1/13/2015 Thomas the Apostle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Thomas the Apostle From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Thomas the Apostle, (called Didymus which means "the twin"), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus Thomas the Apostle Christ, according to the New Testament. He is informally called doubting Thomas because he doubted Jesus' resurrection when first told, (in the Gospel of John), followed later by his confession of faith, "My Lord and my God", on seeing Jesus' wounded body. Traditionally, he is said to have traveled outside the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel, traveling as far as India.[2][5][6] According to tradition, the Apostle reached Muziris, India in AD 52 and baptized several people who are today known as Saint Thomas Christians or Nasranis. After his death, the reputed relics of Saint Thomas the Apostle were enshrined as far as Mesopotamia in the 3rd century, and later moved to various places. In 1258, some of the relics were brought to Abruzzo in Ortona, Italy, where they have been held in the Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle.[7] He is often regarded as the Patron Saint of India,[8][9] and the name Thoma remains quite popular among Saint Thomas Christians of India. Contents 1 Gospel of John 2 Names and etymologies 2.1 Other names 2.2 Feast days Eastern icon of Thomas 3 Later history and traditions Apostle, Preacher, Christian martyr 3.1 Assumption of Mary Born 1st century AD 3.2 Mission in India Galilee (Roman Empire) 3.3 Death Died 21 December 72 [1] 3.4 Relics Mylapore, India[2][3] 3.4.1 Mylapore Honored in Assyrian Church of the East 3.4.2 Edessa Eastern Catholic Churches 3.4.3 Chios and Ortona Roman Catholic Church 4 Historical references Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Churches https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_the_Apostle&printable=yes 1/18 1/13/2015 Thomas the Apostle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia 5 Writings Anglican Communion 6 Saint Thomas Cross Lutheran Church Respected among some Protestant 7 See also Churches 8 References Canonized Pre-Congregation 9 Further reading Feast 3 July - Syro-Malabar, Syriac 10 External links Catholic, Syriac Orthodox, Latin Catholic,[4] Anglican Communion 21 December - Indian Orthodox, Gospel of John Anglican Communion, Hispanic church Thomas first speaks in the Gospel of John. In John 11:16, 26 Pashons - Coptic Orthodox when Lazarus had recently died, the apostles do not wish 6 October and Sunday after Easter to go back to Judea, where Jews had attempted to stone Thomas Sunday - Eastern Orthodox Jesus. Thomas says: "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (NIV).[10] Attributes The Twin, placing his finger in the side of Christ, spear (means of He speaks again in John 14:5. There, Jesus had just martyrdom), square (his profession, a explained that he was going away to prepare a heavenly builder) home for his followers, and that one day they would join Patronage India, Saint Thomas Christians, him there. Thomas reacted by saying, "Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the Architects, Atheist converts way?" (NIV) John 20:24-29 tells how doubting Thomas was skeptical at first when he heard that Jesus had risen from the dead and appeared to the other apostles, saying, "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe." (v.25) But when Jesus appeared later and invited Thomas to touch his wounds and behold him, Thomas showed his belief by saying, "My Lord and my God". (v.28) Jesus then said, "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed: blessed [are] they that have not seen, and [yet] have believed." (v.29) Names and etymologies The name Thomas is derived from the Aramaic or Classical Syriac: ܘܐܬ Toma, meaning twin. The equivalent term for twin in Greek is Didymus. Other names The Nag Hammadi copy of the Gospel of Thomas begins: "These are the secret sayings that the living Jesus spoke and Didymos Judas Thomas recorded." Early Syrian traditions also relate the apostle's full name as Judas Thomas.[11] 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, brother of James, better known in English as Jude. 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 https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_the_Apostle&printable=yes 2/18 1/13/2015 Thomas the Apostle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia James. Few texts identify Thomas' twin. In the Book of Thomas the Contender, part of the Nag Hammadi, it is said to be Jesus himself: "Now, since it has been said that you are my twin and true companion, examine yourself…"[12] Feast days When the feast of Saint Thomas was inserted in the Roman calendar in the 9th century, it was assigned to 21 December. The Martyrology of St. Jerome mentioned the apostle on 3 July, the date to which the Roman celebration was transferred in 1969, so that it would no longer interfere with the major ferial days of Advent.[13] 3 July was the day on which his relics were translated from Mylapore, a place along the coast of the Marina Beach, Chennai (Madras) in India, to the city of Edessa in Mesopotamia. Traditionalist Roman Catholics (who follow the General Roman Calendar of 1960 or earlier) and many Anglicans (including members of the Episcopal Church as well as members of the Church of England and the Lutheran Church, who worship according to the 1662 edition of the Book of Common Prayer),[14] still celebrate his feast day on 21 December. The Eastern Orthodox and Byzantine Catholic churches celebrate his feast day on 6 October[15] (for those churches which follow the traditional Julian Calendar, 6 October currently falls on 19 October of the modern Gregorian Calendar). In addition, the next Sunday of the Easter (Pascha) is celebrated as the Sunday of Thomas, in commemoration of Thomas' question to Jesus, which led him to proclaim, according to Orthodox teaching, two natures of Jesus, both human and divine. Thomas is commemorated in common with all of the other apostles on 30 June (13 July), in a feast called the Synaxis of the Holy Apostles.[16] He is also associated with the "Arabian" (or "Arapet") icon of the Theotokos (Mother of God), which is commemorated on 6 September (19 September).[17] The Malankara Orthodox church celebrates his feast on three days, 3 July [18](in memory of the relic translation to Edessa), 18 December (the Day he was lanced) [19] and 21 December (when he passed away) [20] Later history and traditions Assumption of Mary According to The Passing of Mary, a text attributed to Joseph of Arimathea,[21] Thomas was the only witness of the Assumption of Mary into heaven. The other apostles were miraculously transported to Jerusalem to witness her death. Thomas was left in India, but after her first burial, he was transported to her tomb, where he witnessed her bodily assumption into heaven, from which she dropped her girdle. 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.[22] Thomas' receipt of the girdle is commonly depicted in medieval and pre- Tridentine Renaissance art,[23][24] the apostle's infamous doubting reduced to a metaphorical knot in the Bavarian baroque Mary Untier of Knots. Mission in India https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_the_Apostle&printable=yes 3/18 1/13/2015 Thomas the Apostle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Thomas is traditionally believed to have sailed to India in AD 52 to spread the Christian faith among the Jews, some of whom had migrated to Kerala.[2][25] He is supposed to have landed at the ancient port of Muziris (modern-day North Paravur and Kodungalloor in Kerala state). The port was destroyed in 1341 due to a massive flood that realigned the coasts. He established Ezharappallikal or Seven and half churches in Kerala. These churches are at Kodungallur, Palayoor, Kottakkavu (Paravur), Kokkamangalam, Niranam, Nilackal (Chayal), Kollam and Thiruvithamcode (half church).[26] St. Thomas receiving the Virgin Mary's girdle from heaven. It was to a land of dark people he was sent, to clothe them by Baptism in white robes. His grateful dawn dispelled India's painful darkness. It was his mission to espouse India to the One-Begotten. The merchant is blessed for having so great a treasure. Edessa thus became the blessed city by possessing the greatest pearl India could yield. Thomas works miracles in India, and at Edessa Thomas is destined to baptize peoples perverse and steeped in darkness, and that in the land of India. The tomb of St. Thomas the Apostle —Hymns of St. Ephrem, edited by Lamy (Ephr. Hymni in Mylapore, India. et Sermones, IV). https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Thomas_the_Apostle&printable=yes 4/18 1/13/2015 Thomas the Apostle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Eusebius of Caesarea 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, perhaps written as late as c.