Who were the Apostles who spread Christianity in our homelands?
According to a church history from the 4th century, four men evangelized Mesopotamia, who are: St. Thomas the Apostle (the patron saint of the Church of the East), Addai, Ajjai, and Mari. They evangelized Mesopotamia and all the surrounding area, and thus they are the founders of the Apostolic See of Seleucia–Ctesiphon, “the Patriarchal See of Babylon.” Now let us have a glimpse over each one of these apostles: B.2.1. St. Thomas the Apostle: One of Jesus’ twelve Apostles. He is known to Chaldeans in Aramaic language as “Toma” or “Tyoma” (the Twin of the Lord). He might looked like the Lord Jesus, or might be one of His closest relatives in order to have this privileged name (or nickname). Almost all the church historians consider St. Thomas as the founder and first preacher of Christianity in Mesopotamia! It is confirmed that Thomas preached in India and he became a martyr there too. Eusebius (4th C) says “Thomas evangelized Persia on his way to India”.
