Saint Thomas
"The Incredulity of St Thomas" by Caravaggio
Apostle
Died	c. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, usually just known as Caravaggio, (28 September 1571 – 18 July 1610 was an Italian Artist active in Rome The Twelve Apostles (Greek apostolos, "someone sent out" e 72, near Madras, India
Venerated in	Catholic Church, Orthodox Church, Anglican Church, Lutheran Church, some Protestant Churches
Feast	Roman Catholic: 3 July (formerly 21 December) Coptic Orthodox: 26 Pashons Eastern Orthodox: Thomas Sunday (Sunday after Pascha), 6 October, and 30 June (Synaxis of the Apostles)
Attributes	The Twin, placing his finger in the side of Christ, spear (means of martyrdom), square (his profession, a builder)
Patronage	Architects, India, and others, see [1]
Saints Portal

Saint Thomas the Apostle, Judas Thomas or Didymus, was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to The Eastern Orthodox Church: the Eastern Christian churches of Byzantine See also Anglicanism The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches Lutheranism is a major branch of Western Christianity that identifies with the teachings of the sixteenth-century German reformer Martin Luther Protestantism refers to the forms of Christian faith and practice that originated in the 16th century Protestant Reformation. The Calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a Liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more Saints Events 324 - Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. Events 69 - The end of the Year of the four emperors: Following Galba, Otho and Vitellius, Vespasian History of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Apostolic foundation Egypt is identified in the Bible as the place of refuge that the 25 Pashons - Coptic calendar - 27 Pashons Fixed commemorations All fixed commemorations below are observed on 26 Pashons by the Coptic The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world The Octave Day of Easter, sometimes known as Low Sunday (and also known historically as White Sunday Whitsunday St Easter ( Greek: Πάσχα Pascha or Pasxa) is the most important religious feast in the Christian Liturgical year. Events 105 BC - Battle of Arausio: The Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus Events 350 - Roman usurper Nepotianus, of the Constantinian dynasty, is defeated and killed by troops of the Usurper For the Moth Genus, see Synaxis (moth. (at this point April 2008 this redirects to a nonexistant article Christianity has used symbols from its very beginnings Each Saint has a story and a reason why he or she led an exemplary life Twins are Offspring resulting from the same Pregnancy, either of the same or opposite Sex. Christ is the English term for the Greek ( Khristós) meaning "the anointed " This is an article about a particle accelerator For uses of spear, see Spear or Spear (disambiguation. The term martyr ( Greek μάρτυς martys "witness" is most commonly used today to describe an individual who sacrifices their life (or personal freedom Carpenter's square redirects here For the plant see Scrophularia marilandica. The patron saint of a particular group of people is a Saint who would protect and 'love' the group and its members An architect is a licensed individual who leads a design team in the Planning and Design of buildings and participates in oversight of Building Construction India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The Twelve Apostles (Greek apostolos, "someone sent out" e Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE) The Synoptic Gospels and Acts list this "twin" (Te'oma means twin in Aramaic, as does Didymus in Greek) among the apostles (Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15). The synoptic gospels are the first three Gospels of the New Testament in the Christian Bible. The Acts of the Apostles is a book of the Bible, which now stands fifth in the New Testament. Aramaic is a Semitic language with Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly

Contents 1 Thomas in the Gospel of John 2 Name and Identity 2.1 Twin and its Renditions 2.2 Other Names 2.3 Veneration as a saint 3 Later History 3.1 Thomas and the Assumption of Mary 3.2 Thomas and Syria 4 Historical References to St. Thomas 5 Thomas and India 5.1 Visit to Gondophares 5.1.1 Return of the Relics 5.1.2 Indian Legacy 5.1.3 Pope Benedict XVI's controversial statements 6 St. Thomas Christians 6.1 Thomas other accounts 7 Writings Attributed to Thomas 8 See also 9 Notes 10 External links

Thomas in the Gospel of John

Thomas appears in a few passages in the Gospel of John. The Gospel of John (literally According to John; Greek, Κατὰ Ἰωάννην Kata Iōannēn) is the fourth Gospel in the canon In John 11:16, when Lazarus has just died, the disciples are resisting Jesus' decision to return to Judea, where the Jews had previously tried to stone Jesus. Lazarus ( Hebrew: אלעזר Elʿāzār Eleazar "God (has helped" is the name of two separate men mentioned in the New Testament. Jesus is determined, and Thomas says bravely: "Let us also go, that we might die with him" (NIV). The New International Version is an English Translation of the Christian Bible.

He also speaks at The Last Supper in John 14:5. In the Christian Gospels the Last Supper (also called the Lord's Supper or Mystical Supper) was the last meal Jesus shared with his Jesus assures his disciples that they know where he is going, but Thomas protests that they don't know at all. Jesus replies to this and to Philip's requests with a detailed exposition of his relationship to God the Father.

In Thomas' best known appearance in the New Testament, John 20:24-29, he doubts the resurrection of Jesus and demands to touch Jesus' wounds before being convinced. The Five Holy Wounds or Five Sacred Wounds of Christ were the five piercing wounds inflicted upon Jesus during His Crucifixion: Two of them Caravaggio's painting, The Incredulity of Saint Thomas (illustration above), depicts this scene. Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio, usually just known as Caravaggio, (28 September 1571 – 18 July 1610 was an Italian Artist active in Rome This story is the origin of the term Doubting Thomas. Doubting Thomas is a term that is used to describe someone who will refuse to believe something without direct physical personal evidence a Skeptic. After seeing Jesus alive (the Bible never states whether Thomas actually touched Christ's wounds), Thomas professed his faith in Jesus, exclaiming "My Lord and my God!"; on this account he is also called Thomas the Believer. ^[1]

Name and Identity

There is disagreement and uncertainty as to the identity of Saint Thomas. One recent theory is presented in the book The Jesus Family Tomb. The Jesus Family Tomb The Discovery the Investigation and the Evidence That Could Change History (ISBN 0061192023 is a controversial book by Simcha Jacobovici The authors, Simcha Jacobovici and Pellegrino, identify him with two of those who were interred in the Talpiot Tomb, "Yehuda son of Yeshua. Simcha Jacobovici (ˈsɪmxə jəˈkoʊboʊvɪtʃ is an award-winning controversial documentary film director and producer The Talpiot Tomb (or Talpiyot Tomb) is a Tomb discovered in 1980 in the East Talpiot Israeli neighborhood five kilometers south of the Old "

Twin and its Renditions

• The Greek Didymus: in three of these passages (John 11:16; 20:24; and 21:2), Thomas is more specifically identified as "Thomas, also called the Twin (Didymus)".
• The Aramaic Tau'ma: the name "Thomas" itself comes from the Aramaic word for twin: T'oma (תאומא). Aramaic is a Semitic language with Thus the name convention Didymus Thomas thrice repeated in the Gospel of John is in fact a tautology that omits the Twin's actual name. In Rhetoric, a tautology is an unnecessary (and usually unintentional repetition of meaning using different words that effectively say the same thing twice (often originally
• 'Didymus' or 'Didymos' is also the Greek name of the constellation Gemini, which some scholars believe to be associated with the Thomas, character in the Bible. Gemini (ˈgɛmɪnaɪ Twins, symbol, Unicode ♊ is one of the Constellations of the Zodiac known as "the twins"

Other Names

The Nag Hammadi "sayings" Gospel of Thomas begins: "These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded. Nag Hammadi library (popularly known as The Gnostic Gospels) is a collection of early Christian Gnostic texts discovered near the The Gospel According to Thomas ( Coptic: ⲡⲉ̅ⲩ̅ⲁ̅ⲅⲅ̅ⲉⲗ̅ⲓⲟⲛ̅ ⲡⲕ̅ⲁ̅ⲧⲁ ⲑ̅ⲱ̅ⲙⲁⲥ also known as The Gospel " Syrian tradition also states that the apostle's full name was Judas Thomas, or Jude Thomas. Some have seen in the Acts of Thomas (written in east Syria in the early 3rd century, or perhaps as early as the first half of the 2nd century) an identification of Saint Thomas with the apostle Judas son of James, better known in English as Jude. The early 3rd century text called Acts of Thomas is arguably the most Gnostic of the New Testament apocrypha, portraying Christ as the "Heavenly Saint Jude was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is generally identified with Thaddeus, and is also variously called Jude of James However, the first sentence of the Acts follows the Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles in distinguishing the apostle Thomas and the apostle Judas son of James. Few texts identify Thomas' other twin, though in the Book of Thomas the Contender, part of the Nag Hammadi library, it is said to be Jesus himself: "Now, since it has been said that you are my twin and true companion, examine yourself…"^[2]

Veneration as a saint

Thomas is revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox churches. A saint (from the Latin sanctus) is a human being to whom has been attributed (and who has generally demonstrated a high level of Holiness and Sanctity The Eastern Orthodox Church is the second largest single Christian Communion in the world Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the For the Eastern Orthodox, Eastern Catholic Churches and the Coptic Orthodox Church he is remembered each year on Saint Thomas Sunday, which falls on the Sunday after Easter. This article refers to Eastern Churches in full communion with the Holy See History of the Coptic Orthodox Church of Alexandria Apostolic foundation Egypt is identified in the Bible as the place of refuge that the The Octave Day of Easter, sometimes known as Low Sunday (and also known historically as White Sunday Whitsunday St In addition, the Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches celebrate his feast day on October 6 (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, October 6 currently falls on October 19 of the modern Gregorian Calendar). The Greek Byzantine Catholic Church is a Sui iuris Particular Church within the Catholic Church and uses the Byzantine liturgical rite The Calendar of saints is a traditional Christian method of organizing a Liturgical year on the level of days by associating each day with one or more Saints Events 105 BC - Battle of Arausio: The Cimbri inflict the heaviest defeat on the Roman army of Gnaeus Mallius Maximus The Julian calendar, a reform of the Roman calendar, was introduced by Julius Caesar in 46 BC and came into force in 45 BC (709 Ab urbe condita Events 202 BCE - The Battle of Zama results in the defeat of Carthage and Hannibal. The Gregorian calendar is the most widely used Calendar in the world today He is also commemorated in common with all of the other apostles on July 30 (August 13), in a feast called the Synaxis of the Holy Apostles. Events 1419 - First Defenestration of Prague. 1502 - Christopher Columbus lands at Guanaja in the Bay Islands off For the Moth Genus, see Synaxis (moth. (at this point April 2008 this redirects to a nonexistant article He is also associated with the "Arabian" (or "Arapet") Icon of the Theotokos (Mother of God), which is commemorated on September 6 (September 19). An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. Theotokos (Θεοτόκος translit Theotókos) is a title of Mary the mother of Jesus used especially in the Eastern Orthodox, Events 3114 BC - According to the Proleptic Julian calendar the current era in the Maya Long Count Calendar started

The Roman Catholic and Anglican calendars honour him on July 3, the day on which his relics are believed to have been translated from Mylapore, a place along the coast of the Marina Beach, Chennai in India to the city of Edessa in Mesopotamia. Events 324 - Battle of Adrianople Constantine I defeats Licinius, who flees to Byzantium. A relic is an object or a personal item of religious significance carefully preserved with an air of Veneration as a tangible memorial In Christianity, the translation of Relics is the removal of holy objects from one locality (such as a Tomb) to another (usually a Reliquary in Mylapore ( Tamil:மயிலாப்பூர் is the cultural hub, and a bustling neighborhood just south of Chennai (formerly Madras India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding

Later History

Just as Saints Peter and Paul are said to have brought the fledgling Christianity to Greece and Rome, Saint Mark brought it to Egypt, Saint John to Syria and Asia Minor, Thomas is often said to have taken it eastwards as far as India. Paul the apostle (שאול התרסי Šaʾul HaTarsi, meaning " Saul of Tarsus " Σαούλ Saul and Σαῦλος Saulos and Greece (Ελλάδα transliterated: Elláda, historically, Ellás,) officially the Hellenic Republic (Ελληνική Δημοκρατία Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 "Saint Mark" redirects here For other uses see Saint Mark (disambiguation. This article is about the country of Egypt For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Egypt topics. Saint John the Apostle ( Greek Ιωάννης, see Names of John) was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية Anatolia (Anadolu Ανατολία Anatolía) or Asia minor, comprising most of modern Turkey, is the geographic region bounded by the Black India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Saint Thomas is said to have been the first Catholicos of the East. This article describes different viewpoints about the history and tradition

Thomas and the Assumption of Mary

Main article: Dormition of the Theotokos

According to The Passing of Mary, a text attributed to Joseph of Arimathaea, Thomas was the only witness of the Assumption of Mary into heaven. The Dormition of the Theotokos ( Greek: Koimesis) is a Great Feast of the Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox and Joseph of Arimathea was according to the Gospels, the man who donated his own prepared tomb for the burial of Jesus after Jesus' Crucifixion This article is about the theological concept For the works of art with this title see Assumption of the Virgin Mary in Art and Roman Catholic Marian art. The other apostles were miraculously transported to Jerusalem to witness her death. Thomas was left in India, but after her burial he was transported to her tomb, where he witnessed her bodily assumption into heaven, from which she dropped her girdle. This article is about the item of clothing In the Scots language, girdle refers to a cooking griddle. In an inversion of the story of Thomas' doubts, the other apostles are skeptical of Thomas' story until they see the empty tomb and the girdle. ^[3] Thomas' receipt of the girdle is commonly depicted in medieval and pre-Tridentine Renaissance art. The Council of Trent was the 19th Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church.

Thomas and Syria

"Judas, who is also called Thomas" (Eusebius, H. E. 13. 12) has a role in the legend of king Abgar of Edessa (Urfa), for having sent Thaddaeus to preach in Edessa after the Ascension (Eusebius, Historia ecclesiae 1. For the other historical kings Abgar of Osroene see Osroene. Abgar V or Abgarus V of Edessa (4 BC - AD 7 and AD 13 - 50 Edessa ( Greek:) is the historical name of a Syriac town in northern Mesopotamia, refounded on an ancient site by Seleucus I Nicator Thaddeus was one of the Seventy Apostles of Christ, not to be confused with Thaddeus of the Twelve Apostles. 13; III. 1; Ephrem the Syrian also recounts this legend. Ephrem the Syrian ( Syriac: ܐܦܪܝܡ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ Mor Afrêm Sûryāyâ; Greek:; Latin ) In the 4th century the martyrium erected over his burial place brought pilgrims to Edessa. In the 380s, Egeria described her visit in a letter she sent to her community of nuns at home (Itineraria Egeriae):

"we arrived at Edessa in the Name of Christ our God, and, on our arrival, we straightway repaired to the church and memorial of saint Thomas. There, according to custom, prayers were made and the other things that were customary in the holy places were done; we read also some things concerning saint Thomas himself. The church there is very great, very beautiful and of new construction, well worthy to be the house of God, and as there was much that I desired to see, it was necessary for me to make a three days' stay there. "

Historical References to St. Thomas

Ancient writers used the designation "India" for all countries south and east of the Roman Empire's frontiers. India included Ethiopia, Arabia Felix, Edessa in Syria (in the Latin version of the Syriac Diatessaron), Arachosia and Gandhara (Afghanistan and Pakistan), and many countries up to the China Sea. ^[4] In the Acts of Thomas, the original key text to identify St. Thomas with India (which all other India references follow), historians agree that the term India refers to Parthia (Persia) and Gandhara (Western India now Pakistan). ^[5]

There are many early Christian writings, which belong to centuries immediately following the first Ecumenical Council of 325 exist about St.Thomas mission. ^[6]

• The Acts of Judas Thomas: 2nd/3rd century (c. 180-230) ^[7] Gist of the testimony: The Apostles cast lots as to where they should go, and to Thomas, twin brother of Jesus, fell India. Thomas was taken to king Gondophares as an architect and carpenter by Habban. Gondophares was the first king of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom. He seems to have ruled from 21 CE for at least 26 years The journey to India is described in detail. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country After a long residence in the court he ordained leaders for the Church, and left in a chariot for the kingdom of Mazdei. There, after performing many miracles, he dies a martyr.

• Clement of Alexandria: 3rd century (d. c. 235); Church represented: Alexandrian/Greek Biographical Note : Greek Theologian, b. Athens, 150. ^[6] Clement makes a passing reference to St. Thomas’ Apostolate in Parthia. This agrees with the testimony which Eusebius records about Pantaenus visit to India. Saint Pantaenus (d ca 200 was a Christian Theologian who founded the Catechetical School of Alexandria about AD 190 India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country ^[6]

• Doctrine of the Apostles: 3rd Century; Church represented: Syrian ^[8] “After the death of the Apostles there were Guides and Rulers in the Churches…. . They again at their deaths also committed and delivered to their disciples after them everything which they had received from the Apostles;…(also what) Judas Thomas (had written) from India”.

“India and all its own countries, and those bordering on it, even to the farther sea, received the Apostle’s hand of Priesthood from Judas Thomas, who was Guide and Ruler in the Church which he built and ministered there”. In what follows “the whole Persia of the Assyrians and Medes, and of the countries round about Babylon…. even to the borders of the Indians and even to the country of Gog and Magog” are said to have received the Apostles’ Hand of Priesthood from Aggaeus the disciple of Addaeus ^[9]

• Origen Century : 3rd century (185-254?), quoted in Eusebius; Church represented: Alexandrian/ Greek Biographical. Christian Philosopher, b-Egypt, Origen taught with great acclaim in Alexandria and then in Caesarea. Origen ( Greek: Ōrigénēs, or Origen Adamantius, ca 185–ca ^[10] He is the first known writer to record the casting of lots by the Apostles. Origen original work has been lost; but his statement about Parthia falling to Thomas has been preserved by Eusebius. Origen ( Greek: Ōrigénēs, or Origen Adamantius, ca 185–ca “Origen, in the third chapter of his Commentary on Genesis, says that, according to tradition, Thomas’s allotted field of labour was Parthia”. ^[11]

• Eusebius of Caesarea: 4th century (d. 340); Church Represented: Alexandrian/Greek Biographical ^[12] Quoting Origen, Eusebius says: “When the holy Apostles and disciples of our Saviour were scattered over all the world, Thomas, so the tradition has it, obtained as his portion Parthia…. Origen ( Greek: Ōrigénēs, or Origen Adamantius, ca 185–ca ” ^[13]

• Ephrem: 4th century; Church Represented: Syrian Biographical ^[14] Many devotional hymns composed by St. Ephraem, bear witness to the Edessan Church’s strong conviction concerning St. Ephrem the Syrian ( Syriac: ܐܦܪܝܡ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ Mor Afrêm Sûryāyâ; Greek:; Latin Thomas’s Indian Apostolate. There the devil speaks of St. Thomas as “the Apostle I slew in India”. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country Also “The merchant brought the bones” to Edessa.

In another hymn apostrophising St. Thomas we read of “The bones the merchant hath brought”. “In his several journeyings to India, And thence on his return, All riches, which there he found, Dirt in his eyes he did repute when to thy sacred bones compared”. India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country In yet another hymn Ephrem speaks of the mission of Thomas “The earth darkened with sacrifices’ fumes to illuminate”. “A land of people dark fell to thy lot”, “a tainted land Thomas has purified”; “India’s dark night” was “flooded with light” by Thomas. ^[15]

• Gregory of Nazianzus: 4th century(d. 389); Church Represented: Alexandrian. Biographical Note: Gregory of Nazianzus was born A. Gregory of Nazianzus (329 – January 25 389) (also known as Gregory the Theologian or Gregory Nazianzen) was a 4th-century Archbishop D. 330, consecrated a bishop by his friend St. Basil in 372 his father, the Bishop of Nazianzus induced him to share his charge. Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service usually religious A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight Basil of Caesarea, also called Saint Basil the Great (c 330 – January 1, 379) (Άγιος Βασίλειος ο Μέγας Latin In 379 the people of Constantinople called him to be their bishop. Constantinople (Κωνσταντινούπολις Konstantinoúpolis, or gr ἡ Πόλις hē Polis, Latin: la CONSTANTINOPOLIS By the Orthodox Church he is emphatically called “the Theologian’. The term Orthodox Christianity may refer to The Eastern Orthodox Church: the Eastern Christian churches of Byzantine ^[16] “What? were not the Apostles strangers amidst the many nations and countries over which they spread themselves?…Peter indeed may have belonged to Judea; but what had Paul in common with the gentiles, Luke with Achaia, Andrew with Epirus, John with Ephesus, Thomas with India, Mark with Italy?” ^[17]

• Ambrose of Milan: 4th century (d. 397); Church Represented: Western. Biographical Note: St. Ambrose was thoroughly acquainted with the Greek and Latin Classics, and had a good deal of information on India and Indians. Saint Ambrose (c 338 &ndash 4 April 397) was a bishop of Milan who became one of the most influential ecclesiastical figures of the fourth century He speaks of the Gymnosophists of India, the Indian Ocean, the river Ganges etc. , a number of times. ^[18] “This admitted of the Apostles being sent without delay according to the saying of our Lord Jesus… Even those Kingdoms which were shut out by rugged mountains became accessible to them, as India to Thomas, Persia to Mathew. . ” ^[19]

• St. Jerome (342- 420). St. Jerome's testimony : “He (Christ) dwelt in all places: with Thomas in India, Peter at Rome, with Paul in Illyricum. Jerome (c 347 – September 30, 420) ( Latin: Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος ” ^[6]

• St. Gaudentius( Bishop of Brescia, before 427). St. Gaudentius' testimony: “John at Sebastena, Thomas among the Indians, Andrew and Luke at the city of Patras are found to have closed their careers. "Saint Gaudentius" redirects here For the bishop of Novara see Gaudentius of Novara. ” ^[6]

• St. Paulinus of Nola (d. 431). St. Paulinus' testimony :“Parthia receives Mathew, India Thomas, Libya Thaddeus, and Phrygia Philip”. Saint Paulinus of Nola or Pontius Meropius Anicius Paulinus ( Bordeaux, ca India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country ^[6]

• St. Gregory of Tours (d. 594) St. Gregory's testimony: “Thomas the Apostle, according to the narrative of his martyrdom is stated to have suffered in India. Saint Gregory of Tours ( November 30, c 538 &ndash November 17, 594) was a Gallo-Roman historian and bishop of Tours His holy remains (corpus), after a long interval of time, were removed to the city of Edessa in Syria and there interred. In that part of India where they first rested, stand a monastery and a church of striking dimensions, elaborately adorned and designed. This Theodore, who had been to the place, narrated to us. ’ ^[6]

• St. Isidore of Seville in Spain (d. c. 630). St. Isidore's testimony: “This Thomas preached the Gospel of Christ to the Parthians, the Medes, the Persians, the Hyrcanians and the Bactrians, and to the Indians of the Oriental region and penetrating the innermost regions and sealing his preaching by his passion he died transfixed with a lance at Calamina,a city of India, and there was buried with honour”. Saint Isidore of Seville ( Spanish: es ''San Isidro'' or es ''San Isidoro de Sevilla'' Latin: latin ''Isidorus Hispalensis'' (c India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country ^[6]

• St. Bede the Venerable (c. 673-735). St. Bede's testimony : “Peter receives Rome, Andrew Achaia; James Spain; Thomas India; John Asia" ^[6]

Thomas and India

Part of a series on Christianity in India
Background
Christianity Malankara Church Syrian Malabar Nasrani Saint Thomas Christians Holy Apostolic Throne of St. Thomas Malankara Metropolitans Knanaya
Events
Synod of Diamper Coonan Cross Oath Goa Inquisition
People
St Thomas St Francis Xavier Mother Teresa Reginald Heber Blessed Kuriakose Chavara Henry Martyn‎ Bishop Cotton‎ William Carey Anthony Norris Groves Hugh Findlay Charles Freer Andrews Sister Alphonsa Parumala Thirumeni
Churches
Chaldean Syrian Church Church of North India Church of South India Indian Brethren Indian Pentecostal Church Jacobite Syrian Church Malabar Independent Church Mar Thoma Church Orthodox Syrian Church Roman Catholic Church St. Thomas Evangelical Church Syro-Malankara Catholic Church Syro-Malabar Catholic Church
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Eusebius of Caesarea (Historia Ecclesiastica, III. 1) quotes Origen (died mid-3rd century) as having stated that Thomas was the apostle to the Parthians, but Thomas is better known as the missionary to India through the Acts of Thomas, written ca 200. Origen ( Greek: Ōrigénēs, or Origen Adamantius, ca 185–ca Parthia ( Middle Persian: اشکانیان Ashkâniân) was an Iranian civilization situated in the northeastern part of modern Iran India, officially the Republic of India (भारत गणराज्य inc-Latn Bhārat Gaṇarājya; see also other Indian languages) is a country The early 3rd century text called Acts of Thomas is arguably the most Gnostic of the New Testament apocrypha, portraying Christ as the "Heavenly In Edessa, where his remains were venerated, the poet Ephrem the Syrian (died 373) wrote a hymn in which the Devil cries,

. Edessa ( Greek:) is the historical name of a Syriac town in northern Mesopotamia, refounded on an ancient site by Seleucus I Nicator Ephrem the Syrian ( Syriac: ܐܦܪܝܡ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ Mor Afrêm Sûryāyâ; Greek:; Latin . . Into what land shall I fly from the just?

I stirred up Death the Apostles to slay, that by their death I might escape their blows.

But harder still am I now stricken: the Apostle I slew in India has overtaken me in Edessa; here and there he is all himself.

There went I, and there was he: here and there to my grief I find him. —quoted in Medlycott 1905, ch. ii.

A long public tradition in the church at Edessa honoring Thomas as the Apostle of India resulted in several surviving hymns that are attributed to Ephrem, copied in codices of the 8th and 9th centuries. References in the hymns preserve the tradition that Thomas' bones were brought from India to Edessa by a merchant, and that the relics worked miracles both in India and at Edessa. A pontiff assigned his feast day and a king and a queen erected his shrine. The Thomas traditions became embodied in Syriac liturgy, thus they were universally credited by the Christian community there. There is also a legend that Thomas had met the Biblical Magi on his way to India. "Three Kings" or "Three Wise Men" redirects here

The indigenous church of Kerala State, India has a tradition that St. Kerala ( Malayalam: {{Kerala in Malayalam}}; Thomas sailed there to spread the Christian faith. He is said to have landed at a small village, at that time a port, named Palayoor, near Guruvayoor, which was a priestly community at that time. Palayoor or ( Palayur) is a part of Thrissur district and is located on the west coast of Kerala, in India. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> Guruvayur (also written Guruvayoor is a small town in Thrissur district in the Indian state He left Palayoor in AD 52 for southern Kerala State, where he established the Ezharappallikal, or "Seven and Half Churches". For the comic book see 52 (comic book. Year 52 was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar of the These churches are at Kodungallur, Kollam, Niranam, Nilackal (Chayal), Kokkamangalam, Kottakkayal (Paravoor), Palayoor (Chattukulangara) and Thiruvithamkode (Travancore) - the half church. Kodungallur (anglicised name Cranganore) is a city and a Municipality in the Thrissur district in the Indian state of Kerala Kollam ( Malayalam:കൊല്ലം) (known to the Portuguese as Quilon, pronounced koy-lon) is a city and a Municipal corporation Niranam today is a small village in central Travancore region in Kerala, India. Kokkamangalam is a village in Alappuzha district of Kerala state South India. WikipediaWikiProject Indian cities for details --> North Paravur (also Parur Paravur taluk Paravoor) is a town and a Municipality in Ernakulam Palayoor or ( Palayur) is a part of Thrissur district and is located on the west coast of Kerala, in India. Travancore or Thiruvithaamkoor ( Malayalam: തിരുവിതാങ്കൂര്‍ "Thiru" (respectful prefix which suggests either royal or (See also Saint Thomas of Mylapur). The Diocese of Saint Thomas of Mylapore, or in Portuguese São Tomé de Meliapore, in Latin Sancti Thomae de Meliapor) was a Suffragan

It has been argued that as an Apostle of the 'Circumcision' his first converts would have been Jews who were settled there, and that the possibility of him converting Hindus into Christianity is unlikely, though phenotypes and overall Dravidian culture among the community suggest otherwise. A phenotype is any observable characteristic of an Organism, such as its morphology, Development, biochemical or physiological properties Some Saint Thomas Christians believe that orthodox Brahmins like Namboodiris were converted by Saint Thomas into Christianity based upon attempts by the St Thomas Christians to enter the caste system of India, though Brahmin conversion is disputed by historians who suggest that this was claimed later by Christian communities to obtain special caste status among the Hindu community, as St Thomas was believed to have arrived in Kerala at 52 AD, whereas Nambudiris arrived in Kerala in the 7th century. This article addresses the Saint Thomas Christians and the various churches and denominations that form the Nasrani people. Brahmin ( Brāhmaṇa, sa ब्राह्मणः is the class of educators scholars and preachers in Brahminical Hinduism. The Nambudiri Brahmins ( Malayalam: ml നമ്പൂതിരി ml-Latn nambũdiri, also transliterated Namputiri, Namboothiri) are the These Saint Thomas Christians also grew through integration of Jewish Christian immigrants of the 4th century AD led by Thomas of Cana and later by Mar Sapro in the 8th century AD. Knai Thomman or in English Thomas of Cana or Thomas the Zealot, is a very prominent Knanaya merchant from Edessa (Or Urfa As Judeo-Christian communities are said not to have integrated with other faith communities, especially those of the hyper orthodox Namboodhiri Brahmins of Malabar, it has been argued that this tradition is unlikely.

Visit to Gondophares

The Acts of Thomas describes in chapter 17 Thomas' visit to king Gondophares in northern India; chapters 2 and 3 depict him as embarking on a sea voyage to India, thus connecting Thomas to the west coast of India. The early 3rd century text called Acts of Thomas is arguably the most Gnostic of the New Testament apocrypha, portraying Christ as the "Heavenly Gondophares was the first king of the Indo-Parthian Kingdom. He seems to have ruled from 21 CE for at least 26 years Though the Acts are usually considered to be moral entertainments of a legendary nature, the Periplus of the Erythraean Sea is a surviving roughly contemporary guide to the routes commonly being used for navigating the Arabian Sea. The Periplus of the Erythraean Sea ( Periplus Maris Erythraei) is a Greek Periplus, describing navigation and trading opportunities The Arabian Sea ( Arabic: بحر العرب transliterated: Baḥr al-'Arab Sanskrit: सिन्धु सागर transliterated: At the times the Acts were being composed, and until the discovery of his coins in the region of Kabul and the Punjab, there was no reason to suppose that a king named "Gondophares" had ever really existed. Punjab (ਪੰਜਾਬ पंजाब pəɲdʒaːb is a state in northwest India. The reign of Gondophares, established by a votive inscription of his 26th regnal year that was unknown until 1872, commenced in AD 21, so he was in fact reigning as late as AD 47. "It is impossible to resist the conclusion that the writer of the Acts must have had information based on contemporary history. For at no later date could a forger or legendary writer have known the name. " (Medlycott 1905).

Return of the Relics

In 232 the relics of the Apostle Thomas are said to have been returned by an Indian king and brought back from India to the city of Edessa, Mesopotamia, on which occasion his Syriac Acts were written. Events By Topic Religion Relics of St Thomas are brought to Edessa from India. Edessa ( Greek:) is the historical name of a Syriac town in northern Mesopotamia, refounded on an ancient site by Seleucus I Nicator The Indian king is named as "Mazdai" in Syriac sources, "Misdeos" and "Misdeus" in Greek and Latin sources respectively, which has been connected to the "Bazdeo" on the Kushan coinage of Vasudeva I, the transition between "M" and "B" being a current one in Classical sources for Indian names. Vasudeva I ( Kushan: ΒΑΖΟΔΗΟ "Bazodeo" Chinese: 波調 "Bodiao" was a Kushan /Bactrian emperor last of the "Great ^[20] The martyrologist Rabban Sliba dedicated a special day to both the Indian king, his family, and St Thomas:

"Coronatio Thomae apostoli et Misdeus rex Indiae, Johannes eus filius huisque mater Tertia" ("Coronation of Thomas the Apostole, and Misdeus king of India, together with his son Johannes (thought to be a latinization of Vizan) and his mother Tertia") Rabban Sliba^[21]

After a short stay in the Greek island of Chios, on September 6, 1258, the relics were transported to the West, and now rest in Ortona, Italy. Chios (Χίος pronounced ˈçio̞s alternative transliterations Khíos and Híos) is the fifth largest of the Greek islands, situated Ortona is a coastal town and Municipality of the Province of Chieti in the Italian region of Abruzzo with some 23000 inhabitants

Indian Legacy

Main article: Christianity in India

Southern India had maritime trade with the West since ancient times. Egyptian trade with India and Roman trade with India flourished in the first century AD. Roman trade with India through the overland caravan routes via Anatolia and Persia though at a relative trickle comparative to later times antedated the southern trade route via the Red In AD 47, the Hippalus wind was discovered and this led to direct voyage from Aden to the South Western coast in 40 days. Hippalus was a Greek navigator and merchant who probably lived in the 1st century BCE. Muziris (Kodungallur) and Nelcyndis or Nelkanda (near Kollam) in South India, are mentioned as flourishing ports, in the writings of Pliny (23-79 AD). Muziris is also a genus of Jumping spiders. Traditional scholars identify Muziris with the town of Musiri, located in Pliny has given an accurate description of the route to India, the country of Cerebothra (the Cheras). Pliny has referred to the flourishing trade in spices, pearls, diamonds and silk between Rome and Southern India in the early centuries of the Christian era. Though the Cheras controlled Kodungallur port, Southern India belonged to the Pandyan Kingdom, that had sent embassies to the court of Augustus Caesar.

According to tradition, St. Thomas landed in Kodungallur in AD 52, in the company of a Jewish merchant Hebban. Kodungallur (anglicised name Cranganore) is a city and a Municipality in the Thrissur district in the Indian state of Kerala There were Jewish colonies in Kodungallur since ancient times and Jews continue to reside in Kerala, tracing their ancient history. The Jewish Christians (or Nazareens) were supported from Mesopotamia and Persia, since ancient times. Mesopotamia (from the Greek meaning "land between the rivers" is an area geographically located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers largely corresponding The Persian Empire was a series of Iranian empires that ruled over the Iranian plateau, the original Persian homeland and beyond in Western Asia

As recorded in the Travancore Manual, around 345 AD, Thomas Cana (Kona Thomas) merchant and missionary, visited the Malabar coast. He brought to Kodungallur a group of four hundred Christians from Bagdad, Nineveh and Jerusalem. Cheraman Perumal, the King, gave him grants of privileges. ^[22]

In 522 AD, Cosmos Indicopleustes visited the Malabar Coast. Cosmas Indicopleustes (literally "who sailed to India" of Alexandria was a Greek Merchant and later Monk probably of Nestorian He is the first traveller who mentions Syrian Christians in Malabar. He mentions that in the town of 'Kalliana' (Quilon or Kollam), there is a bishop consecrated in Persia. There is a copper plate grant given to Iravi Korttan, a Christian of Kodungallur (Cranganore), by King Vira Raghava. The date is estimated to be around 744 AD. In 822 AD two Nestorian Persian Bishops Mar Sapor and Mar Peroz came to Malabar, to occupy their seats in Kollam and Kodungallur, to look after the local Syrian Christians (also known as St. Thomas Christians).

In the 13th century, Marco Polo, who visited South Indian cities of Kayal in the East Coast and Kollam (Quilon), mentioned in his writings about the Syrian Christians of Quilon and also about the Thomas tomb on the East Coast, near Kayal, confirming the tradition that St Thomas died in South India. Marco Polo ( September 15 1254 – January 9 1324 at earliest but no later than June 1325 was a Venetian trader and explorer Kollam ( Malayalam:കൊല്ലം) (known to the Portuguese as Quilon, pronounced koy-lon) is a city and a Municipal corporation

Marco Polo is the first writer to identify St. Thomas with South India and a seashore tomb in an unnamed town ("a certain little town") on the East Coast. ^[23] All previous accounts of Thomas had followed the Acts of Thomas and had the apostle buried in the desert country of the Zoroastrian king Mazdai (Misdaeus), in a royal tomb on a mountain containing the sepulchers of ancient Persian kings (from which the relics were stolen and returned to Mesopotamia). ^[24] Marco Polo also states in the Milione that St. Thomas was a Muslim saint from Nubia and that he had been killed by accident by a native pagan hunting peacocks. Therefore, the Muslim St. Thomas ("Thuma" or "Thawwama" in Arabic, meaning "born twin" as does "Thoma" and "Thama" in Syriac and "Didymus" in Greek) was a victim not a martyr, and this story by Marco Polo only adds to the tangled mass of fables concerning his apostolate and his end. ^[25]

Marco Polo's story revolutionized the St. Thomas legend in Europe, and the unidentified town on the East Coast, believed to contain his bones in a seashore tomb, was soon identified with the ancient pilgrimage town of Mailapur (Mylapore) with its busy international port and great Shiva temple built on a high point on the sea beach. ^[26] However, it can be positively stated that Marco Polo did not visit the East Coast of India (Coromandel Coast) at any time in his travels. ^[27] And Friar Odoric of Pordenone who visited Mylapore in 1322, did not find a St. Thomas tomb or church on the beach but describes a Hindu temple filled with idols. ^[28]

Marco Polo's testimony for St. Thomas in South India is important to note in detail because it has been used by Thomas in South India protagonists, from the 16th century Portuguese in Mylapore to Bishops Medleycott and Arulappa in their fictionalized St. Thomas histories, to Christian historiographers working today, as positive proof that St. Thomas lived and died in South India. But Marco Polo's St. Thomas stories in the Milione have no historical veracity at all and have been discredited. They are only a collection of pious tales picked up in the bazaars of Ceylon and Quilon - if, indeed, Marco Polo ever visited these places, which is now in doubt. ^[29]

While exploring the Malabar coast of Kerala, South India after Vasco da Gama's arrival in Calicut in 1498, the Portuguese encountered Christians in South Western India, who traced their foundations to Thomas. Malabar (മലബാര്‍ is a region of southern India, lying between the Western Ghats and the Arabian Sea. Kerala ( Malayalam: {{Kerala in Malayalam}}; Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. However, the Catholic Portuguese did not accept the legitimacy of local Malabar traditions, and they began to impose Roman Catholic practices upon the Saint Thomas Christians. The Udayamperoor Synod (Synod of Diamper) in 1599, was an attempt by the Portuguese, to Latinize the local Christian rites. The Synod of Diamper, held at Udayamperoor /Diamper ( Kerala, India) formally united the ancient Christian Church of the Malabar Coast Saint Thomas In 1653, the Syrian Christians split from the Latin Church controlled by the Pope of Rome. The Orthodox faction remained fully within the various Oriental Orthodox and Assyrian traditions. Oriental Orthodoxy is the communion of Eastern Christian Churches that recognize only three Ecumenical councils — the First Council of Nicaea, the The Holy Apostolic Catholic Assyrian Church of the East (ܥܕܬܐ ܩܕܝܫܬܐ ܘܫܠܝܚܝܬܐ ܩܬܘܠܝܩܝ ܕܡܕܢܚܐ ܕܐܬܘܪ̈ܝܐ ‘Ittā Qaddishtā wa-Shlikhāitā Qattoliqi During the British rule in India, Protestantism flourished among the Christians.

On the isolated island of Socotra south of Yemen in the Arabian Sea, a community of Christians had been attested as early as ca. Socotra or Soqotra ( Arabic سقطرى; Suquṭra) is a small Archipelago of four islands and islets in the Indian Ocean Yemen ( Arabic: اليَمَن al-Yaman officially the Republic of Yemen ( Arabic: الجمهورية اليمنية al-Jumhuuriyya The Arabian Sea ( Arabic: بحر العرب transliterated: Baḥr al-'Arab Sanskrit: सिन्धु सागर transliterated: 354 by Philostorgius, the Arian Church historian, in his narrative of the mission of Bishop Theophilus to the Homeritae (Medleycott), and was confirmed by medieval Arab sources. Philostorgius (Greek Φιλοστοργιος 368 - ca 439 was a so-called Anomoean Church historian of the 4th and 5th centuries Arianism is the theological teaching of Arius (c AD 250-336 who was ruled a heretic by the Christian church at the Council of Nicea. They survived to be documented in 1542 by Saint Francis Xavier, whom they informed that their ancestors had been evangelized by Thomas (Medlycott 1905, ch. Saint Francis Xavier ( Konkani / Konknni: Sam Fransisku Xavier/ Sanv Fransisk Xavier Basque: San Frantzisko Xabierkoa Spanish: San Francisco ii). Francis Xavier was careful to station four Jesuits to guide the faithful in Socotra into orthodoxy (letter, April 15, 1549). Socotra had been briefly garrisoned by Albuquerque, but after the Mahra sultans from the Horn of Africa conquered Socotra in 1511 almost all traces of the Thomas Christian community in Socotra had been utterly effaced. Dom Afonso de Albuquerque (or Afonso d'Albuquerque - disused (ɐˈfõsu dɨ aɫbuˈkɛɾk(ɨ (1453 Alhandra - Goa, December 16 1515 was a Portuguese The Mahra Sultanate of Qishn and Socotra (سلطنة المهرة في قشن و سقطرة Mahrah fī Qishn wa Suquṭrah}} or sometimes the Mahra Sultanate of Ghayda and Socotra The Horn of Africa (alternatively Northeast Africa, and sometimes Somali Peninsula; shortened to HOA) is a Peninsula in East Africa

Though the mortal remains of Thomas, were removed to Edessa in the 3rd century from India, and from Edessa to Italy, an attempt was made by the Portuguese in the 16th century, to trace the original tomb of Thomas. Finally they settled on Mylapore near Madras (Chennai), as the site where Thomas was martyred.

Near Chennai (formerly Madras) in India stands a small hillock called St. Thomas Mount, where the Apostle is said to have been killed in 72 AD (exact year not established). St Thomas Mount is a small hillock located in Chennai, Tamil Nadu, India. Year 72 was a Leap year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Also to be found in Chennai is the Dioceses of Saint Thomas of Mylapore to which his mortal remains were supposedly transferred. The Diocese of Saint Thomas of Mylapore, or in Portuguese São Tomé de Meliapore, in Latin Sancti Thomae de Meliapor) was a Suffragan

Pope Benedict XVI's controversial statements

On September 27th 2006, Pope Benedict XVI gave out a speech in the Vatican in which he recalled an ancient tradition claiming that Thomas first evangelised Syria and Persia, then went on to Western India, from where Christianity also reached Southern India. Pope Benedict XVI ( Latin: Benedictus PP XVI; Italian: Benedetto XVI; German: Benedikt XVI; born Joseph Alois Ratzinger Vatican City, officially the State of the Vatican City (Stato della Città del Vaticano is a Landlocked sovereign City-state whose territory ^[30]. ^[31] Since this statement was perceived to be a direct violation of their religious beliefs, many Saint Thomas Christians in India condemned this statement. ^[32]Later the Vatican amended the published text of the same speech with minor modifications owing to the anger expressed by the Saint Thomas Christians. The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent Episcopal see of the Roman Catholic ^[33]

The Pope's original statement given out at St. Peter's, before it was amended on the Vatican website, reflected the geography of the Acts of Thomas, i. e. Syria, Parthia (Persia/Iran) and Gandhara (Western India/Pakistan). There is no historical evidence to support the tradition that St. Thomas came to South India, and on Nov. 13, 1952 Vatican officials sent a message to Kerala Christians stating that the landing of St. Thomas at Cranganore on Nov. 21, 52 A. D. was "unverified". ^[34]

St. Thomas Christians

Main article: Saint Thomas Christians

Thomasine Christianity is found in the southern Indian state of Kerala. This article addresses the Saint Thomas Christians and the various churches and denominations that form the Nasrani people. These churches of Malabar trace their roots back to St. Thomas the Apostle who according to history and local tradition arrived along the Malabar Coast in the year A. D. 52. In the Syriac tradition, St. Thomas is referred to as Mar Thoma Sleeha which translate roughly as Lord/Saint Thomas the Apostle.

St Thomas Christians had a unique identity till the arrival of Portuguese in India, who converted St. Thomas Christians to the Catholic Church. As a result of this foreign intervention into the culture there are several present day St. Thomas churches, primarily in the Catholic and Oriental Orthodox Traditions.

The largest church in terms of membership is the Syro-Malabar Catholic Church, a major archepiscopal church in communion with the Bishop of Rome with a membership approaching four million adherents. The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church is a Chaldean Rite Major Archiepiscopal Church in Full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church is the newest sui iuris church in the Catholic communion with five hundred thousand (500,000) members. The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church (also known as Malankara Syrian Catholic Church Malankara Syriac Catholic Church)

The Oriental Orthodox church with its rich history in trampled under continued litigation between two parties owing their allegiance to separate primates. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (also known as the Indian Orthodox Church) views itself as an autocephlous Orthodox Church with His Holiness, the Catholicos of the East as their head while, the Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church has a local head in the person of His Beatitude, the Catholicos of India. The Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church (also known as the Malankara Orthodox Church, Orthodox Church of the East, Orthodox Syrian Church of the East, This article describes different viewpoints about the history and tradition The Jacobite Syrian Christian Church is the Malankara Archdiocese of the Syrian Orthodox Church in Kerala, India. Catholicos of India is the official title of the Catholicos / Maphrian of the Malankara Syriac Orthodox Church who functions at an ecclesiastical rank second However, the Catholicos of India is still subject to the authority of the Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch. The Patriarch of Antioch is the head of the Syriac Orthodox Church; this is a list of primates who have held that office

Another important church in Malankara is the Mar Thoma Church (full name is the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church). The Mar Thoma Church is a Christian denomination from Kerala, the South Western State of India. The church claims membership of 900,000. The Mar Thoma Church is unique in a sense since it is an Eastern Church with reformed doctrines.

Thomas other accounts

To the Portuguese and Spanish conquerors and clerics, the Americas were simply "The Indies" for most of the sixteenth century. Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic (República Portuguesa is a country on the Iberian Peninsula. Spain () or the Kingdom of Spain (Reino de España is a country located mostly in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. The Indies or East Indies (or East India) is a term often used to refer to the islands of SE Asia, especially the Malay Archipelago The improbable suggestion that St. Thomas preached in America ^[35] is based upon a misunderstanding of the text of the Acts of Apostles ^[36]

Various Eastern Churches claim that St. Thomas personally brought Christianity to China and Japan in AD 64 and 70 respectively. China ( Wade-Giles ( Mandarin) Chung¹kuo² is a cultural region, an ancient Civilization, and depending on perspective a National For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic Japan topics. Year 64 was a Leap year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. Year 70 was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Julian calendar. ^[37]

Writings Attributed to Thomas

"Let none read the gospel according to Thomas, for it is the work, not of one of the twelve apostles, but of one of Mani's three wicked disciples. Mani (in Persian: مانی Syriac: syr-Syrc ܡܐܢܝ (c 210–276 AD was the founder of Manichaeism, an ancient Gnostic Religion "

—Cyril of Jerusalem, Cathechesis V (4th century)

In the first two centuries of the Christian era, a number of writings were circulated, which claimed the authority of Thomas, some of them said, perhaps too loosely, to be espousing a Gnostic doctrine, as Cyril was suggesting. Saint Cyril of Jerusalem (Κύριλλος Α΄ Ἱεροσολύμων was a distinguished theologian of the early Church (ca Gnosticism (γνώσις gnōsis, Knowledge) refers to a diverse Syncretistic Religious movement consisting of various Belief systems It is unclear now why Thomas was seen as an authority for doctrine, although this belief is documented in Gnostic groups as early as the Pistis Sophia (ca AD 250 - 300) which states that the "three witnesses" committing to writing "all of his words" are Thomas, along with Philip and Matthew. Pistis Sophia is an important Gnostic text The five remaining copies which scholars date c Saint Philip was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. Later Christian traditions describe Philip as the apostle who proselytized in Matthew the Evangelist (מתי/מתתיהו "Gift of Yahweh " Standard Hebrew and Tiberian Hebrew: Mattay or Mattithyahu In that Gnostic work, Mary Magdalene (one of the disciples) says:

"Now at this time, my Lord, hear, so that I speak openly, for thou hast said to us 'He who has ears to hear, let him hear:' Concerning the word which thou didst say to Philip: 'Thou and Thomas and Matthew are the three to whom it has been given… to write every word of the Kingdom of the Light, and to bear witness to them'; hear now that I give the interpretation of these words. Saint Mary Magdalen or Mary Magdalene is described both in the canonical New Testament and in the New Testament apocrypha, as a devoted It is this which thy light-power once prophesied through Moses: 'Through two and three witnesses everything will be established. The three witnesses are Philip and Thomas and Matthew" ( —Pistis Sophia 1:43)

An early, non-Gnostic tradition may lie behind this statement, which also emphasizes the primacy of the Gospel of Matthew in its Aramaic form, over the other canonical three. The Gospel of Matthew (Gk Κατά Ματθαίον Ευαγγέλιον is one of the four Canonical gospels in the New Testament and is a Synoptic gospel Aramaic is a Semitic language with

Besides the Acts of Thomas there was a widely circulated Infancy Gospel of Thomas probably written in the later 2nd century, and probably also in Syria, which relates the miraculous events and prodigies of Jesus' boyhood. The early 3rd century text called Acts of Thomas is arguably the most Gnostic of the New Testament apocrypha, portraying Christ as the "Heavenly The Infancy Gospel of Thomas is a non- canonical text that was part of a popular genre Aretalogy, of the 2nd and 3rd centuries&mdash a miracle Syria ( سوريّة or) officially the Syrian Arab Republic (Arabic ar الجمهورية العربية السورية This is the document which tells for the first time the familiar legend of the twelve sparrows which Jesus, at the age of five, fashioned from clay on the Sabbath day, which took wing and flew away. The earliest manuscript of this work is a sixth century one in Syriac. See Syriac (disambiguation for other uses Syriac (syr ܠܫܢܐ ܣܘܪܝܝܐ leššānā Suryāyā) is an Eastern Aramaic language This gospel was first referred to by Irenaeus; Ron Cameron notes: "In his citation, Irenaeus first quotes a non-canonical story that circulated about the childhood of Jesus and then goes directly on to quote a passage from the infancy narrative of the Gospel of Luke (Luke 2:49). Saint Irenaeus (Greek Ειρηναίος (2nd century AD - c 202 was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, Roman Empire (now Lyons France The Gospel of Luke (Gk Κατά Λουκάν Ευαγγέλιον) is a synoptic Gospel, and is the third and longest of the four canonical Gospels of the Since the Infancy Gospel of Thomas records both of these stories, in relative close proximity to one another, it is possible that the apocryphal writing cited by Irenaeus is, in fact, what is now known as the Infancy Gospel of Thomas. Saint Irenaeus (Greek Ειρηναίος (2nd century AD - c 202 was Bishop of Lugdunum in Gaul, Roman Empire (now Lyons France Because of the complexities of the manuscript tradition, however, there is no certainty as to when the stories of the Infancy Gospel of Thomas began to be written down. "

The best known in modern times of these documents is the "sayings" document that is being called the Gospel of Thomas, a noncanonical work which some scholars believe may actually predate the writing of the Biblical gospels themselves. The Gospel According to Thomas ( Coptic: ⲡⲉ̅ⲩ̅ⲁ̅ⲅⲅ̅ⲉⲗ̅ⲓⲟⲛ̅ ⲡⲕ̅ⲁ̅ⲧⲁ ⲑ̅ⲱ̅ⲙⲁⲥ also known as The Gospel ^[38] The opening line claims it is the work of "Didymos Judas Thomas" - who has been identified with Thomas. This work was discovered in a Coptic translation in 1945 at the Egyptian village of Nag Hammadi, near the site of the monastery of Chenoboskion. Coptic or Coptic Egyptian ( MetRemenkīmi) is the final stage of the Egyptian language, a northern Afro-Asiatic language spoken in Egypt Nag Hammadi ( Arabic نجع حمادي is a city in Upper Egypt. Once the Coptic text was published, scholars recognized that an earlier Greek translation had been published from fragments of papyrus found at Oxyrhynchus in the 1890s. Papyrus (/pəˈpaɪrəs/ (Rhymes -aɪrəs)is a thick paper-like material produced from the Pith of the papyrus plant Cyperus papyrus Oxyrhynchus (Ὀξύρρυγχος "sharp-nosed" ancient Egyptian Pr-Medjed; Coptic Pemdje; modern Egyptian Arabic

See also

• Saint Thomas of Mylapur
• Saint Thomas Christians
• São Tomé
• Doubting Thomas

Notes

External links

• FAQ on St Thomas tradition among Syrian Christians of Kerala
• Official site of Malayattoor Church established by St.Thomas in Kerala, India.
• Mylapore santhomechurch built over the tomb of St. Thomas
• www.SyroMalabar.com The Syro-Malabar Church, All 26 Dioceses
• St. Thomas Indian Orthodox Church - Greater Washington
• A.E. Medlycott, India and the Apostle Thomas, London 1905 (e-text)
• Catholic Encyclopedia: St. Thomas the Apostle
• St. Thomas - Apostle to India
• Herbert Christian Merillat, "The Gnostic Apostle Thomas", 1997
• Niranam Valiyapally and St. Thomas
• St.Thomas Christian History and Culture
• The Nasrani Syrian Christians Network
• Thomasine Church
• The Myth of Saint Thomas and the Mylapore Shiva Temple
• Official Site of the Malankara Mar Thoma Syrian Church
• Pope no longer doubts Thomas reached India
• Passages to India
• Orthodox Church Portal
• Indian Orthodox Church
• Holy, Glorious Apostle Thomas Orthodox icon and synaxarion for October 6
• Apostle Thomas—Synaxis of the Holy Apostles Orthodox icon and synaxarion for June 30
• Icon of the Mother of God Arapet (Arabian) Orthodox icon and synaxarion for September 6

Persondata
NAME	Thomas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Judas Thomas Didymus, Jude Thomas Didymus
SHORT DESCRIPTION	Apostle of Jesus Christ
DATE OF BIRTH
PLACE OF BIRTH
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH

An icon (from Greek εἰκών eikōn, "image" is a religious work of art most commonly a painting from Eastern Christianity. Synaxarium, Synaxarion, Synexarium, Synexarion, pl Synaxaria ( Greek: Συναξάριον, from συναγειν Jesus of Nazareth (7–2 BC / BCE —26–36 AD / CE)

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