Difference between revisions of "Acts of Thomas" - New World Encyclopedia

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Midaeus' son Iuzanes speaks with Thomas and is inspired to help him escape, but Midaeus returns and Thomas faces trial. He insists that the king has no power over him, and that his fate in is God's hands. The king orders that Thomas be tortured with red-hot iron plates, but a huge spring of water rises up to quench their heat. The king now begs Thomas to pray that the result flood will subside, and Thomas complies. Midaeus then sends Thomas back to prison, accompanied by Iuzanes and Siphon. Thomas prays once more, including a version of the [[Lord's prayer]], this time seemingly in preparation for death. "I am thine," he declares to his Lord, "and I have kept myself pure from woman, that the temple worthy of thee might not be found in pollution... Thou that art the light of my poverty and the supplier of my defects and nurturer of my need, be thou with me until I come and receive thee for evermore.
 
Midaeus' son Iuzanes speaks with Thomas and is inspired to help him escape, but Midaeus returns and Thomas faces trial. He insists that the king has no power over him, and that his fate in is God's hands. The king orders that Thomas be tortured with red-hot iron plates, but a huge spring of water rises up to quench their heat. The king now begs Thomas to pray that the result flood will subside, and Thomas complies. Midaeus then sends Thomas back to prison, accompanied by Iuzanes and Siphon. Thomas prays once more, including a version of the [[Lord's prayer]], this time seemingly in preparation for death. "I am thine," he declares to his Lord, "and I have kept myself pure from woman, that the temple worthy of thee might not be found in pollution... Thou that art the light of my poverty and the supplier of my defects and nurturer of my need, be thou with me until I come and receive thee for evermore.
 
=== 13 - The baptism of Iuzanes ===
 
=== 13 - The baptism of Iuzanes ===
 +
[[Image:Thomas.jpg|thumb|Orthodox icon of Saint Thomas]]
 
Iuzanes, who his chaste though married, wishes to become a disciple and requests that Thomas heal his ailing wife, Mnesara. Tertia, Mygdonia, and Narcia bribe the jailer to allow them entrance to the prison, where they join Iuzanes, Siphon, and Siphon's wife and daughter. Thomas his band then go to Iuzanes' home, where Mnesara is quickly healed. Mygdonia anoints Mnesara, and Thomas anoints Iuzanes; then Thomas baptizes the couple, after which they share the Eucharist.
 
Iuzanes, who his chaste though married, wishes to become a disciple and requests that Thomas heal his ailing wife, Mnesara. Tertia, Mygdonia, and Narcia bribe the jailer to allow them entrance to the prison, where they join Iuzanes, Siphon, and Siphon's wife and daughter. Thomas his band then go to Iuzanes' home, where Mnesara is quickly healed. Mygdonia anoints Mnesara, and Thomas anoints Iuzanes; then Thomas baptizes the couple, after which they share the Eucharist.
  

Revision as of 05:43, 11 December 2008

Thomas as teacher: Usually depicted as "Doubting Thomas," in Gnostic literature Thomas is often portrayed as Jesus' twin brother, Judas Thomas, who understands more than any other apostle the secret meaning of Jesus' teachings.

The Acts of Thomas is arguably is one of the New Testament apocrypha describing the adventures and martyrdom of the Apostle Thomas, whom it portrays as Jesus' twin brother. A highly entertaining literary work combine the genres of romance, travel-adventure story, and hagiography, it was apparently a popular work, as it has survived in several manuscripts in various languages, despite its Gnostic depiction of Christ and teaching of the femininity of the Holy Spirit.

The work provides dramatic narratives of Thomas' miraculous evangelistic adventures in India, where he traveled after being sold as a slave by the resurrected Jesus. It ends with Thomas' martyrdomas a result of of the enity of the monarch Misdaeus, whose wife and son Thomas converted to an extremely ascetic form of Christianity. A major part of the drama relates to Thomas' teaching that married couples must refrain from sex after being baptized, which leads to many difficulties, as well as opportunities for literary titillation. At the same time, its liturgical elements and poetry provide important insights into early Christian traditions, especially in Syria, where it was widely circulated and possibly written.

Embedded in the Acts of Thomas is a remarkable Syriac hymn, The Hymn of the Pearl, (or Hymn of the Soul),which gained a great deal of popularity in mainstream Christian circles.

A lengthy and well constructed narrative, the Acts of Thomas is by far the most complete of several "Acts" relating to the Apostle Thomas. It should not be confused with the Gospel of Thomas, which deals with Jesus' saying in a Gnostic context, but contains almost no narrative elements.

Text

References to the work by Epiphanius show that it was still in circulation in the fourth century. The complete versions that survive are Syriac and Greek, and there are many surviving fragments of the text. Some scholars detect from the Greek that its original was written in Syriac, which places author of the Acts of Thomas in Syria.

The surviving Syriac manuscripts, however, have been edited to purge them of the most unorthodox overtly Gnostic passages, so that the Greek versions reflect the earlier tradition. Some scholars argue that the Acts of Thomas were originally composed in Greek and soon translated rendered into Syriac.

Though no less an orthodox saint than Gregory of Tours made a version of the text, mainstream Christian tradition rejects the Acts of Thomas as pseudepigraphical, apocryphal, and heretical. The Roman Catholic Church did not officially confirmed the Acts as heresy, however, until the Council of Trent in the sixteenth century.

Content

The Apostle Thomas

]

The text of the Acts of Thomas reads like a novel and is apparently crafted along the lines of the Greek romances, complete with tantalizing sexual innuendo, dramatic plot twists, and fantastic miracle stories. It differs from it pagan literary counterparts, however, in that instead of uplifting marriage and the family, this romance uplifts the ideal of chastity, even to the extent that true husbands and wives determine to abstain from the "corruption" of sexual union and the error of procreation. This attitude was prevalent especially in some Gnostic circles, but also in some segments of the orthodox churches, which later evolved the tradition of monasticism to accommodate the ascetic tendency while encourage marriage for the laity.

The plot brings a resistant Thomas to India, where his first act is to inspire the daughter and son-in-law of King Gundaphorus to abstain from sex on their wedding night and enter into a spiritual marriage with Jesus instead of each other. He then teaches Gundaphorus himself what is truly valuable building him a palace in heaven after giving away the money he had been paid to build it on earth.

Next, he battles a great serpent, who is either the Devil himself or his chief associate. Following this comes an adventure with a talking donkey, an exorcism of a powerful incubus from a beautiful woman, and the resurrection of a murdered girl whose lover, after hearing Thomas' teachings, killed her for refusing to commit to a life a chastity.

Moving to the realm of King Misdaeus, Thomas involves himself in royal politics, converting first the king's military commander, the the prime minister's wife, and finally the king's own wife and son, among many others. As a result, he faces prison and torture, all the while involving himself in dramatic adventures, preaching lengthy sermons, engaging in formal Christian liturgies with a Gnostic twist, and performing many miracles.

In the end, knowing that physical life is nothing compared to what awaits him, Thomas faces martyrdom, but not without first having converted everyone of importance except the king and prime minister. After his death, however, even these two relent and do not insist on their wives performing their conjugal duties. The removal of sex from marriage seems to play the same role in this romance as marriage itself usually plays at the happy ending of such literature.

1 - Thomas goes to India

The apostles gather in Jerusalem, where each of them is assigned as an evangelist to a different regions of the world. Thomas is assigned to India, but refuses to go, pleading weakness of health, and also that, as a Jew, he cannot live among Gentiles. Despite a vision from Jesus that night, encouraging him to make the journey, but Thomas still refuses, saying: "Whither thou wouldest send me, send me, but elsewhere, for unto the Indians I will not go." Jesus then sells Thomas, who, like Jesus, is a carpenter, as a slave to merchant named Abbanes, the agent of King Gundaphorus of India. Sailing to the royal city of Andrapolis, Thomas attends the wedding feast of the king's daughter with his master. He declines food and drink, and refuses to gaze at a lovely flute-girl who dances for him. For his rudeness, he is struck by a royal cup-bearer. Thomas responds by bursting into a hymn of praise to the dancer and God, in which he prophesies in Hebrew: "I shall now see the hand that hath smitten me dragged by dogs." The cup-bearer is soon killed by a lion at the local well, after which he is eaten by dogs. The flute-girl immediately breaks her flute and becomes Thomas' disciple.

The king hears of the miracle and asks Thomas to pray for his daughter, who is an only child, and her marriage. At the bridal chamber, Thomas prays to Jesus as "the ambassador that wast sent from the height... who didst open the doors and bring up thence them that for many ages were shut up in the treasury of darkness, and showedst them the way that leadeth up unto the height." He blesses the couple, asking that God will show them what "will expedient and profitable" for them. However, when the groom enters the chamber, he sees a vision of Jesus, "bearing the likeness of Thomas" and speaking with the bride. Jesus declares "if ye abstain from this foul intercourse, ye become holy temples," and argues against procreation, since "children become useless, oppressed of devils... for they will be caught either in adultery or murder or theft or fornication, and by all these will ye be afflicted." The couple immediate convert, committing themselves to "abstain from foul desire." In the morning, the tells her parents: "I am yoked unto a true husband," and her groom gives thanks to Thomas/Jesus "who hast removed me far from corruption." The king is understandably upset and commands that Thomas, "the sorcerer," be apprehended.

2 - King Gundaphorus and his brother

Statue of the Apostle Thomas as a carpenter

Thomas meets King Gundaphorus, who learns of his carpentry skills and commands him to build a new royal palace, leaving him with a substantial sum of money to complete the task. Thomas, however, gives the money away to the poor and the sick as an example of God's love for them. The king imprisons both Thomas and his master, declaring that they will be punished with death. The king's brother, Gad, then takes sick and dies, leaving the king his house and all his possessions. The angels carry him to heaven and show him a gorgeous house, which they explain was built there for the king by Thomas. Gad asks for permission to return to earth, where he attempts to buy the king's heavenly palace from him. The king releases Thomas from prison and both he and his brother humble themselves before him and ask forgiveness that they may be made worthy to dwell in the heavenly palace. Gundaphorus and Gad become Thomas' disciples, devoting themselves to the care of the poor. Thomas seals their commitment with a sacrament of holy oil, reciting a liturgical psalm, invoking the orthodox Trinity, but apparently referring to the Holy Spirit as "Compassion Mother, communion of the male, she that revealeth the hidden mysteries, Mother of the seven houses."

Thomas continues his preaching, teaching all to "abstain from fornication and covetousness and the service of the belly."

3 - Thomas and the Great Serpent

Thomas encounters the dead body of a handsome youth. A huge black dragon emerges from a nearby hole and declares that he has killed the youth out of jealousy over the youth's sexual intercourse with a beautfiul young woman with whom the dragon was in love. The dragon knows that Thomas is Christ's twin brother and identifies himself as "the son to him that sitteth on a throne over all the earth" and also as he who "spake with Eve the things which my father bade me speak unto her." He also takes credit for inspiring Cain to kill Abel, and casting down the fallen angels and binding them in lust toward human women, in order children might be born who would do the dragon's will. He also takes credit for hardening Pharaoh's heart, causing the Israelites to sin in the wilderness, and moving Judas Iscariot deliver up the Christ.

Unafraid, Thomas commands the beast to suck out the venom by which he has slain the youth. The young man revives, and the dragon swells up, bursts, and dies. The youth proclaims that he is now free of the lust that caused him to sin with the young woman. He then accompanies Thomas toward the city, and a great multitude of believers join the true faith.

4 - Thomas and the talking colt

A young donkey then approach Thomas and miraculously speaks, addressing Thomas as "Thou Twin of Christ." The colt then invites Thomas to mount him and ride into the city. Thomas asks the colt about his origins, and he answer that he descends from the very ass who spoke to the prophet Balaam, and also from the donkey on whom Jesus rode when he entered Jerusalem. Thomas, feeling humbled, declines the colt's offer, but the donkey insists, and Thomas finally consents to mount him. The huge throne of onlookers follows Thomas into the city. Thomas dismounts him and dismisses him at the city gate, whereupon the poor colt promptly falls down dead. The crowd implores Thomas to raise the colt from the dead, but he refuses, not because he is unable, but because the colt had already fulfilled his miraculous purpose by speaking and testifying to the work of God. The people then bury the colt by the side of the road at Thomas' command.

5 - Thomas and the Devil's consort

Thomas and his throng enter the, where he is approached by very beautiful woman, who explains that she has been tormented by the Devil for five years. The trouble for her began when a young man had "foul intercourse" with her in her dream, which he has continued to until the present time. Thomas is outraged at this and command the Devil to come forth and face him. To one but Thomas and the can see the fiend, but all her him as he shouts: "What have we to do with thee, thou apostle of the Most High!... Wherefore wilt thou take away our power?" Weeping the Devil says to the woman: "I leave thee, my fairest consort... I forsake thee, my sure sister, my beloved in whom I was well pleased. What I shall do I know not." He then vanishes, leaving behind only fire and smoke that were seen by the astonished crowd. Thomas then blesses the crowd and seals both the woman and many others in the name of the Trinty. Those who are sealed then partake of the Eucharist with Thomas, who once again speaks of the Holy Spirit as that

"she that knoweth the mysteries of him that is chosen, she that hath part in all the combats of the noble champion... she that manifesteth the hidden things and maketh the unspeakable things plain, the holy dove that beareth the twin young; Come, the hidden Mother...Come and communicate with us in this [[Eucharist which we celebrate in thy name and in the love."

6 - The misguided youth the woman he murdered

A young man who has just taken the Eucharist is smitten with withered hands. He confesses that he had been in love with a young woman, but after haring Thomas' teaching and being sealed he wanted to refrain from have sex, with her, asking her to join him in a spiritual marriage instead. She refuses, and he murders her with a sword, not being able to bear the thought of her having sex with another man. Thomas decries the "insane union" of unrestrained lust and commands the youth to bathe in holy water. They then go to the inn where the victim's body lies. Thomas prays, and the young man takes his former lover by the hand, whereupon she comes back to life. She testifies that she has been in Hell, which she describes in considerable detail. Many people become believers as a result of the miracle and the woman's horrifying testimony.

7 - Thomas and the Captain

A wealthy captain of King Misdaeus asks Thomas to his wife and daughter, who are being tormented by devils that throw them down and strip them naked, even in public. The two woman are so beset by these incubi that they have not been able to either cook or eat properly for three years. Greatly grieved for the man, Thomas secures his commitment to Jesus and then agrees to help, converting many more believers through his prayers.

8 - Thomas and the wild asses

Thomas travels with the captain in his chariot, but the animals pulling the vehicle soon tire. At Thomas' suggestion, the captain goes to a nearby herd of wild asses and commands four of them in Thomas' name to come. Thomas then commands the asses to yoke themselves in the place of the wearied other animals. When the chariot arrives at the captain's home city the people are astonished to see wild assess harnessed and behaving so well.

Thomas then commands one of the wild assess to command the devils to come forth wife. The ass promptly obeys and the women approach Thomas in a zombie-like state. When Thomas confronts them, they both fall down as if dead, but the devil speaks. Thomas recognizes him as the same demon whom he had driven out of the women in the earlier city. The devil pleads that he is only acting under orders and doing what comes naturally to him, but Thomas commands him to leave and never possess a human being again. Surprisingly, the wild ass now gives a lengthy sermon encouraging Thomas to act and declaring the Gospel which Thomas normally preaches.

Thomas responds by praising Jesus, the "heavenly word of the Father: thou art the hidden light of the understanding, who shows of the way of truth, the driver away of darkness, and blotter-out of error." The then prays: "Let these souls be healed and rise up and become such as they were before they were smitten of the devils." The women are immediately healed. He then leads the wild asses outside the city and dismisses then back to the natural life and a happy ending.

9 - Thomas and the wife of Charisius

Mygdonia, the wife of the prime minister Charisius, comes to learn of Thomas and his "new god." Because of her arrogant attitude in pressing through the crowd to see him, however, Thomas blesses the servants who carried her palanquin, rather than the great lady herself. He teaches the crowd to abstain first of all from adultery, which he characterizes as "the beginning of all evils." After listening to Thomas' long moral sermon, Mygdonia jumps from her chair and prostrates herself before Thomas. He urges her to rise and instructs her to take off her jewelry and other fine ornaments, and also to refrain from "polluted intercourse with thine husband." e.

Her husband Charisius later discover Mygdonia in a depressed state, refusing both to dine or to sleep with him, pleading illness. The next day Charisius leaves home early to salute the king, while Mygdonia goes to attend Thomas. Trouble brews between the couple when Charisius learns of his wife's seeming infatuation with the stranger, whom she calls a physician, but he suspects is a sorcerer. That night she again refuses either to dine or sleep with her husband. "Thou hast no more any room by me," she informs him, "for my Lord Jesus is greater than thou, who is with me and resteth in me." The distraught Charisius cannot hide his anguish from King Misdaeus. who sends immediate for his captain, Siphor, to deal with the troublemaker. Siphor, however, is the very man whose wife and daughter Thomas recently so dramatically exorcised. Siphor testified to the king concerning Thomas' good works. An attempt to arrest Thomas fails because the multitudes that listen to him. Finally, Charisius himself confronts him brings him before the king. Whe Thomas refuses to answer the king's questions, he is sentenced to death. In prison, Thomas is not anxious at all. Instead, he sings the remarkable Hymn of the Soul, a Gnostic psalm of remembrance of the value of the spirit and the worthlessness of all material things, including the body.

Charisius, thinking his troubles are over, find Mygdonia in deep grief over Thomas' fate. Even his own tears do not move her, however, as she only sits silently looking at the ground during his impassioned entreaties. She insists again that her love is only for Jesus.

10 - The baptism of Mygdonia

Taking ten denarii to bribe Thomas' jailers, Mygdonia is miraculously met by an apparition of Thomas on her way. She is at first frightens, but after Thomas comforts and teaches her, she requests to be "sealed." Taking Thomas to her home, she receives the necessary elements for the ceremony from her nurse, Narcia. Thomas sanctifies her with holy oil, and she then comes to him clad only in a linen cloth to be baptized in a fountain of water. After dressing, she shares the Eucharist with him, and a voice from heaven declares "Yea, Amen!" Narcia, hearing the voice is also converted and receives baptism. Thomas then returns to prison.

The next morning at dawn Charisius finds Mygdonia and her nurse praying: "O new god that by the stranger hast come hither unto us... turn away from us the madness of Charisius." He is outraged, imploring her to remember their love as bride and groom. she replies:

That bridal chamber is taken down again, but this remaineth always; that bed was strown with coverlets, but this with love and faith. Thou art a bridegroom that passest away and art dissolved, but Jesus is a true bridegroom, enduring for ever immortal. That dowry was of money and robes that grow old, but this is of living words which never pass away.

Charisius goes to the king and demands Thomas' death. King Misdaeus sends for Thomas, who admits that he teaches his disciples to refrain from sex, even within marriage, but defends his doctrine as both good and holy. Misdaeus offers to let Thomas go free if he will persuade Mygdonia to return to her husband. Back at Charisius' house, Thomas tells Mygdonia to obey Charisius, but she reminds the apostle of his own teaching, declaring that he has said this only "because thou art in fear." Thomas then left the house to stay with Captain Siphorm where Thomas baptizes the household and holds communion with them.

11 - Thomas and Tertia

Tertia, the wife of King Misdaeus, Mygdonia, though distraught again herself, testifies to Tertia about Thomas' teachings. Tertia immediately goes to Siphor's house and asks to partake in the promise of life that Thomas offers. He accepts her, and she returns to Misdaeus, who is understandable unhappy to hear that the teaching of the "sorcerer" now infects is own wife. He finds Charisius, and the two of them arrest Thomas again as he is teaching at Siphon's house. He is placed under guard awaiting trial by Misdaeus.

12 - Iuzanes, the son of Misdaeus'

Midaeus' son Iuzanes speaks with Thomas and is inspired to help him escape, but Midaeus returns and Thomas faces trial. He insists that the king has no power over him, and that his fate in is God's hands. The king orders that Thomas be tortured with red-hot iron plates, but a huge spring of water rises up to quench their heat. The king now begs Thomas to pray that the result flood will subside, and Thomas complies. Midaeus then sends Thomas back to prison, accompanied by Iuzanes and Siphon. Thomas prays once more, including a version of the Lord's prayer, this time seemingly in preparation for death. "I am thine," he declares to his Lord, "and I have kept myself pure from woman, that the temple worthy of thee might not be found in pollution... Thou that art the light of my poverty and the supplier of my defects and nurturer of my need, be thou with me until I come and receive thee for evermore.

13 - The baptism of Iuzanes

Orthodox icon of Saint Thomas

Iuzanes, who his chaste though married, wishes to become a disciple and requests that Thomas heal his ailing wife, Mnesara. Tertia, Mygdonia, and Narcia bribe the jailer to allow them entrance to the prison, where they join Iuzanes, Siphon, and Siphon's wife and daughter. Thomas his band then go to Iuzanes' home, where Mnesara is quickly healed. Mygdonia anoints Mnesara, and Thomas anoints Iuzanes; then Thomas baptizes the couple, after which they share the Eucharist.

The Martyrdom of Thomas

Thomas returns to his prison, together with Tertia, Mygdonia, and Narcia. On the way, he declares to them and "the multitude" a final message in preparation for his departure. He stresses that they must focus on Christ, not himself, and should hope in his coming.

Misdaeus now places Thomas on trial again. The apostle confesses that he is the slave of Jesus. Taking him out of the city for fear of the crowds, the king commanded four soldiers and an officer to take him to a nearby mountain and slay him there with with spears. Iuzanes persuades the soldiers allow Thomas to pray before his death. He then invites the soldiers to do their duty. They pierced him with their spears, and he dies.

While Siphor and Iuzanes keep watch over his body, Thomas appears to them and aks: "Why sit ye here and keep watch over me? I am not here, but I have gone up and received all that I was promised." Thomas is buried with great honor, with much mourning.

Meanwhile, the husbands of Mygdonia and Tertia strongly mistreated their wives in a vain attempt to force them to perform their conjugal duty, but the two saints bravely hold up, and eventually their husband allow them to live in chastity.

Siphor becomes a presbyter and Iuzanes a deacon, and the church grows rapidly under their leadership. Thomas' bones are transferred to Mesopotamia, but even the dust where he lay possesses miraculous healing qualities. Misdaeus, before his death, repents and receives forgiveness at the hand Siphor, amid much rejoicing.

The Hymn of the Soul

Imbedded in the Acts of Thomas is beautiful poetic statement Gnostic myth concerning exile of the soul in the physical world and its ultimate redemption. Known variously as the Hymn of the Soul, the Hymn of the Pearl and the Hymn of the Robe of Glory Thomas sings the hymn while praying in prison. Some scholars believe the hymn was written apart from the Acts and later inserted into the Syriac version of the text, as it only appears in one Syriac manuscript and one Greek manuscript of the Acts of Thomas. Its author is unknown, with the Syrian Gnostic teacher Bardaisan being the most frequently suggested candidate.

The hymn tells the story of a boy, "the son of the King of Kings", who is sent to Egypt to retrieve a pearl from a serpent. During the quest, he is seduced by Egyptians and forgets his origin and his family. However, a letter is sent from the King of Kings to remind him of his past. When the boy receives the letter, he remembers his mission, retrieves the pearl, and returns.

The hymn is commonly interpreted as the expression of the Gnostic view of the human condition, in which the human spirit trapped in a world of matter, forgetful its true origin. The revelatory message delivered by the heavenly ambassador, in this case Jesus Christ, reminds the soul of its true identity and enables it to fulfill its destiny.

The hymn has been preserved and especially treasured in Manicheanism and was also admired by some orthodox Christian writers, who appreciated its spiritual message without fully comprehending its Gnostic implications.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Klijn, A.F.J. (2003). The Acts of Thomas: Introduction, Text, and Commentary. Brill Academic Publishers. ISBN 978-9004129375. 

See also

  • Leucius Charinus

External links

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