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| "The Apostle" |
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| Collection of art depicting the Apostle Paul (Saul of Tarsus)! |
| " If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." John 8:31-32 (NASB) |
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"The Apostle Mark"
The Holy Apostle and Evangelist Mark, also known as John Mark (Acts 12:12), was one of the Seventy Apostles, and was also a nephew of St Barnabas (June 11). He was born at Jerusalem. The house of his mother Mary adjoined the Garden of Gethsemane. As Church Tradition relates, on the night that Christ was betrayed he followed after Him, wrapped only in a linen cloth. He was seized by soldiers, and fled away naked, leaving the cloth behind (Mark 14:51-52). After the Ascension of the Lord, the house of his mother Mary became a place where Christians gathered, and a place of lodging for some of the Apostles (Acts 12:12).
St Mark was a very close companion of the Apostles Peter and Paul (June 29) and Barnabas. St Mark was at Seleucia with Paul and Barnabas, and from there he set off to the island of Cyprus, and he traversed the whole of it from east to west. In the city of Paphos, St Mark witnessed the blinding of the sorcerer Elymas by St Paul (Acts 13:6-12).
After working with the Apostle Paul, St Mark returned to Jerusalem, and then went to Rome with the Apostle Peter. From there, he set out for Egypt, where he established a local Church.
St Mark met St Paul in Antioch. From there he went with St Barnabas to Cyprus, and then he went to Egypt again, where he and St Peter founded many churches. Then he went to Babylon. From this city the Apostle Peter sent an Epistle to the Christians of Asia Minor, in which he calls St Mark his son (1 Pet 5:13).
When the Apostle Paul came to Rome in chains, St Mark was at Ephesus, where St Timothy (January 4) was bishop. St Mark went with him to Rome. There he also wrote his holy Gospel (ca. 62-63).
From Rome St Mark traveled to Egypt. In Alexandria he started a Christian school, which later produced such famous Fathers and teachers of the Church as Clement of Alexandria, St Dionysius of Alexandria (October 5), St Gregory Thaumatourgos (November 5), and others. Zealous for Church services, St Mark composed a Liturgy for the Christians of Alexandria.
St Mark preached the Gospel in the inner regions of Africa, and he was in Libya at Nektopolis.
During these journeys, St Mark was inspired by the Holy Spirit to go again to Alexandria and confront the pagans. There he visited the home of Ananias, and healed his crippled hand. The dignitary happily took him in, listened to his words, and received Baptism.
Following the example of Ananias, many of the inhabitants of that part of the city where he lived were also baptized. This roused the enmity of the pagans, and they wanted to kill St Mark. Having learned of this, St Mark made Ananias a bishop, and the three Christians Malchos, Sabinos, and Kerdinos were ordained presbyters to provide the church with leadership after his death.
The pagans seized St Mark when he was serving the Liturgy. They beat him, dragged him through the streets and threw him in prison. There St Mark was granted a vision of the Lord Jesus Christ, Who strengthened him before his sufferings. On the following day, the angry crowd again dragged the saint through the streets to the courtroom, but along the way St Mark died saying, "Into Your hands, O Lord, I commend my spirit!
"The Apostle Luke"
the author of both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles, the third and fifth books of the New Testament. In Catholicism, he is patron saint of painters, physicians and healers, and his feast day is October 18.
His earliest notice is in Paul's Epistle to Philemon, verse 24. He is also mentioned in Colossians 4:14 and 2 Timothy 4:11, two works commonly ascribed to Paul. Our next earliest account of Luke is in the Anti-Marcionite Prologue to the Gospel of Luke, a document once thought to date to the 2nd century AD, but more recently has been dated to the later 4th century.
Luke is a Syrian of Antioch, a Syrian by race, a physician by profession. He had become a disciple of the apostles and later followed Paul until his [Paul's] martyrdom. Having served the Lord continuously, unmarried and without children, filled with the Holy Spirit he died at the age of 84 years.
Some manuscripts add that Luke died "in Thebes, the capital of Boeotia". All of these facts support the conclusion that Luke was associated with Paul.
Later tradition elaborates on these few facts. Epiphanius states that Luke was one of the Seventy!
"The Apostle Peter"
A Galilean fisherman, he (with his brother Andrew) was literally "called" by Jesus to be a disciple. Above all the other disciples, Peter was assigned a leadership role by Jesus (Matt 16:18; John 21:15–16); and indeed, his supremacy within the early Church is recognized by many such as St Clement of Rome (1st Epistle to the Corinthians,1,59:1) St Iranaeus (Adversus Haereses 3:3:20).
Simon Peter is considered a saint by many Christians, and the first Pope by the Roman Catholic Church, including its Eastern Rites.
Other Christian denominations recognize his office as Bishop of Antioch and later Bishop of Rome, but do not hold that his episcopacy had primacy over other episcopates elsewhere in the world. Other opinions are that his primacy was merely that of a first among equals; that he held a mere primacy of honour; or that his primacy was indended to last only during his lifetime. Still others do not view Peter as having held the office of bishop or overseer, holding that the office of bishop was a development of later Christianity. Furthermore, many Protestants do not use the title of "saint" in reference to him.
The Roman Martyrology gives June 29, ca. 64 as his date of death. Some scholars believe that he died on October 13, 64. He is traditionally believed to have been sentenced to death by crucifixion by the Roman authorities. According to a tradition recorded or perhaps initiated in the apocryphal Acts of Peter, he was crucified upside down. Tradition also locates his burial place the place where Basilica of Saint Peter was later built, holding that his body lies in the catacomb beneath the Basilica's high altar. In art, he is often depicted holding the keys to the kingdom of heaven.
"The Apostle Timothy"
Timothy was Paul of Tarsus's companion on many of his journeys. His mother, Eunice, and his grandmother, Lois, are noted as eminent for their piety (2 Tim 1:5). We know nothing of his father but that he was a Greek (Acts 16:1). Timothy is first mentioned at the time of Paul's second visit to Lystra (16:2), where he probably resided, and where it seems he was converted during Paul's first visit to that place (1 Tim 1:2; 2 Tim 3:11). Paul, having been impressed by his "own son in the faith", arranged that he should become his companion (Acts 16:3), and personally circumcised him because his mother was of the Jewish faith, so that he might be accepted by the Jews. He was ordained (1 Tim 4:14), and went with Paul in his journey through Phrygia, Galatia and Mysia; also to Troas, Philippi, Berea (Acts 17) and Corinth (Acts 18:5).
According to later tradition, Paul ordained Timothy as Bishop of Ephesus in the year 65, where he served for 15 years. In the year 80, Timothy tried to halt a pagan procession of idols, ceremonies and songs. In response to his preaching of the Gospel, the angry pagans beat him, dragged him through the streets and stoned him to death. In the 4th century, his relics were transferred to the Church of the Holy Apostles in Constantinople. The Catholic church also numbers Timothy among the 70 disciples sent out by Jesus to preach the Gospel.
"The Apostle Paul"
Saul, later called Paul, was born into a wealthy family in the
Asia Minor city of Tarsus (Southeast coast of Turkey). He was the
son of a Roman citizen. In this city he experienced Jewish, Roman
and Greek traditions and cultures. His parents sent him to a famous
rabbinical school in Jerusalem. Here he learned the Law, the
Prophets and a trade (tent-making.) Saul appears in the Acts of the
Apostles as a self-righteous young Pharisee almost fanatically
opposed to Christianity. He was present at St. Stephen's stoning. On
the way to the Syrian city of Damascus, to round up Christians, Saul
had his conversion experience. This made him the Paul who is so
familiar to us. After baptism Paul withdrew to Arabia for three
years. Upon his return he began his extraordinary career of
preaching, writing and church-founding. The Acts and other New
Testament Letters record his extensive travels by land and sea.
Still these letters perhaps do not form a complete biography of his
life. Paul mentions incidents or plans of which we have no details.
This zealous apostle tells us he was stoned, three times scourged
and shipwrecked, endured hunger and thirst, sleepless nights, perils
and hardships. On top of this was his almost constant anxieties over
the errors in faith and morals of the widely scattered Christian
communities. After extensive apostolic work St. Paul was arrested
and spent two years in prison in Rome. He was martyred by beheading
around the same time as St. Peter's martyrdom in Rome.
Luke recounts this Damascus experience three times in the Book of Acts: once in the narrative, Acts 9:3-19; and twice, in speeches, before a crowd in Jerusalem (22:6-16) and before Festus and King Agrippa (26:12-18).
“Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord,
went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues of
Damascus, so that if he found any that belonged to the Way,
men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.”
“While I was on my way and approaching Damascus, about noon, I saw
a great light from heaven, brighter than the sun, that suddenly shone
around me and my companions. When we had all fallen to the ground,
I heard a voice saying to me in the Hebrew language,
‘Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?’
I answered, asking, ‘Who are you, Lord?’
The Lord answered, ‘I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.
But get up and stand on your feet!
I have appeared to you for this purpose:
to appoint you to serve and testify to the things you have seen.
I will rescue you from your people and the Gentiles – to whom I am sending you,
to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light
and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of their sins
and a place among those who are being made holy by faith in Me
"The Apostle Matthew"
Levi being his original name. Matthew, the son of Alpheus (Mark 2:14) was a Galilean, although Eusebius informs us that he was a Syrian. As tax-gatherer at Capharnaum, he collected custom duties for Herod Antipas, and, although a Jew, was despised by the Pharisees, who hated all publicans. When summoned by Jesus, Matthew arose and followed Him and tendered Him a feast in his house, where tax-gatherers and sinners sat at table with Christ and His disciples. This drew forth a protest from the Pharisees whom Jesus rebuked in these consoling words: "I came not to call the just, but sinners". No further allusion is made to Matthew in the Gospels, except in the list of the Apostles. As a disciple and an Apostle he thenceforth followed Christ, accompanying Him up to the time of His Passion and, in Galilee, was one of the witnesses of His Resurrection. He was also amongst the Apostles who were present at the Ascension, and afterwards withdrew to an upper chamber, in Jerusalem, praying in union with Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and with his brethren (Acts 1:10 and 1:14).
"The Apostle John"
According to the New Testament account, John the Apostle was the son of Zebedee, and the brother of James. One tradition gives his mother's name as Salome. They originally were fishermen and fished with their father in the Lake of Genesareth. He was first a disciple of John the Baptist, and later one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He is revered as a saint by most of Christianity. The Roman Catholic Church commemorates him on December 27. He is also remembered in the liturgy on January 3. The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates him on September 26, and also remembers him on May 8, on which date Christians used to draw forth from his grave fine ashes which were believed to be effective for healing the sick.
John had a prominent position in the Apostolic body. Peter, James and he were the only witnesses of the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark 5:37), of the Transfiguration (Matthew 17:1), and of the Agony in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37). Only he and Peter were sent into the city to make the preparation for the final Passover meal (the Last Supper) (Luke 22:8). At the meal itself, his place was next to Jesus on whose chest he leaned (John 13:23, 25). According to the general interpretation, John was also that "other disciple" who with Peter followed Jesus after the arrest into the palace of the high-priest (John 18:15). John alone remained near Jesus at the foot of the cross on Calvary with Jesus’ mother, Mary, and the pious women, and took Mary into his care as the last legacy of Jesus (John 19:25-27). After the Resurrection, John with Peter was the first of the disciples to run towards the grave and he was the first to believe that Jesus had truly risen (John 20:2-10). When later Jesus appeared at the Lake of Genesareth, John was also the first of the seven disciples present who recognized his master standing on the shore (John 21:7). John was accustomed to indicate himself in writing without giving his name as: "the disciple whom Jesus loved". After Jesus’ Ascension and the descent of the Holy Spirit, John took, together with Peter, a prominent part in the founding and guidance of the church. He is with Peter at the healing of the lame man in the Temple (Acts 3:1 seq.). With Peter he is also thrown into prison (Acts 4:3). He is also with Peter visiting the newly converted in Samaria (Acts 8:14).
There is no positive information concerning the duration of this activity in Israel. Apparently, John in common with the other Apostles remained some 12 years in this first field of labor, until the persecution of Herod Agrippa I led to the scattering of the Apostles through the various provinces of the Roman Empire (cf. Acts 12:1-17). It does not appear improbable that John then went for the first time to Asia Minor and exercised his Apostolic office in various provinces there. In any case a messianic community was already in existence at Ephesus before Paul's first labors there (cf. "the brethren", Acts 18:27, in addition to Priscilla and Aquila), and it is easy to connect a sojourn of John in these provinces with the fact that the Holy Spirit did not permit Paul on his second missionary journey to proclaim the Gospel in Asia, Mysia and Bithynia (Acts 16:6 sq.). Such a sojourn by John in Asia in this first period was neither long nor uninterrupted. He returned with the other disciples to Jerusalem for the Apostolic Council (about A.D. 51). Paul in opposing his enemies in Galatia names John explicitly along with Peter and James the Less as a "pillar of the Church", and refers to the recognition that his Apostolic preaching of a gospel free from the law received from these three, the most prominent men of the messianic at Jerusalem (Galatians 2:9).
Of the other New Testament writings, it is only from the three Letters of John and the book of Revelation that anything further is learned about John. Both the Letters and Revelation presuppose that John belonged to the multitude of personal eyewitnesses of the life and work of Jesus (cf. especially 1 John 1:1-5; 4:14), that he had lived for a long time in Asia Minor, was thoroughly acquainted with the conditions existing in the various messianic communities there, and that he had a position of authority recognized by all messianic communities as leader of this part of the church. Moreover, Revelation says that its author was on the island of Patmos "for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus", when he was honored with the heavenly vision contained in Revelation (Revelation 1:9).
John is traditionally held to be the author of five books of the New Testament, including the Gospel of John.
"The Apostle James"
He is called 'the Lord's brother' because he was the son of righteous Joseph, the betrothed of the most holy Mother of God. When Joseph was dying, he shared out his goods among his sons and wanted to leave a share to the Lord Jesus, the Son of the most holy Virgin Mary, but his sons opposed this, not reckoning Jesus to be a brother of theirs. James, though, loved Jesus greatly and announced that he would include Him in his share, counting himself to be indeed brother to the Lord. James was, from the first, devoted to the Lord Jesus. According to tradition, he went to Egypt with the most holy Virgin and Joseph when Herod tried to kill the new-born King. As soon as he heard Christ's teaching, he began to live by it. It is said that, during the whole of his life, he ate neither fat nor oil, but lived only on bread and water, and he was chaste to the end of his days. He often kept a vigil of prayer at night. The Lord included him among his Seventy apostles, appearing to him after His glorious Resurrection, as the Apostle Paul testifies (I Cor. 15:7). He was bishop in Jerusalem for thirty years, and governed the Church of God with zeal. On the Lord's instructions, he composed the first Liturgy, which was far too long for later Christians and was shortened by St. Basil and St. John Chrysostom. He brought many Jews and Greeks to the Christian faith, and even unbelieving Jews marveled at his justice, nicknaming him James the Just.
When Ananias became High Priest, he decided, along with the other Jewish elders, to kill James as a preacher of Christ. One day, at Easter, when many people were gathered in Jerusalem, the elders told him to climb up onto a roof and speak against Christ. St. James climbed up there, and began to speak to the people about Christ as the Son of God and the true Messiah, and of His Resurrection and eternal glory in heaven. The infuriated priests and elders cast him down from the roof, and he was badly injured though still alive. A man then ran up and gave him such a vicious blow on the head that his brains spilled out. Thus this glorious apostle of Christ died a martyr's death and entered into the Kingdom of his Lord. James was sixty-three years old when he suffered for Christ.
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"The Apostle Jude"
The holy Apostle Jude,
one of the twelve Apostles of Christ, descended from the stock of David and Solomon and was the son of the righteous Joseph the Betrothed by his first wife.
The holy Apostle John the Theologian writes in his Gospel: For neither did his brethren believe in him (John 7:5). Hierarch Theophilact, the Archbishop of Bulgaria, explains these words thus: at the beginning of the earthly ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ, the sons of Joseph, including also Jude, did not believe in His Divine essence. Tradition indicates that when the righteous Joseph the Betrothed, on having returned from Egypt, began to divide the land belonging to him among his sons, he desired to allot a part also to Christ the Saviour, Who was born supernaturally and incorruptibly of the Most Pure Virgin Mary. The brethren opposed this, and only the eldest of them, James, accepted Jesus Christ in the joint ownership of his share and for this was called the Brother of the Lord. Later, Jude believed in Christ the Saviour as the awaited Messiah, turned to Him with his whole heart and was chosen by Him to be one of His closest twelve disciples. But the Apostle Jude, remembering his sin, considered himself unworthy to be called the brother of God and in his catholic epistle names himself only the brother of James.
The holy Apostle Jude had other names also: the Evangelist Matthew calls him Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus (Matthew 10:3), the holy Evangelist Mark also calls him Thaddaeus (Mark 3:18), while in the Acts of the Holy Apostles, he is mentioned under the name of Barsabas (Acts 15:22). At that time this was the custom.
After the Ascension of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Apostle Jude set out to preach the Gospel. He spread faith in Christ at first in Judaea, Galilee, Samaria and Idumaea, and afterwards in the lands of Arabia, Syria and Mesopotamia and came, finally, to the city of Edessa. Here he completed what had not been finished by his predecessor, the Apostle Thaddaeus, of the number of the seventy. Information has been preserved that the holy Apostle Jude went to Persia to preach and thence wrote his catholic epistle in the Greek tongue, in the brief words of which are contained many profound truths. It contains dogmatic teaching on the Holy Trinity, on the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, on the difference between the good and the evil angels and on the future Dread Judgment.
In the moral respect, the Apostle persuades believers to keep themselves from carnal impurity, to be correct in their duties, in prayer, faith and love, to convert the erring to the path of salvation, to preserve themselves from the teachings of heretics. The Apostle Jude teaches that faith alone in Christ is insufficient; essential also are good deeds, appropriate to Christian teaching.
The holy Apostle Jude died a martyr about the year 80 in Armenia, in the city of Arat, where he was crucified on a cross and pierced with arrows.
"The Apostle Thomas"
The holy Apostle Thomas,
The Apostle Thomas (Hebrew or Aramaic for "twin") was also called "Didymus" (Greek for "twin"). He was absent when the Risen Lord appeared to the other apostles on the evening of Easter Day, and refused to believe that Christ had indeed risen until he had seen him for himself, but when he had seen Him, he said to Him, "My Lord and My God." (John 20:19-29)
Because of this episode, he has been known ever since as "Doubting Thomas." But we ought also to remember his earlier words, when Jesus announced His intention of going to the Jerusalem area, brushing aside the protests of His disciples that His life was in danger there, at which Thomas said to the others: "Let us also go, that we may die with him." (John 11:7,8,16) If Thomas was pessimistic, he was also sturdily loyal.
At the Last Supper, Jesus said: "I go to prepare a place for you.... And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know." Thomas replied: "Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know the way?" To this Jesus answered: "I am the way, the truth and the life." (John 14:1-6)
Thomas is mentioned again (John 21) as one of the seven disciples who were fishing on the Sea of Galilee (Sea of Tiberias) when the Risen Lord appeared to them. Aside from this he appears in the New Testament only as a name on lists of the Apostles. A couple of centuries later a story was circulating in the Mediterranean world that he had gone to preach in India; and there is a Christian community in India (the Kerala district) that claims descent from Christians converted by the the preaching of Thomas.
The tradition among Christians in India is that Thomas was speared to death near Madras, and accordingly he is often pictured holding a spear. Paintings of martyrs often show them holding or accompanied by the instruments with which they were put to death.
"The Apostle Andrew"
The holy Apostle Andrew,
St. Andrew, like his brother St. Peter, was a fisherman, a toiler with net and boat recognised in the Psalms of the Old Testament as one of those "who go down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord and his wonders in the deep." His love of the sea stemmed from his love of the Creator who made it, and the perils of the sea which he challenged daily forged the character with which he boldly assailed the seas of ignorance and paganism in the sacred trust that had been placed in his keeping.
St. Andrew, who lived in the Holy Land in the ancient city of Bethsaida, accepted Christ with all his heart and after a discipleship with St. John the Baptist went forth to become one of the greatest missionaries in all history. When the apostles drew lots to determine their sphere of labour for the Saviour, St. Andrew exulted in his mission to preach in Asia Minor, part of Greece, and an area along the coast of the Black Sea, including its gateway, the city now known as Istanbul, or Constantinople.
Wherever St. Andrew went he attracted throngs of people who thirsted for a spiritual knowledge. His message of deliverance was so eloquently convincing, even to hostile minds, that he is credited with having converted countless thousands to Christianity in a day when mass media did not exist. As an apostle, his only tools were his power of oratory and his love for Jesus, and his only press agent was the word of mouth of those privileged to hear his homilies.
St. Andrew came to Jerusalem for the First Synod of the Apostles, about 50 AD, another historic first for him and the other apostles, some of whom he had not yet met. There he rejoiced in joining the great St. Peter together with those but for whom Christianity might never have become the glorious human experience it is today. Out of the Synod, the apostles went forth with renewed vigour to establish the ecclesiastical system.
St. Andrew alone is credited with having set up parishes throughout Asia Minor, in Pontos, Bithynia, Thrace, Macedonia, Greece, Scythia (Russia, where he is still regarded as patron saint) and in the capital city of Byzantium. It was in Byzantium that St. Andrew ordained Stachys as first bishop of Byzantium (later Constantinople), thereby establishing an unbroken line of 270 patriarchs down to the present day Patriarch Bartholomeos 1st. From Byzantium, St. Andrew went on to more glory through his compelling oratory and power of healing through Jesus Christ. He eventually found himself in Achaia, in the city of Patras, where he was to suffer death.
St. Andrew committed the grave crime in the eyes of the state of converting Maximilla, wife of the ruler Aigeates, to Christianity. Despite the fact that he was then eighty years old, it was ordered that he be put to death by being nailed upside down to an X-shaped cross. After three days of agony on this vile device, St. Andrew died. The great fisherman had cast his net for Christ for the last time. St. Andrew's remains were brought to Constantinople two hundred years later and in 1460 his head was given to the pope. On 24 September 1964, in an ecumenical gesture, the head was returned to the people of Patras by the pope.
"The Apostle Bartholomew"
Bartholomew is one of the Apostles of Christ (Mark 3:14-19). After Christ’s death he evangelized Arabia and Mesopotamia, traveled and preached the gospel as far as India, and was martyred in Armenia. It is believed that he was first flayed alive and then crucified on a cross upside down. St. Bartholomew is the patron saint of all trades that deal with skin. In art he is often depicted flayed, carrying his skin, or on a cross turned upside down to make it easier for his torturers to strip off his skin.
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| “So the last shall be first, and the first last: for many be called, but few chosen.” (Matthew 20:16) |
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