If St . Thomas, the Apostle of India, is interred here in this Italian basilica, then who exactly is interred inside the San Thome Basilica in Mylapore, Chennai?

They are almost totally Americanized. It is sad to see, but God knows the heart.

​​@@pdstorAmericanized? These ARE Americans, though remarkably traditional and old fashioned ones, many with families going back to the colonial era, -this is the very Deep South after all! Yes, many in this particular area are also "Irish Travellers" (Of Irish ancestry but also deeply American), but they too while comprising their own insular subculture are also very much conservative Southerners with a Capital S as well!

@@jKLa This is good to hear! I'm from Texas myself, and the Rasberrys have root in Alabama and go back all the way to Northern England on my dad's side, with Scots-Irish prominent. I'm pure Irish-Irish on my mother's side. I reconverted back to Christianity, but did not return to Protestantism, opting for the Orthodox Christianity of our forefathers' forefathers back to the times of St. Patrick. However, my wife (German-Irish herself) is Latin Mass Catholic, and though we are both ferventlly religious and have our theological differences, it doesn't make for an unhappy home. We practice a faith steeped in millennia of liturgic and prayerful Tradition, with more Bible than almost every (if not every) Protestant or Non-Denom service. This circles back to what I originally meant by "modern." I wouldn't want to insist that the daughters dress up Amish and ditch their cell phones and have their mothers and fathers go without makeup, electronics etc. Such things are for the Pharisees. Rather, I'd love to see them continue in the same Latin Mass my wife attends. I seem to remember this little Church having a Priest from India, meaning he is almost certainly ordained in the Eastern Catholic Syro-Malabar rite as well as in the modern Mass of the 70s. The old mass still opts for quiet organs meant to help the choir chant on tune, for the Latin language for all but the readings (which are read in English as well as Latin) and for a Mass that is wholesome in its offering and respectful in its orientation (the Priest leads the Faithful by facing East, often mistaken for "having his back turned" on the "audience"). This is opposed to a highly Protestantized Modern Mass, which opts for the Priest facing the crowd, completely ignores the Latin that defines the West's angle on Christian core beliefs most succinctly, and that at best has rewritten Protestant hymns and at worst rock 'n roll bands during the Mass. This is to "remain relevant" and to "call brothers [Protestants] home." The past half-century have testified that the new Mass neither remains culturally relevant nor calls Protestants to Rome. Rather, the only part of the Western Church that is growing significantly across the globe is the Latin Mass. The Eastern Rites, such as what the Indian Priest here serves, remain unaffected to varying degrees by the West's liturgical reform. These holy Liturgies grew up alongside the Latin Mass since Romans walked the Earth - and not just us Byzantines! That's all a long way to say that I meant to wish that they retained the Latin Mass their forefathers knew. They seem to be one of the last places in the nation that both retained their own cultural heritage from the Old Country while acclimatizing to the rich history of the American South. It should be understood that I don't think anyone is worse off spiritually if they don't go to a Latin Mass. It's not my job to judge the inside. That's up to God. Rather, there is a rich history of apologetics for the Traditional Mass that objectively identifies it as what pleases God the most, rather than being something that is supposed to compete for modern attention spans, musical tastes, prevailing Protestant sensibilities of the day and so on. Be well!

@@pdstor thank you for the great explanation! Really, Celtic culture is also a major foundational part (not the only one!) of traditional Southern US culture as well. I am not Catholic myself and was born again and baptized as non denominational protestant but I am now learning more about early Christianity as I have always had serious quams about some of the practices, and more importantly teachings of the modern Church. I really loved this short film as well and largely agree with your points. A lot of the new stuff just isn't working very good and just isn't as enjoyable by comparison, to me at least. Be well and have a beautiful day! 🙏

@@pdstor now, I should mention that many of the Irish Travellers specifically are also known for scams which is very much not okay. They are among the many now partly settled Traveller communities much like the Romani and others. They are also very tribal so while many are honest workers or business people themselves they don't tent to fink on their dishonest or abusive neighbors. And this is really only an extreme example of a much broader phenomenon, including (especially) in this region of the US. Many other places around the world are even worse in this regard to be sure. The religion and community here is at once truly beautiful and good yet there is also a very dark side to it as well.

Because the Agusta-Aiken area is a very conservative and traditionalist part of the Deep South! That kind of dress is common there for respectable younger Southern ladies. The area is full of natives including an Irish Catholic minority (the area is mostly protestant) partly going back all the way to the colonial era. Murphy Village, which is a town comprised of culturally insular Irish-American Travellers (who tend to be VERY Catholic) is also part of the area.

The weather also gets VERY hot and muggy for part of the year in that part of the country!

Nothing respectable about their attire. Did we watch the same video? They were in church wearing that foolery!