Page 25 - Apostle News Today

>> the christians were subjected to exquisite tortures. what he meant by that was that they were the victims of elaborate executions and consumption by wild beasts and of course, crucifixion. >> according to third century writer tutilian, peter gets caught up in neros persecutions in rome. the apostle is sentenced to be crucified. [ screams ] but according to later catholic tradition, peters crucifixion is very different to that of jesus.

Southwest india. around 7 million christians here trace their faith directly to the apostle famous for his doubt. they believe their ancestors were baptized by one of jesus 12 disciples, thomas. >> stop doubting and believe. >> my lord, my god. >> thomas vanishes from the new testament after the resurrection. but his story is taken up by a third century epic narrative. the acts of thomas. >> now it seems that the acts of thomas contains at least some

Triple positively charged through here. they are going 50 million miles an hour. >> in india, a tradition preserved in song, dance and the acts of thomas tells how the apostle came here to spread the word of jesus in the first century. >> i think its possible, even plausible that thomas went to india because we know that this was a fairly well trod route and we have a text that explains thomass evangelical mission to india, and we have a community in this corner of india that goes back to antiqu...

>> jesus told the apostles, go out of jerusalem and preach the good news. so thomas decided to go to india. >> is it possible the disciple famous for his lack of faith brought a form of christianity here? nearly 2,000 years ago. in the bible, the resurrected jesus leaves his disciples with a final mission. >> go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. >> while an apostle needs to be sent and christ commissions them to go ...

Frankly, the followers of jesus would have gone down ihistory as a sect of judaism. >> its one of the great ironies of the way we talk about thomas that we call him doubting thomas when actually we should call him faithful thomas because whats happened is hes gone on his journey and in the end he makes the right decision. he comes to faith. >> my lord, my god. >> doubting thomas may be the perfect apostle because he in a sense represents all of us. we all have doubts in the spiritual life and al...

Tradition that places peter in the eternal city, nickola densi has come to sebastian, central rome. >> im in a particular part of sebastian right now. and used to be called the memorial of apostle. that was an ancient basilica and alongside one part of the basilica there was a dining hall where people would do feasts for dead ancestors on particular days and by the fourth century, we know that they started coming on the feast day associated with peter, and they would scratch things into the wall...

Oral tradition about thomas going to india is just how similar all of the stories are. we dont often find these kinds of similar traditions in any particular region. particularly a region so far away from where thomas started. the fact that everyone tells the same story about thomas for 1,500 years suggests that there might be a historical kernel of truth here. >> according to tradition, thomas sets off on what will be his final journey. the acts of thomas also says the apostle moves on. >> he m...

Its coming out at 250 to 340 a.d. so its old, but its not as old as st. peter. so its not st. peter the apostle, george, who is it? >> it may be a case of mistaken identity. there was another martyr kled s -- called st. peter, just not the apostle. however, this doesnt get us closer to resolving the mystery whether st. peter visited rome, or what the status of the vatican bones are. for that, we need to go and sample that material. >> but with no access to the bones found beneath the vatican, it...

Where thomas started his mission to bring the teachings of jesus to india? >> we know that there were jewish communities there in india and that part of india as part of the trade networks early on for the first century. >> one of the important strands of thomas work is the fact that he didnt come to minister to the jewish community. >> this is my body. >> this is my body. >> because as a jew himself, he felt that he is bringing this new way of relating with god. >> i think thomas would make the...

Sensation. >> 2013 was a year of faith and as part of an extra kind of reward for pilgrims who had come, pope francis displayed these nine bones and hes essentially making the claim hes holding right there the bones of the person who founded the church in rome, st. peter. >> the revelation of st. peters bones makes headlines around the world. >> this is something that has never happened before. the vatican this morning publicly displayed whats believed to be bone fragments from st. peter an apos...