Thomas

Vinklen i apostlen Thomas'  venstre hånd symboliserer den vantro Thomas, der kun vil tro, hvad han ser, når han kan måle det. Modelleret af G. Teneran.

Figur
Thomas støtter hovedet i sin ene hånd og bærer en vinkel over den anden skulder. Vinkelen, der bla. er håndværkernes redskab til at sikre sig ordentligt byggeri, hentyder til at Thomas var tvivleren, der kun turde tro på det der kunne måles – altså bevises.

Historien
Thomas (der betyder ”tvilling”), troede ikke at Jesus var stået op af graven. Da de andre apostle fortalte, at de havde set den opstande Jesus, svarede han: ”Hvis jeg ikke ser naglemærker i hans hænder og stikker min finger i naglemærkerne og stikker min hånd i hans side tror jeg det ikke”.

Da de senere var samlet, kom Jesus pludseligt og sagde til Thomas: ”Ræk din finger frem, her er mine hænder og ræk din hånd frem og stik den i min side og vær ikke vantro men troende”. Da han havde gjort det og erkendt, at Jesus var hans Herre og Gud, svarede Jesus: ”Du tror fordi du har set mig. Salige er de, som ikke har set og dog tror”.

Flere tekster er tilskrevet Thomas og legenden fortæller, at han grundlagde den kristne kirke i Indien. Han var blevet kaldet dertil som ingeniør for at opføre et palads for den indiske konge, men han brugte kongens penge på de fattige, der lod sig døbe i stort tal. Thomas sagde, at kongen på denne måde ville gøre sig fortjent til et stort palads i Himlen, men det faldt ikke i nåde. Thomas blev stenet til døde og gennemboret af en lanse.

Fakta
Figuren modelleres i slutningen af 1821 af Giuseppe Tenerani efter Thorvaldsens skitse lavet samme år.  Figuren er opsat i marmor i 1838.

Apostlen Thomas i Vor Frue Kirke af billedhugger Bertel Thorvaldsen. Foto: Jakob Faurvig

English

Thomas the Apostle

The statue
Thomas is supporting his head with one hand and carrying a square over his shoulder. The square, which is a tool used by craftsmen to ensure proper building, references Thomas as the doubter, who only dared to believe what he was able to measure – meaning prove.

The story
Thomas (which means “twin”) did not believe that Jesus had risen from the tomb. When the other apostles told him that they had seen the resurrected Jesus, he replied: “Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe”. When they were gathered later on, Jesus suddenly appeared and said to Thomas: “put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas said to him, “My Lord and my God!” Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed”.

Several texts attributed to Thomas and the legend says that he founded the Christian church in India. He was called there as an engineer to build a palace for the Indian king, but instead he used the king’s money to help the poor, who were baptised in huge numbers. Thomas said that thereby the king had earned a grand palace in Heaven, but that did not sit well with the king. Thomas was stoned to death and stabbed by a lance.

The facts
The statue was sculpted in the end of 1821 by Giuseppe Tenerani according to Thorvaldsen’s sketch made the same year. The statue was put up in marble in 1838.