MS M.106 fol. 88v, Pierpont Morgan Library, New York
--from Emily Dickinson's Master Letters
....and i always thought thomas was the saint of proof. but remember, he is called doubting thomas for a reason.
he must experience -- find his proof -- in order to believe.
--April D. De Conick, The Original Gospel of Thomas in Translation. The Gospel of Thomas was believed to be a "false gospel" by the early church, and not included in the Bible. It was (re)discovered near Nag Hammadi, Egypt, in December 1945, in one of a group of books known as the Nag Hammadi library.
"That the Doubting Thomas ampullae [flasks] were created to evoke a popular holy site or revered relic seems unlikely, since none of the early pilgrim texts makes more than a passing reference to the fact that the event was thought to have taken place at Holy Sion; moreover, the inscriptions on both flasks leave no doubt that they, like the others, contained sanctified oil from the Golgotha Cross. It seems more probable to suppose that the portayal of this scene on this object was intended to remind the pilgrim of the Gospel account of Thomas' incredulity [..] Doubting Thomas provides an obvious biblical parallel for the pilgrim and his own experience. Significantly, the words on the flask, “My Lord and My God," are those which come from Thomas' lips at the moment when, like a pilgrim, he touches and believes."
--from Gary Vikan's brilliant essay, "Byzantine Pilgrimage Art", which can be read here.
Doubting Thomas Pilgrim Ampulla (Flask), note the DIAMOND -- Monza, Treasury of the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist (Jerusalem ca. 600)
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