The Acts of Thomas is an early Christian text that recounts the apostolic ministry of Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. Along with the Acts of John, Acts of Peter, and Acts of Andrew, the Acts of Thomas is considered part of the New Testament apocrypha, writings relating to the apostles that were not included in the canon of the New Testament.
The Acts of Thomas is thought to have been composed around 225-250 AD, likely in Edessa (located in modern day Turkey), and was originally written in Syriac. The text was later translated into Greek, Arabic, and Latin. The Acts of Thomas presents the missionary activity of Judas Thomas, also called Didymus, as he travels outside of the Roman Empire into India and its surrounds.
Some key elements and themes in the Acts of Thomas include:
- An account of the travels and miracles of Thomas
- Hymns and prayers attributed to Thomas
- Anti-materialism and encouragement of asceticism
- Promotion of abstinence from sexual relations in marriage
- Veneration of the heavens, sun, moon and stars
- Use of the term “twin” for Thomas
Overview of the Contents
The Acts of Thomas consists of 13 episodes or acts that chronicle the missionary journeys of Thomas. Here is an overview of the key events covered in the text:
- Act 1: After Pentecost, the 12 disciples cast lots to determine where they should spread the gospel. India falls to Thomas. Thomas objects but Christ appears to Thomas in a vision, commanding him to go to India as his slave and apostle.
- Act 2: Thomas travels to India with a Hebrew traveler named Abbanes, who has been commissioned by an Indian king to find a master carpenter. Thomas meets King Gundaphorus and accepts the job of royal carpenter.
- Act 3: Thomas receives money from the king to construct a palace. Thomas gives the money away to the poor and needy. The king incarcerates Thomas after finding out what he did.
- Act 4: The king releases Thomas after his brother dies and is resurrected by Thomas. Many witness this miracle and believe in Christ.
- Act 5: Thomas travels to the kingdom of King Mazdai. The king’s wife and son convert after Thomas heals their illnesses and exorcizes demons. The king tortures and executes them after finding out about their conversion.
- Act 6: Thomas moves on to the city of King Misdaeus and converts the queen Tertia. Thomas is imprisoned after refusing to adore idols of Greek gods.
- Act 7: In prison, Thomas establishes a church. He sends Tertia to ask Misdaeus to release him.
- Act 8: Thomas is released from prison but faces two ordeals to verify his power. He is unharmed after being cast into a fire and bitten by snakes. Many witnessing this believe in Jesus.
- Act 9: Misdaeus debates with Thomas about religion. Misdaeus threatens to have Thomas tortured if he does not worship an idol.
- Act 10: Thomas allows himself to be taken to the local temple. The idol within is destroyed after Thomas prays. The high priest kills Thomas with a spear. Misdaeus orders Thomas’s body to be dumped outside the city.
- Act 11: A royal official buries Thomas in a royal tomb. Misdaeus is killed in a battle. News of Thomas’s death spreads and Christians journey to his tomb to honor him.
- Act 12: Thomas appears to his followers in a vision, commanding that his bones be taken from India to Edessa. The bones arrive in Edessa generations later during a priest’s vision.
- Act 13: The bones work miracles in Edessa, even raising the dead. The text ends with the bones being put in their final resting place.
Key Events and Themes
Travels and Miracles of Thomas
Much of the Acts of Thomas focuses on narrating Thomas’s missionary travels in India and Persia. As Thomas preaches the gospel, he performs many miracles that lead to conversions. Some of the miracles described in the text include:
- Raising King Gundaphorus’s brother from the dead (Acts 4)
- Healing the illnesses of Queen Tertia and her mute son (Acts 5)
- Casting out demons afflicting the family of King Mazdai (Acts 5)
- Surviving a pit of fire unharmed (Acts 8)
- Neutralizing poisonous snakes (Acts 8)
- Causing idols to self-destruct (Acts 10)
- Thomas’s bones raising the dead in Edessa after his death (Acts 13)
These miraculous acts serve to validate Thomas’s ministry and message to those he encounters. The text portrays Thomas as an authoritative wonderworker empowered by God, in the tradition of other apostolic accounts.
Asceticism and Anti-Materialism
A notable theme woven throughout the Acts of Thomas is a promotion of asceticism and rejection of material wealth. For instance:
- Thomas immediately gives away the money King Gundaphorus provided to build a palace, telling the king it is better used to feed the poor (Acts 3).
- Thomas encourages Mazdai’s wife to remain continent in her marriage, advocating for brother and sister relationships instead of marital relations (Acts 5).
- Thomas refuses to adore physical idols, asserting that he worships the spiritual Creator (Acts 6, 10).
This emphasis ties into the Acts of Thomas’s origin and context in early Syrian Christianity, which tended towards ascetic attitudes denying the material world.
Veneration of Celestial Bodies
Another noteworthy aspect of the theology in Acts of Thomas is its incorporation of cosmic veneration:
- When Jesus appears to Thomas, he refers to the heavens, sun, moon and stars as God’s place of abode (Acts 1).
- A hymn sung by Thomas invokes the “seven virgins” of heaven, referring to planets and stars (Acts 10).
- As Thomas is martyred, his spirit is said to ascend into the heavens among the stars (Acts 10).
This reflects influence from Babylonian astrology and stellar cults. However, the text subordinates such astrological elements to the supreme God who created the cosmos.
Prominence of Judas Thomas
The Acts of Thomas seeks to highlight the figure of Thomas amongst the Twelve. Details in the text emphasize Thomas’s importance:
- Thomas is the twin brother of Jesus (Acts 1). The text plays on Thomas’s epithet “the Twin” found in the Gospel of John (John 20:24).
- Jesus appears exclusively to Thomas, commanding him to go to India (Acts 1).
- Thomas is the apostle assigned to India by special revelation, while the others divide up the Roman Empire (Acts 1).
- Miracles continue through Thomas’s relics long after his death (Acts 11-13).
By attributing such exclusive divine commissions and miracles to Thomas, the text seeks to present him as a uniquely authoritative apostle.
Christological Elements
The Acts of Thomas interacts with Christological themes at several points:
- Jesus commands Thomas to go to India as his “slave” and apostle, sent under his authority (Acts 1).
- Prayers of Thomas invoke Christ as sharing deity with the Father (Acts 2, 10).
- Thomas explains he worships Christ, “who is God not made by hands,” in contrast to idols (Acts 6).
- Miracles performed reinforce Christ’s power over sickness, demons, death and nature.
Such details reflect emerging high Christology in some streams of early Christianity that viewed Christ as fully God.
Origins and Historicity
The Acts of Thomas is a product of early Syrian Christianity. The Text was likely authored around 225-250 AD in Edessa, an ancient city in upper Mesopotamia. Edessa was home to a prosperous Christian community in the 3rd century AD.
Most scholars believe the Acts of Thomas stems from imaginative religious fiction, not actual events. There are no reliable historical grounds proving Thomas ever traveled to India. Key reasons to doubt the historicity include:
- Fantastical miracle stories with the style of legend.
- Anachronistic descriptions, such as Thomas encountering kings and cities that did not exist in the 1st century.
- Theological and sociological anachronisms, like the high view of Christ and ascetic attitudes.
- No corroborating evidence of Thomas being in India from earlier sources.
Despite its doubtful historicity, the text does provide insight into eastern Syrian Christianity in the 3rd century. The ascetic attitudes, astrology, and high Christology in the Acts of Thomas reflect ideas circulating in that time and region. While not preserving literal apostolic history, the text bears imprints of the context that produced it.
Influence and Legacy
The Acts of Thomas exercised some notable influence in antiquity. Within Syriac Christianity, it reinforced the prestige of the apostle Thomas and helped promote ascetic ideals. The text also contributed to the ancient and medieval traditions that Thomas brought Christianity to India. Additionally, the Acts of Thomas appears to have fostered votive practices associated with Thomas’s relics in Edessa. The Acts provided scriptural basis for purported miracles related to the apostle’s bones.
In modern times, the Acts of Thomas continues to hold significance. In the Saint Thomas Christian churches of India, the text remains an important part of their traditional origins narrative. The Acts is also widely studied by contemporary scholars researching early apocryphal literature and Syrian Christianity.
While not recognized as canonical, the Acts of Thomas provides valuable perspective on extra-biblical currents that shaped the diverse religious landscape of early Christianity. As with other New Testament apocrypha, its themes and ideas reveal one expression of early Christian piety, despite its doubtful historical reliability.