The Acts of Thomas

Complete Edition

The Acts of Thomas describes the apostle Thomas’s mission to India — sold as a slave to an Indian king, building not palaces but spiritual mansions in heaven. The text contains the Hymn of the Pearl, an extended allegory of the soul’s exile and return that stands among the great poetic achievements of late antiquity: a prince sent from the East forgets his mission in Egypt, is awakened by a letter

Codex Digital EditionComing soonEdition currently in preparation

Edition068

FormatDigital PDF

Editorial statusIn review

TraditionLost Scripture

Before you read

Context without the mythology.

Codex ISO separates the surviving evidence from later interpretation, so you can encounter the text without being told what to believe about it first.

01 / Historical context

3rd century Syriac text. The Apostle Thomas’s mission to India. Contains the Hymn of the Pearl — one of the greatest allegorical poems of the ancient world. Condemned as Gnostic.

02 / Why it matters

Thomas went to India. He was murdered for it. This is his account.

From / associated with the text

““I am not the bridegroom, but I am the servant of the bridegroom; for I am not worthy to loose the latchet of his sandals.””

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Source before story.

We identify the edition, translation and surviving evidence; distinguish documentation from tradition; and state uncertainty rather than turning it into a sales claim.

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Continue the archive

The Acts of Thomas

Context without the mythology.

Source before story.

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