“ Later tradition, originating with the Acta Thomae, and accepted by catholic teachers from the middle of the 4th century, makes him proceed to India and there suffer martyrdom. The Indian king Gundaphar of the Acta is, however, certainly identical with the historical Gondophares, whose dynasty was Parthian, though his realm included regions loosely reckoned to India. The Parthian and Indian missions of Thomas may perhaps therefore be regarded as derived from a single tradition, but it is very doubtful whether it is based on any historical facts. ”

“ In the Gospel of John (xi. 16; xiv. 5; xx. 24 seq.; xxi. 2) he appears in a characteristic light, full of personal devotion and ready to die with his Master, but slow to grasp the true significance of the personality of Jesus, and incredulous of the resurrection till direct evidence convinces him of its truth and at the same time of the Divinity of his risen Lord. ”

“ The oldest extant tradition is that St Thomas did not suffer martyrdom at all (Heracleon ap. Clem. Alex. Strom, iv. 9) . The best investigation of the traditions connecting St Thomas with India is that by W. R. Philipps {Indian Antiquary, 1903, xxxii. 1–15, 145–160) . The ingenious conjectures of von Gutschmid {N. Rhein. Mus. xix. 161 seq.) and Sylvain Lévi {Journ. asiatique, 1897, p. 27 seq.) are greatly weakened by the fact that they do not start from a consideration of the names in their original Syriac form. Bishop Medlycott’s India and the Apostle Thomas (1905) is wholly uncritical. ”