Thomas the Apostle
Thomas the Apostle | |
|---|---|
The Apostle Thomas, Rubens, c. 1613 | |
| Apostle, Preacher, Bishop, and Martyr | |
| Born | 1st century AD Galilee, Judea, Roman Empire[1] |
| Died | 76 AD St. Thomas Mount, Chennai, India (according to tradition) |
| Venerated in | All Christian denominations that venerate saints, especially Saint Thomas Christians |
| Canonized | Pre-Congregation |
| Major shrine | St. Thomas Cathedral Basilica in Mylapore, India St. Thomas Syro-Malabar Church in Palayur, India Basilica of St. Thomas the Apostle in Ortona, Italy |
| Feast |
|
| Attributes | The Twin, placing his finger in the side of Christ, nelumbo nucifera, spear (means of his Christian martyrdom), carpentry square (his profession, a builder) |
| Patronage | Architects, for Christians in India (including Saint Thomas Christians and Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore), Tamil Nadu, Santo Tomas, Pampanga, Sri Lanka, Pula (Croatia) and São Tomé and Príncipe |
Thomas the Apostle (Greek: Θωμᾶς, romanized: Thōmâs; Classical Syriac: ܬܐܘܡܐ, romanized: Tʾōmā, meaning 'the Twin'),[a] also known as Didymus (Greek: Δίδυμος, romanized: Dídymos 'twin'), was one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus according to the New Testament. Thomas is commonly known as "doubting Thomas" because he initially doubted the resurrection of Jesus when he was told of it (as is related in the Gospel of John); he later confessed his faith ("The lord of me and the God of me") on seeing the places where the wounds appeared still fresh on the holy body of Jesus after the Crucifixion of Jesus.
According to traditional accounts of the Saint Thomas Christians of Kerala, Thomas travelled outside the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel, traveling through southern India in the modern states of Kerala and Tamil Nadu,[1][4][5][6] and eventually reached Muziris (modern-day North Paravur and Kodungalloor) in 52 CE. He started the Church of the East in the region around the Van Province, Edessa, and Hakkari regions of Upper Mesopotamia (modern-day southeastern Turkey), presumably sometime between mid-late 30s and 45, and spent many years evangelizing both Jews and pagans in the area before heading further east in the late 40s.[7][8][1][9][10] In 1258, some of the relics were brought to Ortona, in Abruzzo, Italy, where they have been held in the Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle.[11] He is regarded as the patron saint of India among its Christian adherents,[12][13] and the Feast of Saint Thomas on July 3 is celebrated as Indian Christians' Day.[14][15] The name Thomas remains quite popular among the Saint Thomas Christians of the Indian subcontinent.
Many churches in the Middle East and southern Asia, besides India, also mention Apostle Thomas in their historical traditions as being the first evangelist to establish those churches, the Church of the East,[7] as well as the early church of Sri Lanka.[16]
| Part of a series on |
| Saint Thomas Christians |
|---|
| Part of a series on |
| Christianity in India |
|---|
- ^ a b c Fahlbusch et al. 2008, p. 285.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
latin mass socwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
st-takla.orgwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Slapak 1995, p. 27.
- ^ Medlycott 1905.
- ^ Puthiakunnel 1973.
- ^ a b "Socotra: The Mysterious Island of the Assyrian Church of the East". Church of Beth Kokheh Journal. 11 April 2016. Archived from the original on 4 August 2021. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
- ^ "Did the apostle Peter ever visit Babylon?".
- ^ Johnson & Zacharia 2016.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
stthomawas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
gcatholic.orgwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
catholic-saints.infowas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Medlycott 1905, Ch. IV.
- ^ Carvalho, Nirmala (29 June 2021). "First Indian Christian Day on 3 July". AsiaNews. Archived from the original on 4 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ Kumar, Anugrah (4 July 2021). "India: Christians celebrate first Indian Christian Day, feast of St. Thomas". The Christian Post. Archived from the original on 4 July 2021. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
- ^ Pinto, Leonard (23 September 2013). "Sri Lanka: a brief history of Christianity". Scoop News. Archived from the original on 4 October 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).