THE LEGEND OF ST. THOMAS. 
21 
them. Sir W. W. Hunter has made the aflBrmation that 
*' hy the seventh century, the Persian church had adopted 
the name of Thomas Christians ; " and, though the learned 
author does not favour us with a reference to his authorities, 
the statement itself is not surprising ; for the Persian Church, 
previous to the foundation of the church of Malabar, was 
Nestorian, and one of its great schools of theology had its 
seat at Edessa until 489 A.D. ; and the connection of the 
Thomas tradition with Edessa has already been discussed. 
It is evident, therefore, that the memory of Thomas must 
have been a very real thing to the ' Persic school ' of Edessa. 
His very dust was to them the dearest of their possessions, 
and his story would doubtless be rehearsed and embellished, 
at least as often as the 21st of December came round. 
Alumni of the school of Edessa could hardly fail to be 
infected in those days with a certain degree of enthusiasm 
for the memory of St. Thomas, and would publish, in season 
and out of season, with undisguised pride, the fact of their 
having seen the very relies that (as they would imagine) 
had once formed part of his living frame. The tradition, 
presented with all the attractions wherewith enthusiasm 
could invest it, would take a deeper hold on the minds of 
members of the Persian church than even the articles of 
their creed, and we cannot wonder that, when successive 
colonies came and settled in Malabar, they should have 
brought this proud possession with them and should have 
cherished it through all the vicissitudes of their lot, with a 
tenacious affection, even down to the present day. 
But the tradition might possibly have died a natural 
death, had special means not been used to keep it alive. In 
addition to the pleasing belief that one of the twelve apostles 
of our Lord set foot on the land where we dwell, there has 
been a decided stimulus in the ecclesiastical wish to give to 
The Indian Empire, second edition, p. 237. 
