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Authorship, date, and setting
The Acts of Thomas narrates a mission ascribed to the apostle Judas Thomas in India but does not identify its composer. A division of regions among the apostles and Thomas's reluctance to depart open the journey (1). The work belongs to Christian apocryphal literature: its episodes express a narrative tradition about Thomas, not a verified contemporary record of each event. The older translation published at New Advent and this collection's text contain the same main story lines, though their editorial divisions differ.
Structure of the fourteen chapters
Chapters 1–2 take Thomas with the merchant Abbanes to King Gundaphoros and the palace built through almsgiving. Chapters 3–6 bring encounters with a serpent, a speaking donkey, a tormented woman, and a young man challenged after receiving the eucharist. Chapters 7–8 move toward Misdaeus's household. In 9–14, the allegiance of Mygdonia, Tertia, and Vazan causes family and royal opposition, imprisonment, and the apostle's death.
Themes and key passages
The palace unseen by the living king (2) turns provision for the poor into an image of future wealth. Healings and the expulsion of spirits accompany preaching in chapters 3–6. Mygdonia's and Tertia's stories in 9–11 link conversion to refusal of their husbands' marital expectations, leading to conflict with Misdaeus. Oil, sealing, prayer, and a shared meal appear when new followers are received. The story depicts these practices; it does not establish that every ancient community performed them identically.
Summary by parts
1–2: Thomas resists the assignment to India but travels with Abbanes. Hired to build a palace, he gives the funds to the needy. Gundaphoros orders his arrest; the experience of the king's brother Gad makes the ruler reconsider the promised palace.
3–8: The action includes a young man's death and restoration, a confrontation with a serpent, a woman's release, and correction of someone at a sacred meal. A captain named Siphor asks for help in his household. The circle of hearers grows as Thomas moves into another sphere of power.
9–14: Mygdonia seeks the apostle's teaching and clashes with Charisius. Tertia and Vazan also approach him while Misdaeus tries to stop the movement. Prison, visits, and further rites precede the order to kill Thomas; his followers preserve his memory.
Reception
The work circulated as apocryphal acts of an apostle outside the New Testament canon. The older English edition at New Advent preserves a form of the story and allows comparison of names and scenes with this Portuguese translation. The tradition of Thomas's mission in India extends beyond this book; its existence alone does not verify the miracles and dialogues told here.
Sources
- Alexander Walker (trad.), Acts of the Holy Apostle Thomas (1886).