India on St. Thomas 1964
A commemorative postage stamp on Saint Thomas, the Apostle (Doubting Thomas), patron saint of India, introduced christianity in India :
Issued by India
Issued on Dec 2, 1964
Issued for : The P & T Department was happy to issue the St. Thomas stamp on the occasion of the first visit of His Holiness Pope Paul VI to India to attend the 38th International Eucharistic Congress, which was convened at Bombay.
Design : The stamp which is being issued in honour of St. Thomas is in the denomination of 15 Paise and carries a picture of his silver bust which is in the Ortona Cathedral in Italy.
Type : Stamp, Mint Condition
Colour : Red purple
Denomination : 0.15
Overall Size : 3.3 x 2.46 cms.
Printing Size : 2.99 x 2.1 cms.
Perforation : 13½ x 14
Watermark : Printed on unwatermarked paper
Number Printed : 3.5 million
Set : 54 stamps per issue sheet
Printing Process : Photogravure
Designed and printed at :India Security Press
Name : Thomas
Born on 1st century AD at Galilee, Israel
Died on Dec 21, 72 AD at Mylapore, Tamil Nadu, India
About :
- The Indian Posts and Telegraphs Department issued a special postage stamp in commemoration of Saint Thomas, one of the Twelve Apostles of Christ, on the 2nd December 1964, which coincides with the arrival of His Holiness Pope Paul VI in India.
- A completely authentic historical account of life of St. Thomas Didymus, one of the Twelve Apostles of Christ, introduced Christianity into India. Experts generally agree that he took the northwestern route to India and arrived about 52 A.D. He then proceeded to the southern coast and preached the Christian faith among the people of South India. There are some ancient monuments in Southern India, which are connected with St. Thomas. Chief among these are the St. Thomas Mount where, it is said, he met his death and the San Thome Cathedral at Madras, which has been reacted on the spot where he was buried.
