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...”
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
