Christians in India are generally found in the western coast and Kerala. Christianity has existed in Kerala since very long. Historical evidence shows that the first Indian converts were made by St Thomas, the Apostle himself in 52 AD. St. Thomas preached the Gospel in many parts of India and is said to have been martyred in Madras (now Chennai).

Further evidence of Christianity is found in the travelogue- Christian Geography, by Cosmas Indicopleustes, a Syrian monk who traveled within India in the 6th Century. He refers to the Nestorian churches in Malabar, officiated over by Persian priests and supervised by Persian patriarch who occupied a seat in Cochin.

Only a few Nestorians are left today as Indian Christians turned to the patriarch or Antioch for guidance. The Syrian Orthodox creed continues to flourish in Kerala. It has its own Patriarch at Kottayam. The Syrian Christian church is a blend of the Indian traditions and Christian orthodox. The devotees remove their shoes at the entrance of the church and a marriage ceremony is not complete without the groom covering the head of the bride with a red veil as well as placing around her neck the thali (a gold chain with a special pendant), which is symbolically worn by all Hindu women. The caste system too has influenced the religion. The converts have adopted the caste system as a means of social organization within the church.