Place · Thomas Christian hill shrine · India
Malayattoor
Also known as St Thomas Shrine Malayattoor
The Malayattoor St Thomas Shrine on the 609-metre Kurisumudi hill in Ernakulam district, Kerala, 50 kilometres from Kochi — the hilltop pilgrimage site where Thomas Christian tradition places the apostle Thomas's prayer during his Kerala mission (52-72 CE). The site is one of only three Marian International Shrines in Asia designated by the Vatican (2004) and is one of the Thomas Christian 'Ezhara Palli' half-churches. The annual Malayattoor Perunal pilgrimage each Easter week draws over 1 million pilgrims who climb the hill barefoot carrying wooden crosses. The hilltop church (rebuilt 1946) preserves the Mukkombe rock (Thomas's footprint tradition) and the Vellichikallu (sweating stone). Vatican International Shrine designation 2004.
- Function
- Religious institution & practice
- Patron dynasty
- Travancore · Indian Union
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 10.200, 76.650
Connections (2)
- Companion in the same setKottakavu, Ernakulam
Malayattoor and Kottakavu together belong to the Ezhara Palli (seven-and-a-half churches) network that Thomas Christian tradition dates to the apostle Thomas's Kerala mission of 52-72 CE. The Malayattoor hilltop shrine (Vatican International Shrine, 2004) and the Kottakavu riverside shrine at North Paravur are both among the seven original churches claimed by the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church. The Malayattoor Perunal pilgrimage each Easter draws over 1 million pilgrims across the Ezhara Palli circuit.
- Samadhi atVelu Thampi Dalawa
Velu Thampi Dalawa killed himself at Mannadi Bhagavathi temple on 29 March 1809 rather than be captured by Macaulay's British East India Company troops. The Mannadi temple sits in Pathanamthitta district 50 kilometres from Thalakulam (his birthplace) and 60 kilometres from Malayattoor. His body was buried at Mannadi and the temple preserves his cenotaph as a Travancore royal memorial.
Sources
Standard reference; district gazetteer and Wikipedia.
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