St. Mary's Church, Thiruvithamcode

St. Mary's Orthodox Syrian Church, Thiruvithamkode, also called Thiruvithamcode Arappally ("Royal Church") or Thomayar Kovil, is a church located in Thiruvithamcode in Kanyakumari District, Tamil Nadu state in India. It is believed by the Christian communities in Kerala that the historic Thiruvithamcode Arappally, also called Amalagiri church as named by the Chera King Uthiyan Cheralathan, was built by St. Thomas, known as the Apostle of India, in 63 AD. It claims to be the world's oldest church that still has daily prayers and India's oldest church that hasn't been reconstructed till now, it is actually one of the earliest of the churches to be rebuilt by the Portuguese as per the prescriptions of the Synod of Diamper in the early 17th century. The church has three main parts built in the 17th century and a 20th-century entrance hall. Its walls are built of locally quarried stone, chiseled with a multi-tipped chisel, a technique known in Kerala and possibly introduced there by foreign contact in the 16th century. Thiruvithamcode (also spelled Thiruvithancode, Thiruvithankodu and Thiruvithangodu) is a small panchayat town located in the Kanyakumari district of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is about 20 km from Nagercoil, and 2 km from Thuckalay. The church today is maintained by the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church. Catholicos Baselios Mar

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