Saint Thomas the Apostle

Thomas was one of the Twelve. Absent on the first Sunday, he refused second-hand reports and demanded to see and touch the Lord. Eight days later he saw the risen Christ and confessed My Lord and my God (John 20:28); Jesus replied, Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed (John 20:29). Tradition holds that he carried the gospel east, establishing churches in Parthia and especially in India, where the ancient St. Thomas Christians trace their origin. According to Syriac Orthodox tradition, while traveling from India after the bodily Assumption of the Virgin Mary, he received the Holy Girdle from her and brought this sign to the Church; the relic, also known as the Holy Girdle, is preserved within the Syriac Orthodox Church. He is widely held to have been martyred at Mylapore by the spear, with relics later translated to Edessa. His road from doubt to confession stands as a clear witness for the Church.

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