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Today, on August 28, the Armenian Church marks the commemoration of St. Thomas. St. Thomas Apostle (called the Twin) is known from the passage of the Gospel where the other Apostles state that they have seen Rosen Christ, whereas Thomas insists that he won’t believe unless he sees the scars of nails in His hands and puts his fingers on those scars and his hand in His side. A week later Jesus appears in the indoors to the untrusting Apostle. Thomas, believing the miracle, kneels down and says: “My Lord and my God!” When the remaining Apostles hesitate to go with Christ to visit dead Lazarus, as there was a great danger to be stoned, Thomas bravely says to his fellow disciples, “Let us all go along with the Teacher, so that we may die with him!”

According to the tradition St. Thomas Apostle has preached the Word of God in Parthia and India and has been martyred and buried in Madras.

August 28 also marks the commemoration of Sts. James and Simon Apostles. The Apostle James son of Alphaeus has preached the Gospel in the Southern parts of Palestine and in Egypt, where he has been martyred. St. Simon the Patriot Apostle is famous as “Simon of Canaan”, which also means “Zealous”. There was a grouping with that name among the Jews, who without making distinctions between means struggled against the foreign Roman yoke and for eliminating the betraying and fond of foreigners Jews. St. Simon has preached and has been martyred in Persia.