The Life and Passion of the Holy Apostle Thomas

The Sixth Day


of the Month of October

The Life and Passion of the


Holy Apostle Thomas

From The Great Collection of the Lives of the Saints, Volume 2: October,


compiled by St. Demetrius of Rostov

Translated into English and published by Chrysostom Press www.chrysostompress.org

The holy Apostle Thomas, who was called "The Twin,"
was from the city of Paneada in Galilee. When our Lord Jesus Christ,
during His sojourn on earth with men, passed through cities and
villages, teaching the people and healing all manner of disease, Thomas
hearkened unto His preaching and saw His miracles. Cleaving unto the
Lord fervently, he followed Him, filling himself with the Lord’s words
and with the sight of His most holy countenance. Thomas was vouchsafed
by Him to be numbered in the choir of the twelve apostles, with whom he
followed Christ even until the time of the saving Passion.

After the Lord’s Resurrection, the faith of the Church
in Christ was increased through Saint Thomas’ unbelief. When the other
apostles told him that they had seen the Lord, Thomas would not believe
them until he himself had beheld and touched Christ’s wounds. Eight
days after the Resurrection, the disciples gathered together and Thomas
was with them; and the Lord appeared and said, Reach
hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and
thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing.

When Thomas had beheld and touched the life-giving side of Christ, he exclaimed, My Lord and my God!

Thus did Thomas confirm for all that the risen Lord
was no specter and that He had not assumed another body, but that He
arose and appeared to the disciples in the same flesh which suffered
for our salvation.

After the Ascension of Christ and the descent of the
Holy Spirit, the holy apostles cast lots to determine where each would
preach the word of God. To Saint Thomas fell the lot to go to India,
that he might enlighten that benighted land and teach its various
peoples: the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and the
Brahmans, who lived in the most distant parts of the country of India.
He was grieved to be sent to such barbarous peoples, but the Lord
appeared unto him in a vision and strengthened him, commanding him not
to fear. He promised to abide with Thomas and showed him the way to
those lands in the following manner:

Gundafor, the King of India, who desired to erect for
himself a royal palace of the most splendid sort, sent Abban, a
merchant of his country, to the land of Palestine, to find there a
skilled builder who knew well the science of architecture and could
build a palace like those in which the emperors of the Romans lived. It
was with this Abban that the Lord commanded Thomas to go to the land of
India. Thomas met Abban while the latter was searching in Caesarea for
a skilled builder, and Thomas told him that he was proficient in the
science of architecture. Thomas went with Abban and they took ship,
setting sail on their journey with a fair wind.

When they put in at a certain city, Thomas and Abban
heard the sound of trumpets, of music, and of organs, for the King of
that city was giving his daughter in marriage that day. The King sent
heralds throughout the city to proclaim that rich and poor, bondsmen
and strangers alike should gather together for the wedding. If anyone
did not wish to come, he would be subject to the King’s judgment. When
Abban and Thomas heard this, they feared to anger the King of that
country, and so they went to the royal palace for the wedding. After
everyone had been seated and those present began to make merry, the
Apostle sat down in the last place. He ate nothing and took no part in
the merriment but remained immersed in his thoughts, and all regarded
him as a most peculiar foreigner. Those who reclined next to him asked
him, "Why did you come here when you do not eat or drink?"

Answered the Apostle, "I have not come here to eat and
to drink but to do the will of the King, for the heralds proclaimed
that whoever did not come to the wedding would be subject to the King’s
judgment."

Among those present was a Jewess who played well upon
the lute, and for each of those who reclined and supped she sang a
song. When she saw that Thomas did not make merry but rather looked up
frequently to heaven, she perceived that he was a Jew. She came to play
before him and sang to him these words in the Hebrew tongue, "One is
the God of the Jews, Who has made heaven and the earth."

The Apostle heard her gladly and asked her to repeat
those words several times. But when the cupbearer saw that the Apostle
did not take part in the revelry, he struck him, saying, "You were
summoned to the wedding not to mourn but to rejoice and to join the
company of those who drink!"

The Apostle said to him who struck him, "May the Lord
repay you for this even in the present life, and may I see the hand
which struck me dragged about by a dog in the sight of many!"

Somewhat later, the cupbearer went out to the well to
draw for the guests water to mix with their wine. A lion fell upon him
by the well and slew him, and after it had lapped up his blood, it
departed. Then came dogs, which tore his members apart. One black dog
snatched up his right hand, carried it into the midst of the feast, and
cast it down before all. When those present saw this, they were
troubled and asked whose hand it was. And the woman who played the lute
exclaimed, "A great mystery has come to pass among us, for either God
or God’s messenger has deigned to recline in our midst! For I beheld
how the cupbearer struck this man, and he cried out in Hebrew, ’May I
see your right hand dragged about by a dog in the sight of many!’ And
this has occurred, as you can see." When the woman said this, fear fell
upon all.

After the banquet had come to an end, the King
summoned the holy Apostle Thomas and said, "Go into the bridal chamber
and bless my daughter, who has been given in marriage."

The Apostle entered the room and exhorted the young
couple to be chaste and to preserve the purity of their virginity. He
then prayed over the bride and bridegroom, blessed them, and withdrew.
In a little while, they fell asleep, and they beheld Jesus, Who came to
them in the form of the holy Apostle Thomas and embraced them with
love. The bridegroom, thinking it was Thomas, said to Him, "Did You not
depart already? How is it You are come again?"

The Lord said, "I am not Thomas but his Brother. All
they who renounce the world and follow Me, as he has done, shall not
only be My brethren in the age to come but shall inherit My kingdom.
Therefore, do not forget, 0 my children, that which My brother has
counselled you. If, in accordance with his admonition, you preserve
your virginity inviolate, you shall be vouchsafed imperishable crowns
in My heavenly bridal chamber."

Having said this, the Lord vanished. When they awoke,
the bride and bridegroom related to one another what they had seen.
They arose and prayed to God fervently the whole night, and they kept
in their hearts like most precious pearls the words which were said to
them.

In the morning, the King entered the bridal chamber.
When he saw the bride and bridegroom sitting apart, he was troubled in
heart and asked them why they were not together. They answered him, "We
are praying God that He grant us strength until death to preserve in
our marriage that perfect chastity in which we now abide, that we be
crowned with crowns incorruptible, as the Lord, Who appeared unto us,
promised."

Then the King understood that it was the stranger who
had entered the bridal chamber the day before that had instructed them
to keep their virginity. He became very angry and immediately
dispatched his servants to lay hold of the Apostle. But they did not
find him, for Thomas had already set sail for India with Abban.

When Thomas and Abban arrived in India, they presented
themselves to King Gundafor; and Abban said, "Lo, my sovereign lord, I
have brought you an exceedingly wise builder from Palestine, that he
might build you palaces such as are pleasing to Your Majesty."

The King was delighted to see Thomas and showed him
the place where he wished to build his palace. When the foundation had
been measured, the King gave Thomas much gold for the construction and
himself departed into another land. But Thomas took the gold and
distributed it to those who were in need, to paupers and to the poor.
He began to labor in the preaching of the Gospel, and he led many to
the faith of Christ and baptized them.

At that time, the young man, who with his bride had
hearkened unto Saint Thomas’ counsel in the bridal chamber and vowed to
preserve his virginity, heard that the Apostle was preaching Christ in
India. He took his spouse and went with her to the Apostle, and after
being instructed much by him, they received Holy Baptism. The maiden
received the name Pelagia and later shed her blood for Christ; the
youth was called Dionysius and was counted worthy of the rank of
bishop. With the Apostle’s blessing, they returned to their native
land, where they spread abroad God’s glory, leading unbelievers to
Christ and founding churches in the cities.

After two years, the King sent messengers to the
Apostle to learn whether the palace would soon be completed. The
Apostle replied that there remained but to finish the roof. The King
rejoiced, for he thought that Thomas was truly building a palace for
him on earth, and he sent him much gold, ordering that the building
quickly be provided with a magnificent roof. When Thomas received this
additional gold, he lifted up his eyes and hands unto heaven and cried,
"I thank Thee, 0 Lord, Who lovest mankind, that Thou dost arrange the
salvation of men in divers ways!" And again he distributed among those
who asked of him the gold he had received, and he continued to preach
the word of God.

Some time passed, and the King learned that the work
he had ordered done was not even begun, that his gold had been given to
the poor, and that the builder gave no thought to the construction of
his palace but was rather going through cities and villages, preaching
a new God and working wondrous miracles. Therefore, the King became
very angry and sent his servants to seize Thomas. When Thomas had been
brought before him, the King asked him, "Have you built the palace?"

Thomas replied, "I have, and moreover, it is an exceedingly beautiful and magnificent building."

The King said, "Let us go and look at what you have built."

Said the Apostle, "In the present life you cannot see
this palace, but when you depart from this life, you will behold it and
shall rejoice to live there unto the ages."

Thinking that Thomas was mocking him, the King was
cast into deep grief; and he ordered that Thomas, together with Abban,
the merchant who had brought him there, be cast into prison. They were
to remain there until put to a cruel death, for the King had resolved
to flay them and then to burn them alive.

While they were in prison, Abban reproached the
Apostle, saying, "You deceived both me and the King by calling yourself
a skilled architect! Where now is the King’s gold? You have ruined my
life, and it is because of you that I suffer and am to die a vicious
death, for the King is a hard man and will slay us both."

But the Apostle comforted Abban, saying to him, "Do
not fear: we shall not die now but shall live and be set free.
Moreover, the King will restore us to honor because of the palace which
I have built him in the kingdom on high."

That very night the King’s brother fell ill. He sent
word to the King, saying, "Because of the sorrow which has overcome
you, I also was grieved, and in my anguish I have taken ill, and now I
am about to die."

Forgetting his former distress, the King succumbed to
a new sorrow and grieved inconsolably over his brother’s death. But an
angel of the Lord took the dead man’s soul, carried it up to the
mansions of heaven, and led it through the dwellings there, showing it
many fair and splendid palaces. Among them was one which was more
beautiful and magnificent than the others, the splendor of which cannot
be described, and the angel asked the man’s soul, "In which of these
palaces would you be pleased to dwell?"

The soul, its gaze fixed upon the most beautiful
palace, said, "If it were permitted me to live in but a corner of this
palace, I would ask nothing more."

Said the angel, "You may not dwell in this palace, for
it is your brother’s and was built for him with the gold which he gave
to the stranger Thomas."

The soul said, "I beseech you, my lord, let me go to
my brother, that I may purchase this palace from him, for he knows
nothing of its beauty. And when I have bought it, I will return here."

Then the angel returned the man’s soul to its body,
and immediately the dead man revived. As though rising from sleep, he
asked those surrounding him for his brother, begging that the King be
brought to his side. When the King heard that his brother had returned
to life, he rejoiced greatly and hastened to him, and when he saw him
alive, he was struck with fear and was filled with happiness. Then the
man who had risen from the dead began to speak to him, saying, "I know
of a certainty, 0 King, that you love me as your brother and that you
wept over me, and that had it been possible for you to deliver me from
death, you would have given half your kingdom."

The King said, "Yes, truly it is so."

His brother continued, "Since you love me thus, I ask of you one gift, in the hope that you will not refuse me."

The King said, "Everything which belongs to me in my
kingdom is yours, my beloved brother. I will give you anything in it
you ask." The King confirmed his word with an oath.

Then the risen brother said, "Give me the palace which you have in the heavens, and take all my wealth in exchange!"

When the King heard this, he was troubled and fell
silent, as though he had lost the faculty of speech. Then he said, "And
how have I acquired a palace in the heavens?"

Said his brother, "Indeed, you have a palace such as
you cannot imagine. You have never seen anything similar anywhere
beneath the heavens. It was built for you by Thomas, whom you hold in
prison. I have seen it and marvelled at its unutterable beauty, and I
would have remained in but a corner of it, but this was not permitted
me. The angel who was my guide said to me, ’You may not dwell in this
palace, for it is your brother’s and was built for him by the stranger
Thomas.’ I besought the angel to permit me to return to you, that I
might buy the palace from you; therefore, if you love me, give it to
me, and take in its place all that is mine."

Then the King rejoiced greatly, both on account of his
brother’s return to life and because of the palace which had been built
for him in the heavens. And he said to his resurrected brother,
"Beloved brother, I swore not to refuse you anything which is in my
kingdom upon earth, but I did not promise you that palace which is in
heaven. But if you wish, we have an architect who can build for you one
like it."

Having said this, the King immediately sent his
servants to the dungeon to bring forth Saint Thomas and Abban, the
merchant who had brought him. When the Apostle entered his presence,
the King fell at his feet, asking forgiveness of him for the sin which
he had committed in ignorance. The Apostle gave thanks unto God and
began to instruct both brothers in the faith which is in our Lord Jesus
Christ. They were moved to compunction and received his words gladly,
and he taught them to live as Christians and shortly thereafter
baptized them. And both brothers gave abundant alms to the poor,
thereby building for themselves eternal mansions in the heavens. The
Apostle remained with them for a time, confirming them well in the
faith; then he departed into the neighboring cities and villages,
seeking the salvation of men’s souls.

While Thomas was enlightening the land of India with
the preaching of the Gospel, the honorable Dormition of the Mother of
God came to pass. All the apostles were caught up from various lands
upon clouds and taken to Gethsemane where they were set down before the
bier of the most blessed Virgin. At that time, the holy Apostle Thomas
was also caught up upon a cloud from India, but he did not arrive by
the hour when the body of the most pure Virgin, which had held God, was
committed to burial. This was in accordance with God’s providence, that
the faithful might receive greater assurance that the Mother of God had
been taken up into heaven in the flesh. Thus, as once the Resurrection
of Christ was confirmed by Thomas’ unbelief, so did Thomas’ delay
firmly establish the truth of the bodily ascent into heaven of the most
pure Virgin Mary, the Theotokos. The Apostle arrived only on the third
day after her burial and was grieved that he was not present at the
burial itself, to escort the holy body of the Mother of his Lord to the
grave. Therefore, by the common consent of the holy apostles, the tomb
of the Theotokos was opened, that Saint Thomas might behold and
venerate the body that had held God and receive consolation in his
sorrow. But when the tomb was opened, her body was not to be found;
only her shroud remained. Thus it was made manifest that the Mother of
God, like her Son, had arisen on the third day and been taken up into
heaven in the flesh.

After this, Saint Thomas returned to the lands of
India and preached Christ, converting many to the faith by signs and
wonders. He went to Mylapore, where he enlightened many, confirming
them in the faith through the following miracle.

At a certain place, there lay an enormous log, which
neither a multitude of men nor elephants were able to move. Thomas
dragged this log with his belt a distance of more than a mile and had
it used for the construction of a temple dedicated to the Lord. When
the believers saw this, they were strengthened in the faith, and many
unbelievers were converted.

The Apostle also worked a second miracle there, which
was greater than the first. There was a certain pagan priest who slew
his son with his own hand and then accused Saint Thomas of the crime,
saying, "Thomas has slain my son!"

Thus a tumult arose among the people, who assembled
together and seized Saint Thomas as a murderer, desiring that he be
judged and subjected to torture. Since no one could be found to testify
that Christ’s Apostle was innocent of the murder, Thomas besought the
judge and the people, saying, "Permit me to go and to ask the murdered
boy himself to say who killed him"; and so they all went with him to
the body of the priest’s son.

Then Thomas lifted up his eyes and prayed to God, and
he said to the corpse, "In the name of my Lord Jesus Christ, I command
you, 0 youth: tell us who slew you!"

Straightway the dead boy exclaimed, "It was my father who killed me!"

Then all cried out, "Great is the God Whom Thomas
proclaims!" Thus the Apostle was set free, but the priest fell into the
pit which he dug for Thomas. As a result of this miracle, a very great
multitude of people were led to God and were baptized by the Apostle.

Later, the Apostle travelled to lands which were yet
further off, to the country of Kalamida, where reigned King Mazdai.
There he preached Christ, converting a woman by the name of Sindikia,
who was the niece of Migdonia, the wife of Karizius, the King’s
favorite. This Sindikia counselled Migdonia to come to the knowledge of
the truth and to believe in the one God, the Creator of all things,
Whom the Apostle Thomas preached. Migdonia said to Sindikia, "I myself
would like to see this man and to hear from him his teaching."

Sindikia replied, "If you desire to see the Apostle of
God, my lady, set aside your robes, and clothe yourself in simple
raiment, as though you were a poor woman, a commoner, so that you may
remain unknown; and come with me."

After Migdonia had done as she was told, she set out
with Sindikia. They found the Apostle amid a multitude of poor and
simple folk, preaching Christ, and they entered the crowd and gave heed
to his teaching. He spoke much of Christ the Lord and taught the people
to believe in the Saviour; and he also spoke of death, of judgment,
Gehenna, and of the kingdom of heaven. When Migdonia heard all these
things, her heart was moved to compunction, and she believed in Christ.
After returning home, she pondered on the Apostle’s words constantly
and continued to speak with her niece Sindikia about Christ, and she
was set afire with fervent love for the Lord. Then she began to shun
unbelievers as the foes of God and to avoid all association with them
in conversation and at meals. She fled from every worldly pleasure and
did not wish to have marital relations with her husband. Therefore, her
husband was cast into deep sorrow and tried in every way to make her
submit to his will. When he proved unable to do this, he besought King
Mazdai to send his consort, Queen Tertiana, to his wife, who was
Tertiana’s sister, to convince her not to refuse to cohabit with him
carnally. And so the Queen went to her sister Migdonia and asked her
why she shunned her husband. Migdonia replied, "Because he is a pagan
and an enemy of God and I am a handmaiden of the one true God, Jesus
Christ. I do not wish to be defiled by a man who is impure and an
unbeliever."

Tertiana wished to learn Who was this Jesus Christ,
Whom Migdonia called the true God, and so Migdonia related to her that
which the Apostle Thomas preached, exhorting her to believe in the true
faith. Tertiana then desired to know of Christ more perfectly and to
study the faith fully; she wished to see the Apostle himself and to
hear his preaching. Therefore, she took counsel with Migdonia and
secretly sent for the Apostle, and when he was admitted into their
presence, they entreated him to guide them to the path of truth. He
preached Christ to them and enlightened them with the light of faith,
washing them in the laver of Baptism and teaching them to keep God’s
commandments, and he instructed them in every virtue. They laid up in
their hearts everything which was said by the Apostle, and they both
resolved to serve God in purity and to consort no more with their
husbands, who were unbelievers.

By the power of God, the Apostle worked a multitude of
miracles in that place. He healed every infirmity; therefore, not only
were many of the common folk led unto Christ but those of the King’s
court as well. Azan, one of the sons of the King, saw the signs worked
by the Apostle and heard his teaching, and he believed and was baptized
by the Apostle. It was the Lord Himself Who worked through the
Apostle’s preaching, increasing His Church and magnifying the glory of
His name.

On returning from Migdonia, Queen Tertiana continued
in prayer and fasting and did not submit to her husband’s desires. The
King marvelled at the change which had come to pass in his spouse and
said to his friend Karizius, "I had hoped to return your wife to you
but instead have lost my own, who has come to act more strangely toward
me than yours toward you!"

Then the King and Karizius made diligent inquiry to
learn the cause of the change in their wives, who no longer wished to
know them. It came to their knowledge that a certain foreigner named
Thomas had taught them the Christian faith and had turned them away
from consorting with them. Moreover, they learned that Azan, the King’s
son, and many of the servants and courtiers of the King’s household, as
well as a multitude of commoners without number, had come to believe in
Christ through Thomas’ preaching. They became very incensed at Thomas
and laid hold of him, casting him into prison.

After this the Apostle was brought before the King to be tried. The King asked him, "Are you a slave or a free man?"

Thomas replied, "I am a slave of Him over Whom you have no authority."

The King said, "I see that you are a wicked slave in
flight from your master and that you have come to this land to corrupt
the people and to deceive our wives. Tell me, who is your master?"

The Apostle said, "My Master is the Lord of heaven and
earth, the God and Creator of all that exists. He has sent me to
proclaim His holy name and to convert the people from their error."

Then said the King, "Cease your crafty speech and
hearken unto my words, 0 deceiver. As you have by your wiles turned our
wives away from us so that they no longer have relations with us,
likewise by your wiles return them to us. If you do not cause our wives
to live with us in love as they once did and to consort with us, you
will perish wretchedly."

The Apostle replied, "It does not become Christ’s
handmaidens to couple with iniquitous men or for the righteous faithful
to be defiled by impious unbelievers."

When the King heard this, he ordered that heated
plates of iron be brought and that the Apostle’s bare feet be put upon
them, but when this was done, water appeared beneath the plates and
cooled them. Then Thomas was cast into a fiery furnace, but the next
day he emerged therefrom alive and unharmed.

After this Karizius counseled the King thus: "Compel
Thomas to worship and to sacrifice unto the god of the sun, that he
might thus anger his God, Who preserves him whole amid torment."

In accordance with the King’s command, the Apostle was
led before the idol of the sun. When this was done, the idol
straight-way melted like wax, and the faithful rejoiced upon witnessing
the great power of the God of heaven while numerous unbelievers were
converted to the Lord. All the priests of the idols murmured against
Thomas for having destroyed their god, and the King was greatly grieved
and considered how he might put the Apostle to death. However, he
feared the people and his own servants and nobles, many of whom had
come to believe in Christ.

The King then took Thomas and went forth from the city
with his soldiers, and all thought that the King wished to see Thomas
work some sign. But when they had gone about a third of a mile, the
King delivered Thomas into the hands of five soldiers, commanding them
to go up on a mountain and to run the Apostle through with their
spears. Azan, the King’s son, and a nobleman named Siphor hastened
after the Apostle, and when they overtook him, they wept over him. Then
Thomas asked the soldiers for time to pray, and when he had prayed to
the Lord, he ordained Siphor priest and Azan a deacon, enjoining them
to care for the faithful and to take care that the Church of Christ
increase. After this, the soldiers ran him through with their five
spears, and so he died.

Siphor and Azan wept much over the holy Apostle, and
they reverently buried his sacred body. After they had buried him, as
they sat mourning by the Apostle’s grave, the saint appeared and
commanded them to return to the city and to strengthen the brethren in
the faith, and with the help of the prayers of the holy Apostle Thomas,
they guided the Church of Christ well as they had been instructed by
their teacher.

King Mazdai and Karizius tormented their wives for a
long time, but they were unable to bend them to their will. When they
realized that their wives would prefer to die rather than to submit to
them, they were forced to permit them to live according to their own
desire. Thus released from the burden of wedlock, the two women lived a
life of great abstinence and prayer, laboring for the Lord day and
night, and by their virtuous life they brought great benefit to the
Church.

Some years later, one of King Mazdai’s sons was
possessed by a demon. No one was able to cure him, for the demon within
him was extremely fierce. The King grieved greatly over his son and
decided to open the grave of the holy Apostle and to take one of the
bones from his relics to touch it to his son’s neck, that the boy might
be freed from the torment brought on by the demon, for he had heard
that Saint Thomas had driven a multitude of demons out of men during
his lifetime. After the King conceived this desire, Saint Thomas
appeared unto him in a vision and said, "You did not believe me while I
was alive: do you think that I shall help you now that I am dead?
Renounce your unbelief, and my Lord Jesus Christ will be merciful to
you."

This vision increased the King’s desire to disinter
the Apostle, and so he went to open the sepulcher. But he did not find
the remains of the holy Apostle, for one of the faithful brethren
secretly took the holy relics and bore them away to Mesopotamia where
he enshrined them in a place of honor. Therefore, the King took earth
from that place and applied it to his son, saying, "0 Lord Jesus
Christ, if Thou healest my son by the prayers of Thine Apostle Thomas,
I will believe in Thee!"

Immediately, the demon departed from the King’s son,
and the child was healed. After this King Mazdai believed in Christ and
was baptized with all his nobles by the priest Siphor. Great was the
joy which filled the hearts of the faithful, for the idols were broken
in pieces and their temples razed. In their place churches devoted to
the worship of Christ were erected, and the word of God and the holy
faith spread everywhere. On receiving Baptism, the King repented of his
former sins and asked the help and prayers of all. The presbyter Siphor
said to all the brethren, "Pray for King Mazdai, that he receive mercy
from our Lord Jesus Christ and the remission of his sins"; and the
whole Church made supplication on his behalf. At the place where the
body of the holy Apostle had been buried numerous miracles were worked
by his prayers, unto the glory of Christ our God, to Whom, with the
Father and the Holy Spirit, be honor and worship from us forever. Amen.