The Thomas Christians
This text contain a short account of the Thomas Christians. The first five chapters deal with the pre-VI century period of their history, and the rest with the post-V century period of the same history. The second chapter about the Seleucian Church might seem a little disproportionate, if not out of place as a chapter. The general idea has always been that the Seleucian Church (and so also that of the Thomas Christians) was radically cut off from Rome through schism and heresy (Nestorianism) until perhaps the Seleucian Patriarch John Sulaqa brought a part of the Seleucians into the catholic Church in 1552/3. If this idea about the Seleucian Church could be revised a little, the same would be applied to the Thomas Christians also by those who would not view the latter except in terms of the former. This is the reason why so much importance has been given to the second chapter although it will be clear from the subsequent chapters that the Thomas Christians are to be treated in a quite different manner.