Saint Dismas

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In Christian tradition, Saint Dismas (sometimes spelled Dysmas or only Dimas, or 
even Dumas), also known as the Good Thief or the Penitent Thief, is the "good 
thief" described in the Gospel of Luke. This unnamed thief, crucified alongside 
Jesus, repents of his sins, and asks Jesus to remember him in his kingdom. The 
name Dismas for this thief dates back to the 12th century, and various 
traditions have assigned him other names.

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:

    39 Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying, "Are you 
not the Messiah? Save yourself and us." 40 The other, however, rebuking him, 
said in reply, "Have you no fear of God, for you are subject to the same 
condemnation? 41 And indeed, we have been condemned justly, for the sentence we 
received corresponds to our crimes, but this man has done nothing criminal." 42 
Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." 43 He 
replied to him, "Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise."

Historically, Jesus was crucified along with two others, though only Luke 
describes one of them as penitent, and even that gospel doesn't name him. Luke's 
unnamed penitent thief was later assigned the name Dismas 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 (the good one) 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: ???).

The church never formally canonized Dismas, though he is regarded as a saint by 
virtue of Jesus saying he would be in Paradise.

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.

According to St. John Chrysostom, Dismas dwelt in the desert and robbed or 
murdered anyone unlucky enough to cross his path. According to Pope Saint 
Gregory the Great he "was guilty of blood, even his brother's blood 
(fratricide)".

Blessed Anne Catherine Emmerich saw the Holy Family "exhausted and helpless", 
according to St. Augustine, St.Peter Damian, the Holy Family met Dismas, in 
these circumstances. Dismas according to St. Augustine said to Jesus, the child: 
" O most blessed of children, if ever a time should come when I shall crave Thy 
Mercy, remember me and forget not what has passed this day. "

Saint Thomas Aquinas: "The words of The Lord (This day....in paradise) must 
therefore be understood not of an earthly or corporeal paradise, but of that 
spiritual paradise in which all may be, said to be, who are in the enjoyment of 
the divine glory. Hence to place, the thief went down with Christ to hell, that 
he might be with Christ, as it was said to him: "Thou shalt be with Me in 
Paradise"; but as to reward, he was in Paradise, for he there tasted and enjoyed 
the divinity of Christ, together with the other saints."

The feast of St. Dismas is 25 March.

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 cinematic portrayals though 
with varying degrees of importance. 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 at 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 disheveled 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 Barabbas, 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.

Third Day's 1995 song "Thief" is presented from the perspective of Dismas.

A major part of Dismas' legacy is one of penance. 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.

== GERMAN ==

Dismas (auch Dysmas, Dimas oder Dumachus; + um 30 in Jerusalem) ist nach der
Legende der Name des mit Jesus hingerichteten Verbrechers oder Schaechers, der
zuletzt am Kreuz Reue gezeigt haben soll. Daf soll ihm Jesus das Paradies
versprochen haben (vgl. (Lk 23,39ff EU)). Der andere, der nicht Reue zeigte,
heisst der Legende nach Gismas oder Kosmas oder aenlich.

Der Name wird in den Evangelien nicht genannt, teste bekannte Erwaehnungen
finden sich in den Acta Pilati.

Im arabischen Kindheitsevangelium aus dem 6. Jahrhundert ist er der Raeuber,
der Josef und Maria auf der Flucht nach Aeypten in sein Haus aufgenommen haben
soll. Deshalb soll ihm bei der Hinrichtung die Gnade der vollkommenen Reue
zuteil geworden sein. Sein Kreuz soll nach Zypern gelangt sein, wo Dismas
besonders verehrt wird.

Dismas wird auf zahlreichen Gemden in der Kreuzigungsszene dargestellt. Auf
mittelalterlichen Gemden erscheint teilweise ein Engel, der seine gerettete
Seele ins Paradies frt. In der orthodoxen Kirche wird Dismas oft auf der
Auferstehungsikone dargestellt, wo er die alttestamentlichen Heiligen anfrt.

Katholischer Gedenktag ist der 25. Marz, orthodoxer der 23. Mz.

Dismas ist Schutzpatron der italienischen Stadt Gallipoli in Apulien. Dismas
gilt als Patron der zum Tode Verurteilten, Gefangenen und Totengraeber. Aus
diesem Grund wurden am Fuss von Galgenbergen teilweise Dismasstatuen
aufgestellt, an denen der Verurteilte vor der Exekution ein letztes Gebet
sprechen konnte.