THOMAS
(from the Aramaic «t’õmã, «twin»). One of the twelve apostles (Mt. 10:3), who was also known by the name Gr. of Didymus, “twin.” Upon learning that Jesus wanted to return to Judea, where they had tried to stone him (Jn. 11:7, 8), Thomas exclaimed: “Let us also go, that we may die with him” (Jn. 11:16).
Responding to a question from this disciple, Jesus said to him: “I am the way, and the truth, and the life” (John 14:1-6). When Christ appeared to the disciples, Thomas was absent, and he did not believe in the resurrection until he saw the Lord with his own eyes (John 20: 24-29).
In his obstinacy he had affirmed that he would not believe until he put his fingers in the wounds of the Lord, and his hand in his side pierced by him. His confession was however sublime.
Seeing the Lord, Thomas fell down before Him and cried out, “My Lord and my God!” Along with six other disciples, he was a witness and actor of a miraculous fishing on the Lake of Galilee, in an appearance of the risen Lord (John 21: 1-8).
After the ascension, Thomas and the other apostles retired to the upper room (Acts 1:13). According to a tradition of great antiquity (4th century), he announced the gospel to the Parthians and the Persians. Thomas would have died in Persia, according to this tradition.
Other traditions make him the apostle of India, where he would have suffered martyrdom. A variety of apocryphal works circulated from the second century onwards in which Thomas has a prominent role. Several of them are gnostic and fantastic in nature.
Among them we can highlight: The Acts of Thomas, The Apocalypse of Thomas and The Gospel of Thomas. These works however give evidence of their falsehood, contrasting intensely with the teachings and character of the canonical writings.