In Christian tradition, Thomas is most closely linked to early Christianity in India. The Acts of Thomas, a romantic tale of questionable authenticity, provides graphic details of Thomas' arrival and mission in India, where he was hired to build a palace but instead gave the money to the poor.
Local tradition among the "Thomas Christians" of India is that they owe the origins of their faith to St Thomas, who came by sea from Arabia, or came by land from the north. On this, R.E. Frykenberg (A World History of Christianity , India) says that the antiquity of Christian communities in India, along with the origins of Christian institutions, is not easy to identify, trace or understand. While it is clear that Christianity had arrived in India by the second century at the latest, there is no real evidence that links its arrival to the apostle Thomas. If the disciple Thomas did not take Christianity to India, we do not know who was the first missionary to India.
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