Thomas the Apostle

== Doctrine of the Apostles ==

The Doctrine of the Apostles as reflected in {{harvnb|Cureton|1864|pp=32–34}} attests that Thomas had written Christian doctrine from India.

{{blockquote|India and all its own countries, and those bordering on it, even to the farther sea, received the Apostle's hand of Priesthood from Judas Thomas, who was Guide and Ruler in the Church which he built and ministered there". In what follows "the whole Persia of the Assyrians and Medes, and of the countries round about Babylon… even to the borders of the Indians and even to the country of [[Gog and Magog]]" are said to have received the Apostles' Hand of Priesthood from [[Aggai (bishop)|Aggaeus]] the disciple of [[Addai of Edessa|Addaeus]]|source={{harvnb|Cureton|1864|p=33}} }}

=== Origen ===

Christian philosopher [[Origen]] taught with great acclaim in Alexandria and then in Caesarea.<ref name=EcclHist_III.1s2 /> He is the first known writer to record the [[Cleromancy|casting of lots]] by the Apostles. [[Origen]]'s original work has been lost, but his statement about Parthia falling to Thomas has been preserved by [[Eusebius]]. "Origen, in the third chapter of his Commentary on Genesis, says that, according to tradition, Thomas's allotted field of labour was Parthia".{{sfn|Perumalil|1971|pp=50–51}}<ref name="HambyeComes" />{{sfn|Farquhar|1926|pp=30–31}}

=== Eusebius ===
Quoting [[Origen]], [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] says: "When the holy Apostles and disciples of our Saviour were scattered over all the world, Thomas, so the tradition has it, obtained as his portion Parthia…"<ref name="Panjikaran" /> "Judas, who is also called Thomas" has a role in the legend of king [[Abgar]] of [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessa]] (Urfa), for having sent [[Thaddeus of Edessa|Thaddaeus]] to preach in Edessa after the Ascension.<ref name=EcclHist_I.13 /><ref name=EcclHist_III.1 /> [[Ephrem the Syrian]] also recounts this legend.<ref name="Patrologia Graeca" />

=== Ephrem the Syrian ===
Many devotional hymns composed by [[Ephrem the Syrian]] bear witness to the [[Edessa, Mesopotamia|Edessan]] Church's strong conviction concerning Thomas's Indian Apostolate. There the devil speaks of Thomas as "the Apostle I slew in India". Also, "The merchant brought the bones" to Edessa.<ref name="bickell" />

{{blockquote|Another hymn eulogizing Saint Thomas reads "The bones the merchant hath brought". "In his several journeyings to India/ And thence on his return/ All riches/ which there he found/ Dirt in his eyes he did repute when to thy sacred bones compared". In yet another hymn Ephrem speaks of the mission of Thomas: "The earth darkened with sacrifices' fumes to illuminate", "a land of people dark fell to thy lot", "a tainted land Thomas has purified"; "India's dark night" was "flooded with light" by Thomas.|source={{harvnb|Medlycott|1905|pp=21–32}}{{Dubious|date=July 2019}}{{Better source needed|date=July 2019}} }}

=== Gregory of Nazianzus ===
[[File:Thomas the Apostle mosaic.jpg|thumb|Ancient mosaic of the Apostle Thomas]]
[[Gregory of Nazianzus]] was born AD 330, [[consecration|consecrated]] a bishop by his friend [[Basil of Caesarea]]; in 372, his father, the Bishop of Nazianzus, induced him to share his charge. In 379, the people of [[Constantinople]] called him to be their bishop. By the [[Eastern Orthodox Church]], he is emphatically called "the Theologian".<ref name="contra arianos" /> "What? were not the Apostles strangers amidst the many nations and countries over which they spread themselves? … Peter indeed may have belonged to Judea, but what had Paul in common with the gentiles, Luke with Achaia, Andrew with Epirus, John with Ephesus, Thomas with India, Mark with Italy?"<ref name="20c.42.43" /> {{Better source needed|date=July 2019}}

=== Ambrose of Milan ===
[[Ambrose of Milan]] was thoroughly acquainted with the Greek and Latin Classics and had a good deal of information on India and Indians. He speaks of the Gymnosophists of India, the Indian Ocean, the river Ganges etc., a number of times.<ref name="migne 140" /> "This admitted of the Apostles being sent without delay according to the saying of our Lord Jesus… Even those Kingdoms which were shut out by rugged mountains became accessible to them, as India to Thomas, Persia to Matthew..."<ref name="various" /> {{Better source needed|reason=Do these works even exist?|date=July 2019}}

=== Gregory of Tours ===
The testimony of [[Gregory of Tours]] (died 594): "Thomas the Apostle, according to the narrative of his martyrdom is stated to have suffered in India. His holy remains (corpus), after a long interval of time, were removed to the city of Edessa in Syria and there interred. In that part of India where they first rested, stand a monastery and a church of striking dimensions, elaborately adorned and designed. This Theodore, who had been to the place, narrated to us."{{sfn|Medlycott|1905|p=71}}