 It was the seat of the Archdeacon, the local head of the Malankara Church and hence held an important position in Malankara for many centuries.After the Apostle St. Thomas arrived India in AD 52 and sowed the seeds of the Gospel, about 400 Syrian families immigrated in AD 345 under the leadership of the merchant Knayi Thoma to a town named Mahathevar patnam, near Muziris the famous port of Kodungalloor.This was the first known centre of Christians in India.