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In faraway and legendary India, there are vivid traces of St. Thomas’ passage through those lands. By paying a visit, we somehow feel the evangelizing fire of the ardent disciple.
Before beginning these lines, we invite readers to let their imaginations soar to the middle of the first century of our era, when, due to the efforts of the Apostle St. Thomas, one of the oldest Churches in Christianity became a reality on the Asian continent. And to help us to undertake this historic exercise, let us start by deepening our acquaintance with this ardent disciple of Christ.
Intrepid and incredulous Apostle
A man of forthright character, Thomas did not hesitate to clear things up with Jesus whenever a doubt crossed his mind, which gave occasion for some marvellous replies of the Divine Master.
During the Last Supper, for example, when Our Lord affirms that He was going to prepare a place for them, so that they would be with Him, and that they knew the way He was going, he promptly asked: “Lord, we do not know where You are going; how can we know the way?” (Jn 14:5). And in response to the fiery disciple’s inquiry, Jesus gives one of the most beautiful theological explanations of Himself found in Sacred Scripture: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by Me. If you had known Me, you would have known my Father also; henceforth you know Him and have seen Him” (Jn 14:6-7).
Having missed the first apparition of the Resurrected Lord, Thomas refused to believe the testimony of the other disciples: “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and place my finger in the mark of the nails, and place my hand in His side, I will not believe” (Jn 20:25).
And when Christ appears again to the Apostles, this time with Thomas present, Our Lord addresses the unbeliever, admonishing him mildly: “Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side; do not be faithless, but believing” (Jn 20:27). Convinced, the Apostle replies: “My Lord and my God!” (Jn 20:28).
Go into all the world...
Days later, the Divine Master departs for Heaven, but not before transmitting the solemn mission to the disciples: “Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned” (Mk 16:15-16).
Eusebius of Caesarea1 narrates that it was Thomas’ task to travel to Parthia, the northeastern region of present-day Iran. Other sources add that, at the outset, he was somewhat reticent to undertake this adventure, but the Lord appeared to him by night saying: “Do not fear, Thomas; go to India and preach the Word, for my graces will be with you.”2
Providentially, a merchant named Habban had been sent during those days to Jerusalem by a king of India, named Gondophares, in order to contract an architect for the building of a new palace. Thomas immediately introduced himself to the merchant and returned with him to India.
Evangelizing India
Tradition tells us that the Apostle and Habban reached the port of Cranganore, in southeast India, in the year 52. From there they went to Mylapore, near Madras – present-day Chennai –, where they presented themselves to the powerful king Gondophares.
St. Thomas accepts the task of building the new palace. With the site chosen and the project sketched, the Apostle affirms that the palace will be ready in six months. The king hands over to him a great sum of money as an advance and goes to visit other provinces of his domains.
Instead of setting to work on the contracted building, our Saint decides to distribute the money to the needy. And he travels throughout various parts of India, according to some, going “as far as China, to preach the Good News,”3 returning to meet up with Gondophares at the time arranged.
The monarch receives him in a rage, demanding an explanation as to why there is no trace of the palace he ordered. The Apostle replies that, in fact, the palace was constructed according to the plans of the king. But it is not visible, since it was to be found in the Kingdom of Heaven. Greatly vexed, believing that he has been swindled, Gondophares orders Thomas and Habban to be bound and thrown into a cauldron of boiling oil. To the amazement of all, they emerge unharmed!4
Baffled and at a total loss, Gondophares orders them to be cast into a dungeon while he deals with a family tragedy: the sudden death of his brother Gad. This man is borne away by the Angels to Heaven, where he is shown a series of fabulous palaces. One, in particular, stands out from the rest for its beauty and opulence: its golden walls are adorned with diamonds and other gems of rare beauty. Gad wants it for himself, but the Angel who guards it tells him that it already has an owner: the palace was built by St. Thomas for King Gondophares.5
Gad then requests permission to return to the land of the living to transmit these marvellous tidings to his brother. The resurrected Gad tells the monarch the story of the palace that Thomas has built and the king orders the immediate release of the prisoners, accepts the new religion, and together with his brother is baptized by the Apostle.
Following this, Thomas goes to Kerala on the southeast coast of India, where he remains until the year 69. According to local tradition, during this time, Thomas founded seven churches and converted 18 thousand people – the first Catholic Indian communities, which have endured until today.
Mylapore and the small grotto of St. Thomas
Subsequently, he set out for the east, to the coast of Coromandel, located on the legendary Gulf of Bengal. He settled in the kingdom of Mylapore, near modern-day Chennai, the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu. There are shrines linked to the evangelizing epic of the Apostle of India there, as we will soon see.
Mylapore, which is known today as Santhome in homage to the Apostle, was the setting for the preaching and miracles of this man of God. The growing popularity of the Saint raised the ire of the Brahmans and other representatives of the local sects. The hostility soon turned into physical persecution, including attempts to kill the Apostle. To flee his assailants, St. Thomas hid in a nearby grotto.
Discovered in his refuge by the Brahmans, the Apostle miraculously escaped, carving out an exit in the stone wall with his own hands, which to this day still bear imprints said to be those made by the Saint’s hands and feet. Pursued by his persecutors, Thomas fled to a hilltop, where he was surrounded and nearly killed by the enemies of the Faith. But his hour had not yet arrived.
Some time later, at this same site, on July 3 of the year 72, the Apostle of India encountered a group of Brahmans who were heading to a temple to offer sacrifices to pagan gods. In a fit of fury, they demanded that the Saint participate in the worship. Thomas not only refused to do so, but he traced a great sign of the Cross in the direction of the temple, destroying it in an instant. The Brahmans rushed on him and killed him by running him through with a lance.
The Mount of St. Thomas
By order of Rajah Mehadevan, the body of St. Thomas was buried in Mylapore. At the site of the martyrdom, St. Thomas Mount National Shrine was built, which stands to this day in a paradisiacal setting.
It is accessed by a stairway of 150 steps. Beside the shrine is the Chapel of Our Lady of the Expectation, built by the Portuguese in 1547. On the main altar of the chapel, the Cross carved in the rock by the hands of the Saint can be venerated. According to the historical records of the time, it exuded blood and water on December 18 every year, in a phenomenon observed from 1558 until 1704.
Beside the altar, the pilgrim can venerate the portrait attributed to St. Luke, depicting the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Child Jesus, painted while Our Lady was still living. The precious relic was brought to India by St. Thomas. Tradition says that this Saint, moved by tender devotion toward the Mother of God, asked St. Luke for the portrait, before departing for his mission in distant lands.
Also found on the altar is the relic of a finger of St. Thomas, and on the side walls, ancient paintings of the twelve Apostles, the work of Peter Uscan, crafted according to the traditions of the Syriac rite.
Imposing basilica in honour
of the Apostle
Shortly after the death of St. Thomas, the population was in a commotion: Vijayan, son of the Rajah, was on the verge of death. Medical aid was of no avail. With no more ado, Mehadevan took the dying prince to the tomb of the Apostle of India. When the tomb was opened the young man was cured!
In homage to the Saint, an imposing basilica was erected on the site, one of three in the world to house the tomb of an Apostle: that of St. Peter in Rome; St. James in Compostela, Spain, and this one of St. Thomas, in Mylapore, India.
The tomb of St. Thomas was only opened on three occasions over the course of the centuries: between 1222 and 1225, when the relics of the Apostle were sent to Ortona, in Italy; in 1523, for the reconstruction of the basilica, undertaken by the King of Portugal; and in 1729, when a heavenly light emanated from the tomb of the Saint. Among the records of the pilgrims who have visited the basilica, from the sixth century onward, is that of the famous Marco Polo, in 1292. The present Neo-Gothic edifice dates to the middle of the nineteenth century.
It is very symbolic that the footsteps of two outstanding missionaries, two giants of the Faith, meet in the basilica of Mylapore: St. Thomas and St. Francis Xavier. Both, in their time, marked legendary India and the history of the Church with the odour of their sanctity, the audacity of their goals and their incomparable apostolic zeal. ″
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1 Cf. EUSEBIUS OF CAESAREA. História Eclesiástica. L.III, c.1, n.1. São Paulo: Paulus, 2000, p.113.
2 BHASKARAN, Vijayan P. The Legacy of St Thomas, Apostle of India. 2.ed. Mumbai: St. Pauls, 2012, p.43. Here and in some other places of the narration, the author follows the Acts of Thomas, an apocryphal writing which describes the evangelizing mission of this Apostle with a wealth of detail.
3 Idem, p.48.
4 Cf. Idem, p.56-5 7.
5 Cf. Idem, p.57.
