St. Thomas Evangelical Fellowship of India - Acts of Thomas

Acts of Thomas

The acts of Thomas written by Jewish poet Bardesan at 220 AD indicate that St. Thomas was martyred in Western India at Indus Valley at present-day Pakistan. The Acts of Thomas, sometimes called by its full nameThe Acts of Judas Thomas: 2nd/3rd century (c. 180-230) The Apostles cast lots as to where they should go, and to Thomas, twin brother of Jesus, fell India. Thomas was taken to King Gondophares the ruler of Indo-Parthian Kingdom as an architect and carpenter by Habban. St. Thomas spent the money allotted to him by King Gondophares for the construction of the palace to poor. When the king's seriously ill brother Gad convinced the king that he actually saw the palace built by St. Thomas in heaven for King Gondophares, the king allowed St. Thomas to leave the country. The journey to India is described in detail. After a long residence in the court at Taxila he ordained leaders for the church, and left in a chariot for the kingdom of Mazdei. According to the Acts of St.Thomas the Kingdom of Mazdai, in the Western India, Indus Valley, was ruled by King Misdeus. Parts of Indus Valley were then ruled by Persians called the Indo-Parthian Kingdom. Some Greeks Satraps, the descendents of Alexander the Great, were vassals to the Indo-Parthian Kingdom. The king Misdeus was infuriated when St. Thomas converted the Queen Tertia, Son Juzanes sister in law Princess Mygdonia (a province of Mesopotamia) and her friend Markia. The King Misdeus led St. Thomas outside the city of Calamina and ordered four soldiers to take him to the nearby hill where the soldiers speared St. Thomas and killed him. Syphorus was elected the first Presbyter by the brethren after the death of St. Thomas while Juzanes the prince became the deacon. The names of the King Misdeus, Tertia,Juzanes, Syphorus, Markia and Mygdonia suggest Greek descent or Hellenised Persian descent. There, after performing many miracles, he died a martyr. During the rule of Vasudeva I, the Kushan emperor, the bones of St. Thomas were transferred from Indus Valley to Edessa.