Where Did Jesus Die? — Page 162
? 162 St. Thomas in India Before I proceed to trace the footsteps of Jesus, after he left Palestine, I would like to say a few words about the adventures of St. Thomas, one of the twelve disciples of Jesus, who either accom- panied his master on his long journey or followed him to fulfil his duty of preaching to the lost sheep of the House of Israel, living in the Far East and India. It should be remembered that it was St. Thomas who, by seeing the print of the nails in Jesus’ hands and his wounded side, provided a positive proof that the person seen was not a phantom but Jesus himself with his wounded physical body; and thus he became a witness for all time that Jesus did not die an ‘accursed’ death. It is a well-established fact that St. Thomas proceeded to India and died there. 1. Dr. Francis C. Burkitt, Professor of Divinity at the University of Cambridge, says: Eusebius (H. E. Ill, 1, 1) says, Thomas was the evangelist of ‘Parthia’ probably because Edessa (q. v. ), where some of his bones were preserved is sometimes called ‘Edessa of Parthians’. These bones were reputed to have been brought to Edessa from India and a work known as the Acts of Thomas relates his missionary labours and martyr- dom there. . . the Acts of Thomas is the leading authority for the earliest Christianity in the countries east of the Eupharates. . . . A curious feature is that the name of the