08 — Martyrdom and Relics
The end of the apostle and the fate of his body as tradition records them: the martyrdom by the spear at Mylapore, on the Coromandel coast near modern Chennai — the site of the “Little Mount” and the tomb-shrine of San Thome — narrated in the Acts of Thomas and held in unbroken local memory; and the history of the relics, from the Mylapore tomb through the third- or fourth-century translation to Edessa (where Egeria and Ephrem attest the shrine) and the later medieval translation to Ortona in Italy. These files report the martyrdom as the tradition records it and trace the relics through their attested resting-places.
Tradition: Pan-Orthodox (Apostle)
Thomas is the only one of the Twelve whose tomb-tradition is fixed at a single, continuously remembered Indian site, and whose relics’ westward journey can be partially traced through datable witnesses. The martyrdom narrative comes from the Acts of Thomas and from Mylapore’s own tradition; the relic-history is firmer, because the cult at Edessa is attested by the fourth-century pilgrim Egeria and the hymns of Ephrem, and the later translations are documented. This section keeps the two registers distinct: the martyrdom is reported as the tradition tells it (the spear, the king Misdaeus/Mazdai, the hill), while the relic-history is traced through its written and material witnesses, marking each translation and its evidence.
Files in This Section
| File | Description |
|---|---|
| The Martyrdom at Mylapore | The martyrdom narrative: the conversions of the royal household, the king’s wrath (Misdaeus/Mazdai), the spearing on the hill near Mylapore (the “Little Mount” / St. Thomas Mount), and the tomb at San Thome — reported from the Acts of Thomas and the local tradition. |
| The Relics and Edessa | The relic-history: the Mylapore tomb; the translation to Edessa (3rd–4th c.), attested by Egeria’s pilgrimage and Ephrem’s hymns; the shrine of Saint Thomas at Edessa; and the later medieval translation to Chios and to Ortona in Italy. |
See Also
- The Acts of Thomas — the source of the martyrdom narrative
- The Thomas Christians of India — the community that holds the Mylapore tomb-tradition
- The India Mission Assessed — the historical weighing of the death-site tradition
- St. Ephrem the Syrian — whose hymns attest the relics of Thomas at Edessa
References
- The Acts of Thomas. Trans. A. F. J. Klijn. 2nd ed. Leiden: Brill, 2003. (The martyrdom of Thomas, the thirteenth act.)
- Egeria. Itinerarium (Travels) 19. Trans. John Wilkinson, Egeria’s Travels. 3rd ed. Warminster: Aris & Phillips, 1999. (The shrine of Saint Thomas at Edessa.)
- Ephrem the Syrian. Carmina Nisibena 42; Hymns on Saint Thomas. (The relics of Thomas at Edessa.)
- Mundadan, A. Mathias. History of Christianity in India, Vol. I. Bangalore: Church History Association of India, 1984.