Pakalomattom family

The Pakalomattam, Pakalomattum or Pakalomattom family is an ancient Suriyani (Syrian) Christian family in Kerala, India. Most Christians in Kerala are known as Syrian Christians in view of the Syriac (classical form of Aramaic) liturgy used in church services since the early days of Christianity in India. They are also known as Nasrani (followers of Jesus the Nazarene).

According to tradition, St. Thomas, the apostle visited Kerala in AD 52, as part of his missionary work in Persia, India and Afghanistan. It is believed that Pakalomattom family was evangelized by Thomas the Apostle. There is no direct contemporary evidence for Thomas the Apostle being in the subcontinent, though it definitely would have been possible for a Roman Jew of the time to make such a trip. The earliest known source connecting the apostle to India is the Acts of Thomas, written in Edessa likely in the 2nd century. The text describes Thomas' adventures in bringing Christianity to India, a tradition later expanded upon by early Indian sources such as the Thomma Parvam (Song of Thomas). According to a Malabar tradition, he anointed and appointed elders to conduct worship from the Pakalomattom family.

Palayoor was one of the places near the port of Muziris, where St. Thomas established a church. The place is referred as Palur in some old documents. At that time, according to tradition, Palayoor had a Brahmin village of families with strength of 64 adults. It is believed that in one of the temple ponds in Palayoor, St. Thomas performed a miracle. Some Nambudiri Brahmins were performing Vedic ritual called Tharpanam which means "That offering which satisfies" in which they devote Lord Sun by the symbolic submission of water in their palms along with Vedic recitation. St. Thomas was attracted to the ritual and queried about the act and challenged the logic of their submission since the water thrown above was not accepted and returned to earth. St. Thomas used this opportunity to present his subject before the present Brahmin community. St. Thomas threw water in the name of Jesus and it stood still in the air and glittered like diamond. By this magical experience, many Brahmins accepted Christianity while the other Brahmins cursed the place and left the place with their families saying that they would do their rituals from then on at Vembanattu.

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