We often ask ourselves, what became of Jesus' apostles once he completed his mission on earth? First, let's define what “apostle” is. The SAR says: “Of the late apostolus, and this of the great apostles 'envoy'. Propagator of any kind of important doctrine.”
What else do we know? That the apostles, after Jesus' resurrection and ascension, remained in Jerusalem until the day of Pentecost. That is, 50 days after Easter, which marks the beginning of the Church's activities and apostolic preaching. On that day the Jewish people celebrate the feast of Shavuot or “feast of weeks”, during which the fiftieth day of God's appearance on Mount Sinai is commemorated. Therefore, it is also the giving of the Law, that is, of the commandments to the people of Israel and it is one of the three great holidays of the Jewish calendar.
From that day on, little is known about what happened to each of them. The Gospels give no data on the whereabouts of the disciples. Only in the book of the Acts of the Apostles in 12:1-4, they tell us about the death of James and the imprisonment of Peter: “At that time King Herod decided to apprehend some members of the Church to mistreat them. He had James, brother of John, killed by the sword, and seeing that this pleased the Jews, he also ordered Peter to be arrested: it was precisely the days of the feast of the Bread Azimos. After arresting him, he had him locked up in jail under the surveillance of four pickets of four soldiers each, for his intention was to try him before the people after Easter.”
In other words, almost everything related to the apostolic preaching of Jesus' direct disciples are accounts of the early Church. Let's see one by one what these communities relate.
One clarification: we will not treat Paul of Tarsus, because given the complexity of his activity, he deserves a separate article. But we will say that his tomb located in the current Basilica of San Pablo outside the walls is one of the three that archaeology has found could be that of the apostle, given the antiquity and worship that has developed in that place over the centuries. The other two are Peter's and John's.
James, the eldest: son of Zebedee and Salome, a fisherman who lived in Bethsaida, Capernaum and Jerusalem. He preached there and in Judea, according to tradition in the Iberian Peninsula. He was beheaded by Herod in 44 and his body was transferred to Compostela, Galicia. The name Santiago comes from two words “Sant” and “Iacob” (his name in Hebrew). The Spaniards in their battles shouting “Sant Iacob, help us” united them to form one: Santiago. He was called the Major, to distinguish him from the other apostle, James the Younger, who was naturally younger than him. He was the first of the twelve to become a martyr and he is the only one mentioned in the Gospels, as we read above.
Andrew: He lived in Bethsaida and Capernaum and was a fisherman. Together with John the Evangelist they were disciples of John the Baptist, as we read in Mark 1:16-18. According to tradition, Andrew died as a martyr in Achaia, Greece, in the village of Patra. He was condemned to die on the cross, but since he did not consider himself worthy to die in the same way that Jesus (so will his brother Peter say) he was crucified on an X-shaped cross, which to this day is called the cross of St. Andrew and is one of his apostolic symbols. Tradition places its martyrdom on November 30, 63, under the empire of Nero. His relics were eventually transferred to the Duomo Cathedral in Amalfi, Italy.
Bartholomew: lived in Cana in Galilee. Tradition says that he was a missionary in Armenia and also in Phrygia and Hierapolis with Philip. Bartholomew's name appears in every list of the disciples, and we can see it in Matthew 10,3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6,14; Acts 1:13. His first name was probably Nathanael, whom Jesus called “a true Israelite, in whom there is no deception.” (John 1,47) and together with St. Jude Thaddeus are considered patron saints of the Armenian Apostolic Church. His martyrdom is attributed to Astiages, king of Armenia. He was skinned alive with knives. His tomb is located in the Basilica of St. Bartholomew, on the Tiberian island, in Rome.
Santiago, the youngest (or youngest). Son of Alpheus. Tradition has always identified him with the “brother of the Lord” that is, a close relative as we read in Mark 6:3. It is mentioned by St. Paul in his letter to the Galatians 1:19. He is also identified with that James to whom the risen Lord appears as we can see in 1 Cor 15:7. After the apostles dispersed and left Jerusalem, James remained and became the first bishop of the holy city. He stayed there for several decades until he was stoned to death by order of the Jewish authorities in the year 62. His body is in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Rome, but his original tomb is believed to be in the Cathedral of Santiago in Jerusalem.
John: son of Zebedee. He was the youngest of the disciples and it is to whom Jesus from the cross gives his mother, the Virgin Mary. He preached among the churches of Asia Minor and then banished on the island of Patmos. He is the only one of the apostles who did not die a martyr. Tradition says that he died in Ephesus, and in the place of his tomb a chapel was built. In the fifth century it was replaced with a large basilica. It later became a mosque, with the Turkish invasion which was destroyed by Tamerlane in 1402. In 1920, archaeologists excavated the remains of the basilica and found John's tomb but it was empty.
Judas Thaddeus: son of Alpheus. Little is known about him. Tradition says that he preached in Assyria and Persia and died as a martyr in Persia. In Mark 3:18 he is called Thaddeus, in Matthew 10,3 he gives him another name, and in Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13 he is called Judas the brother of James. According to Eastern tradition, Judas Thaddeus would have died in the region of present-day Lebanon, while for Western tradition — as it appears in the Roman martyrology since the 8th century — he evangelized Mesopotamia and then reunited with Simon the Canaanite and preached for several years in Persia including the area of present-day Armenia, to be finally martyred in present-day Iran in approximately 62 AD. His remains are currently in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Matthew: He is quoted in the Gospels as Levi, son of Alpheus or Cleopas, a publican and tax collector in Capernaum as we read in Matthew 9,9, Mark 2:14, Luke 5:27-29. Levi was possibly his original name and he adopted the same name Matthew when he became a follower of Jesus. Despite prejudice to his occupation as a tax collector, Jesus made him one of his own.
According to Eusebius of Caesarea, he preached for fifteen years in Judea, where he wrote his Gospel around the year 80 and we are also told that he later went to Ethiopia where he was allegedly martyred. On the other hand, Epiphanius of Salamis claims that Matthew died in Hierapolis. According to tradition, his remains are found in Salerno, Italy.
Peter: Simon Peter, son of Jonah. Fisherman who lived in Bethsaida and Capernaum. Peter's original name was Simon in Greek and his Hebrew name was Cephas. The meaning of Simon and Cephas could be translated as “rock”. And this name will be confirmed by Jesus as we read in Matthew 16:17-19: “Jesus replied to him: 'Happy are you, Simon Bar-jona, for this has not been revealed to you by flesh or blood, but by my Father who is in Heaven. And now I say unto you, You are Peter, and on this stone I will build my Church; the powers of death can never overcome it. I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of Heaven: what you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and what you unleash on earth will be loosed in Heaven.” Peter was also a Galilean as were several of the other disciples. Tradition says that Peter first traveled to Antioch and established a community there. He did not stay long, but he is often referred to as the first bishop of Antioch. Then perhaps he visited Corinth before leaving for Rome. There he helped form the Christian community until he was martyred and according to tradition crucified upside down in the circus of Nero around 64 AD. C. in Rome. On his tomb the Vatican Basilica was built.
Philip: he was originally from Bethsadia, (Galilee) and a fisherman. Philip is the one who invites Nathanael to know Jesus as we read in Jn 1:45: “Philip met Nathanael and said to him: “We have found the one about whom Moses wrote in the Law and also the prophets. It is Jesus, the son of Joseph of Nazareth.” .Nathanael replied, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip replied, “Come and see.”
Tradition says that Philip preached in the regions of Phrygia, now Turkey, and Scythia, now Moldova. He was martyred in Hierapolis. In 2011, a team of Italian archaeologists claimed to have discovered in Pamukkale, ancient Hierapolis, the tomb of the Apostle Philip, although his remains are in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Rome.
Simon, the Zealot:b to differentiate him from Peter, “the Zealot” is attached to him and lived in Galilee. Simon's name is in the three synoptic gospels (of Matthew, Mark, and Luke) and in the book of Acts of the Apostles whenever a list of the apostles is given, but no further details are given about it.
The Abyssinians report that he suffered the crucifixion as bishop of Jerusalem, after having preached the Gospel in Samaria. It is not known for certain where he preached the gospel. There is talk of almost every known place of that time, it has even been mentioned that it reached Britain; according to the Greeks, I preach on the Black Sea, in Egypt, North Africa, and Great Britain. All this according to tradition.
There are several traditions about his apostolic life. One says he traveled in the Middle East and Africa. Ethiopian Christians point out that he was martyred in Samaria. But they also place it in Persia, in the Caucasus, in Edessa, and even in Roman Britain. Some of his presumable relics are in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome.
Thomas: The name Thomas means “twin” in Aramaic. In the synoptic gospels and in the Acts of the Apostles it appears on the list of apostles in Matthew 10:3, Mark 3:18, Luke 6:15, Acts 1:13, but no further information is given about it. It is also mentioned in the Gospel of John on several occasions. Although the most remembered is that of John 20:24-29: “... Until I see the mark of the nails in his hands, do not put my fingers in the hole of the nails and do not put my hand into the wound on his side, I will not believe.” According to tradition, Thomas is credited with evangelization of the East. It is of great importance in both Syria and India and according to custom, Thomas suffered martyrdom in India. His grave is located in Mylapore, India.
Matthias: After being elected as the “replacement apostle,” one tradition holds that Matthias founded a church in Cappadocia and served Christians on the shores of the Caspian Sea. It is believed that the martyr died decapitated with an axe in Colchis, at the hands of the many pagans in the area. Some of his relics were supposedly brought to Rome by Saint Helena.
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