To Lord Yeshua be all glory!
Welcome to the official web site of “Via, Veritas, Vita“- a documentary that chronicles the evangelism ministry of Apostle Saint Thomas in India, based on the teachings of Lord Jesus, which imminently ended with Apostle Thomas’ martyrdom.
Apostle Saint Thomas was one of the 12 disciples chosen by Jesus for his earthly ministry that lasted around 3 years. Apostle Saint John had made marked reference to Apostle Thomas, who appears actively in John’s Gospel immediately before the account of the raising of Lazarus from the dead. Lord Jesus had just fled for Perea from Jerusalem to escape stoning and seizure by the Jews. Upon the request of the grieving sisters of Lazarus- Martha and Mary of Bethany- to visit them to cure the illness of Lazarus, Lord Jesus had decided to go back to Jerusalem/Judea to visit Lazarus. The disciples were startled by Jesus’ decision because the Jews in Judea were threatening to stone Jesus and dissuaded Jesus from undertaking the perilous journey. Thereupon the forthright Apostle Thomas said: “Let us go too, and be killed along with him.”
During the Last Supper, when Jesus let His disciples know that He was soon to leave them, it was the ardent follower of the Master again, who came out with “Lord, we do not know where Thou art going; how are we to know the way there?“, which called forth the quick and memorable response from Lord Jesus:
Jesus saith unto him [Apostle Thomas], I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
John 14:6
The origin of “Doubting” Thomas is well known- Apostle Thomas was not with the other disciples when Lord Jesus, who gloriously rose from the dead, appeared to them. When the other disciples told Apostle Thomas- “we have seen the Lord,” he said to them, “Until I have seen the mark of the nails on his hands; until I have put my finger into the mark of the nails and put my hand into His side, you will never make me believe.”
Eight days later, Lord Jesus appeared before the disciples and Apostle Thomas and said unto Thomas: “Reach hither thy finger and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing”.
24 But Thomas, one of the twelve, called Didymus, was not with them when Jesus came.
25 The other disciples therefore said unto him, We have seen the Lord. But he said unto them, Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe.
26 And after eight days again his disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.
John 20: 24-27
27 Then saith he to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing.
Thomas doubted the resurrection of Christ unless he were to touch the wounds of the risen Lord (hence “doubting” Thomas)- he was to see and comprehend the glorious body of the risen/resurrected Christ Jesus, objectively, falling to his knees, Apostle Thomas proclaimed to Lord Jesus: “my Lord, My God“- the first disciple to confess so explicitly the Lord’s divinity.
Just before Lord Jesus ascended to heaven He appeared, for the last time, to all the eleven disciples; Apostle Thomas was one of the eleven disciples chosen by Lord and Savior Yeshua–Jesus Christ– and commissioned/instructed by Christ (“Great Commission“) to spread His gospel/message and make disciples of all nations.
16 Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them.
Matthew 28:16,18-20
18 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
According to historical facts, ancient narratives, testimonies, customs and traditions, Apostle Thomas preached the message of Lord Jesus in Iran, (current region of) Pakistan, Afghanistan, India- during the reign of Indo-Parthian King Gondophares– and China (perhaps, along with another disciple, of Jesus, Bartholomew).
Apostle Thomas visited India around 52 AD and evangelized to- the Syrian Christians of Malabar, in the Southwest region of India (currently the State of Kerala), the Deccan Plateau region and in the Southeast region of India (currently the State of Tamil Nadu). The Syrian Christians of India to this day call themselves “Mar Thoma Christians” (Saint Thomas Christians or Syrian Christians of India).
In all narratives about the apostolate of Saint Thomas in Kerala, Kodungallur is mentioned as the first of the seven (“and a half”) churches/Christian communities founded by Apostle Thomas in Malabar, present day Kerala. Apostle Thomas visited the current state of Tamil Nadu several times and established his ministry there until his martyrdom there in Mylaipore (currently Mylapore); it is no coincidence that Mylaipore translates to “Peacock Town” where Peacock is the symbology for Christ’s resurrection; unfortunately, as it has been done time and again and relentlessly- historical revisionists have cleansed and hid a much deeper and pervasive evangelistic history of Lord Jesus.
Apostle Thomas was martyred in South India- killed by local soldiers with spears, on St. Thomas Mount (in the State of Tamil Nadu) about 16 years after he had landed in the Malabar Coast (Kerala)- for the great divine cause, where to this day millions of believers follow Lord Jesus thanks to the ministry and legacy of Apostle Saint Thomas.
Ten out of the eleven disciples of Lord Jesus Christ were martyred at the hands of their persecutors while preaching the message of Lord Jesus and His divinity:
1. Peter went to Antioch and Rome- crucified upside down
2. Andrew travelled to Scythia and Greece crucified in Petras on an X shaped Cross
3. James the Greater preached in Spain, martyred by sword in Jerusalem
4. Philip went to Phrygia, in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), crucified upside down
5. Bartholomew preached in Armenia, India and China (along with Apostle Thomas); he was skinned alive and beheaded in Armenia
6. Thomas preached in Indo-Parthian region (Persia, Afghanistan, Pakistan and India) and China. He was killed with spears in Southern India (Chennai)
7. Matthew spread the Word in Ethiopia, was stabbed to death
8. James the less, stayed in Jerusalem, was stoned and thrown from the temple
9. Thaddeaus/Jude, travelled to Syria and Mesopotamia, filled with arrows and martyred in Beirut
10. Simon the Zealot, preached in North Africa, stabbed with a sword and martyred
11. Matthias, who replaced (Acts 1:23-26) the betrayer Judas (who had committed suicide by hanging from a tree), went to the Caspian region, was stoned in beheaded/crucified in Judea.
Apostle John, who wrote the Revelation, stayed in Ephesus, exiled to the island of Patmos died a natural death, but persecuted throughout for his evangelistic ministry of Christ. Why would the Apostles and hundreds of millions of Christians, since the resurrection of Jesus, endure brutal persecution, lay down their lives and often martyr, often in very gruesome manner, for the Lord Jesus! Persecution of Christians continues to this day- Christianity is the most persecuted religion on earth- since the crucifixion of Jesus, millions of Christians have been killed and persecuted; empires and nations have been cleansed through genocides because of their faith in Jesus Christ. Why would anti-christians, satanists, historical tyrants and revisionists persecute, maim, kill, war, genocide and cleanse Christians (their culture, evidence and beliefs)- unabated– for more than 2000 years, since the resurrection of Christ, despite being the most peace-loving people!?
The documentary- “Via, Veritas, Vita” (Way, Truth, Life)- follows the journeys of Apostle Thomas in Southern India (Kerala and Tamil Nadu) where he established his churches and preached the Word and Divinity of Jesus, where to this day millions of believers follow Jesus thanks to the ministry and legacy of Apostle Thomas.
Peace be with you- God bless!
-jsmags
Lord Yeshua, Son of God, have mercy on me a sinner.
non nobis domine, non nobis, sed nomini tuo da gloriam
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