Mudalur, in Tirunelveli district, is recognised as the first settlement in Tamil Nadu set up exclusively for Christians, dating to 1799. It was founded by David Sundaranandan, the first Shanar catechist of Tirunelveli district, as a safe home for new converts who were facing attacks. The name means “First Town”. Its first church came up in 1799, and the present Church of St. Michael and Other Saints was built in 1883. Later settlements in the region such as Nazareth, Sawyerpuram and Bethlehem followed the Mudalur model. Sundaranandan, remembered as an early Christian missionary in Tirunelveli, died in 1806 aged 34.
