The Lives of the Saints through 100 Masterpieces

Thomas

The Lives of the Saints 206 Thomas July 3 This apostle was not only a skeptic, he was also bold. Thomas voluntarily set off to accompany Christ when he was called to Lazarus’s tomb, though the apostle knew it was dangerous: “Let us go with him, so that we may die with him” was his summons to the others. But Thomas’s doubt that Christ had risen from the dead takes precedence over all other episodes in his life, and the scene in which he places his hand in the wound on Jesus’ side overshadows all others in his iconography. The popularity of this incident was such that a second version of it arose: Thomas doubting the Assumption of the Virgin Mary who, from the height of heaven, sent him her girdle in order to convince him. Other representations show the apostle holding an architect’s square, the instrument of his profession. It was as an architect that Saint Thomas was invited to India to build a palace for the king. However, he distributed all the money that had been laid aside for the construction to the poor, and only escaped punishment because the brother of the king came back to life to explain that he had seen the palace already completed, but in heaven! Of course, Saint Thomas did end up martyred, but only after having converted a great portion of the population. When the Portuguese arrived at the shores of Kerala 15 centuries later, they found a thriving community of Christians there. Today, this vibrant church, attached to Rome, continues to use the Syro-Malabar liturgical rite instituted by Thomas Hendrick Terbrugghen (1588–1629) The Skepticism of Saint Thoma Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam ...