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Post Info TOPIC: Chapter 1 St. Thomas in the Writings of the Fathers


Guru

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Chapter 1 St. Thomas in the Writings of the Fathers
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Chapter 1

St. Thomas in the Writings of the Fathers

After having looked into the apocryphal literature surrounding St.

Thomas, we should also study the literature provided by the Fathers

of the Church regarding the life and mission of the Apostle Thomas.

Who are the Fathers of the Church? They are the writers of

Christian antiquity covering a period of nearly seven centuries

beginning with the post-apostolic times. They wrote about the

Christian faith and defended it in the years following the missionary

activities of the apostles. They were known for their orthodoxy in

doctrine, holiness of life, and they were respectfully recognized by

the Church. And their testimony of events and persons does indeed

command a great credibility. They were certainly not scholars in

history and their testimonies are meant only to enhance our faith.

What do the Fathers of the Church say about St. Thomas the

Apostle and his mission in the early Church?14

i. The Doctrine of the Apostles

The first work of importance for us, and composed by some

Fathers of the Church is the Doctrine of the Apostles written

around 250 A.D. It was written originally in Syriac. The statement

that beckons us in this book reads as follows:

“After the death of the Apostles, there were Guides and Rulers in

the Churches; and whatever the . Apostles communicated to them

and they had received from them, they taught to the multitudes.

After their deaths, they again committed and delivered to their

disciples after them everything they had received from the

Apostles; also what James had written from Jerusalem, Simon from

the city of Rome, and John from Ephesus and Mark from the great

city of Alexandria, and Andrew from Phrygia and Luke from

Macedonia and Judas Thomas from India, that the epistles of an

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Apostle might be received and read in the churches in every place

like those Triumphs of their Acts, which Luke wrote, are read, that

by this the Apostles might be known....”

“India and all its own countries and those bordering on it even to

the farthest sea received the Apostle’s hand of priesthood from

Judas Thomas, who was guide and ruler in the Church he built

there and ministered there”

This authentic statement from the third century writings of the

Fathers conveys to us some important truths regarding the Apostle

Thomas and his mission:

- In the first place India is accepted as the place of the mission

of the Apostle Thomas and that he had been communicating

his missionary ventures with the Mother Church.

- While the other Apostles or disciples were assigned areas that

were not too far away from Palestine, Thomas had a difficult

mission in the sense it was quite a distant one and this explains

the reluctance of Thomas to accept such a lot as expressed

in the apocryphal book, Acts of Thomas.

- The area to be evangelized by Thomas was not only India but

also “countries bordering on it, even to the farthest sea”. The

earliest traditions speak of missionary activities of Thomas as

beginning from Mesopotamia in the vicinity of Edessa, and

continuing through Persia, the frontiers of Tartary, and

Caucaus, preaching to the Parthians, Medes, Bactrians, and

Hyrcanians on his way to India. And a shorter -version of his

apostolate reads; “Thomas preached to the Parthians, Medes

and Indians, and he was killed at Calamina and his body was

transferred to Edessa”15

ii. St. Gregory Nazianzen (329-390)

This great scholar and doctor of the Church is full of sympathy and

admiration to the early apostles and disciples of Jesus who daringly

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went to territories unknown to them and laboured much so that the

light of the Gospel may spread all over. And he writes: “What?

Were not the Apostles strangers amidst the many nations and

countries over which they spread themselves, that the Gospel might

penetrate into all parts that no place might be void of the triple light

or deprived of the truth, so that the cloud of ignorance among them

who even sit in darkness and the shadow of death might be lifted?

Peter indeed might 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?”

iii. St. Ephrem (4th century)16

St. Ephrem, a Syrian Father of the Church makes several

references to St. Thomas the Apostle and India in his hymns:

i. In one of his hymns the devil is presented as making this

statement about St. Thomas, “The Apostle whom I slew in

India”.

ii. In another hymn which he addressed to St.Thomas himself he

sings: “Blessed art Thou, whom the great King sent, that India,

to His One-begotten Thou should espouse!”.

iii. In other hymns of St. Ephrem there are clear references that

St. Thomas the Apostle suffered martyrdom in India, that he

was buried there and that he worked-miracles in India.

iv. Referring to the translation of his remains to Edessa, he says

that Edessa became the blessed city by possessing the

greatest pearl that India could yield.

The above testimony of St. Ephrem is not to be considered merely

as that of a single individual, but as that of the whole Church of

Edessa, where these hymns were widely used and where St.

Thomas the Apostle was venerated with great devotion. These

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hymns apparently embodied the local traditions which were

common knowledge among the people there. If these traditions

were not based on historical facts, it is difficult to believe how they

could have been incorporated in the Liturgy itself.

iv. St. Ambrose of Milan (333-397)

St. Ambrose was fully acquainted with the Greek and Latin classics

and he was certainly quite aware of India, her culture as well as

her people. He was so interested about the Indian customs and

manners that he is supposed to have rendered into Latin from

Greek a treatise, “De Moribus Brahmanorum” (About the Customs

of the Brahmins). In this book he speaks of the life of the Brahmins

by introducing an excellent discussion between a Brahmin known

as Dandamis and Alexander the Great. In many of his writings, St.

Ambrose makes references to the wise men of India, of the Indian

Ocean, of the great river Ganges and of Persia. He makes quite a

significant reference about Thomas when he states, “Even those

kingdoms which were shut out by rugged mountains became

accessible to them, as India to Thomas, Persia to Matthew...”

 



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v. St. Jerome (342-420)

St. Jerome was the most erudite of the Latin Fathers. His bold

undertaking to learn Hebrew language in his seventies in order to

translate the Bible into Latin speaks volumes for his determination

and intellectual bent of mind. And the Vulgate translation of Jerome

has remained the official version of the Catholic Church even to

this day.

St. Jerome’s erudition extended even to the secular literature both

in Greek and Latin. He was also aware of the various trade routes

to India. He seems to have had a detailed knowledge of India, its

geography as well as its people.

Speaking of the Indian people he divides them in two sects, the

Brahmins and the Samanes. He presents a glorious picture of the

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Brahmins. They are so abstemious that they eat the fruits of the

trees near the river Ganges or rice and flour supplied by the public;

when the king meets them he adores them as he considers that the

peace of the country depends on their prayers.

Jerome exhorts the Christians to live a higher Christian perfection

following the example of the mortified life of the Brahmins who live

only on barley, rice and fruits. He was also aware of the Sati

practice among the Indians and he says, “Among them there is a

law that the dearest wife is cremated with her dead husband”.

St. Jerome’s knowledge of the routes to India is evident in the

following statement he had made: “The sailors of the Red Sea, in

which we must wish that the real Pharaoh was drowned with his

army, arrive at the city of Auxum after many difficulties and perils.

On both shores live nomads and even very ferocious beasts.

Always on the look out and always armed, they convey the food

materials for the whole year. The sea is full of hidden rocks and

rough shoals so that the sentry sits on the high mast and gives

orders as to the directions of the ship. Happy is the voyage if after

six months they reach the port...it takes almost a year to reach

India and thence to the river Ganges...”

The following information given by St. Jerome is also quite relevant

to us: “The chief port of India to which the Romans came at this

time was Muziris, situated in the pepper country of Malabar”

St. Jerome’s reference on St. Thomas in India is made in reference

to Jesus Christ as well as the other Apostles: “He (Christ) was

indeed at one and the same time with the apostles during the forty

days and with the angels, with the Father and in the uttermost ends

of the ocean. He dwelt in all places, with Thomas in India, with

Peter in Rome, with Paul in Illyricum, with Titus in Crete, with

Andrew in Achaia, with each apostolic man in each and every

country”.

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vi. St. John Chrysostom ( + 407)

This is yet another Father of the Church who evinced keen interest

on the sepulchers of the early saints for their importance as centers

of faith in Jesus Christ and their role in the development of

Christianity. In fact St. John Chrysostom does not mention the role

of the Apostle Thomas in India, but simply states that an Apostle

preached the Gospel in India. And he also says, “We do not know

where many of the Apostles were buried, but we know where the

sepulchers of Peter, Paul, John and Thomas are situated.”

vii. St. Paulinus of Nola (353-431)

Like the other Fathers of the Church St. Paulinus of Nola is

concerned over the fact that the Apostles indeed took up the

command of Jesus Christ to preach the Gospel to the ends of the

earth (Acts 1:8). And he joyfully records, “So God bestowing his

holy gifts on all lands, sent His Apostles to the great cities of the

world... Parthia receives Matthew, India receives Thomas.

viii. St. Gaudentius, Bishop of Brescia (+410)

Bishop Gaudentius speaks with veneration of the relics of the

various saints of the early times. And he is particularly proud of the

relics of the saints in the possession of his Church, namely those of

Saints Thomas, John the Baptist, Andrew and Luke. He announces

joyfully, “We possess here the relics of these four who having

preached the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, were put to

death by the unbelieving and perverse men.... John at Sebastena, a

town in the province of Palestine, Thomas among the Indians”

ix. St. Gregory of Tours (538 - 593)

St. Gregory Bishop of Tours in France conveys to us two pieces of

important information about St. Thomas the Apostle in India. In the

first place he tells us about the pilgrims visiting the sacred sites in

India and particularly the tomb of the Apostle Thomas. Already

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from the fourth century there have been traders and travelers who

were visiting India for its importance in trade and its advancement

in culture. Among them were also Christian pilgrims who devotedly

paid homage to the sites hallowed by saints. One such pilgrim was

Theodore who visited the tomb of Thomas the Apostle and

personally reported to St. Gregory of his happy experience in India.

And basing himself on the testimony of Theodore, Gregory writes

of Thomas as follows: “His holy remains after a long time were

removed to the city of Edessa in Syria and interred there. In that

part of India where they first rested stands a monastery and church

of striking dimensions. Theodore who had been to the place had

narrated this to us.”

x. St. Isidore of Seville (+638)

St. Isidore of Seville in Spain was a man of vast learning and he

too was well versed in the geography of the Eastern countries. He

had a clear knowledge of the countries like India, Persia,

Mesopotamia and Arabia. And he was also quite knowledgeable

about the vast territories which St. Thomas visited in view of his

missionary apostolate. He writes, “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. He penetrated the innermost regions and sealed his

preaching by his passion. He died transfixed with a lance at

Calamina, a city in India, and there he was buried with honour”.

This Calamina mentioned as the place of Thomas’ death or burial

is none other than the present Mylapore. There are many

explanations for the name Calamina17. It seems to have derived

from two Tamil words kallin mel or kallin mele that is ‘on the

stone’ or ‘on the hill’. The tradition that Thomas died on the mount

now known as “St. Thomas Mount” may have been referred to as

kallin mele, which evolved itself as kalamene, kalamine and then

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Calamina. And Mylapore was referred to as Calamina since the

tomb of Thomas was there. And Mylpaore itself could have

gradually included also chinna malai (Little Mount) or peria malai

(St. Thomas Mount) both of which were associated with the death

of Thomas the former containing the cave where Thomas was

hiding and the latter as the hill on which he was pierced with a

lance. Any way both these hills have their own historical traditions

as sacred spots hallowed by the presence of the Apostle and are

now sacred shrines frequented by pilgrims right through the year.

xi. St. John Damascene (+ 754 A. D)

St. John Damascene writes, “India, an immense and thickly

populated country, is situated at a great distance from Egypt and is

separated from that country by the Ocean. It touches Persia on one

side of the land. Trie most holy Thomas, one of the twelve

Apostles was sent to India to preach the Gospel of salvation”.

What is of importance in the testimony of this scholar saint is that

he distinguishes Egypt and consequently Ethiopia from India which

is at a great distance. For, many an early writer was often confused

between Ethiopia and India



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