CHAPTER V
The Tomb
IN the year 1545, St. Francis Xavier, the greatest missionary, after
St. Thomas, visited Mylapore and stayed there four months. He was
a guest of the Vicar of Mylapore, Father Gaspar Coelho. Thwarted
in his ambitions to convert the people of Malacca and the Far East,
Xavier resolved to visit Mylapore so that he might ‘consult the
Apostle Thomas’. From his apartments in the parish house, Xavier
used to repair to the church day and night ‘to recommend to St.
Thomas the solution of his doubts’ as to his future missionary
enterprises. A man of such calibre and learning as St. Francis could
never be expected to seek enlightenment at this place, if he was not
convinced beyond doubt of the genuine character of the tomb.
Incidentally, the ancient monastery at Mylapore seems to have
given Madras, its name. The Syriac ‘Madrastha, Madrasth,
Madrasa’ means monastery or a house of training. Also the Arabic
‘Madrasah’ conveys the same meaning. Paulinus, in his India
Orientate, spells Madras as Madrast. We have laid emphasis on the
monastery at Mylapore in view of the later discoveries.
The Portuguese were totally unaware of the exact spot where
lay entombed the relics of St. Thomas, noted by Marignolli in 1349.
Noteworthy are the findings in the tomb excavated in 1523: they
bear out the statements of Marignolli. The process of excavation is
contained in a document which has the form of a statement, made
under oath, by a Portuguese, Diego Fernandas, ‘a virtuous old man
of good conduct’.65 This document is found in the archives of the
Society of Jesus in Rome, among the Goa manuscripts. The fact
that the document found its way into the archives in Rome, argues
for its genuineness. Diego Fernandes made the statement under
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oath, at the instance of, and in the presence of, the Vicar Gaspar
Coelho, who was also the notary.
Diego Fernandes said that he had arrived at San Thome in
March 1517 along with Bastiao Fernandes and some Armenians,
who had invited him to this tomb to see the abode of the apostle
Thomas. Diego had observed the body of the church lying in ruins
but the monument to the Apostle was still standing and his grave
on the gospel-side. He also found a Moor entrusted with the duty
of lighting the house of the Apostle. This Moor gave them to
understand that his ancestors had been Christians, and that he
himself had recovered his sight through the Apostle. Diego got the
information that the Apostle ‘was brought dead from a place about
a league distant from this house.66 A footprint of the Apostle on
stone was shown to Diego, who could vouch for the fact that the
impression was far from artificial. The Moor further led him to a
knee-print that had been effected when the Apostle fell down and
was slained. This brings to mind the passage in the Revelations of
Catherine Emmerick: ‘I have seen that he (Thomas) set up a stone
in the first named territory (India) upon which he knelt in prayer
and upon which the mark of his knee remained impressed..’67
Diego deposed that Father Antonio Gil had been put in charge
of the repairs of the house of St. Thomas. First of all they propped
up and garnished the outside of the chapel and cupola, built by the
Apostle. As they dug up the foundation on the epistle-side to build
a sacristy, they came by the bones of the first king converted by St.
Thomas. The inscription on the slab that covered the grave bore this
information. On July 2nd, 1523, ‘it was found necessary to interfere
with the grave of St. Thomas’68 to set up the foundation that would
prop up the chapel. Father Antonio Gil, with the approval of
Manuel de Faria, Captain of the Fishery and Coromandel Coast,
summoned Diego Fernandes, Bras Fernandes, Diego Francisco and
Father Pero Fernandes, in the name of the Apostle and of the King,
and requested them to help him dig up the grave of the Apostle.
They made their confession and then began to open the grave at one
o'clock past midday on a Saturday of July.
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They first dug ten spans deep and found round the grave,
plastered walls, very well made with bricks, embedded in mortar
and lime. On removing the earth there appeared a layer of bricks
and mortar about two spans deep. This being cleared, they came
upon another similar layer. At this juncture, it was thought that the
grave was at an end there. Nevertheless, impelled to dig further,
they found a layer of loose earth three spans deep. As they removed
it they were again faced with another layer of mortar two spans
deep which was so hard that even iron bars had a hard time
breaking through this obdurate layer; they found two stone slabs
with no inscription on them. On removing them they found again
a lot of loose earth. It was now midnight and no bones had yet been
seen. The work was stopped for the day.
On Sunday, the digging was resumed early in the morning.
Four spans of loose earth was scooped up. At this stage the tomb
was sixteen spans deep. Thereupon they found sand and quicklime.
On clearing this, they came upon ‘Somebones of the skull’ then
some of the spine… at the foot of the tomb, there was ‘an earthen
vessel’69 that could contain one almude (six gallons)filled with
earth. Further, ‘a spear head entirely of Malabar iron’70 having
‘shape of an olive leaf and stuck on a portion of a wooden shaft,’71
were discovered in the tomb ‘at the place corresponding to the
thigh’.72
Father Antonio Gil sent for the Captain, Manuel di Faria.
Later the ‘priest put the bones in the smaller receptacle of the coffer
and after a solemn procession, closed it with a lock.... Manuel di
Faria took with him the keys to hand them over to Dom Duarte’.73
He was the Viceroy of Goa.
Two years later, Father Penteado, who had come from
Portugal, thought the bones were not safe in the place where they
were lying at the time. He, therefore, ‘broke the locks, took out the
bones, and placing them in a wooden box, buried them in a place
unknown to all but one, Rodriguo a Luis’.74 In the year 1525, at the
instance of Diego Fernandes, a search was made and Rodriguo a
Luis was prevailed upon under oath to disclose the secret place of
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burial. On his swearing that the coffer was buried under the altar,
of the Apostle, they dug up and found the box completely rotten.
‘They placed the Apostle’s bones in a smaller coffer measuring half
a span high and one span broad. The coffer containing the relics of
the Apostle and the key of the chapel were handed over to the
Vicar.’75
The deposition of Diego Femandes by the order of the King
of Portugal, has some very significant statements. He ended his
declaration under oath saying that the relics were there in that state
till October 15,1543. It must be noted that the layer next to the
stone slab found in the grave, was harder than the other two at a
higher level. What is more, the tomb stone, instead of being at the
top or surface, is found lowest of all !!! Are these layers as many
keys to lock up a coveted treasure? Or could it be that they came
one after another in the course of centuries, as the ground level
round about was raised from time to time, in the manner it does in
ancient cities?
In point of fact, the adjoining coconut garden of the
Cathedral, still keeps a much lower level than all other sides. If
these many layers represent as many different periods of time, then
they prove that faith in this grave is coeval with those stages, and
not of recent origin. Whether these layers be as many locks or as
many stages of time long gone by, they spell safety and antiquity
and bear witness to the faith in this tomb, which survived the
accumulation of debris all round. From the depth of the tombstones
and from the ‘relics’ found last, antiquarians will be able to
judge the antiquity of the grave.
It is very striking that this tomb alone had the elaborate
formation of layers. Why and when was this tomb alone–known as
that of St. Thomas–placed in such a condition of safety? It may
well be because of the personage itself, for St. Thomas was
venerated both by Christians and non-Christians alike. One could
also hold that the people of Mylapore, knowing as they did, about
the removal of some of the relics to Edessa feared lest another
attempt be made and Mylapore be deprived of the remaining bones.
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Diego Femandes did depose that ‘an earthen vessel filled with
earth’ was ‘found at the foot of the tomb’.76 Do we not find here the
verification of the remarkable statement of Marignolli (1350, i.e.
nearly 200 years before the excavation), ‘The priest gathered up the
earth with which his (Thomas’s) blood was mingled and buried it
with him’?77 Further, ‘the spearhead entirely of Malabar iron’
discovered in the tomb at a place corresponding to the thigh, is not
unlike the one described by Mar Solomon (1222, i.e. nearly 300
years before this discovery): ‘The king of the Indians stabbed him
with a lance and he died’.78
Discerning readers will notice that Diego Fernandes’
statements do not conflict with each other. Nor is his entire
deposition contrary to the statements of eminent persons in bygone
centuries.
St. Francis Xavier came to Mylapore in 1545. During his stay
in Mylapore he received from the Prior, Caspar Coelho, a relic of
tile Apostle Thomas, which he always treasured and carried with
him. (See Monument Xaveriana, Vol. II.)
Again, the tomb of St. Thomas was dug up in 1729. This is
known to us from a letter of D. Joseph Pinheiro, Bishop of
Mylapore, to the Bishop of Verapoly: ‘In the month of April of the
year 1729, the tomb (shown as that of St. Thomas) was opened in
order to distribute earth to the pilgrims. The marble stone having
been dug up, we saw a sculptured effigy of St. Thomas
(representing him dressed) in a garment falling down to the heels,
holding with his left band on his breast a book, and blessing with
his right. The earth having been dug to a depth of six Roman feet,
there was found a new and a very hard conglomeration, four inches
thick and made of mortar and small particles of marble; next there
appeared a square marble stone, three feet in dimension, at the
corners of which had been cut four small square sepulchres; then,
big bricks well joined with mortar were seen under the sand, which
was strewn between the stone and the bricks. These bricks having
been broken moveable earth appeared, which occupied as much
space as was sufficient for burying a human body, and not more.’
‘On the same 29th day, a bright and clear light appeared, and
seven eye-witnesses, after having been sworn and examined on, the
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matter, testified to the fact. Whether this be the true sepulchre of St.
Thomas, I dare not assert; therefore, I sub-mitted the matter to the
Sacred Congregation of Rites.’79 The correspondence in this regard
must be in the archives of the Sacred Congregation of Rites and
deserves to be published. Pope Paul V erected the Diocese of San
Thome de Meliapor, one of the reasons for this solemn step being
‘because there lay buried the body of St. Thomas’.80
The hermits of St. Augustine, subsequently, took charge of the
grave of the Apostle and built a small Church adjoining the grave
in 1523. They also founded a priory at San Thome. That explains
why the parish priest of San Thome was designated ‘Prior’ till
recently. On January 9th, 1606, Pope Paul V, at the request of King
Philip II of Portugal, erected the diocese of San Thome de
Meliapore and appointed Dom Sebastiao de Pedro of the
Augustinian Order, its first Bishop. The Papal Bull enjoined ‘that
the church itself or its structures and edifices be enlarged into the
shape of a Cathedral Church’. The reason that impelled the Pope to
make the church a Cathedral was ‘because there lay buried the body
of St. Thomas.’
Above the tomb of St. Thomas, two granite stones covered the
tomb lengthwise, leaving between them an opening, through which
one could creep into the tomb. Pilgrims used to enter it to carry
away some earth. But this particular practice, could not have
existed in earlier times, since the tomb was closed and buried many
feet underground. So sacred was even the domed chapel, that about
the year 1600, the Bishop of Cochin, visiting San Thome officially
as its pastor, ordered that only once a year Mass should be said on
the altar within it; that the server should be made to answer the
prayers from outside; the priest-in-charge should himself sweep the
chapel.
Rivalries among the Dutch, French and British brought further
devastation of San Thome. Moslem hordes from Golconda
occupied San Thome for nearly eleven years until they were ousted
by the French on July 14th 1672. During the Moslem occupation of
the region no priests or Christians were permitted to live within the
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fortress of San Thome. It is a remarkable thing that the Moors held
in great respect all the churches as well as the tomb of the Apostle
Thomas. They neither pillaged nor changed anything. In 1646 Mir
Jumlah, the first Nawab of the Carnatic besieged San Thome with
8,000 footmen and 3,800 horses.
In 1699 Daud Khan of Cuddalore appeared in San Thome
with 10,000 troops. He returned thrice subsequently and in January
1708 he was in San Thome with 2,500 troops.
The ferocious persecution in 1711 left its ugly marks on San
Thome. Imprisonment, injuries, insults and thefts forced Dom
Francisco Laynez, S.J., Bishop of Mylapore, to abandon the city
which was destroyed. A detailed description of this calamity is
given in the ‘Os Livros indianos e o martyrio de S Thome’ on page
45.
San Thome suffered its worst from Hyder Ali, Sultan of
Mysore. He laid seige to San Thome three times–in 1769, 1780,
and 1782. It ‘was a carnage made on 10-8-1780’ (cf. Military
Consultations, Vol. 70, 1780).
The Churches and Episcopal Palace were occupied by British
troops. Mylapore’s Bishop, Frey Bernardo de S. Caetano had to
leave San Thome because of invasions. This calamity was made
worse by famines and pestilences that come in the wake of military
devastation. The Bishop and sixteen priests were among those who
died of diseases and acute distress.
The Minor Basilica
Because of insecure conditions, which plagued San Thome for
more than two hundred years, the wishes of Pope Paul V in his Bull
issued in 1606 concerning the Cathedral were not carried out until
1893. It was the year when Dom Henrique Jose Reed da Silva,
Bishop of Mylapore, had the old Cathedral demolished to have a
new one built in such a manner as to have the Apostle’s sepulchre
right in the centre.
What with the exquisite plan, spacious accommodation and
artistic finish, this temple of the Most High is a thing of beauty and
a joy for ever. The consecration ceremony was performed by Dom
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Valente, the Patriarch of the East Indies, on May 10th 1896. On the
occasion of the Tercentenary of the Diocese in 1906, Dom
Theotonius de Castro, Bishop of Mylapore, had the fosse of the
grave enlarged and faced with beautiful marble, so that pilgrims
could have easy access to the bottom of the crypt and that mass
could be conveniently said right over the grave.
Now that the altar stands rather low over the grave, it is
difficult for pilgrims to creep into it. A balustrade adorns the grave
on all sides leaving an entrance on the western side. The Prior of
San Thome has now in his custody a reliquary containing a piece
of the Apostle's bones and the tip of the lance with which he was
pierced. It is exposed for public veneration during the annual
solemn novena for the Feast of St. Thomas, which comes off on
December 21.
The original church at Mylapore had been built by the Apostle
Thomas himself. Down the centuries this holy shrine had suffered
damages beyond reckoning. The fine Gothic Cathedral erected in
1893 was raised to the dignity of a Minor Basilica by Pope Pius XII
on the 16th of March 1956. This date mark the sixtieth year of the
consecration of the Gothic Cathedral built on the ruins of the older
one and the 350th anniversary of the erection of the Diocese of
Mylapore.
Basilica means palace. This title is conferred on churches
which are noted for their antiquity, magnificence and celebrity.
There are two kinds of Basilicas–Major and Minor. Only four
Basilicas in the world are Major, namely, Lateran or St.John’s,
Vatican or St. Peter’s, St.Paul’s, Liberian St.Mary Major. All other
basilicas whether in Rome or elsewhere are minor. The Minor
Basilica of Mylapore is today a landmark of Christianity in the
South and the pride of Mylapore.
