St. Thomas the Apostle

The apostle Thomas is best known first through the Gospel itself. Thomas is ardent enough to say, "Let us also go, that we may die with Him," honest enough to ask the question that draws from Christ the words, "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life," and memorable above all for moving from wounded unbelief to the great confession, "My Lord and my God."

The later missionary traditions also deserve attention, especially the persistent claim that Thomas preached in India. Those traditions are serious enough to recount at length, but must be treated cautiously, distinguishing the extravagant Acta Thomae from the harder historical question of how early Christianity took root among the Christians of St. Thomas on the Malabar Coast.