FEAR NOT, THOMAS; GO AWAY TO INDIA:
Apostle Thomas in India (ca. 52 CE)
Before the sixteenth century only a few Roman Catholic missionaries wandered into India without drawing much attention or reaping many new converts. One historically reliable account puts an Italian Franciscan Friar, John of Monte Corvino, (1246-1328), in India around 1291. He stopped there for 13 months, baptizing by his own estimate about 100 souls, before continuing on to China and the court of Kubla Khan (of “In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/A stately pleasure dome decree ...” fame). But if we can accept that a popular legend has some basis in fact, it’s possible that a Christian was preaching and winning converts in India over 1200 years earlier, in the middle of the first century CE.
It’s related in the Acts of the Holy Apostle Thomas (Acta Thomae, possibly written in the early third century) how the apostles of Jesus gathered after this death to “portion out the regions of the world” for their proselytizing missions. In those days, important decisions like this one were often made by casting lots, in the belief that God’s will was revealed through seemingly random chance. Peter got Rome–we all know how that turned out–Andrew headed to Turkey and Greece (where he was also martyred), Carthage fell to Philip, and Thomas, of “Doubting” fame, ended up with India.
Despite being the presumed will of God, Thomas quickly and publicly doubted his ability to get to his appointed destination, citing “weakness of the flesh.” But his former teacher appeared in a vision and delivered a little pep talk: “Fear not, Thomas,” Jesus assured his disciple, “go away to India, and proclaim the word; for my grace shall be with thee.” Thus encouraged, Thomas dutifully struck out and reached southern India around 52 CE (in another version of the story he’s sold into slavery and eventually winds up in India).
Over the next 25 years he founded the so-called “Seven-and-a-Half Churches” (Ezharappallikal), the church at Thiruvithancodu considered “half” because Thomas left the area before the building was complete. Thomas was finally done in by his own success: he converted a certain queen who then refused to “consort” with her pagan husband, a powerful king by the name of Mahadevan. And to make matters worse, he also converted the king’s son, members of his court and household, and an unspecified though apparently impressively large number of the king’s subjects. Incensed, the king ordered Thomas to undo all his hard work–starting with his wife–and turn the brand-new self-righteous Christians back into more agreeable heathens. Not unexpectedly the apostle refused, and when the name of the man you’re refusing means “Great God,” it’s reasonable to expect the response Thomas got: the king had him hauled off to a small hill (today known as Saint Thomas Mount) outside town and executed.
This story of the brave and dedicated apostle hasn’t inspired everyone. In fact, it’s been viciously attacked by Hindu defenders, like Sita Ram Goel in her History of Christian-Hindu Encounters (AD 304 to 1996). She maintains that Thomas-in-India is a fairy tale, fabricated by the Catholic Church essentially as a tool of Western imperialism.
Before the sixteenth century only a few Roman Catholic missionaries wandered into India without drawing much attention or reaping many new converts. One historically reliable account puts an Italian Franciscan Friar, John of Monte Corvino, (1246-1328), in India around 1291. He stopped there for 13 months, baptizing by his own estimate about 100 souls, before continuing on to China and the court of Kubla Khan (of “In Xanadu did Kubla Khan/A stately pleasure dome decree ...” fame). But if we can accept that a popular legend has some basis in fact, it’s possible that a Christian was preaching and winning converts in India over 1200 years earlier, in the middle of the first century CE.
It’s related in the Acts of the Holy Apostle Thomas (Acta Thomae, possibly written in the early third century) how the apostles of Jesus gathered after this death to “portion out the regions of the world” for their proselytizing missions. In those days, important decisions like this one were often made by casting lots, in the belief that God’s will was revealed through seemingly random chance. Peter got Rome–we all know how that turned out–Andrew headed to Turkey and Greece (where he was also martyred), Carthage fell to Philip, and Thomas, of “Doubting” fame, ended up with India.
Despite being the presumed will of God, Thomas quickly and publicly doubted his ability to get to his appointed destination, citing “weakness of the flesh.” But his former teacher appeared in a vision and delivered a little pep talk: “Fear not, Thomas,” Jesus assured his disciple, “go away to India, and proclaim the word; for my grace shall be with thee.” Thus encouraged, Thomas dutifully struck out and reached southern India around 52 CE (in another version of the story he’s sold into slavery and eventually winds up in India).
Over the next 25 years he founded the so-called “Seven-and-a-Half Churches” (Ezharappallikal), the church at Thiruvithancodu considered “half” because Thomas left the area before the building was complete. Thomas was finally done in by his own success: he converted a certain queen who then refused to “consort” with her pagan husband, a powerful king by the name of Mahadevan. And to make matters worse, he also converted the king’s son, members of his court and household, and an unspecified though apparently impressively large number of the king’s subjects. Incensed, the king ordered Thomas to undo all his hard work–starting with his wife–and turn the brand-new self-righteous Christians back into more agreeable heathens. Not unexpectedly the apostle refused, and when the name of the man you’re refusing means “Great God,” it’s reasonable to expect the response Thomas got: the king had him hauled off to a small hill (today known as Saint Thomas Mount) outside town and executed.
This story of the brave and dedicated apostle hasn’t inspired everyone. In fact, it’s been viciously attacked by Hindu defenders, like Sita Ram Goel in her History of Christian-Hindu Encounters (AD 304 to 1996). She maintains that Thomas-in-India is a fairy tale, fabricated by the Catholic Church essentially as a tool of Western imperialism.
