Judas Thomas

Tomas was also known as Didymas. The word means ‘twin,’ but we do not know anything about the brother or sister who was his twin. He was a native of Galilee and by trade, a fisherman. He possessed a nature which contained within it certain conflicting elements exceedingly difficult of reconciliation, possessed little natural cheerfulness of spirit, and was inclined to look often at life with icy coolness or gloom. Yet, Thomas was a man of unconquerable courage and entire unselfishness. He combined a continuous faith in the teaching of Y’Shua mingled with a sincere love for Y’Shua the teacher. He is referred to in detail by John alone, though his election to the Twelve is recorded in Matt. 10:3, Mk. 3:18, Luke 6:15 and Acts. 1:13.
John, who has given us the greatest amount of detail about Thomas and who had probably known him from boyhood, since they were of the same craft and city, he had never what the Bible calls ‘a wicked heart of unbelief.’ Instead he was a man who struggled against his doubts and was ready to abandon them when he could. Thomas doubted that we might have no doubts.
Thomas visited Babylon were he was a central figure. These movements quickly spread eastward, and therefore owed nothing to western Christianity. Places where Patriarchates were organized by the Apostles are the following mothers of all cities; the first, Babylon which was at that time outside the Roman Empire of the West. The Messianic Church of the East traces its origin directly back to the original Apostles. One of its chapels founded by the Three Wise Men on their return from Bethlehem, is still in use today in the town of Resaih, in Northern Iran.
Nine hundred years ago, Thomas, after establishing the first Messianic Church among his own people in ancient Babylon, turned to India, led by the Holy Spirit and spreading to countries all over Asia in the third century. These Acts have some links with the first-century Indian history also. Thomas arrived in India no later than 49 A.D.
Then Thomas was assigned India, he protested, ‘I cannot go there because of the fatigue of the body on the journey, for I am Hebrew.’ Y’Shua then appeared to Thomas, urging him to go to India, but he continued to resist, saying, ‘I would that Thou wouldst send me into anther country, for unto the country of India I cannot go.’ It was then that our L-rd showed himself to Abbanes, a merchant from India, and sold Thomas to him as a slave, Thomas recognizing himself as Y’Shua’s slave, yields, and thus went to India as a slave of Abbanes. Thomas had remained in North India until war destroyed Gondaforus and his kingdom, and then he went to South India.
It is said that a certain Abbanes, a trade envoy to Syria was commissioned by the Indian King Gondophares to seek an able architect from that country to build a palace for him. The tradition states that he was directed by our L-rd in a Jerusalem market to Thomas, who accompanied him back to India. At heart the saint really contemplated a celestial and not a material palace. As he squandered the royal funds in giving to the poor, the king seized him and put him in prison. He also felt Thomas would spoil their trade (profession) and in time extirpate the religion of their country. At the time the king’s brother, Gad, died and at his burial witnessed the untold splendor of the celestial palace promised by the saint, then miraculously came back to life to recount his wondrous vision. The king and his brother therefore released Thomas and accepted baptism at his hand.
Afterwards he endured various persecutions and consequently martyrdom for the belief and justice of our L-rd, by a lance thrust by miscreants deputed by King Mizdi. After his burial, a Syrian co-religionist transported his body back to Edessa without knowledge of the local king, who eventually wanted to try to cure his sick son by means of Thomas’s relic. Upon opening the grave, they found the body to be gone, but earth from the tomb performed the miracle and healed the ailing prince, and the whole royal family was converted to Believing. Their names have been found on excavated coins and in a Gandhara inscription fixing their rule as about 19-45 A.D. in Scytho-India in the Indus valley. The 5th century Martytologium Hieronimanum assigns July 3 as the commemoration day in Edessa of the translation of the body of Thomas, who suffered in India.
Thomas house had begun to be inhabited by some Believers who are thinking of its restoration. But it lies at a distance of about 25 days’ journey from the said Believers, and it lies on the sea shore in a town called Mailapur in the province of Silan, which is one of the provinces of India. It was miraculously built by Thomas himself. All around the house was a plot of ground well fenced with very high brushwood. The documents call the house indifferently house or church. It was very big and lay in a ruinous state.
Gomez gives us the following description of the house. ‘It is made in the fashion of our churches and lie East-West; it has three doors; one at the entrance, another in the middle and the third in the principal chapel. All the door are lined with sheets of iron and diamond-shaped studs of iron; the door are of wood worked out with skilful
workmanship.’ The house was 17 ells long and 11 broad, according to D. Fernandez, Correa says more precisely that from the principal doors to the entrance of the chapel there was a distance of 12 ells and the chapel itself was 5 ells. It had two side doors and three naves divided by wooden pillars of the workmanship. These pillars supported the top beam which was also of fine work. Above the wood-work there were walls of mortar reinforced with stones and reaching the tiles roof.
According to D. Fernandez the central chapel with its tower was the one built by the Apostle. From this statement it would appear that the side chapels and naves were later additions. According to what the Portuguese heard from the natives the body of Thomas, who died on a mountain at a distance from that time in chapel on the right hand (on the Gospel side). In the chapel on the Epistle side lay buried a disciple of the Apostle. Both these chapels do not seem to have been larger than five and a half ells, just large enough to enclose the bodies. As to the identity of the disciple buried in the left hand chapel (on the right hand of person looking), the authors seem to diverge in opinion. According to Gomez, it was Mathias, a companion of the Apostle. For D. Fernandez and Correa he was the king of the place, a converted Believer.
“The Apostle was wounded in the cave on the Little Mount but in his death agony, he got out of the cave and dragged himself to the Big Mount where the principal oratory was, and where also presumably were his disciples. There, wounded mortally, as he was, he clasped a stone cross and recommended his soul to his Master.”
The traditions gathered by the Portuguese: “Thomas was sent by order of the Messiah to the parts of India. He was accompanied by two other Apostles, Bartholomew and Judas Tadeus. Thomas with J. Tadeus went first to Babylon, and passing Bacora went over to Qualexquadaqua where J. Tadeus settled himself, converted many into Christianity and built houses of prayer. At the time Abuna was giving the testimony this place belonged to the Muslims and Arabs and there were neither Christians nor any house of prayer there. Bartholomew passed over to Persia and lay buried in Tarao in a monastery in Tabris, the land of Xequismael; there were still many Believers and houses of prayer. Thomas leaving Juda Tadeus went to Socotora and then to Mylapore and China; in Cabalia he converted many and built a house of prayer. From there he return to Mylapore and lived on a hill one and a half leages away from the place where afterwards was built his house.
Amador Correa who described the 1564 feast of the Thomas Believers, says that this feast was in commemoration of the day on which Thomas came to the end of his journey in a ship, 2 leagues away from Cranganore. Roz qho knew the Chaldean tradition from the Chaldean books and the local tradition, oral or written that Thomas preached and baptized many in Cambaya and the lands of Mogor, Socotora, Malavar and Bisnaga reaching even China and great China according to the Chaldean breviary of Thomas. There are vestiges in those places even today of Believers. The Apostle also preached to the Cafres.
Thomas converted 3 principal kings of India. The Chaldean book states he converted six kings and three emperors; the emperors correspond to Roz’s three principal kings. He began eight archbishoprics. Only the following could be clearly identified: Hindu, Malabar, Socotora, Cambaia, Mogor, China, and Mahachina which should be, according to the author, Cataio.
The Chaldean Abuna told the inquirers of 1533 that the Apostle was murdered with a lance by a low castle. At the instigation of the Brahmins he was stoned by some people and he fell down. As he lay there almost dead a Brahmin struck him with a lance and he breathed the last. Diogo Couto tried to combine the traditions: ‘The envious Brahmins who had been discredited before the king by the virtue of Thomas, went to kill him. Hearing that he was in the cave near the Little Mount (which at the time of the Apostle was called Antenodur), they stood near the slop of the mountain, where there was a narrow opening to let in a little light, and looking through it they found the Apostle on his knees with eyes closed, in a rapture so profound that he appeared to be dead. The Brahmins thrusting the lance through the opening wounded him mortally. The wound was about half a span deep. When the saint sighed, all the murderers ran away and he in his death agony of out of the cave and dragged himself to the Big Mount, and there he died.
It is repugnant to think that Christianity was preached from the beginning only in the Roman empire and all the twelve Apostles went westwards to the parts of the Roman empire.
After the death of Thomas the Malabar Messianic Church was left without a preacher and leader, and after 93 years there were no priest at all. At that time a pagan magician called Manikabashar appeared; he went to Mylapore and worked wonders by his magic; seduced many Believers from the true faith. Those who remained faithful took refuge in Malabar and were kindly received by the believing brethren there. After that the 160 Believing families were for several long periods left without priest and leaders; divisions also sprang up among them at different times for various reasons. Some of them left the orthodox faith but others persevered, 96 families lapsed while 64 persevered.
It is evident that Thomas, who as a disciple was pessimistic and filled with doubt, became a vigorous missionary. He was a fearless evangelist and a great builder of Messianic Churches as the central human instrument in the strategy of G-d.