Troparion in Tone 4
Thou wast a disciple of Christ and one of the Twelve,
and by thine unbelief didst proclaim Christ's Resurrection.
By touch thou wast assured of His holy Passion,
O glorious Apostle Thomas.
Pray to Him to grant us peace and mercy.

Kontakion in Tone 4
The grace-filled Apostle and true servant of Christ cried out in repentance: Thou art my Lord and my God.

The Holy and Glorious Apostle Thomas was born in the Galilean city of Pansada and was a fisherman. Hearing the good tidings of Jesus Christ, he left all and followed after Him. The Apostle Thomas is included in the number of the holy Twelve Apostles of the Savior.

According to Holy Scripture, the holy Apostle Thomas did not believe the reports of the other disciples about the Resurrection of Jesus Christ: "Unless I 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" (John 20:25).

On the eighth day after the Resurrection, the Lord appeared to the Apostle Thomas and showed him His wounds. "My Lord and my God," the Apostle cried out (John 20:28). "Thomas, being once weaker in faith than the other apostles," says St John Chrysostom, "toiled through the grace of God more bravely, more zealously and tirelessly than them all, so that he went preaching over nearly all the earth, not fearing to proclaim the Word of God to savage nations."

Some icons depicting this event are inscribed "The Doubting Thomas." This is incorrect. In Greek, the inscription reads, "The Touching of Thomas." In Slavonic, it says, "The Belief of Thomas." When St Thomas touched the Life-giving side of the Lord, he no longer had any doubts.

According to Church Tradition, the holy Apostle Thomas founded Christian churches in

Preaching the Gospel earned him a martyr's death. For having converted the wife and son of the prefect of the Indian city of Meliapur/Melipur, the holy apostle was locked up in prison, suffered torture, and finally, pierced with five spears, he departed to the Lord. Part of the relics of the holy Apostle Thomas are in India, in Hungary and on Mt. Athos. The name of the Apostle Thomas is associated with the Arabian  Icon of the Mother of God (September 6).

Thomas in the Gospel According to Saint John
Saint Thomas appears in a few passages in the Gospel of John.

Many deride Thomas for his unbelief in the resurrection of Christ, thus we have the expression that someone is a "doubting Thomas". But it was through his honest expression of doubt that we were given a greater proof and knowledge of the reality of the bodily resurrection. Thomas touched the wounds of Christ and exclaimed: "My Lord and my God!" (John 20) After Pentecost, the lot fell on Saint Thomas to preach the Gospel in India. He was dismayed at having to journey so far from home, but Christ comforted him. He founded a Church there and converted many to the faith, ordaining priests and bishops. When the Mother of God reposed, the Apostles were miraculously borne to Jerusalem for her funeral. Once again, God used Thomas' late arrival to reveal precious truth. He arrived after Mary had been laid in her tomb. He went to reverence her body, but when they opened the tomb, it was empty. Christ had taken His Mother to his heavenly home. Two of Thomas' converts were the sisters Tertiana and Mygdonia, who were both wives of Indian princes. They were reviled by their husbands for their faith, who then divorced them. Tertiana's husband, Prince Misdaeus, was so outraged with Saint Thomas for baptizing his wife and his son, Iuzanes, that he sent five soldiers after Thomas. They ran him through with their lances.

The Holy Apostle
Saint Thomas