The Holy Apostle Thomas
As many of the Holy Church Fathers have pointed out, those who doubt the Word of God actually serve a very useful purpose, almost in spite of themselves. By reminding us of our human frailty, they show us how God loves us – even though, all too often, we fall short of achieving perfect faith in God.
That’s how it was with the struggling apostle, St. Thomas, whose well-known inability to accept the news of the Resurrection led to a glorious moment – described beautifully in Chapter 20 of the Book of John – during which the Son of God gave all of humanity a brief verbal glimpse of His suffering body . . . along with an unforgettable statement TAKEN FROM about the nature of true faith. It happened when the resurrected Savior chose to appear a second time – mainly in order to demonstrate his Resurrection to Thomas, who had been absent during His first momentous visitation to the disciples, and who had then expressed strong doubts about the reality of the miraculous apparition. Said the skeptical and hard-to-convince apostle, after hearing of the blessed event: “Unless I see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and put my hand into His side, I will not believe.” (John 20: 25)
Amazingly enough, the doubter was soon granted his wish. Intent on confirming the fact of His resurrection for this wavering follower, Jesus confronted him in a moment of high drama, during an appearance on the eighth day after his Resurrection: “Reach your finger here, and look at My hands; and reach your hand here, and put it into My side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing.” (John 20: 27)
Stunned and saddened by the revelation that had just occurred in front of his very eyes, the chastened Thomas could only exclaim: My Lord and my God! (John 20: 28) From that day forward, this exchange has come to symbolize the struggle that goes on in the hearts of all those Christians who doubt what they cannot physically see – but who are nonetheless redeemed by a God so loving that He is willing to overlook this all-too-human failure of faith.
St. Thomas, a humble fisherman by trade whose name means “the Twin,” was a Galilean by birth, and later Church historians tell us that he preached at various times to the Parthians, Persians, Medes, Hyrcanians, Bactrians and several other peoples in the Holy Land. Although at least one chronicler concluded that he died a natural death, most contend that he was tortured and then martyred violently at the Indian city of Meliapur. Saint John Chrysostom later described his tomb as located at Edessa in Syria – where his holy relics were reportedly deposited after being recovered in India during the Fourth Century A.D.
Before his heroic martyrdom, however, this valiant Palestinian served the Lord with unerring fidelity by preaching the Gospel in cities and towns located halfway around the globe, during visits to Mesopotamia, Parthia, Ethiopia and India. But he did not undertake these arduous journeys without registering a vehement protest! Ironically enough, “Doubting Thomas” (as he is often affectionately referred to), strongly resisted his first preaching assignment after the death of Christ. With characteristic foot-dragging, he balked at the idea of being sent on such a long journey and made it clear that he wanted to stay at home.
His objections occurred on the day (Pentecost) when the Holy Spirit descended to the gathered apostles and commanded them to cast lots to see where they would go to preach the Gospel. Sure enough, Thomas’ lot called for him to set sail immediately for far-off India. When he resisted the summons, the Lord appeared to him in a stirring visitation and urged him to take on this supremely challenging task. He obeyed . . . and went on to convert many to the Christian faith, while establishing the Church firmly in this heavily populated corner of the world. St. Thomas appointed priests and bishops, and won a great victory for his cause by converting two Indian princesses (Tertiana and Migdonia, both married to Indian princes). Because of their faith, both sisters endured great hostility from their husbands, eventually separating from them and living as devotees of the Gospel and wandering ascetics during the years that followed their baptisms.
In another miraculous conversion, two well-known aristocrats – Dionysius and Pelagia – were betrothed and preparing to celebrate their marriage . . . but after hearing Thomas preach, they chose to break off the engagement and instead became Christian ascetics. In the end, Pelagia was actually martyred for her faith, while Dionysius was eventually ordained a bishop by the Holy Apostle. After watching these two faithful servants sacrifice their future marital happiness in order to spread the Gospel throughout India, many who knew them were converted to the Christian faith.
Thomas won many battles for Christ in India, but his destiny had been sealed from the very beginning: Like all of the apostles except John, he would die as a martyr. The end came after Prince Mazdai – Tertiana’s husband, whose son Azan had also been baptized by Thomas – ordered five soldiers to confront and execute the Apostle. The merciless soldiers quickly stabbed him to death with their spears, and thus ensured his eternal happiness in the ranks of the Blessed Martyrs.
St. Thomas died full of joy in the Lord, however. As it turned out, he had been allowed to witness a glorious apparition late in his life – when he and the other apostles were miraculously transported to Jerusalem for the burial of the Most-holy Theotokos. Arriving in the city too late for the funeral, St. Thomas wept bitterly . . . only to rejoice later, when the tomb of the Holy Most-pure One was opened at his request. Amazingly enough, however, the body of the Theotokos was not contained in the tomb, having already been lifted to Heaven.
Like the doubts he had earlier expressed after the Resurrection, the struggling Thomas’ late arrival at the funeral actually served an important function for the Almighty: It caused the entire world to glorify the Mother of God, once the news of her ascent to Heaven had been apprehended and celebrated everywhere!
The life of St. Thomas illustrates a very curious paradox: the idea that doubt is sometimes necessary to faith. No less a figure than St. John Chrysostom defined that paradox with powerful insight, while later describing St. Thomas: “Being once weaker in faith than the other apostles, he toiled through the grace of God more bravely, more zealously and tirelessly than them all, such that he went preaching almost over nearly all the earth, not fearing to announce the Word of God to savage nations.”
According to most Church historians, the relics of the holy Apostle Thomas are scattered at various locales in India, in Hungary and on Mt. Athos. His life provides an illuminating glimpse into the love and compassion that the Lord Jesus Christ feels for each of us. Perhaps we remember the life of Thomas with special intensity because he was an ordinary person, like us. He had his doubts, his confusions, his misunderstandings . . . but he was open to God’s grace and ultimately was able to say to Jesus: My Lord and my God!
Apolytikion in the Third Tone
O holy Apostle Thomas, intercede with the merciful God that He grant unto our souls forgiveness of offences.
Kontakion in the Fourth Tone
Christ's Apostle, who was filled with God's divine grace, he who was His genuine and faithful servant in all truth, all-lauded Thomas exclaimed aloud in deep repentance: Thou art both my God and Lord.
