17 Nov 2021 Devasahayam Pillai
- Devasahayam Pillai, a Hindu who converted to Christianity in the 18th century, would be the first Indian to receive the title of a saint.
- Pope Francis will consecrate Devasahyam Pillai along with six other saints during a canonical synod at St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on May 15, (2022).
- Devasahyam Pillai was born on 23 April 1712 in Nattalam village in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu.
- Before converting to Christianity, he was known as Nilakand Pillai and grew up in a family of temple priests.
- Devasahyam Pillai was served in the court of Travancore Maharaja Marthanda Varma and he was met here a Dutch naval commander, who taught him about Catholicism.
- He became a Catholic in the year 1745 and took the name ‘Lazarus’ after converting to Christianity but later came to be known as Devasahyam (God’s help).
- After that he had to face the wrath of Travancore State against conversion.
- On January 14, 1752, exactly seven years after becoming a Catholic, Devasahyam was shot and killed in the Aralvaimozhi forest.
- Since then he is considered a martyr by the wider Catholic community in South India.
- His grave is in St. Francis Xavier’s Cathedral in Kottar Diocese of Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu.
- The Church is of the view that his preaching of equality of all people irrespective of caste differences ultimately led to his martyrdom.
- He was first approved to be conferred the title of saint in February 2020 to “endure growing hardships” after deciding to convert to Christianity.
Classification of religion
Introduction:
World’s primary religions in two categories:
- Christianity, Judaism and Islam is Abrahamic religions
- Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism and others Indian religions
Christianity:
- Christianity is the largest religion with over two billion adherents.
- Christianity is based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ and is about 2,000 years old.
- The largest group of Christianity is the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Protestant Church, and its holy book is the Bible.
- Over the centuries, the number of followers of Christianity has increased as it spread around the world, often through missionaries and colonists.
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