Thomas

Thomas, also called Didymus ('the twin'), was one of the Twelve Apostles, remembered primarily for his initial refusal to believe the resurrection accounts until he could see and touch Jesus's wounds, earning the epithet 'doubting Thomas' (John 20:24–29). When Jesus appeared and invited him to touch his wounds, Thomas's response—'My Lord and my God!'—is one of the highest Christological confessions in the Gospels. He also displayed bold if misguided courage when he urged the disciples to go with Jesus to Judea to die with him (John 11:16). Ancient tradition, preserved in the Acts of Thomas and the Syriac church, holds that he carried the Gospel to India and was martyred near Madras (Chennai), where the ancient St. Thomas Christians of Kerala trace their origins to his mission.