~`+`~Thomas the Apostle Of Jesus Christ, Savior Of Mankind~`+`~
Excerpts From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Born: 1st Century AD
Galilee, Judaea, Roman Empire
Died: 21 December 72
Mylapore (India)
Honored in:
Assyrian Church of the East
Roman Catholic Church
Eastern Orthodox Church
Oriental Orthodox Churches
Anglican Communion
Lutheran Church
Respected among some Protestant Churches
Canonized: Pre-Congregation
Feast: 3 July - Latin Catholic,[4] Syriac Catholic,
Syro-Malabar, Syriac Orthodox
21 December - Indian Orthodox, Anglican Communion
26 Pashons - Coptic Orthodox
6 October and Sunday after Easter
Thomas Sunday - Eastern Orthodox
Attributes: as follows:
The Twin, placing his finger in the side of Christ,
spear (means of martyrdom), square (his profession, a builder)
Patronage:
India, Saint Thomas Christians, Architects, Atheist converts
Thomas the Apostle, sometimes informally called Doubting Thomas
or Didymus which means "The Twin", was one of the Twelve Apostles
of Jesus Christ, according to the New Testament.
He is best known from the account in the Gospel of Saint John,
where he questioned Jesus' resurrection when first told of it,
followed by his confession of faith as both "My Lord and my God"
on seeing Jesus' wounded body.
Traditionally, he is said to have traveled outside the Roman Empire
to preach the Gospel, traveling as far as India.
According to tradition, the Apostle reached Muziris, India in 52 AD
and baptized several people who are today known as Saint Thomas
Christians or Nasranis. After his death,
the reputed relics of Saint Thomas the Apostle were enshrined as far
as Mesopotamia in the 3rd century, and later moved to various places.
In 1258, some of the relics were brought to Abruzzo in Ortona, Italy,
where they have been held in the Church of Saint Thomas the Apostle.
He is often regarded as the Patron Saint of India,
and the name Thomas remains quite popular among Saint Thomas
Christians of India.
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~`+`~Assumption of Mary~`+`~
St. Thomas receiving the Virgin Mary's girdle from heaven.
Main article: Dormition of the Theotokos
According to The Passing of Mary, a text attributed
to Joseph of Arimathaea
Thomas was the only witness of the Assumption of Mary into heaven.
The other apostles were miraculously transported to Jerusalem to witness
her death. Thomas was left in India, but after her first burial,
he was transported to her tomb, where he witnessed her bodily assumption
into heaven, from which she dropped her girdle.
In an inversion of the story of Thomas' doubts, the other apostles
are skeptical of Thomas' story until they see the empty tomb
and the girdle. Thomas' receipt of the girdle is commonly depicted
in medieval and pre-Tridentine Renaissance art,
the apostle's infamous doubting reduced to a metaphorical knot
in the Bavarian baroque Mary Untier of Knots.
