second mission in India with a kingdom ruled by King Mahadwa and he reputedly preached to all classes of people and had about seventeen thousand converts, including members of the four principal castes. According to legend, St. Thomas attained martyrdom at St. Thomas Mount in Chennai and is buried on the site of San Thome Cathedral and it is now declared an international St. Thomas pilgrim center. The colony of Syrian Christians established at Kodungallur may be the first Christian community in South India for which there is a written record
Christianity in India
–
A
Peutinger Table 's depiction of
Muziris near the tip of India where
St. Thomas is believed to have landed in 52 A.D.
Christianity in India
–
Nasranis or Syrian Christians of Kerala in ancient days (from an old painting). Photo published in the Cochin Government Royal War Efforts Souvenir in 1938
Christianity in India
–
Marth Mariam Syrian Catholic Church (Syro-Malabar Rite) at
Arakuzha, Kerala is an ancient
Nasrani church established in 999
Christianity in India
–
The renovated Mar Thoma Syro-Malabar Catholic Church,
Kodungaloor; the first Christian church in India, built 52 A. D.
40.
Christianity in Kerala
–
Christianity is the third-most practised religion in Kerala, accounting for 18% of the population according to the Indian census. Although a minority, the Christian population of Kerala is proportionally larger than that of India as a whole. A significant portion of the Indian Christian population resides in the state, other main places where churches were built are Angamaly, AD300 Ambhazhakkad and other parts of kerala. The medieval historian Pius Malekandathil believes these were adopted and privileges won during the beginning of the Brahmin dominance of medieval Kerala. Some writers believe that the original converts would have included the Jews already present in Kerala at that time, Church, Fort Kochi, built in 1503 C. E. is the oldest European church, declared as a National Monument in India. St. George Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, Edathua, St. Antonys Latin Catholic Church, Kaloor, Kochi. St. Mary’s Jacobite Syrian Church Kattachira, Kayamkulam St. Josephs Latin Catholic Shrine, Kannamaly, Kochi Holy Cross chapel, Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Arakuzha, estd. 999 Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Kuravilangadu St. Marys Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Athirampuzha, benedict Vadakkekara, Origin of Christianity in India, Media House, Delhi,2007. ISBN 81-7495-258-6. Agur C. M. Church History of Travancore, Madras,1903 Reprint, Asian Educational Services, visvanathan Susan, The Christians of Kerala, Oxford University Press, Delhi1993,1999. George Menachery, The St. Thomas Christian Encyclopaedia of India, SARAS, George Menachery, Ollur, Vol. I1982, Vol. II1973, Vol. III2009. George Menachery, Ollur, Vol. I The Nazranies 1998, C. I. Issac, The Evolution of Christian Church in India, DK Printworld, New Delhi, ISBN 978-81-7255-056-1
Christianity in Kerala
–
Marth Mariam Syro-Malabar Catholic Forane Church, Arakuzha was founded in 999
41.
Quilon Aerodrome
–
Quilon Aerodrome or Kollam Airport was an aerodrome in the city of Kollam in the former state of Travancore, now in Kerala, India. During the 1920s, there were no other civil aerodromes in the kingdoms of Cochin, Travancore, with the 1932 commissioning of Trivandrum International Airport in the state capital 57 kilometres to the south, the aerodrome fell into disuse and came to be known as the Asramam Maidan. The landing strip of the aerodrome was strengthened with red soil from the adjoining hills because the local loose soil was unsuitable for the purpose. There were no buildings in the aerodrome, however, a concrete pad for parking aircraft was built. The aerodrome was under the control of the Public Works Department, the aerodrome was also used for training operations. These were stopped when an accident involving an aircraft at the boundary of the aerodrome, resulted in the death of the pilot. During 2009 -2012, local authorities made plans to revive the aerodrome for an academy with a 4,000 foot runway for light aircraft. Trivandrum International Airport Cochin International Airport Calicut International Airport Kannur International Airport Aranmula International Airport List of airports in India
Quilon Aerodrome
–
Quilon Aerodrome Kollam Airport കൊല്ലം വിമാനനിലയം
42.
Ashtamudi Lake
–
Ashtamudi Lake, in the Kollam District of the Indian state of Kerala, is the most visited backwater and lake in the state. It possesses a unique ecosystem and a large palm-shaped water body. Ashtamudi means eight coned in the local Malayalam language, the name is indicative of the lakes topography with its multiple branches. The lake is called the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala and is well known for its houseboat. Ashtamudi Wetland was included in the list of wetlands of international importance, as defined by the Ramsar Convention for the conservation, along both banks of the lake and its backwater canals, coconut groves and palm trees interspersed with towns and villages are seen. Kollam, is an important historic city located on the right bank of the lake. Boat cruises are operated by the Kollam Boat Club from Kollam to Alappuzha providing transport access to other towns. Luxury houseboats also operate on the lake, the boat journey is an 8-hour trip, winds through lakes, canals and water bound villages, and gives complete exposure to the beauty of the backwaters of Ashtamudi Lake. Chinese fishing nets, called cheena vala in Malayalam, are used by local fisherman and are a common sight along the waterway, the lake is the source of livelihood for people living close by from fishing, coconut husk retting for coir production and inland navigation services. In 2014, Clam Governing Council of Ashtamudi lake became the first Marine Stewardship Council certified fishery in India for their sustainable clam fishing, the lake and the life on its shores have inspired many artists and writers. It has been the subject of poems by the renowned poet Thirunalloor Karunakaran who was born. Quilon or Kollam and inevitably the Ashtamudi lakes importance is claimed to be dated to the days of the Phoenicians, ibn Batuta, during his 24-year sojourn in the 14th century, is reported to have mentioned about the Quilon port as one of the five ports for Chinese trade. Links with Persia, Chinese mandarin in 1275 AD, Portuguese in 1502 AD, velu Thampi is credited with organizing the rebellion against the British from this place. National Highway 47 passes through the lake not only from Quilon. Southern Railways network of metre gauge and broad gauge lines connects with Quilon, the metre gauge train journey from Quilon to Chennai via Madurai is stated to offer a picturesque journey. Ferry services operate daily to Alleppey and boats operate to all villages located in the canals of the backwater system, the boat jetty is located at about 3 km away from the railway station. Famous Paravur estuary and backwaters are just 21 kilometer away from Ashtamudi, Kallada River is a major river discharging into the Ashtamudi Lake. The Kallada river, which originates near Ponmudi from the Kulathupuzha hills Western Ghats is formed by the confluence of three rivers, viz, with a maximum depth of 21 ft at the confluence, it is Kerala’s deepest estuary
Ashtamudi Lake
–
View on a bank of the Lake
Ashtamudi Lake
–
Luxury house boat in the backwaters
Ashtamudi Lake
–
View of Ashtamudi Lake and
Downtown Kollam
Ashtamudi Lake
–
A top view of Ashtamudi backwaters
43.
Asramam Maidan
–
The Asramam Maidanam or Ashramam Maithanam is an urban park, or maidhanam, in the city of Kollam, in Kerala, India. At 72 acres, it is the largest open space within Kerala Municipal Corporation limits, the maidan is considered as one of the green lungs of the city and regularly hosts the citys main cultural and sports events. It holds an adventure park childrens park, picnic village, British Residency, Asramam Maidan was used as an aerodrome during the British Raj. Chartered flights, mainly using Avro aircraft, would land and take off from Quilon Aerodrome, the aerodrome was primarily used by VIPs from Madras en route to Thiruvananthapuram, who after landing at Quilon, would proceed to Thiruvananthapuram by car. Quilon Aerodrome was also used for flying training, during one such training exercise, an aircraft hit a tree on the boundary of the aerodrome, killing the pilot and the trainee. Training operations were stopped after the accident, but civilian aircraft continued to use the aerodrome, because of the loose soil in the Asramam area, the landing and take-off areas were prepared by bringing huge quantities of red laterite soil from the hilly areas. The aerodrome had strong barbed wire fencing round it, with two points, one at the south and the other at the north. There were no buildings in the aerodrome, not even a shed and it was here that the passengers alighted and boarded the plane. Planes used to land sometimes once in two months, the airport then came under the control of Kerala Public Works Department. Residents of Asramam knew in advance about the arrival of planes, because the PWD authorities, on getting information about a coming arrival, after the commissioning of Thiruvananthapuram airport and its development, Quilon Aerodrome went into decline, and finally, planes stopped arriving there. The aerodrome remained fenced off for a long time, later, the fence was destroyed and its granite stumps pilfered. The only reason the maidan was not encroached upon was that it was a government property. Now there are two large helipads at the maidan, Kollam Fest Kollam Fest is an international event with focus on art, culture, trade, and tourism. The event, organised by the Kollam City Corporation, was aimed at presenting the history, Kollam Pooram Kollam Pooram is one of the most colorful festivals of Kerala, attracting a large number of people from all parts of the state. The Kollam Pooram, organised in connection with the festival of the Asramam Sri Krishnaswamy Temple, is held annually at the Asramam Maidan in the month of April. The festival has now assumed the status of a national festival, Cricket matches Asramam Maidan is a regular ground for the Kerala Cricket Associations matches, which are held almost all year round. Following a preliminary inspection by a team of experts, in 2009 plans were drawn up for the construction of an airstrip, supporters of the project said that the school would increase the importance of the city. The government of Kerala has decided to preserve the Asramam Maidan, the Corporation of Kollam has been sanctioned Rs.52 lakhs in the 2017-18 financial years budget for constructing cycle track around the Asramam maidan
Asramam Maidan
–
Asramam Maidan, Kollam
Asramam Maidan
–
British Residency in
Asramam,
Kollam - Till 1829,
Quilon was the capital of the
Travancore State and the headquarters of the British Residency.
Asramam Maidan
–
Kollam DTPC Boat club near Asramam Maidan
Asramam Maidan
–
Link Road at
Asramam
44.
Estuaries of Paravur
–
The Paravur Estuaries are a group of estuaries in Paravur, India, near the South-Western coast of Kollam district, Kerala. Paravur is one among the 4 municipal towns in Kollam district, the place is known for its natural beauties, backwater locations, white-sand beaches and concentration of temples. Paravur is a land of beaches, backwaters & estuaries, the Paravur landmasss three sides are surrounded by water bodies - Paravur Lake, Nadayara Lake and the Arabian Sea. Paravur Lake is the body of water in the town area. The peninsula of Paravur is one of the most visited areas in Kollam district, both north and south tips of Paravur town have peninsulas and estuaries. Pozhikara is to the north and Thekkumbhagam is to the south of Paravur, one more estuary mouth is in Pozhikara, which is very close to Pozhikara Devi Temple, which has breached in 2014 under the supervision of Water Resources Department, after a long gap of 14 years. The estuaries can be reached by travelling through Kollam-Paravur Coastal Road, the 600 hectare Polachira Wetland is also close to Paravur. Paravur backwaters on both the north and south ends have Pozhi, both meet the Arabian Sea in the districts beach faces. There is an artificial tidal-regulator in the bridge at Pozhikara estuarine area. Paravur Lake is a lake in Paravur, Kerala, India, although it is small, with an area of only 6.62 km², it is the end point of the Ithikkara River and part of the system of lakes and canals that make up the Kerala Backwaters. It has been connected to Edava and Ashtamudi Kayal as part of the Trivandrum - Shoranur canal system since the late 19th century
Estuaries of Paravur
–
Boating at
Paravur Lake
Estuaries of Paravur
–
Thekkumbhagam -
Kappil bridge as seen from Paravur Estuary. This bridge is the official border of
Paravur town towards south
Estuaries of Paravur
–
Pozhikkara peninsula in the north of
Paravur town
Estuaries of Paravur
–
Paravur Estuary mouth at
Thekkumbhagam
45.
Islands of Kollam
–
City of Kollam or Quilon is known as Prince of Arabian Sea, situated on the banks of Arabian Sea and Ashtamudi Lake. A major portion of Kollam Municipal Corporation area is occupied by Ashtamudi Lake and it is the most visited backwater and lake of Kerala, with a unique wetland ecosystem, a palm-shaped large water body, next only to the Vembanad estuary ecosystem of the state. Ashtamudi means eight coned in the language of Malayalam. This name is indicative of the topography, a lake with multiple branches. The lake is called the gateway to the backwaters of Kerala. This lake is famous for House Boat and Backwater Resorts. All the Islands in Kollam are situated in Ashtamudi Lake, there are so many Islands in Ashtamudi Lake. Munroe Island and Chavara Thekkumbhagom are the most important among these islands, Islands are the eye-catching factors as well as the beauty of Lake Ashtamudi. Most of these islands are potential tourism spots in the state, even Indian Railways also planning to develop one of the islands in Kollam for a tourism project. There are big as well as small islands which are inhabited and uninhabited by human beings, the important islands in Kollam are
Islands of Kollam
–
Five star hotel 'The Raviz' in
Kollam is situated in one of the island like structures near
Thevally
Islands of Kollam
–
Aerial view of
Ashtamudi backwaters
46.
Kallada River
–
The Kallada River is one of two major rivers that flow through the Kollam District of Kerala, India. This River is formed by three Rivers, viz. Kulathupuzha, Chendurni and Kalthuruthy which join near Parappar in Thenmala by the side of the Trivandrum-Shencottah road and it travels for 121 km, flowing through Punalur, Pathanapuram, Kunnathur and Kallada before ending at Ashtamudi Lake. The Palaruvi Falls also feeds Kallada river, the Chalikkari Aar also joins Kallada a little downstream. These two rivers flows westward and falls into the Ashtamudi Lake, for a good part of its initial course, the river flows in parallel with the Kollam - Shenkottai commercial highway. At Punalur, a bridge was constructed across this by the Travancore Maharaja in British Style. This is still preserved as an archeological marvel. The end point of river is the Ashtamudi Kayal. The river bed is rocky and it is difficult to swim. There are huge rocks, deep pits and other obstructions in the river, in modern times, the Thenmala dam is built on this river. This is an irrigation dam mainly aimed at providing water to the regions throughout the year. Kallada Boat Race is one of the most famous boat races held in South Kerala, the boat race is an annual event which happens 28 days after Onam. Almost all the snake boats take part in this event. This boat race is held on the Muthiraparambu-Karuvathrakadavu course of the Kallada River and this year it will be conducted on the 23rd of September. Kallada river has a place in history along with major rivers. It is believed that Paleolithic people lived around this river in the Thenmala region and this was around 10,000 years ago. Untouched by the onslaught of administrative modernization, there are areas in both villages. Uppoodu, ullurup are a few to name, the virtues of the word called kinship, define itself here better than anywhere else. Hence this Mill was closed in 1987, the project was planned to irrigate net cultivable command area of 61630 Ha. During the course of execution few canals including Kayamkulam Branch canal were dropped, head works is completed during 1986
Kallada River
–
Kallada River
47.
Kollam Beach
–
Kollam Beach, also known as Mahatma Gandhi Beach, is a beach at Kollam city in the Indian state of Kerala. Kollam Beach is the first Beach Wedding Destination in Kerala, the beach also features a park of international standard, the Mahatma Gandhi Park, which was inaugurated on 1 January 1961 by the then Vice President of India, Zakir Hussain. Kollam beach is one among the few beaches in Kerala with a lifeguard outpost, lifeguards were stationed at the beach from 2005. As of July 2015 Kovalam, Varkala and Kollam are the beaches in south Kerala with lifeguard outposts. Kollam Port is one of the oldest and most important ports for the cashew trade on the Malabar Coast of the Arabian Sea. As of 2010, Kollam Port was the second largest port in Kerala after Cochin Port, Kollam was once a favourite settlement of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the English in succession before Independence. The port is protected by the Tangasseri Breakwater, extending about 1.1 miles south-south east of Tangasseri Point, the exotic location and backwaters makes Kollam Beach one of Keralas most popular tourist attractions. On 22 June 2014, construction started on a marine aquarium at Kollam Beach. The Harbour Engineering Department is constructing the aquarium at the side of the beach on behalf of Kollam Municipal Corporation. The foundation stone for the project was laid in March and is expected to complete by December 2014 and it will be a single storey aquarium with 40 large tanks to hold a diverse collection of marine life and will be an added attraction for visitors to Kollam beach. The 144-foot Tangasseri lighthouse built in 1902 is a landmark at the beach. Ruins of Portuguese / Dutch forts and 18th-century churches near the port remain as a memento of the Portuguese, presidents Trophy Boat Race Kollam pooram Kovalam Paravur Thekkumbhagam Varkala
Kollam Beach
–
Kollam Beach,
Quilon
Kollam Beach
–
Mahatma Gandhi Park in Kollam Beach
Kollam Beach
–
Snap from Kollam Beach
Kollam Beach
–
View of Arabian Sea from Kollam Beach
48.
Paravur Lake
–
Paravur Kayal is a lake in Paravur, Kerala, India. Although it is small, with an area of only 6.62 km², it is the end point of the Ithikkara River and part of the system of lakes and canals that make up the Kerala Backwaters. It has been connected to Edava and Ashtamudi Kayal as part of the Trivandrum - Shoranur canal system since the late 19th century, the lake meets the sea and in between a small stretch of road which divides them can be viewed on way. Paravur Lake is one of the emerging tourist destinations in the district which attracts a number of tourists. The panoramic views are breath taking if you opt for a birds eye view, not from the sky but from the terraces situated north. Famous Lakesagar Xaviers resort is situated at the banks of Paravur lake, priyadarshini boat club is another major attraction in the vicinity of Paravur lake. The mangroves along both sides of Paravur lake is very famous Paravur lake is about 4 kilometres away from Paravur town. Paravur-Edava-Varkala road passes through the banks of Paravur lake, the nearest important railway station to Paravur lake is Paravur railway station. Fourteen pairs of trains stop at Paravur railway station every day, the nearest major rail head is Kollam Junction railway station, which is about 26 kilometres away from the lake. The nearest KSRTC bus station is Chathannoor bus station, which is 12 km away, Paravur Municipal Bus Stand and railway station are 4 kilometres away from the lake. Paravur Paravur Thekkumbhagam Paravur railway station Pozhikara Nedungolam
Paravur Lake
–
An evening view of Paravur Lake
Paravur Lake
–
Paravur Lake near
Thekkumbhagam estuary
Paravur Lake
–
A photo of sunset taken from
Paravur Thekkumbhagam beach
49.
Pozhikara
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Pozhikara or Pozhikkara is the Western border town of famous Paravur municipality in the Kollam district of Kerala state in India. It is located at the South-Western tip of Kollams coastal area and it is in the Arabian Sea coast. Pozhikara is considered as one of the sites in Kerala. The place is famous for its natural beauty. Paravur was a trade hub for the foreign countries. An important ancient document revealing the importance of Paravur and Pozhikara is Pozhikara sasanam built in 12 th century at Pozhikara sivakshetram and it was encrypted on a sila phalakam in vattazhuthu. Another mentioning of Paravur is in Unnineeli sandesam which was written more than 600 years. Pozhikara was the headquarters of Paravur before the independence of India. Remnants of old fort, Thaana and Anchalappees are still remaining there, Pozhikara is well connected with almost all the major towns. It is about 14 km from Kollam City through Kollam-Paravur coastal road, Pozhikara is just 2 km away from Paravur town. KSRTC is running daily Fast Passenger bus services in Pozhikara-Ernakulam and Pozhikara-Poovar route, Paravur Municipal bus stand is about 4 km away from Meenad. The nearest important railway station is Paravur Railway Station, which is 2.5 km away from Pozhikara, nearest airport is Thiruvananthapuram International Airport Paravur Paravur Railway Station Nedungolam Thekkumbhagam Kollam Paravur Kayal Kollam District
Pozhikara
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Pozhikara
Pozhikara
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City Corporations
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Herbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "article name needed". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton.
