Testimony
of the Fathers of the Church
St. Ephrem, a great
Father of the Syrian Church
refers to the apostolate and
martyrdom of St. Thomas in
India and how a part of his
relic was taken to Edessa.
Didascalia, (The Teaching of
the Apostles),St. Gregory of
Nazianzen, St. Ambrose of
Milan etc. also refer to the
apostolate of St. Thomas in
India.
The Law of Thomas (Thomayude
Margam)
The most important heritage of
Thomas Christians is the
Christ experience of the
Apostle. He bore witness to
what he saw, heard, touched
and experienced with Jesus. He
knew him as the way, the truth
and the life and he decided to
follow him without any
reserve.
St. Thomas Christians
believed that their life style
and the traditions they
cherished had the approval of
the apostle or rather were
prescribed by him. Hence they
called it the Law of Thomas.
It included all the aspects of
their life: liturgical,
ecclesial, social, cultural
and political. They wanted to
keep it integral. They would
not allow anyone to tamper
with it. This was one of main
areas of contention between
them and the missionaries.
This gave them confidence to
live in the midst of non
Christians and gave them their
identity which was none other
than the way of living their
faith. It is much more than a
written law. This is what is
handed over by the parents to
the children. This is what
this community wants to keep
up so proudly. When the
western missionaries came, the
way of life introduced by them
was known among the St. Thomas
Christians as the “Law of
Peter ”.They considered their
identity as distinct from that
of the Latin Church. This fact
is today acknowledged by the
Church. But the Portuguese
considered this as a tendency.
Towards separatism
From the decrees of the Synod
of Diamper we can see that the
Law of Thomas stood for the
St. Thomas Christians and the
“Law of Peter ” stood for the
Latin rite: “There is a Law of
Thomas and another of Peter;
the Church founded by One is
distinct from the Church
founded by the
other.....,those who belong to
the Law of Peter tried to
destroy the Law of Thomas ”
((Acts II, decree 7).St.
Thomas Christians always tried
defend the Law of Thomas. |
