The Saint Thomas Christians are a very old community in Kerala, India also called as Syrian Christians of India, Nasrani or Malabar Nasrani or Malankara Nasrani or Nasrani Mappila, are an ethno-religious community of Indian Christians from the state of Kerala, who follow the East Syriac Rite, West Syriac Rite and the liturgical rites of Syriac Christianity. They trace their origins to the evangelistic or missionariy activity of Thomas the Apostle in the 1st century. Nasrani is an Arabic word for "Christian" that came from the Greek word Nazōraioi, Nazarene in English. The Saint Thomas Christians are now divided into different Churches like Eastern Catholic, Oriental Orthodox, Protestant, and independent bodies, each with their own liturgies and traditions. They are Malayali people and speak the Malayalam language