san thome church

Very old beautiful Church situated very close to kathipada junction near Guindy airport road.Church is locating on the Mountain connected through good road.Can climb through car also. Very beautiful sight seen. Airport seen is superb.

This church is awesome. U feel so relaxed and calm here that is so soothing..I liked the way the church is being maintained and it is brilliant place to find some peace.

It is really worth visiting while a traveller visits chennai.It is lovely and well maintained.Inside down the steps,the tomb of Apostle St.Thomas is there.The compound is nearby to marina beach,chennai on santhome road,ch-4.We liked the basilica very much.

The National Shrine of St.Thomas Basilica is built over the tomb of Apostle St.Thomas. Among 3 churches in the world which is build over a tomb of Jesus Christ Apostle.

lovely church you need at least 2 hours to have a good look around and admire the church inside and out

One of the most beautiful Cathedrals in India, a vibrant parish with lively parishioners. The entire facade and compound is well maintained and caters to the diverse linguistic community of Chennai.

Its an international shrine where it places the remains of St.Thomas,apostle of Jesus.Likewise there are only 3 in the world.One is St.Peter's tomb in Rome another in Spain for St.James and this is the third one,so quite special.

Once again in India it was a surprise to see just how much money was going in to the Christian churches of the country. The church is again the centre of a religious and educational complex. St Thomas's claim to fame is his tomb though now there's only a small fragment of finger bone left to revere - those body snatching Portuguese at it again!

Don't miss the museum. It is behind the main church which is spectacular. The museum also has a small sanctuary with a lot of St. Thomas memories in it. Check your shoes for safety when entering (free).

I visited church in the morning when morning mass (malayalam) was going on .I loved to visit this church again as it got a very silent place to prayer.better to visit the church in the weekdays as rush will be less.

it is worth a quick visit for the history behind the church. they have done the restoration and it does make it look better. but am not an expert to judge whether it is done well or with care to its past. avoid when mass is being celebrated or sundays.

Every church or building is equally important.but this church is super because the remains of st thomas one of the disciples of India who came to Kerala in AD 52 and who was martyred near mylapore in Tamil nadu in AD 72 is buried here.This is one of the only 3 churches in the world built over the tombs of Jesus' apostles.St thomas christians , the original denomination established by the apostle has split up into various denominations now. But still some like orthodox , jacobite follow almost similar traditions. He was the disciple who doubted jesus and who put his fingers over the palms of jesus to confirm he was indeed crucified and resurrected.St thomas the apostle built 7 and half churches in india..all of them except the half one is in kerala. (half because it was not fully built). This is one of the landmarks of chennai and everyone would be able to help you reach the place. Must see even if you are in Chennai for a couple of days."Jesus youth" ,a catholic youth association, holds night vigil (night prayers from 9 pm to about 6 am) once a night every month and that was how i became close to this church even though i am a non catholic.

This is a historic spot. Below the church lies the tomb of Saint Didiymus Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ. Its said to be one of only 3 places in the world with a genuine tomb of an apostle - the others being Santiago de Compostela in Spain and Saint Peters in Vatican. You have to take off your shoes to enter the tomb. The whole complex is quite a peaceful and clean place. The museum, though small, has some interesting pieces and relics. The current church is built at the site of an old church built in the 16th century.The church has some nice stained glass work. There is a small chamber dedicated to mother Mary on one side. There is a massive pole with a cross near the front.

the San Thome Church has such an interesting history, but you really have to search and even then you may not get much of the interesting story. You can wander through the museum by yourself and go down through to the passage and into the prayer hall where the tomb lies, again educating yourself as you go, and again missing a good historian to tell you how everything fits together. I get that it is a church, but it is also a historical site and not everyone visits to worship - so more information or access to information would be lovely.

For all you relic hunters, here is a two for the price of one.The underground chapel contains a bone fragment of St Thomas in a fine reliquary while the museum holds the head of the spear that killed the saint in a similarly fine display.All within the icing sugar spired church, what more could you ask for?