St. Thomas, one of the twelve apostles of Jesus Christ certainly evokes sentiments of pride among us Indians, particularly those of us from Kerala and Tamilnadu. We do believe that this apostle had preached the Gospel in our regions. While our acknowledged sources in the New Testament as to the life of Thomas with Jesus are quite enriching, his ministry in the early Church is not recorded in any of them. As for his arrival in India and his mission here in our land, we are constrained to depend only on some apocryphal writings of the early Christians. Quite a number of early Church Fathers have made enthusiastic references to his ministry in India.
Certainly some monuments and later excavations in the traditionally believed sites of Thomas’ ministry do throw some light on his work in India. And above all the active faith of Christians in Kerala, who even pride in calling themselves as “St. Thomas’ Christians” and the sense of elation that had been part of the life of Catholics in the old Diocese of Mylapore and presently the Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore over the possession of the tomb of the Apostle do not fail to provide us with a dimension of credibility about Thomas here in India. Certainly the life and ministry of the Apostle Thomas has been a great Saga of Faith, able to impress us even up to this day.
Several attempts had already been made at various times to reconstruct the life and ministry of St. Thomas. This is yet another humble attempt. This modest work on St. Thomas the Apostle of India has six parts: the first part focuses on the biblical traditions, namely some texts from the Gospels and Thomas’ personal associations with Jesus. Christ himself; in the second part, we shall have a look at the apocryphal traditions on Thomas, that is, a literature of the early Christians which speaks of St. Thomas certainly on the basis of some history, but surrounding him with a folkloristic aura; the third section will dwell briefly on the Christian traditions on Thomas centred around the statements of the Fathers of the Church and other early Christian writers; the fourth part looks into the South Indian traditions pertaining to the sites associated with Thomas here in India. This fifth part intends to portray the later ecclesiastical history of Mylapore and Madras, beginning from the Padroado jurisdiction and reaching up to the present day situation. There is also a sixth part which is an appendix added towards the end, consisting of themes which do have an indirect bearing on the life and mission of the Apostle, and help the reader to understand and appreciate the saint.
The most important of the sites associated with the Apostle Thomas in India, nay in the whole world is no doubt his tomb. In fact there are only two churches built directly over the tombs of the apostles; the most celebrated one is the great basilica of St. Peter built over the tomb of the Apostle Peter in Rome, and the second is the basilica of St. Thomas the Apostle over his tomb in Mylapore, India.
The Archdiocese of Madras-Mylapore which proudly possesses this sacred site has taken efforts towards the restoration of the beautiful gothic Cathedral, built over the tomb of the Apostle in 1896. As part of the work of restoration, an underground tomb chapel has also been carefully constructed enhancing the dignity and importance of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Thomas. The newly constructed crypt chapel will certainly enable pilgrims to visit the tomb even while liturgical services take place in the Basilica, and to enable them to pray in quiet.
Rev. Fr. Lawrence Raj, the dynamic parish priest and the brain behind this entire project wished to commemorate the historic event of the inauguration of the renovated Cathedral with its newly constructed crypt and some significant accessories like a museum and a mini-theater. And it was his proposal to bring out a write-up on St. Thomas and his mission in India on this occasion, namely 12th of December, 2004, in order to help the numerous pilgrims and visitors to have a better knowledge of the Apostle, and thus help to enhance their Christian faith .
Hence this modest effort to bring out a book on the life and mission of St. Thomas the Apostle, with a special reference to Mylapore and its subsequent developments. It is mostly a popular presentation and does not claim to have a scientific character about it. Several authors have done serious research on the mission of the Apostle.
I have read most of these works and have compiled the salient features from them for the benefit of the present day readers. I am grateful to all these authors who have remained my main sources to bring about this writing on St. Thomas the Apostle of India.
A SAGA OF FAITH on the life and mission of St. Thomas the Apostle of India, presents a man deeply committed to his Master Jesus Christ, and his travels to distant lands with a firm apostolic zeal to proclaim the Gospel. This was an event of the first century of the Christian era, and is unsurprisingly surrounded by many a legend and folklore. But the underlying spirit of faith that characterized the Apostle cannot but leave us in deep admiration and gratitude. May the saga of St. Thomas the Apostle have its impact on all the readers of this book and increase their faith in our Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
I am grateful to His Eminence Varkey Cardinal Vithayathil as well as to His Lordship Bishop Lawrence Pius for their insightful forewords. I am also grateful to Fr. Jobby of the St. Thomas Pastoral Centre, Chennai (Syro-Malabar), for taking efforts to procure the ‘foreword’ of His Eminence, the Cardinal. Some of my colleagues and students at the Sacred Heart Seminary have spared no pains in shaping up the print material. My heartful thanks to all of them. The ever-enterprising Fr. P. Lawrence Raj, but for whose persistent requests and reminders this book would not have seen the light of day abundantly merits my appreciation and gratitude.
My thanks also to the Salesian Institute of Graphic Arts (SIGA) for their artistic work.
3rd December, 2004. Fr. S. J. Anthonysamy Sacred Heart Seminary Poonamallee.
