Synaxarium

On this day, the Apostle Thomas, also called the Twin, was martyred. This saint was born in the region of Galilee and was chosen by our Savior among the twelve apostles (Matthew 10:3).

He was the one who said to the disciples when the Savior intended to go to raise Lazarus, "Let us also go, that we may die with him" (John 11:16). He was the one who asked our Lord at the Last Supper, "Lord, we do not know where you are going; how can we know the way?" (John 14:5-6). When the Lord Jesus appeared to the holy apostles after the resurrection and said to them, "Receive the Holy Spirit," Thomas was absent. When he came, they told him, "We have seen the Lord." He said to them, "Unless I see the mark of the nails in his hands and put my finger into the marks of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe." Jesus appeared again after eight days with Thomas present and said to him, "Put your finger here, and see my hands; and put out your hand, and place it in my side. Do not be unbelieving, but believing." Thomas answered him, "My Lord and my God!" Jesus said to him, "Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed" (John 20:19-29).

After the Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in the Upper Room and they dispersed throughout the world to preach the Gospel, this apostle went to the land of India. There, he worked as a servant for one of the king's friends named Lucius, who took him to the king. The king asked him about his craft, and he said, "I am a builder, carpenter, and physician." After some days in the palace, he preached to those there until Lucius's wife and a group of his household believed.

The king asked him about the works he had done, and he replied, "The palaces I have built are the souls that have become the dwelling of the King of Glory; the carpentry I have done is the Gospels that cut the thorns of sin; the medicine and drugs are the holy mysteries of God that heal the poisons of the enemy of good." The king became angry and tortured him severely, tying him between four stakes, flaying his skin, and rubbing it with salt and lime. The apostle was patient. Lucius's wife saw this, fell from the roof of her house, and gave up her spirit. Thomas healed her wounds by the Lord's power. Lucius came to him, saddened by his wife's death, and said, "If you raise my wife, I will believe in your God." The apostle entered her room and said, "Arsabona, arise in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ." She immediately rose and worshiped the saint. When her husband saw this, he believed, and many in the city believed in the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostle baptized them.

He also pulled from the sea a large tree that no one could lift. He asked the king's permission to lift it and build a church from its wood. The king allowed it, and the apostle marked it with the sign of the cross and lifted it. After building the church, he appointed a bishop and priests, established them, and then left for a city called Qantoura. There, he found an old man weeping bitterly because the king had killed his six sons. The saint prayed over them, and the Lord raised them by his prayers. This troubled the idol priests, who wanted to stone him. He raised the sign of the cross, and they were healed and all believed in the Lord Jesus. Then he went to the city of Barkinas and others, preaching in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. The king heard of him, imprisoned him, and when he found him teaching the prisoners the way of God, he released him and tortured him with various kinds of torment. Finally, he beheaded him, and he received the crown of martyrdom. He was buried in Malabar, then his body was transferred to Edessa.

May his prayer be with us. And to our Lord be glory forever. Amen.