St.Thomas College of Arts and Science, named after St.Thomas, a disciple of Jesus Christ was established by the St. Thomas Orthodox Syrian Cathedral Parish Trust of St. Thomas Othodox Syrian Cathedral, Broadway, Chennai-108 in 1999 in St. Thomas School campus, Broadway with just 80 students and 19 staff. B.Sc Visual Communication was the only innovative course in those days. The college offered B.Com., B.B.A., BCA., B.Sc Computer Science, also in tune with the requirement of that time.
St.Thomas the apostle arrived in the Kerala state of India in AD 52. He arrived by sea to the port of Malankara, the present Kodungallur in Kerala. He preached the word of God and established Churches at seven places. St.Thomas after his fruitful ministry in the Malabar Coast crossed over to the eastern parts of South India where also he had many converts and then on he moved as far as to Malacca and China. Later returning to India he came to Chennaipattinam or Madras.
Being infuriated by his growing popularity, he was chased by the higher castes and took shelter in a cave near Little mount which is the present Guindy in Chennai and when he was about to be captured he escaped from that place through a hole on the roof of the said cave and took shelter in the shrine which he had built on the top of the St.Thomas Mount, Parinkimalai in Tamil. His pursuers caught up with him there and speared him into death while he was clinging on a cross inside the said shrine. Later his followers took his slained body and buried him on the seashore at Santhome in Mylapore, Chennai.