Places · Church
St. Thomas Church, Aranattukara
The parish church at the heart of Aranattukara, whose story runs from a first church in 1796, through a long division, to reunion in 1964 and the church we see today.
Photo: aranattukara.org, 2026 · All rights reserved
Before Aranattukara had a church of its own, a few believers would paddle by canoe to the church at Pazhuvil on Sundays and come back to the kadavu (landing) by noon, where neighbours waited to receive their blessing.
The first church, 1796
The book records that the first church came out of a royal order from Sakthan Thampuran, who gave land for it. It was blessed in 1796 in the name of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary. According to tradition, boatmen fetching salt from Kozhikode some years later found an unharmed statue of St. Sebastian in a ruined church and brought it home; the parish has kept a feast for the saint every January ever since.
Division and reunion
As newcomers settled, the parish split. In 1896 a second church, dedicated to St. Sebastian, rose facing the old one, and people spoke of the Kizhakke Palli (East Church) and the Padinjare Palli (West Church). The quarrel lasted for decades. Teachers, priests, sports clubs and drama groups slowly brought the young people together, and on 3 July 1964 the bishop united the two parishes again.
The church today
Both old churches were taken down, and a new cross-shaped church named after St. Thomas the Apostle was dedicated on 6 January 1973. In 2015 it was widened and given a Gothic front with a cluster of spires; it was blessed again on 1 May 2015.
The church keeps a carved wooden figure of the dead Christ used for the Good Friday Nagari Kanikkal (showing of Christ’s body), which many visitors find deeply moving.
Service times are not listed here yet. Please check with the parish office.
Related
Sakthan Thampuran
The Cochin ruler (1790–1805) who made Thrissur his capital and turned the Aranattukara landing into a centre of state trade.
Fr. Antony Thachuparambil
Servant of God and vicar of Aranattukara's East Church in 1928–1933, remembered for its Golgotha hill and for a season of spiritual renewal.
Chevalier Antony Tharakan
Physician to the Cochin royal family and papal knight, the best-remembered member of Aranattukara's Tharakan family.
Chakkoru Master
Teacher, social worker and peacemaker (J.C. Chiramel), who taught Dalit children at Lalur, translated for Gandhiji and worked to heal the parish split.
Aranattukara in 10 Minutes
The whole story of Aranattukara in one short read — from a landing on the edge of the kol wetlands to a busy ward of Thrissur city.
Arts, Drama and Clubs
A university drama school, amateur theatre clubs, portrait painters, a study circle and football on the Netaji Ground. Aranattukara's long love of the stage and the playing field.