Appendix 7
The Legend af the Tree Trunk
Tradition has been that St. Thomas built two churches one in
Mylapore where he was buried later, and the other some distant
away from it, that is on the present St. Thomas Mount. The latter
building was known to the Syrians as Beth Thuma, the house of
Thomas, the word ‘beth’ meaning ‘house’ in Hebrew and used
much as we speak of a church as a ‘house of God’.
There is a remarkable legend attached to the building of the church
in Mylapore. The wood was taken from a tree trunk, washed up on
the shore. It was so huge that it provided all the timber required.
In itself, this is of course by no means a miraculous event. In every
district by the sea, the inhabitants look out for driftwood and other
materials, grateful for such gifts of God. It seems a similar event
occurred in 1583 when the Jesuits in Madras were building a
church. They could not proceed with the roof, since they did not
have any beams of sufficient length. When they had begun to make
a thatched roof, a tree trunk, long enough for the necessary beams
was washed up near to the church.
It is interesting to trace how the popular imagination has
embellished this story of the tree trunk and handed it down in ever
more exaggerated versions. We shall give the story in its fullest
form, as a typical example of what is usually described as a legend
or folklore. The exaggeration has been laid on so thickly that we
may assume that the most skilful popular storytellers did their best
with it. Perhaps there is some sort of popular humour at the bottom
of it, which has not been recognized as such by scholars in their
studies.
St. Thomas went with several companions to Ceylon known as
Taprobane in ancient times (now Sri Lanka), where according to
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popular belief, the earthly paradise existed, for such was the beauty
of this island. And there St. Thomas had a great tree felled, and
dragged to the shore by his girdle. When they reached the sea,
Thomas said to the tree trunk, “Go now and wait for us in the city
of Mirapolis (Mylapore)”. When the huge tree was washed up on
the shore there, the king ordered his entire army to drag it, but ten
thousand men were not able to pull it out. And Thomas came near
riding on an ass, and called out: “Do not touch the tree trunk, for
it belongs to me!” “ How,” the king asked, “can you prove that this
tree is yours?”. The Apostle untied his belt which he had around his
waist, told his companions to fasten it around the tree, and then he
hauled the tree up with ease. And the king was aghast with
admiration, and gave the saint all the land he could ride round.
Thomas had beams sawn from the timber and made from them the
pillars, roof, doors and window-frames of the church he wished to
build. But when he came to pay the men for their work he had no
money left.
The Christians of that place where afraid, for they were poor and
could not help the Apostle. Thomas however told them: “Have faith
in God. He has given us the timber. He will also provide the money
which we need to pay the labourers.” The apostle had all the
sawdust collected in a great heap, made the sign of the cross over
it, and said to the Christians, “My children take this and sow it over
the land that the Rajah has given to our church!” The sawdust
germinated and grew into a magnificent forest which soon covered
the land. Thomas had the trees felled, sold the wood and paid the
contractors and their workmen.
Just as every legend has some definite event at its core, so too this
story is based on the building of a church or chapel by Thomas. The
original church was demolished and replaced by a new building on
the same site, on several occasions. The wood from this tree was
preserved with great reverence in a separate building. This timber
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was still present at the site in 1545, when St. Francis Xavier visited
Mylapore and was given a crucifix made from it. The doors of the
church, too, held together in an iron framework, were still said to
be of the original timber.
