Saint Josaphat is said to have lived and died in the 3rd century or 4th century in India. His story appears to be in many respects a Christianized version of Siddhartha Gautama's story. (2nd century - 3rd century - 4th century - other centuries) Events The Sassanid dynasty of Persia launches a war to reconquer lost lands in the Roman east. ... (3rd century - 4th century - 5th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 4th century was that century which lasted from 301 to 400. ... Christianity is the worlds largest religion. ... Standing Buddha, ancient region of Gandhara, northern Pakistan, 1st century CE. Siddhartha redirects here. ...

According to legend, a King Abenner or Avenier in India persecuted the Christian church in his realm, founded by the Apostle Thomas. When astrologers predicted that his own son would someday become a Christian, Abenner had the young prince Josaphat isolated from external contact. Despite the imprisonment, Josaphat met the hermit Saint Baarlam and converted to Christianity. Josaphat kept his faith even in the face of his father's anger and persuasion. Eventually, Abenner himself converted, turned over his throne to Josaphat, and retired to the desert to become a hermit. Josaphat himself later abdicated and went into reclusion with his old teacher Baarlam. Thomas was one of the 12 apostles of Jesus. ...

The story of Josaphat and Baarlam was popular in the Middle Ages, appearing in such works as the Golden Legend. Although Josaphat and Baarlam were canonized in the Greek Orthodox Church and Roman Catholic Church, there is no evidence that either ever existed. The Middle Ages formed the middle period in a traditional schematic division of European history into three ages: the classical civilization of Antiquity, the Middle Ages, and modern times, beginning with the Renaissance. ... The Golden Legend by Jacobus de Voragine is a collection of fanciful hagiographies, lives of the saints, that became a late mediæval best seller. ... Greek Orthodox Church can refer to: the Orthodox Church of Constantinople, headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople, who is also the first among equals of the Eastern Orthodox Communion. ... Saint Peters Basilica in Rome. ...

Wilfred Cantwell Smith traced the story from a second to fourth-century Sanskrit Mahayana Buddhist text, to a Manichee version, to an Arabic Muslim version, to an eleventh century Christian Georgian version, to a Christian Greek version, and from there into Western European languages. He traced Josaphat's name from the Sanskrit term bodhisattva via the Middle Persian bodasif. Manichaeism was one of the major ancient religions. ... Arabic (العربية) is a Semitic language, closely related to Hebrew and Aramaic. ... A Muslim is a believer in or follower of Islam. ... (10th century - 11th century - 12th century - other centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 11th century was that century which lasted from 1001 to 1100. ... The Sanskrit language ( संस्कृता वाक्) is one of the earliest attested members of the Indo-European language family and is not only a classical language, but also an official language of India. ... Prince Siddhartha Gautama as a bodhisattva, before becoming a Buddha. ...

Author Holger Kersten proposes an alternate explanation: that "Josaphat" is derived from the Arabic "Judasaf" or "Budasaf", as written in an Urdu version of the tale. He ties this name to Yuz Asaf, a Muslim holy figure identified with Jesus. This idea, which proposes Jesus escaped crucifixion and died in India, was first introduced to the west by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad. Yuz Asaf or Yus Asaph is believed, by the Ahmadiyya Muslim Movement and others, to be the name adopted by Jesus after he supposedly survived the crucifixion and subsequently migrated to Kashmir. ... Islam  listen? (Arabic: al-islām) the submission to God is a monotheistic faith, one of the Abrahamic religions, and the worlds second largest religion. ... This 11th-century portrait is one of many images of Jesus in which a halo with a cross is used. ... Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (February 13, 1835–May 26, 1908) was a Muslim religious figure and the founder of the Ahmadiyya religious movement in Islam. ...

See also: List of saints, Saint Josaphat Kuncevyc A small selection of Christian saints are listed below in alphabetical order by Christian name, but if necessary by surname, the place or attribute part of name as well. ... Josaphat Kuncevyc is a martyr and saint of the Roman Catholic Church, born in the little town of Volodymyr in the Volyn region, then part of Lithuania, in 1580 or — according to some writers — 1584; died at Vitebsk in Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth (now in Belarus), 12 November 1623. ...