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Photo: Princebpaul0484, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons
One of the earliest Christian churches of the sub-continent. Established by St. Thomas, it is one of the seven-and-a-half churches he founded.
Palayur Mar Thoma Major Archiepiscopal Church, is located at Palayur, in Thrissur district in Kerala on the west coast of India. According to Saint Thomas Christian tradition, the Syrian church is believed to be established in 52 AD by St Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Saint Thomas performed the first baptism in India here, therefore this church is called an Apostolic Church credited to the apostolate of St. Thomas, who preached and also introduced Christianity to the people here. It is part of the Ēḻarappaḷḷikaḷ that he established in India, the others being at Cranganore, Kokkamangalam, Kottakkavu, Kollam, Niranam, Chayal (Nilackal). The original small church structure has been retained at the original site. But substantial improvements around it were carried out during the 17th century by Giacomo Fenicio as necessary, without sacrificing the main sanctity of the place. Currently the Archpriest is Fr. Davis Kannampuzha. The Custodian of the church is the Metropolitan Archbishop of Thrissur, Mar Andrews Thazhath.
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Located within a kilometer from main temple, it's a must see temple, with its main shrine built as a chariot and Lord Krishna sitting as Parthasarathy, advocating Gita to Arjuna. The main deities are Krishna reciting Holy Gita and Arjuna hearing it.