Saint Dismas
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| Saint Dismas | |
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| The Good Thief | |
| Died | c. 33 A.D., Golgotha Hill outside Jerusalem |
| Venerated in | Eastern Orthodox Church Roman Catholic Church |
| Feast | March 25 |
| Attributes | Wearing a loincloth and holding his cross; sometimes, standing in Paradise |
| Patronage | prisoners, especially condemned prisoners; undertakers; repentant thieves; Merizo, Guam |
 Saints Portal |
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Saint Dismas (sometimes spelled Dysmas or only Dimas, or even Dumas), also known as the Good Thief or the Penitent Thief, is the apocryphal name given to one of the two "thieves" (Matthew 27:38) who was crucified alongside Jesus, repented of his sins, and asked Jesus to remember him in his kingdom.
The two men were crucified at the same time as Jesus, one on his right hand, and one on his left (Matthew 27:38, Mark 15:27-28, Luke 23:33, John 19:18), which Mark interprets as fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah 53:12. According to Matthew, both of the "thieves" at first mocked Jesus (Matthew 27:44); Luke however, mentions only that one of the "thieves" mocked him (Luke 23:39). According to the Gospel of Luke 23:39-43:
[O]ne of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, "If thou be Christ, save thyself and us." ♦ But the other answering rebuked him, saying, "Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? ♦ And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss." ♦ And he said unto Jesus, "Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." ♦ And Jesus said unto him, "Verily I say unto thee, today shalt thou be with me in paradise." (KJV)
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[edit] Thief or Rebel?
It should be noted that, regardless of pious legends that developed later on, the two men crucified alongside Christ were not thieves at all. A careful reading of the original Greek language texts of the Gospels show that the Evangelists record the men at Jesus' side as being "Lestoi" or rebels. Pontius Pilate was not sentencing them to death for mere theft but for sedition, the punishment for which was automatic execution so as to terrify people into submission. Thus the two men sent to death alongside Jesus were two of many anti-Roman Jews killed during Roman rule of the Iudaea Province and freedom fighters, not thieves. However, Zealots and Sicarii rebels were seen by the people of their own time as boorish extremists causing more harm than good by angering Rome and even as indirectly responsible for the destruction of Jerusalem and the destruction of the Second Temple. Modern political analysts have called them terrorists. Even though the historical "Dismas" was in fact not a thief, he still would have led a violent life (if a Zealot or Sicarii, would have lived a life of terror and assassination) that he was sorry to have led.
[edit] "Dismas?"
It should be noted that the man in question has no known name. In that the canonical Gospels were meant to be primarily a record of Jesus' life, none of the Evangelists, not even Luke who recorded the man's repentance, ever bothered learning his name. From their point of view, he simply did not matter and if he did matter, it was only in relation to Jesus as Luke records. Even if they had wanted to, by the time the Gospels were written the Evangelists had no way of investigating the life of a nameless criminal.
Regardless, later embellishments of the story elaborated on the otherwise anonymous "good thief." Dismas is his best known psuedonym and appears first in the twelfth century in the Gospel of Nicodemus. The name of "Dismas" was adapted from a Greek word meaning "sunset" or "death." The other thief's name is given as Gestas. The apocryphal Arabic Infancy Gospel calls the two thieves Titus and Dumachus, and adds a tale about how Titus (Dismas) prevented the other thieves in his company from robbing Mary and Joseph during their Flight into Egypt. In the Russian tradition the Good Thief's name is Rakh (Russian: Рах).
[edit] Theological significance
Though never canonized by the church, "Dismas" carries the distinction of being the only human to be canonized by Jesus himself, if by 'canonized' one means the formal recognition of a person's place in heaven. According to tradition, the Good Thief was crucified to Jesus' right hand, and the other thief was crucified to his left. For this reason, depictions of the crucifixion often show Jesus' head inclined to his right, showing his acceptance of the Good Thief. In the Russian Orthodox Church, both crucifixes and crosses are usually made with three bars: the top one, representing the titulus (the inscription that Pontius Pilate wrote and was nailed above Jesus' head; the longer crossbar on which Jesus' hands were nailed; and a slanted bar at the bottom representing the footrest to which Jesus' feet were nailed. The footrest is slanted, pointing up towards the Good Thief, and pointing down towards the other.
The biblical account of the repentant thief is foundational to the teaching of the church regarding Baptism of desire, whereby one who desires baptism, but is prevented by circumstances beyond his control from actually being baptized, may be saved by the grace and mercy of God. Traditionalist Catholics who argue that the Church has never taught Baptism of Desire say that the Dismas died and was saved under the Old Law, not under the New Law in which all must be baptized.
[edit] Legacy
Patriarch Theophilus of Alexandria (385-412) wrote a Homily on the Crucifixion and the Good Thief, which is a classic of Coptic literature.
In the Eastern Orthodox Church, one of the most moving hymns of Good Friday is entitled, The Good Thief (or The Wise Thief, Church Slavonic: Razboinika blagorazumnago), and speaks of how Christ granted Dismas Paradise. There are several moving compositions of this hymn which are used in the Russian Orthodox Church and form one of the highlights of the Matins service on Good Friday.
In medieval art, St Dismas is often depicted as accompanying Jesus in the Harrowing of Hell as related in 1 Peter 3:19–20 and the Apostles' Creed (though neither text mentions the thief).
A number of towns, including San Dimas, California, are named after him, and the Christian rock band Dizmas named themselves after the "good thief" in recognition of his decision on the Cross to follow Christ. There also exist parish churches named after him, such as the Church of the Good Thief in Kingston, Ontario, Canada.
As part of Christ's story Dismas often appears in cinimatic portrayals though with varying degrees of importace. He sometimes appears as just a background character whose presence in the film is limited to his role in Luke's Gospel, if that much. One exception was Cecil B. Demille's 1927 The King of Kings where his fate is compared to Jesus'. While in one scene people are mourning for Jesus as He is en route to Golgotha, in the next scene the very same people are throwing garbage as Dismas and Gestas, the "bad thief." Later when all three men are crucified, Dismas defends Jesus from Gestas' insults and asks to be forgiven for his own crimes. Jesus forgives Dismas. Later when the two men are dead, Mary is mourning at the foot of her Son's cross. She notices that at the foot of Dismas' cross is a disshiveled old woman crying for Dismas. The old woman says "He was my son." The two mothers embrace and console each other.
In 1961's King of Kings, Dismas and Gestas, along with Barrabas, are awaiting their fates. Dismas and Gestas are appalled when Barrabbas compares himself to them. They say "We're only thieves! You're a murderer!" (He and Gestas say this regardless of the fact that there is every chance that the real "Dismas" was just as violent as Barrabas and no mere thief. This is ironic considering that this King of Kings emphasized the political climate of first century Israel.)
A major part of Dismas' legacy is one of pennance. Though a rebel and perhaps even a terrorist and not a thief, the fact that he did live a wicked life and was sorry for that life means that the traditional moral drawn from his story is still intact. Symbolic of this it is very common for prison chapels to be dedicated to Saint Dismas, since he represents not only the epitome of a repentant malefactor, but also God's willingness to forgive even at the last moment. This is meant to convey that with the love of God, it is never too late.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Patron Saints: Dismas
- The Wise Thief hymn from Eastern Orthodox Good Friday service (in English)
