Palayoor

Palayoor Church

Kerala Syrian architecture

Palayoor is famous for its Christian church, St. Thomas Church which is founded by St. Thomas the Apostle in 52 AD. It is the first Christian Church in India. St. Thomas, the Apostle, arrived in 50 AD at Muziris (Kodungallūr) with Jewish merchants for the propagation of Christ's message and through the sea route reached Palayoor in 52 AD and built the Church here. Palayoor also had an ancient Jewish settlement known as the Jews' Hill. Palayoor was connected from the first century onwards even up to this day to other ancient trade centres of Kerala, especially Muziris, by rivers and backwaters. The river and backwater system in the erstwhile Cochin State opens out into the sea at Chettuwaye, Cranganur and Cochin with the three Thomas churches at Palayoor, Kodungallur, and Parur connected together by this system. People from far off lands have found their way to Kerala and to Palayoor since ancient times. The coast was familiar country to the Phoenicians, the Romans, the Arabs and the Chinese long before Vasco da Gama arrived in 1498.^[1]

History[edit]

Palayur was the stronghold of the Brahmins. When St. Thomas arrived from Kodungallur, Jews had a settlement at Palayur, two thousand years ago. Ruins of an ancient Jewish synagogue are still seen outside of a Brahmin temple about a furlong away from the Church.

Industry[edit]

Coir[edit]

Palayoor coir company[edit]

Chavakkad was once the center of the coir industry. After cultivation, coir production was the most important source of livelihood for the people of the coastal areas.

In 1957, a coir industry unit was formed in Palayur under the leadership of Fr. Initially, the unit was located at the site of the Palayur SABS Convent. The ropes required for the Palayur church (manikayar, coconut tying rope) were mainly used by the Maayu export company to provide employment to the locals. Home-based and small units operated here. Workers from other areas came here in search of work.

Years later the church's coir company ceased to exist. After that a coir society was started in Palayur North under the leadership of Poonthath Muhammaduni. Today the industry is at a complete standstill. Coir was made from Palayur and nearby areas and shipped from Chavakkad ferry to Kochi and Kozhikode.

The reality is that the coir industry was the most important non-agricultural sector in Kerala during the formation of the state of Kerala.

Palayoor Mar Thoma Major Archiepiscopal Church[edit]

Palayoor Church

Palayoor Mar Thoma Major Archiepiscopal Church Palayoor. is unique in that the present church has a continuous history of two millennia and stands on the same spot where the apostle first established it. The first church founded by St. Thomas continued to exist for many centuries and we know that in 1607 the Italian Jesuit Fr. Fenichi with Permission from the ecclesiastical authorities, to construct a more convenient church around the existing old structure for the parish of Palayur.

The church was under Mar Elias Mellus and Mar Mikhail Agustinos during their tenure.

The Thrissur Archdiocesan authorities are today wholeheartedly committed to the cause of developing Palayur into the focus of national and international pilgrim tourism in South India. The Palayur church was elevated as the first Archdiocesan pilgrim centre on 16 April 2000. The relic of St. Thomas conveyed from Ortona, Italy was established in the main altar of the church. The 30 km long annual Lenten Mahatheerthadanam or great pilgrimage on foot from the Thrissur to Palayur has conducted in every year.^[2]

Thaliyakulam

How to reach[edit]

Palayoor is a part of Trichur District and is located on the west Coast of Kerala. By road it takes 28 km to reach Palayur from Trichur. It is on Trichur – Chavakkad route, via Pavaratty. To travel by train catch Trichur – Guruvayur train (24 km). From Guruvayur to Palayoor take a bus or a taxi/auto rickshaw (2 km). Nedumbasserry International Airport is only 80 km from Palayoor.

Road[edit]

Buses ply regularly between Palayoor/Chavakkad/Guruvayoor/Thrissur and all major towns in Kerala and South India.

From the North: Kuttippuram-Kunnamkulam-Chavakkad-Palayoor
From the South: Kodungallur-Chettuva-Chavakkad-Palayoor
From the East: Thrissur-Kanjany-Enammavu-Pavaratty-Palayoor
N.B. Chavakkad Palayur distance: 0.75 km
Guruvayur Palayur distance: 2.00 km

Train[edit]

Direct trains connect Thrissur with all major Indian cities like Delhi, Bombay, Calcutta, Chennai, Bengaluru, Coimbatore, Trivandrum..... Some trains proceed from Thrissur up to Guruvayur.

N.B. Thrissur railway station is 25 km from Palayur
Guruvayur railway station is 3 km from Palayur

Air[edit]

Palayur is equidistant (less than 90 km) from the following airports:
Kochi International Airport, Nedumbassery
Calicut International Airport, Karippur
Coimbatore Airport is 140 km from Palayoor

Waterways[edit]

Waterways transport is not as active as it was in the early days
Initiatives are taken by the government in this mode of transport
Once it is active, one could make use of Canoli Canal its sub-canals to reach Palayoor Church.

Monuments at Palayoor[edit]

Boat Jetty (Bottukulam) where St Thomas landed at Palayoor.
Thaliyakulam -The pond where St Thomas baptized the local people.
The replica of Chinna Malai (of Mylapore – Madras) where St Thomas attained martyrdom in 72 AD.
The historical remnants of old Aryan Temple.
Historical Museum.
Ancient Lanterns around the church

References[edit]

↑ Whitehouse, Thomas (1873). Lingerings of light in a dark land: Researches into the Syrian church of Malabar. William Brown and Co. p. 31-32. Of palur, little can be said having any special interest. It was the most northern of the seven ancient churches, with Quilon as the most southern. The village at present is an unimportant place and lies off any main road, about a mile or so S.E . of Chowghaut. Gouvea narrates in his account of a visitation by Archbishop Menezes,that in order to bring the Proceedings of the Portuguese Archbishop and his synod at Udiamparur into odium, three of the leading men of place performed a farce or morality play in the church. One of the speakers impersonated St. Peter, another St. Thomas, and the third, who acted as umpire, St. Cyriac, to whom the church was then dedicated.
↑ "PALAYUR CHURCH, CHAVAKKAD". thrissurkerala.com. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

External links[edit]

Coordinates: 10°34′57″N 76°01′55″E / 10.5825°N 76.0319°E / 10.5825; 76.0319

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[1] Whitehouse, Thomas (1873). Lingerings of light in a dark land: Researches into the Syrian church of Malabar. William Brown and Co. p. 31-32. Of palur, little can be said having any special interest. It was the most northern of the seven ancient churches, with Quilon as the most southern. The village at present is an unimportant place and lies off any main road, about a mile or so S.E . of Chowghaut. Gouvea narrates in his account of a visitation by Archbishop Menezes,that in order to bring the Proceedings of the Portuguese Archbishop and his synod at Udiamparur into odium, three of the leading men of place performed a farce or morality play in the church. One of the speakers impersonated St. Peter, another St. Thomas, and the third, who acted as umpire, St. Cyriac, to whom the church was then dedicated.

[thrissurkerala-2] "PALAYUR CHURCH, CHAVAKKAD". thrissurkerala.com. Retrieved 6 June 2014.

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