About Thomasine research Center (TRC)
TRC is situated at Chaama MST Bhavan, Thumboor in Thrissur District. It was inaugurated in an informal way on 15 February 2018 by His Excellency George Madathikandam, the Bishop of Kothamangalam. The beginning of TRC was seen as a growth from the Department of Historical Research and Documentation constituted by the Central Council of MST in April 2016. Fr James Kurikilamkatt was made its first director.
TRC was originally established at Deepti Mount, Melampara, near Bharananganam in Kottayam District of Kerala, India. Deepti Mount is the Headquarters of the Missionary Society of St Thomas the Apostle (MST). It was shifted to Chaama MST Bhavan, Thumboor in Thrissur district where it was officially inaugurated by Bishop Mar Pauly Kannookaden, the bishop of Irinjalakuda on 22 February 2021. We remember with gratitude Rev. Fr Joseph Vazhuthanappally for his generosity in handing over the center at Thumboor which he had built with lots of toil and hardships.
Thomasine Research Center is an initiative of the Missionary Society of St Thomas the Apostle aimed at developing a Thomasine Spirituality for the Syro-Malabar Church and diffusing a Thomasine way of life in all strata of Church life. St Thomas the Apostle, the founder of the Church in India, was an apostle who had adopted a unique style in following Jesus. A man totally different from all other apostles he always kept alive his uniqueness and never had any inhibition in expressing himself in the company of the fellow apostles. The Church he established in India has been a receptacle of his unique personality and must today remain a witness to his life and spirituality. It can happen only if the faithful of the Church are fully conscious of the great spiritual patrimony that has been handed down to them by their ancestors who were proud of their Thomasine identity and belongingness to the Thomasine culture.
TRC aims at furthering our knowledge about the Apostle and disseminating it in all areas of Church life. To achieve this aim, it will facilitate researches on the life, spirituality and mission of St Thomas and the early St Thomas Christians. The center will plan out programs to reach out to every Syro-Malabar parish to educate the faithful in history and spirituality of the Church. It will also chalk out programs to make the Church more missionary oriented.
TRC will remain as a historical and missiological resource center for the Syro-Malabar Church. The center gives special emphasis to Thomasine apostolic spirituality, history of St Thomas Christians and history and development of the Syro-Malabar Mission outside Kerala. It is also a resource center for the mission and vision of the Missionary Society of St Thomas the Apostle. It aims at developing and diffusing a missionary spirituality for the Syro-Malabar Church based on the apostolic spirituality of St Thomas the Apostle the founder of the Church. It will also facilitate researches on the person of the apostle Thomas and the history of his mission in India.
TRC will form a group of retreat preachers who will guide Thomasine mission retreats in the parishes and religious Institutes. It will also conduct guided pilgrimages (Thomasine pilgrimages) to ancient centers of Syrian Christian patrimony. Pilgrimages and mission tours will be conducted to various mission centers.
