Home › A › Apostle (One who is sent off or away)

Apostle (One who is sent off or away)

one who is sent off or away from; one sent on some important mis- ; one sent on some important mis sion; a messenger; a missionary. The Christian Church, to the 12 men whom Jesus selected from His disciples as the best instructed in His doctrines, and the fittest instruments for the propagation of his religion. Their names were as follows: Simon Peter ( Greek of Caiphas, the rock), and Andrew, his brother; James the greater, and John, his brother, who were ; Philip of Bethsaida, Bartholomew , Thomas, Matthew; James, the son of Alpheus, commonly called James the less; Lebbeus, his brother, surnamed Thaddeus, and was called Judas, or Jude; Simon the Canaan- Judas Iscariot. Of this number, Simon Peter, John, James the greater, and Andrew were fishermen; and Matthew, a publican or taxgatherer. When the apostles were reduced to 11 by the suicide of Judas, who had betrayed Christ, they chose Matthias by lot, on the proposition of St. Peter.

Soon after, Soon after, their number became 13, by vocation of Saul, who, under the name of Paul, became one of the most zealous propagators of the APOSTOLIC Christian faith. The Bible gives the name of apostle to Barnabas also, who accompanied Paul on his missions (Acts, xiv: 13), and Paul bestows it also on Junia, his relations and companions in prison. In a still wider sense, preachers who first taught Christianity times termed apostles; e. g., St. Denis, anity in heathen countries, are somethe apostle of the Gauls; St. Boniface, the apostle of Germany; the monk Au- Jesuit Francis Xavier, the apostle of the gustine, the apostle of England; the Indies; Adalbert of Prague , the apostle apostle who had received a scientific edu- of Prussia proper. Paul was the only cation; the others were mechanics. Peter, Andrew, and John are called in the literis idiotæ. Peter employed his dis- Scriptures (Acts iv: 13), homines sine ciple St. Mark in writing the Gospel which bears his name.

TWELVE APOSTLES, a group of 27