Christianity is India's third-largest religion, following Hinduism and Islam. Abrahamic religions on the whole date back about 2500 years with the arrival of Judaism, followed by arrival of Christianity around 2000 years ago. Vasco da Gama, seeking pre-existing Christian nations in India, discovered a sea route to India by circumnavigating the Cape of Good Hope which caused a major influence on both the histories of Asia and Europe.

The dawn of Christianity to South Asia dates back to the arrival of Saint Thomas to Kodungallur in Kerala in 52 AD and establishment of the Seven Churches. He returned to Mylapore, Chennai in 72 AD where he attained martyrdom.

The Syrian Malabar Nasrani people are an ethnic community in Kerala, South India. Their tradition goes back to the very beginnings of first century Christian thought and the seven churches that were established by St. Thomas the Apostle among the natives and the Jewish diaspora in Kerala. They follow a unique Hebrew-Syriac Christian tradition which includes several Jewish elements along with some Hindu customs. Their heritage is Syriac-Keralite, their culture South Indian, their faith St. Thomas Christian, and their language Malayalam.

The total number of Christians in India according to the 2001 census was 24.08 million (2.40 crores), or 2.3 percent of the population.