We explain who the twelve apostles of Jesus of Nazareth were, that is, his twelve main disciples, and why they are saints and martyrs of the Church.
The apostles were the first twelve followers and disciples of Jesus Christ.
Who were the twelve apostles?
The twelve apostles They were the first twelve disciples that the prophet Jesus of Nazareth had, who Not only did they learn his teachings firsthand, but after Jesus’ death they took it upon themselves to transmit them to the people and put them in writing.. This work is known as evangelismsince the texts where the apostles tell the life and events of Jesus Christ are known as the gospels.
The term “apostle” comes from the Greek apostles (“sent”), equivalent to the Hebrew term sheliach. In principle, the apostles were emissaries, representatives or vicars sent by Jesus Christ to preach the divine word.. Jesus of Nazareth referred to this as being “fishers of men,” that is, recruiters for the Christian cause.
As expressed in the biblical texts, There are four essential conditions to determine who the Christian apostles were:
- Having seen Jesus.
- Having witnessed divine signs, miracles and wonders.
- Having founded new Christian churches.
- Have the nine gifts of the Holy Spirit (Corinthians 1:12).
The events in the lives of some of Jesus’ apostles are told in the New Testament, in the book of Acts of the Apostlesalso know as Book of Acts Or simply FactsThis book is a single unit with the Gospel of Luke, and is estimated to have been written between 80 and 90 AD. There are, however, later accounts, often apocryphal, of the events of the apostles.which constitute a good part of medieval Christian literature.
The twelve apostles of Jesus
In the beginning, according to the biblical scriptures of the New Testament, the apostles were twelve, chosen by the Messiah in his wanderings through the kingdom of Judea: Peter, Andrew, James or Jacob, John, Philip, Bartholomew or Nathaniel, Thomas, James the Less, Simon, Matthew, Judas Thaddeus and Judas Iscariot. Each of them had a particular relationship with the prophet and his reasons for joining his cause.
The prophets accompanied Jesus Christ during his long pilgrimage through the Roman province of Judea and, also, in his last moments before being apprehended by the Roman authorities and taken to the cross. With the exception of Judas Iscariot, Christ’s disciples played a vital role in the founding of the Christian religion and his church..
The original twelve apostles of Jesus Christ were as follows:
Peter (1st century AD-c. 64 AD)
Peter was the closest disciple of Jesus and is considered the first Pope in history.
Peter was a fisherman from the Sea of Galilee, whom, according to the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus observed casting a net into the water with his brother Andrew, and summoned them to become “fishers of men.” Originally called Simon, He was renamed “Peter” by Jesus, in reference to his role as the founding “stone” of the Christian church..
According to the Gospel of John, however, it was his brother Andrew who brought Peter before Jesus, given that both were already part of the cult of John the Baptist, in which, precisely, the imminent coming of a messiah was announced.
Peter was the closest apostle to Jesus and one of the members of the prophet’s “circle of the beloved,” along with John and James. However, according to the biblical account, at his last supper with his disciples, Jesus prophesied that Peter would deny him “three times before the rooster crows.” This refers to the fact that, after Jesus’ arrest, Peter was recognized and interrogated by the authorities, and he denied knowing the prophet.
Pedro was, furthermore, the founder of the Christian Church in Rome, which is why he is considered the first pope in history and patron of the Holy See.. In said city, Peter was apprehended by the Roman authorities and crucified, but on an inverted cross. Hence, in Christian iconography he is usually represented holding a rock, a book or a bunch of keys, or next to a rooster or an inverted cross.
Santiago (5 AD-44 AD)
James “the elder” was the brother of John and was part of the “circle of the beloved” who accompanied Jesus.
James, also called James of Zebedee or James “the elder” (to distinguish him from the other apostle of the same name), was the older brother of the apostle John, both sons of a follower of Jesus named Salome. He shared with his brother an impulsive character, which is why the Messiah nicknamed them “boanerges”, that is, “sons of thunder”.
Santiago was one of the most prominent followers of Jesus and a member of the “circle of the beloved” who accompanied the prophet on special occasions.. Furthermore, he witnessed his appearance in Lake Tiberias, after his resurrection, and according to medieval tradition, he was responsible for evangelizing the Roman province of Hispania (present-day Spain and Portugal), which is why he is considered its patron saint.
There are discrepancies regarding the destiny of the apostle: some apocryphal texts affirm that after giving up evangelical work, he returned to Jerusalem to meet the virgin Mary. There, he was captured and sentenced to beheading by Agrippa’s King Herod II (AD 27-100). However, At the beginning of the 9th century, the remains of a Christian missionary who seemed to be those of the apostle Santiago were found in Santiago de Compostela, in present-day Spain.. And although in 1884, Pope Leo
Andrew (1st century AD-60 AD)
The apostle Andrew was the brother of Peter and was the founder of the Christian church in Byzantium.
Andrew was possibly the first disciple of Jesus of Nazareth, which is why in the Orthodox Church he is known by the Greek word prōtoklētos (“the first to be called”). He is an important figure for Greek Christianity, as he is credited with founding the Christian church in the city of Byzantium or Constantinople.. Thus the Patriarch of Constantinople is considered the successor of the Apostle Andrew.
Younger brother of the apostle Peter, Andrew was also a fisherman in the Sea of Galilee, until he met Jesus. After the death of Jesus Christ, Andrew took the gospel to the surroundings of the Black Sea and the Dnieper River, which is why he is the patron saint of Ukraine, Romania and Russia.
According to tradition, the apostle Andrew died in Patras, in present-day Greece, where he was executed by the Roman proconsul Aegeas. His martyrdom consisted of crucifixion, but in his case an X-shaped cross was used, which is why this symbol often appears in pictorial representations of the saint.
John (c. 6 AD-100 AD)
The apostle John was the one who took care of Mary after the crucifixion of Jesus and wrote one of the four gospels.
Also known as Saint John or John the Evangelist, he was the younger brother of the apostle James “the greater” (i.e., James), and like many others in Jesus’ group he was a fisherman. Born in Galilee, He was part, along with his brother, of Jesus’ “circle of loved ones” and, after Jesus’ crucifixion, he was the disciple who cared for the Virgin Mary..
John was the author of one of the four gospels, so He is venerated in almost all Christian churches, although there is some doubt as to whether John the Apostle and John the Evangelist were really the same person.According to Paul of Tarsus, John participated with Peter in the Council of Jerusalem (48-50 AD).
There are various hypotheses regarding the death of John the Apostle. Some versions, such as that of Papias of Hierapolis (c. 70-140 AD), maintain that he was martyred by the Jews in Ephesus or in Patmos, where he lived for a period of exile during the reign of Emperor Domitian (51-96).
Philip (c. 5 AD-80 AD)
Philip was the fifth of the apostles, to whom an apocryphal gospel discovered in the mid-20th century is attributed.
Philip was among the followers of John the Baptist when he pointed to Jesus as the “lamb of God.” The gospels attribute to him a pragmatic, realistic personalityand they claim that it was he who led the apostle Bartholomew (sometimes called Nathanael or Nathaniel) to Jesus, so they are often depicted together.
Although he was Jewish, Philip had a Greek name and ties to the Gentiles, so John, in his gospel, makes him responsible for bringing the message of Christ to the Greeks. There are also numerous legends and stories surrounding his figure, most of them apocryphal or rejected by the church.and even a gospel in his name, found in an Egyptian library in 1945.
According to the Roman Martyrologya catalogue of martyrs and saints of the Catholic Church, Philip was martyred along with James the Lesser in the city of Scythia, where they were crucified and then stoned.In 2011, in the vicinity of Pamukkale, ancient Hierapolis, a group of archaeologists discovered a tomb which could be that of San Felipe.
Bartholomew (1st century AD)
Of Greek origins, the apostle Bartholomew was also called Nathanael.
Bartholomew was a Canaanite friend of the apostle Philip, whom the latter introduced to the Christian faith. In certain gospels he is known as Nathanael or Nathaniel.
According to Christian tradition, Bartholomew was one of the apostles who witnessed the ascension of Jesus, after which he went to the east to preach the divine wordThere are different accounts of his adventures in India, where he is said to have left a copy of the Gospel of Matthew in Aramaic, and it is also said that he preached alongside Judas Thaddeus in Armenia.
His martyrdom took place by order of the Persian king Astyages, who ordered him to renounce his faith or suffer flaying. Bartholomew refused and suffered the promised punishment, which is why he is often depicted holding a flap of his own skin, or a knife and a book.
Matthew (1st century AD-74 AD)
Matthew, also called Levi, was the author of one of the Christian gospels.
Matthew, also called Levi, Matthew Levi or Matthew the Evangelist, was a tax collector in the city of Capernaum in Galilee before meeting Jesus. According to the Gospels, he left everything for the Messiah and welcomed Jesus and his disciples with a great feast in their honor.
On the other hand, Matthew was the author, or at least the compiler, of one of the four biblical gospels, originally created in Aramaic around 80 AD. c.
There are different versions regarding the fate of the apostle after the crucifixion of Jesus. Some accounts claim that he preached for fifteen years in Judea and then left for Ethiopia, where he was martyred on September 21, 74.. Other versions, coming from the…