Thaddaeus of Edessa (Addai)

When was Thaddaeus active?

Thaddaeus of Edessa (Addai) is dated fl. mid-1st c.; d. 1st century (traditional) in the archive, which places Thaddaeus in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.

Which early sources mention Thaddaeus?

Thaddaeus of Edessa (Addai) is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from The Church of the East, Eusebius of Caesarea and The Edessene tradition. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.

Where was Thaddaeus from?

The archive associates Thaddaeus of Edessa (Addai) with Jerusalem, Edessa. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.

Who were Thaddaeus’ contemporaries?

The archive links Thaddaeus of Edessa (Addai) to 4 other figures, including Thomas the Apostle, King Abgar V of Edessa, Mar Mari and Judas son of James (Thaddaeus). Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.

After the ascension of Jesus, Judas, who was also called Thomas, sent to him Thaddeus, an apostle, one of the Seventy… and when he was come he healed him.

Thy city shall be blessed, and no enemy shall again become master of it for ever.

The Syriac Doctrina Addai, the Edessene foundation legend in its developed form, c. AD 400, which carries the Abgar correspondence and the blessing on the city. English translation by Benjamin Plummer Pratten in Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 8 (1886), public domain; Syriac text with facing translation also in George Phillips, The Doctrine of Addai, the Apostle (London, 1876).