Palakkappillil

Palakkappillil () is an ancient Syrian Catholic family in Kerala, India. It is also known by the names Palackapilly or Payyappilly. It is a Syrian Malabar Nasrani family that follows the tradition of conversion to Christianity by St. Thomas the Apostle. The family is spread mainly in central districts of Kerala.
History
The Kerala traditions do not have a system of recording and handing over the details of historical incidents and records. Hence we have to depend on the Church history, social history, oral traditions and legends handed down the generations to distill history out of them. Palakkappillil family was one of the Brahmin families believed to be baptized by St. Thomas the Apostle who arrived in Kerala in 52. The shape of the ancestral homes and the vessels found there gives more weight to the supposition that the ancestors of this Nasrani family were Brahmins. The ancient Syrian Christians of Kerala who were baptized in the first century were called Nasranis. The Palakkappillil family members had the tradition of using the word Nasrani along with their names which confirms their belief of conversion to Christianity by St. Thomas. There exists several documents mostly in the form of palm leaves which provide valuable information about the history of this family.
Plots
Palakkappillil family, mainly based at Perumanoor, had two main plots namely Payyappilly and Illathuparambu. Hence the full name of the family is Illathuparambilirikkum Payyappillilaya Palakkappillil Nasrani family.
Notable members of the family
*Fr. Gheevarghese Palakkappillil (Payyappilly), died 1903
*Servant of God (August 8, 1876 - October 5, 1929), Senior Lecturer and Head, Department of Social Work, also Chief Financial Controller, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences

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