Travelers

One of the Twelve Apostles, he is best-known for doubting Christ's resurrection when witnesses of the event first told him of it. Upon seeing physical proof of Jesus's wounds, Thomas said, "My Lord and my God". He is believed to have been the only Apostle to travel outside of the Roman Empire to preach the Gospel.

Jude is so named by Luke and Acts. Matthew and Mark call him Thaddeus. He is not mentioned elsewhere in the Gospels, except, of course, where all the apostles are mentioned. Scholars hold that he is not the author of the Letter of Jude. Actually, Jude had the same name as Judas Iscariot. Evidently because of the disgrace of that name, it was shortened to "Jude" in English. Simon is mentioned on all four lists of the apostles. On two of them he is called "the Zealot." He later joined his brother Jude in Persia, where they preached and died as martyrs together.

On a mission from Pope Gregory, Augustine of Canterbury came to England to the pagan Anglo-Saxons in 596, establishing St. Martin, the earliest place of Christian worship in England still in use. Gregory advised Augustine to select established traditions, if appropriate, to the worship; thus began “unity in diversity” of current ecumenical movement.

. . . was the greatest Roman Catholic missionary of modern times. He was instrumental in the establishment of Christianity in many parts of Asia. Born in Spain as the son of nobility, he was sent to study theology. His first mission was to India, then to Malay Archipelago and later Japan. He baptized some 30,000 people. The areas he evangelized in India remain Roman Catholic today.

. . . was born in Lithuania, studied for the rabbinate in Germany, there became a Christian, emigrated to America, trained for the priesthood, and sent by the Episcopal Church to China, where he devoted himself to translating the Bible into Mandarin. He was elected Bishop of Shanghai, founded St. John's University, and began translating the Bible into Wenli (a Chinese dialect). After he developed Parkinson's and was largely paralyzed, he resigned as Bishop of Shanghai, and spent his remaining life completing his Wenli Bible, the last 2000 pages of which he typed with the one finger that he could still move. He said 4 years before his death, "I have sat in this chair for over twenty years. It seemed very hard at first. But God knew best. He kept me for the work for which I am best fitted."