Acts of Thomas

Contents

Reading pages: 0–22 · 23–39 · 40–63 · 64–88 · 89–113 · 114–136 · 138–156 · 157–170

1. 0The title of the work.
2. 1The apostles divide the world by lot; India falls to Judas Thomas, who refuses to go even when the Savior appears to him.
3. 2The Lord sells Thomas as a slave carpenter to Abbanes, the merchant of King Gundaphorus, and Thomas accepts.
4. 4Thomas submits to the Lord's will and goes to the merchant.
5. 5Thomas and Abbanes sail to Andrapolis, where the king's daughter is being married, and they go to the wedding feast.
6. 6At the feast Thomas eats nothing and anoints himself; a cupbearer strikes him, Thomas foretells his punishment, and begins the Wedding Hymn of the maiden, daughter of light.
7. 7The Wedding Hymn ends with the bride's attendants at the eternal wedding feast praising the Father of truth and the Mother of wisdom.
8. 8Only the Hebrew flute girl understands Thomas's song; the cupbearer who struck him is killed by a lion and a dog carries his hand into the feast.
9. 9The guests realize the hand belongs to the cupbearer who struck Thomas.
10. 10The flute girl proclaims Thomas a man of God; the king brings him to the bridal chamber, where he prays for the couple to Christ, who descended to Hades and freed its prisoners.
11. 11In the bridal chamber the Lord appears to the couple in the likeness of Thomas, saying he is Thomas's brother.
12. 12The Lord, in Thomas's likeness, urges the bride and groom to abstain from intercourse and children for the sake of the true, incorrupt marriage; they believe him.
13. 13The couple keep continence through the night; in the morning the bride's parents find her unveiled and the groom cheerful, and ask why.
14. 14The bride begins her answer: she is in great love and prays it may remain.
15. 15The bride rejoices that she is joined to a true husband instead of a temporary one, the bridegroom thanks Christ who freed him and showed him who he is, and the king, enraged, orders the sorcerer seized.
16. 16The king's men cannot find Thomas, who has sailed; the flute girl joins the converted couple, who instruct the king, and later they go to join the apostle in India.
17. 17Thomas comes to King Gundaphorus, who asks whether he can build him a palace; Thomas says he will.
18. 18Thomas promises to build the king's palace through the winter and draws its plan; the king leaves him money.
19. 19Thomas gives the king's money to the poor, tells the king the palace awaits only its roof, and thanks the Lord who sold him to free many.
20. 20The king learns that Thomas has built nothing but has given everything to the poor, healed the sick, and lived ascetically.
21. 21Thomas tells the king his palace can be seen only after death; the king imprisons him and the merchant and plans to flay and burn them, while his brother Gad falls ill with grief.
22. 22Gad dies, and angels show him in heaven the palace Thomas built for the king; he asks to return and buy it from his brother.
23. 23Gad, restored to life, makes the king swear to grant him a request and asks to buy the palace Thomas built for him in heaven.
24. 24The king frees Thomas and asks to serve his God; Gad asks the same, and Thomas prays that Christ receive them into his flock through washing and oil.
25. 25Thomas's prayer for the king and his brother ends: may they hold fast to Christ, the good Shepherd, and grow to perfection.
26. 26The king and his brother ask for the seal; Thomas has oil brought so that they may receive it by anointing.
27. 27Thomas anoints the king and his brother with an invocation of the name of Christ and the Spirit, a radiant young man appears, and at dawn he gives them the Eucharist.
28. 28Thomas preaches against sexual immorality, greed, and gluttony, quotes the Lord's sayings on anxiety, and calls all to repent before the coming judgment.
29. 29Bystanders remind Thomas of the debt owed to God; the rest of his answer is lost in the scan text.
30. 30Thomas answers that the Lord always seeks more, and takes bread, oil, vegetables, and salt to bless them.
31. 31Thomas gives the Eucharist and goes where the Lord sends him; finding a dead youth, he prays, and a great dragon confesses it killed the youth out of jealousy over a woman.
32. 33The dragon declares its lineage and its part in every evil from Eden to the betrayal of Christ; at Thomas's command it sucks the poison from the youth, who revives, and the dragon bursts and is swallowed by the earth.
33. 34The revived youth describes being freed from the dark power that drove him to sin and finding the Son of truth, and asks to see him again.
34. 35Thomas tells the youth that if he obeys Christ he will see him and rest with him for ever, but otherwise he will return to the one he left.
35. 36Thomas tells the youth that God promises unseen goods beyond wealth and luxury, urges the crowd to lift themselves above earthly things to see Christ, and assures the repentant that sins of ignorance are overlooked.
36. 39In the Fourth Act a colt speaks, hailing Thomas as Christ's twin and offering to carry him; Thomas answers with praise of Christ, the good shepherd.
37. 40The colt says it is of the race of Balaam's ass and of the colt the Lord rode; Thomas at last rides it toward the city.
38. 41The colt dies at the city gate; Thomas frees a woman from a demon that has abused her for five years, seals her and gives the Eucharist; then a youth who killed his lover for refusing continence is convicted by the Eucharist and healed, and the woman, raised, describes the punishments she saw in the place of the dead.
39. 58The raised woman begs to be spared the punishments; Thomas warns the crowd that worse punishments await unless they turn to God, who forgives and cleanses.
40. 59The people believe and give money for the widows, whom Thomas provides for through his deacons, and he proves from the prophets that Jesus is the Christ.
41. 60Thomas's fame spreads and he heals the sick laid in his path; the healed praise Jesus and ask to join his flock, and Thomas begins a prayer of glory.
42. 61Thomas's prayer thanks Christ for his gifts and asks him to look on those who have left homes, possessions, families, and spouses for his sake.
43. 62A wealthy captain of King Misdaeus comes to Thomas and begins to tell how his wife and daughter went, against her will, to a wedding.
44. 63The captain tells how a man and a boy seized his wife and daughter on the way home from the wedding and threw them down.
45. 64The captain's wife tells how two black demons met them at the aqueduct and struck them down; for three years the women have been tormented, and the captain begs Thomas for help.
46. 65Thomas tells the captain that Jesus is seen with the eyes of the mind; the captain professes faith, and Thomas gathers the brothers to address them.
47. 66Thomas, about to leave, urges the believers to abide in the faith, leaves the deacon Xenophon in his place, and warns against trust in wealth and beauty.
48. 67Thomas commits the believers and Xenophon's flock to the Lord and blesses them before leaving.
49. 68Thomas sets out in the captain's carriage, and the captain asks to drive it himself.
50. 69When the carriage animals give out in the heat, Thomas sends the captain to summon four wild asses in Christ's name.
51. 70The wild asses come and bow to Thomas; four are yoked and the rest are sent back to their pastures.
52. 71The wild asses draw Thomas to the city; the end of the chapter and the start of Thomas's prayer are lost, and the prayer closes with thanks to Christ who bought us with his blood.
53. 73Thomas sends one of the wild asses into the captain's courtyard to summon the demons that torment the women.
54. 74The wild ass addresses the demons as children of Gehenna whose evil nature cannot change.
55. 75The wild ass orders the demon and its son to come out before the crowd and declare their race.
56. 76The demon, recognized by Thomas, compares its father's service to Christ's, is commanded to leave human dwellings, and vanishes, leaving the women as if dead.
57. 78The wild ass urges Thomas not to stand idle but to call on Christ, whose lasting cure of souls surpasses bodily healings.
58. 79The wild ass calls the crowd to believe Christ and his apostle, and warns against false apostles who preach continence and honesty while secretly living in vice.
59. 80Thomas glorifies Christ for his incarnation, death, resurrection, and ascension, calling him the heavenly Word of the Father.
60. 81Thomas prays and the captain's wife and daughter are restored; he sends the wild asses back to their pastures.
61. 82In the Ninth Act, Mygdonia, wife of the king's kinsman Charisius, comes in a litter to hear Thomas; her servants beat the crowd, and Thomas rebukes them.
62. 83Thomas tells Mygdonia's bearers that the Lord's invitation is for them, that slaves and free alike are human, and that his command is not to do to others what we would not have done to ourselves.
63. 84Thomas urges abstinence from adultery and all vice and praises holiness, which here means chastity, as the champion that leads to eternal life.
64. 86Thomas praises gentleness, which conquered death and the enemy, and names holiness, freedom from care, and gentleness as the three marks that portray Christ.
65. 87Mygdonia throws herself at Thomas's feet and begs him to pray that she may receive the seal and become God's temple.
66. 88Thomas tells Mygdonia that beauty, rank, power, and her marriage pass away, but Jesus remains, and sends her home in peace.
67. 89Charisius finds Mygdonia in bed claiming illness, reproaches her for going to hear Thomas, and she refuses to dine with him.
68. 90Mygdonia refuses to dine or sleep with Charisius.
69. 91Charisius dreams that an eagle snatches partridges, a dove, and a turtledove from his table and escapes the king's arrow; Mygdonia calls the dream good.
70. 92Charisius takes a misplaced shoe as an ill omen; Mygdonia says it will turn out well.
71. 93The captain warns Thomas that Mygdonia's husband is harsh and powerful; Thomas answers that if Christ has truly dawned in her, she will fear nothing.
72. 94Mygdonia accepts Thomas's word, and he pronounces beatitudes on the holy, the gentle, and those who hunger for the Lord.
73. 95Mygdonia tells Charisius she has been to a physician of souls; he is angry but afraid to answer her.
74. 96Charisius accuses Thomas of teaching that husbands should not live with their wives and dismisses his asceticism as mere poverty.
75. 97Mygdonia prays for strength to keep her chastity against Charisius.
76. 98When Charisius comes to her, Mygdonia cries to the Lord for help and flees to her nurse wrapped in a curtain.
77. 99Charisius spends the night in grief, resolves to complain to the king at dawn, and laments that the stranger has turned Mygdonia's mind.
78. 100Charisius laments losing Mygdonia within a year of marriage and vows vengeance on the stranger and on Siphor, who brought him.
79. 101Charisius tells King Misdaeus that a Hebrew magician lodged by Siphor teaches husbands and wives to separate, and that his own wife has left him.
80. 102The king summons Siphor, who is found sitting with Thomas and Mygdonia; Thomas tells him to fear nothing and trust Jesus.
81. 103Mygdonia explains that her husband is angry because she refused him; Thomas assures her that Jesus will guide her into his kingdom.
82. 104Siphor tells the king of Thomas's miracles, ascetic life, and teaching about one God and Jesus Christ; the king's soldiers fear the crowd, and Charisius goes himself to seize Thomas.
83. 106Charisius seizes Thomas, who answers that the Lord is greater than the king and his army; Thomas is bound and imprisoned while the king and Charisius plan his death.
84. 107Going to prison, Thomas thanks Jesus that he is counted worthy to suffer and be reviled for his sake.
85. 108In prison Thomas sings the Hymn of the Pearl: a king's son sent from the East to bring back a pearl guarded by a dragon in Egypt forgets himself among the Egyptians and falls asleep.
86. 110In the Hymn of the Pearl the prince's parents learn of his plight and send him a letter calling him to wake and remember his royal birth and his mission.
87. 111Waking at the letter, the prince remembers who he is, overcomes the dragon by his father's name, seizes the pearl, and journeys back toward the East.
88. 112The prince sees his royal garment as a mirror of himself, brought by two treasurers bearing one royal seal and adorned with the image of the king of kings.
89. 113The garment speaks, the prince puts it on, ascends to the land of peace, worships his father, and is received into the royal palace with the pearl.
90. 114Charisius returns home expecting his wife to be restored to him, but finds her with shorn hair and torn clothing.
91. 115Charisius laments his loss of Mygdonia as the loss of everything and renounces the gods who did not help him.
92. 116Charisius pleads with the silent Mygdonia, reminding her that he chose her above all women.
93. 117Mygdonia tells Charisius that Jesus, whom she loves, is better than he and will free her from their former intimacy; after a gap she hides, weighing how to reach the apostle.
94. 119Thomas, freed from prison, appears to the frightened Mygdonia and encourages her.
95. 120Mygdonia asks Thomas for the seal and has her nurse Marcia bring bread, water, and oil.
96. 121Thomas anoints Mygdonia with oil, baptizes her in a spring in the name of the Trinity, and gives her the Eucharist of bread and a cup of water; Marcia too receives the seal.
97. 122Thomas returns to the prison, finds the doors open and the guards asleep, and gives thanks.
98. 123Charisius finds Mygdonia and Marcia praying to be delivered from his madness and urges her to trust him rather than the sorcerer.
99. 124Charisius asks whether he was more handsome to her than Jesus; Mygdonia contrasts her passing earthly marriage with her eternal marriage to Jesus, the true bridegroom.
100. 125Charisius persuades the king first to frighten Thomas into making Mygdonia return to him.
101. 126Before the king, Thomas defends his teaching that those who serve God must be pure and free from bodily pleasures, as a king's servants must be clean.
102. 127The king releases Thomas to persuade Mygdonia to return to her husband; Thomas tells her to obey Charisius, but she refuses, reminding him of his own teaching; Thomas goes to Siphor's house, where Siphor's household asks for the seal.
103. 132Thomas speaks of baptism as forgiveness of sins and new birth, anoints and baptizes Siphor's household in the name of the Trinity, and gives them the Eucharist with a prayer over the bread of life.
104. 134In the Eleventh Act, Misdaeus tells his wife Tertia about Mygdonia and sends her to persuade Mygdonia to return to her husband.
105. 135Tertia finds Mygdonia in sackcloth and ashes and urges her to return to her husband; Mygdonia tells her she has not yet heard the herald of life.
106. 136Tertia asks to be taken to Thomas, hears him, and returns home urging Misdaeus to believe, which enrages him against Charisius.
107. 138Misdaeus blames Charisius, strikes Thomas with a chair, and has him dragged to judgment; the king's son Vazan questions Thomas, who contrasts the temporary kingdom with the eternal King he serves.
108. 140The king has Thomas stand barefoot on red-hot iron plates, but water bursts from the ground and swallows them.
109. 141At the king's plea Thomas prays to the Lord of the waters, and the flood subsides; Thomas is taken back to prison.
110. 142In prison, before Vazan and Siphor's household, Thomas rejoices that the time of his release from earthly cares into the kingdom has come.
111. 143Thomas urges belief in Christ the physician and begins a prayer recalling how Christ kept him from corruption and called him to true wealth and to continence.
112. 144The second form of the opening of Thomas's prayer: Christ kept him through temptation and poverty, and he never married so that God's temple might stay unpolluted.
113. 145Thomas thanks Christ for showing him that earthly wealth is loss and for making him poor, a slave, and a prisoner for his sake, and prays that his labor may not be in vain.
114. 146Thomas's prayer draws on the Lord's parables: the sower and the tares, the vine, the talents and the pounds, the great supper, the wedding garment, the lamps, and the watchful servant.
115. 147Thomas's prayer continues with the images of the watchful servant, the plough, and the white fields ready for harvest.
116. 148Thomas prays that, having overcome the passions and kept watch, he may pass the hostile powers and tax collectors of the heavenly ascent unharmed and stand before the judge.
117. 149Thomas ends his prayer for safe passage to the judge; in the Thirteenth Act the king's son Vazan, married against his will and living in chastity with his wife, asks Thomas to come to his house and give him the seal.
118. 151Tertia, Mygdonia, and Marcia bribe their way into the prison and urge Thomas to flee.
119. 152Tertia tells how the king shut her up with Mygdonia for refusing to give up Thomas's teaching, and asks for the seal.
120. 153Thomas glorifies the many-formed Jesus; the lamps are put out, and he prays that the Lord act swiftly.
121. 154Vazan goes ahead through the opened doors and meets his wife Mnesara, healed and led by an unseen young man.
122. 155Mnesara recognizes Thomas as the one she saw in her dream; the company enters Vazan's house, which is filled with light.
123. 156Thomas prays to Christ, crucified, descended to Hades, and risen, to gather Vazan, Tertia, and Mnesara into his flock and make them temples of the Holy Spirit.
124. 157Thomas blesses the oil, invoking the power of the olive tree akin to the tree of the cross, anoints Vazan and the women, and baptizes them in the name of the Trinity.
125. 158Thomas gives the Eucharist with a prayer that sets each detail of Christ's passion against a gift to the faithful, and a voice from heaven answers Amen.
126. 159Thomas returns to prison with the women; the title of the Martyrdom follows.
127. 160In the Martyrdom, Thomas, returning to prison, takes leave of Tertia, Mygdonia, and Marcia, calling his coming death a release from the body.
128. 161Thomas has the prison doors closed and sealed again, and the guards resolve to report to the king.
129. 162The guards tell the king that the prison doors keep opening and that his wife and son visit Thomas; the king finds the seals intact.
130. 163The king questions the stripped Thomas about his master; Thomas names him Jesus the Christ, Lord of heaven and earth, and the king, fearing the crowd, takes him outside the city.
131. 164The king hands Thomas over to four soldiers and an officer to be speared on a mountain outside the city.
132. 165Led out by four soldiers, Thomas reflects that, made of four elements, he is struck by four, while his Lord, who is from One, was pierced by one; at the place of death he urges the onlookers to believe.
133. 166On the mountain Thomas exhorts the crowd, has Vazan pay the soldiers so that he may pray, and asks the Lord to guide his soul past its enemies.
134. 167Thomas, having been allowed to pray, thanks the Lord that as a slave he now receives freedom; the four soldiers kill him, and the brothers wrap his body.
135. 168The soldiers spear Thomas; he is buried in the tomb of the kings, and he appears to Siphor and Vazan, saying he has gone up and received what he hoped for.
136. 169Thomas appears to Siphor and Vazan and to the women, who resist the king; the believers gather under Siphor, whom Thomas made presbyter, and Vazan, deacon; later Misdaeus resolves to heal his demon-possessed son with the apostle's bone.
137. 170Thomas's bones are gone, taken to Mesopotamia, but dust from his tomb heals the king's son; Misdaeus believes and joins the brothers under the presbyter Siphor; the Acts close with a doxology.