Page:Christianity in China, Tartary, and Thibet Volume I.djvu/35

Rh under the name of Meliapour, or the town of peacocks. It has also sometimes been called San Thome; and in the middle ages, the Arabs named it Betama, or Beti-Thoma, the house or church of St. Thomas.

The apostleship of St. Thomas in India appears, therefore, to have been fully believed, not only by the Christians of Europe, but also by the Arabs, the disciples of Mahomet; and the tradition has been especially perpetuated in the kingdoms of Madura and the Carnatic, and many races still glorify themselves on the fact of their ancestors having been enlightened by the apostle. From age to age it has been believed at Meliapour that St. Thomas was put to death on a hill near the town, and the practice of making annual visits to his tomb has been retained. According to the testimony of Father Pons, the Brahmins stated that there were among the books deposited in their library at Cangiapour, some very ancient historical works, in which mention was made of St. Thomas and of his martyrdom, and the place of his burial.

Many facts connected with the epoch of the Portuguese conquest, tend to confirm the tradition of the apostleship and death of St. Thomas in India. Alfonso Albuquerque, whose exploits have procured for him the surname of the Great, seized upon Goa in 1510, and strengthened it by new fortifications. In digging for the foundations of these, a cross of bronze, bearing the image of the crucified Saviour, was found; and placed by the governor in the church, which he built in thanks|thanksgiving}}

India, and deposited at Edessa. But, as we shall see, he spoke only of a part of them. c 4