The Twelve Apostles (Dvylika apaštalų)

"Now the names of the twelve apostles are these : The first, Simon, who is called Peter, and Andrew his brother ; and James the son of Zebedee, and John his brother ; Philip and Bartholomew ; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector ; James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus ; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.." Matthew 10:2-4, Bible

   

"And when he had called unto him his twelve disciples, he gave them power against unclean spirits, to cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and all manner of disease.: Now the names of the twelve apostles are these:...These twelve Jesus sent forth and commanded them, saying, go not into the way of the Gentiles and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. And as ye go preach saying 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand'"

  

   St. Peter, Prince of the Apostles

St. Peter's true and original name was Simon, sometimes occurring in the form Symeon. (Acts 15:14; 2 Peter 1:1). He was the son of Jona (Johannes) and was born in Bethsaida (John 1:42, 44), a town on Lake Genesareth, the position of which cannot be established with certainty, although it is usually sought at the northern end of the lake...

 The Apostle Andrew was his brother, and the Apostle Philip came from the same town...

Professional fisherman. Brother of Saint Andrew the Apostle, the man who led him to Christ. Apostle. Renamed “Peter” (rock) by Jesus to indicate that Peter would be the rock-like foundation on which the Church would be built. Bishop. First Pope. Miracle worker...

Martyred c.64 in Rome, Italy crucified head downward because he claimed he was not worthy to die in the same manner as Christ... Although, just before the crucifixion, Peter denied three times that he even knew Christ, after the resurrection he did not do so again. Peter, just as Jesus told him in John 21:18-19, was crucified by Roman executioners because he could not deny his master again. According to Eusebius, he thought himself unworthy to be crucified as his Master, and, therefore, he asked to be crucified "head downward."...

Prayer to Saint Peter ... O Glorious Saint Peter, because of your vibrant and generous faith, sincere humility and flaming love our Lord honored you with singular privileges and especially leadership of the whole Church. Obtain for us the grace of a living faith, a sincere loyalty to the Church, acceptance of all her teaching, and obedience to all her precepts. Let us thus enjoy an undisturbed peace on earth and everlasting happiness in heaven...

Date of Martyrdom: ca. 64 A.D...

Feastday: 29 June (feast of Peter and Paul); 22 February (feast of the Chair of Peter, emblematic of the world unity of the Church); 1 August (Saint Peter in Chains); 18 November (feast of the dedication of the Basilicas of Peter and Paul)...

 

Saint Peter the apostle among all other, and above all other, was of most fervent and burning love, for he would have known the traitor that should betray our Lord Jesu Christ, as Saint Austin saith: If he had known him he would have torn him with his teeth, and therefore our Lord would not name him to him, for as Chrysostom saith: If he had named him, Peter had arisen and all to-torn him. Peter went upon the sea; he was chosen of God to be at his transfiguration, and raised a maid from death to life; he found the stater or piece of money in the fish’s mouth; he received of our Lord the keys of the kingdom of heaven; he took the charge to feed the sheep of Jesu Christ...

Out of the whole world one man, Peter, is chosen to preside at the of all nations and to be set over all the apostles and all the fathers of the church. Though there are in God’s people many bishops and many shepherds, Peter is thus appointed to rule in his own person those whom Christ also rules as the original ruler. Beloved, how great and wonderful is this sharing in his power that God in his goodness has given to this man. Whatever Christ has willed to be shared in common by Peter and the other leaders of the Church, it is only through Peter that he has given to others what he has not refused to bestow on them. Jesus said: “Upon this rock I will build my Church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” On this strong foundation, he says, I will build an everlasting temple. The great height of my Church, which is to penetrate the heavens, shall rise on the firm foundation of this faith. Blessed Peter is therefore told: “To you I will give the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound also in heaven. Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed also in heaven.” ...    

    St. Andrew

As one of the Twelve, Andrew was admitted to the closest familiarity with Our Lord during His public life; he was present at the Last Supper; beheld the risen Lord; witnessed the Ascension; shared in the graces and gifts of the first Pentecost, and helped, amid threats and persecution, to establish the Faith in Palestine...

St. Andrew, the Apostle, son of Jonah, or John (Matthew 16:17; John 1:42), was born in Bethsaida of Galilee (John 1:44). He was brother of Simon (Peter) (Matthew 10:2; John 1:40). Both were fishermen (Matthew 4:18; Mark 1:16), and at the beginning of Our Lord's public life occupied the same house at Capharnaum (Mark 1:21, 29)...

The first Apostle. Fisherman by trade. Brother of Simon Peter. Follower of John the Baptist. Andrew went through life leading people to Jesus, both before and after the Crucifixion. Missionary in Asia Minor and Greece, and possibly areas in modern Russia and Poland. Martyred on an saltire (x-shaped) cross, he is said to have preached for two days from it...

Some peculiar marriage-related superstitions have attached themselves to Saint Andrew’s feast day...

Andrew, who introduced his brother Peter to Christ, went to join Peter with Christ in eternity six years after Peter's death. After preaching Christ's resurrection to the Scythians and Thracians, he too was crucified for his faith. As Hippolytus tells us, Andrew was hanged on an olive tree at Patrae, a town in Achaia...

Date of Martyrdom: 70 A.D... crucified on a saltire (x-shaped) cross in Greece...

Feastday: November 30...

 

After Andrew had stayed with Jesus and had learned much from him, he did not keep this treasure to himself, but hastened to share it with his brother Peter. Notice what Andrew said to him: “We have found the Messiah, that is to say, the Christ.” Notice how his words reveal what he has learned in so short a time. They show the power of the master who has convinced them of this truth. Andrew’s words reveal a soul waiting with the utmost longing for the coming of the Messiah, looking forward to his appearing from heaven, rejoicing when he does appear, and hastening to announce to great an event to others. To support one another in the things of the spirit is the true sign of good will between brothers, loving kinship and sincere affection...  

     St. James the Greater

Apostle St James the Greater was son of Zebedee, a fisherman of Galilee, and brother of John the Evangelist. He was among the circle of men closest to Christ, being present with Peter and John at the Transfiguration, and again at the Agony in the Garden, where the same three are seen sleeping while Christ prays. He was tried in Jerusalem in the year 44 by Herod Agrippa and executed...

James, the Apostle of the Lord, was the second recorded martyr after Christ's death (Stephen was the first). His death is recorded in Acts 12:2 where it is told that Herod Agrippa killed him with a sword. Clemens Alexandrinus and Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History II.2) both tell how the executioner witnessed the courage and un-recanting spirit of James and was then convinced of Christ resurrection and was executed along with James...

Date of Martyrdom: 44-45 A.D... relics at Compostela, Spain...A for the death of James, C- for the death of the executioner...

Memorial - 25 July, formerly 5 August ...

The cycle of scenes of his trial and execution is represented in medieval frescoes and stained glass. The frescoes by Mantegna in the Eremitani chapel, Padua, were destroyed in 1944. A series of legends dating from the Middle Ages tells of his mission to Spain and burial at Compostella, both historically untenable, though the latter became one of the great centres of Christian pilgrimage. It is legend rather than Scripture that has been the chief source of inspiration to artists, especially Spanish. James appears as three distinct types:

-  The Apostle. He is of mature years, thin-bearded, his hair brown or dark, parted and falling on either side in the manner of Christ. He holds the martyr's sword. In later devotional art he holds the pilgrim's staff which usually distinguishes him when grouped with other saints...

-  The Pilgrim (13th century onwards). He wears the pilgrim's broad-brimmed hat and cloak. From his staff or shoulder hangs the wallet or water-gourd of the pilgrim. His special attribute, the scallop shell, appears on his hat or cloak, or on the wallet...

- The Knight and Patron Saint of Spain. He is mounted on horseback holding a standard, and is dressed as a pilgrim or wears armour. His horse tramples the Saracen under its hooves...  

Apostle St James the Greater and Spain

The many Spanish legends about him, some of which are represented in painting, date from about the 10th century and were probably promulgated in order to encourage pilgrimage to Compostella. One tells of his evangelizing mission to Spain after Christ's Ascension. In Saragossa the Virgin appeared to him in a vision, seated on top of a pillar of jasper, and commanded him to build a chapel on the spot, a story that served to explain the foundation of the church of Nuestra Señora del Pilar. On his return to Jerusalem he converted and baptized a magician, Hermogenes, after each had tested his powers on the other, rather in the manner of the apostle Peter and Simon Magus. After James' execution his disciples took his body back to Spain and, guided by an angel, landed at Padron in Galicia. Near here, in the palace of a pagan woman, Lupa, who was converted to Christianity by several miraculous occurrences, James was buried. His supposed tomb was discovered in about the 9th century and the place was called Santiago (St James) de Compostella. It was well-established as a place of pilgrimage by the 11th century, next in importance to Jerusalem and Rome. The origin of the scallop shell as the badge of the pilgrim to Compostella is open to more than one explanation...

The pilgrimage to his relics in Compostela became such a popular devotion that the symbols of pilgrims have become his emblems, and he became patron of pilgrims. His work in Spain, and the housing of his relics there, led to his patronage of the country and all things Spanish; for centuries, the Spanish army rode to battle with the cry “Santiago!” (“Saint James!”)...  

    St. John the Evangelist

John was the son of Zebedee and Salome, and the brother of James the Greater. In the Gospels the two brothers are often called after their father "the sons of Zebedee" and received from Christ the honourable title of Boanerges, i.e. "sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17). Originally they were fishermen and fished with their father in the Lake of Genesareth...

After the Resurrection John with Peter was the first of the disciples to hasten to the grave and he was the first to believe that Christ had truly risen (John,  2-10). When later Christ 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,  7). The Fourth Evangelist has shown us most clearly how close the relationship was in which he always stood to his Lord and Master by the title with which he is accustomed to indicate himself without giving his name: "the disciple whom Jesus loved"...

Christian tradition says that John the Evangelist was one of Christ's original twelve apostles; the only one to live into old age; and not killed for his faith. John the Evangelist is associated with Ephesus, where he is said to have lived and been buried. Some believe that after a short life he was exiled to (c.a. 95) Patmos, where he wrote the Book of Revelation. However this is a matter of debate, with some attributing authorship to John of Patmos or John the Presbyter. It is also debated whether John the Evangelist is the same as St. John the Apostle...

John is the only one of the twelve Apostles to have died a natural death. Although he did not die a martyr's death, he did live a martyr's life. He was exiled to the Island of Patmos under the Emperor Domitian for his proclamation of the risen Christ. It was there that he wrote the last book in the Bible, Revelation. Some traditions tell us that he was thrown into boiling oil before the Latin Gate, where he was not killed but undoubtedly scarred for the rest of his life...

Date of Martyrdom: 95 A.D... c.101 at Ephesus (in modern Turkey)...a church was built over his tomb, which was later converted to a mosque...

Feastday: 27 December (Roman Catholic); 8 May (Greek Orthodox); 6 May (before the Latin gate)...

 

St. John teaches us that to attain to this heavenly and Christian disposition, to this twofold charity towards God and towards our neighbour for his sake, we must subdue our passions and die to the inordinate love of the world and ourselves. His hatred and contempt of the world was equal to his love of God, and he cries out to us, "My little children, love not the world, nor the things which are in the world. If anyone loves the world the charity of the Father is not in him."...  

    St. Philip

Philip was born in Bethsaida, Galilee... He may have been a disciple of John the Baptist and is mentioned as one of the Apostles in the lists of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and in Acts. Aside from the lists, he is mentioned only in John in the New Testament. He was called by Jesus Himself and brought Nathanael to Christ. Philip was present at the miracle of the loaves and fishes, when he engaged in a brief dialogue with the Lord, and was the Apostle approached by the Hellenistic Jews from Bethsaida to introduce them to Jesus. Just before the Passion, Jesus answered Philip's query to show them the Father...

Disciple of Saint John the Baptist. Convert. One of the Twelve Apostle. Brought Saint Nathanael to Christ. Confidant of Jesus. Little is known about him, but scriptural episodes give the impression of a shy, naive, but practical individual. Preached in Greece and Asia Minor. Martyr...

Philip was corrected by Christ when he asked Christ to “show us the Father, then this will be enough for us” (John 14:8). Christ responded, “Have I been so long with you, and yet you have not come to know Me, Philip? He who has seen Me has seen the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father ‘?” (John 14:9). Philip later saw the glory of Christ after the resurrection and undoubtedly reflected with amazement on Christ's response to his request. Philip evangelized in

Phrygia where hostile Jews had him tortured and then crucified...

Date of Martyrdom: 54 A.D. ... martyred  at Hierapolis, Phrygia...

Feastday: May 3...

After  our Lord's ascension the gospel was to be preached to the whole world by a few persons, who had been eye-witnesses of his miracles, and were enabled, by the power of the Holy Ghost, to confirm their testimony concerning him by doing the like wonderful works themselves. That this might be accomplished, it was necessary that the disciples should quickly disperse themselves into all parts of the world. St. Philip accordingly preached the gospel in the two Phrygias, as Theodoret and Eusebius assure us from undoubted monuments. St. Polycarp, who was only converted in the year 80, enjoyed his conversation for some time,4 consequently St. Philip must have lived to a very advanced age...  

    St. Bartholomew (Nathanael)

Many scholars identify him with Nathaniel (John ,45-51; 2). The manner of his death, said to have occurred at Albanopolis in Armenia, is equally uncertain; according to some, he was beheaded, according to others, flayed alive and crucified, head downward, by order of Astyages, for having converted his brother, Polymius, King of Armenia. On account of this latter legend, he is often represented in art (e.g. in Michelangelo's Last Judgment) as flayed and holding in his hand his own skin...

Nathanael, whose name means "gift of God" was truly given as a gift to the Church through his martyrdom. Nathanael was the first to profess, early in Christ's ministry, that Christ was the Son of God (John 1:49). He later paid for this profession through a hideous death. Unwilling to recant of his proclamation of a risen Christ, he was flayed and then crucified..

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Date of Martyrdom: 70 A.D... flayed alive at Albanopolis, Armenia ... relics at Saint Bartholomew-on-the-Tiber Church, Rome, Italy, and in the cathedral in Canterbury, England..

Feastday: 24 August (Roman calendar); 11 June (Orthodox calendar)..

All that is known of him with certainty is that he is mentioned in the synoptic gospels and Acts as one of the twelve apostles. His name, a patronymic, means "son of Tolomai" and scholars believe he is the same as Nathanael mentioned in John, who says he is from Cana and that Jesus called him an "Israelite...incapable of deceit." The Roman Martyrology says he preached in India and Greater Armenia, where he was flayed and beheaded by King Astyages. Tradition has the place as Abanopolis on the west coast of the Caspian Sea and that he also preached in Mesopotamia, Persia, and Egypt. The Gospel of Bartholomew is apochryphal and was condemned in the decree of Pseudo-Gelasius...  

    St. Thomas the Apostle

St. Thomas was a Jew, called to be one of the twelve Apostles. He was a dedicated but impetuous follower of Christ. When Jesus said He was returning to Judea to visit His sick friend Lazarus, Thomas immediately exhorted the other Apostles to accompany Him on the trip which involved certain danger and possible death because of the mounting hostility of the authorities. At the Last Supper, when Christ told His Apostles that He was going to prepare a place for them to which they also might come because they knew both the place and the way, Thomas pleaded that they did not understand and received the beautiful assurance that Christ is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. But St. Thomas is best known for his role in verifying the Resurrection of his Master...

Thomas is known as "doubting Thomas" because of his reluctance to believe the other Apostles' witness of the resurrection. After they told him that Christ was alive, he stated "Except I shall see

in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into his side, I will not believe" (John 20:25). After this, Christ did appear to him and Thomas believed unto death. Thomas sealed his testimony as he was thrust through with pine spears, tormented with red-hot plates, and burned alive...

Date of Martyrdom: 72 A.D... stabbed with a spear c.72 in while in prayer on a hill in Mylapur, India; buried near the site of his death; relics later moved to Edessa, Mesopotamia; relics moved to Ortona, Italy in the 13th century...

Feastday:3 July...

He was ready to die with Jesus when Christ went to Jerusalem, but is best remembered for doubting the Resurrection until allowed to touch Christ’s wounds. Preached in Parthia, Persia and India, though he was so reluctant to start the mission that he had to be taken into slavery by a merchant headed that way. He eventually gave in to God‘s will, was freed, and planted the new Church over a wide area. He formed many parishes and built many churches along the way. An old tradition says that Thomas baptised the wise men from the Nativity into Christianity...

His symbol is the builder’s square; there are several stories that explain it  

- he built a palace for King Guduphara in India...

- he built the first church in India with his own hands...

- it is representative building a strong spiritual foundation as he had complete faith in Christ (though initially less in the Resurrection)...

- he offered to build a palace for an Indian king that would last forever; the king gave him money, which Thomas promptly gave away to the poor; he explained that the palace he was building was in heaven, not on earth...   

   St. Matthew

Apostle and evangelist... The name Matthew is derived from the Hebrew Mattija, being shortened to Mattai in post-Biblical Hebrew... 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...

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"...

Matthew, the tax collector, so desperately wanted the Jews to accept Christ. He wrote The Gospel According to Matthew about ten years before his death. Because of this, one can see, contained within his Gospel, the faith for which he spilled his blood. Matthew surely remembered his resurrected Savior's words, "Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world" (Matt. 28:20), when he professed the resurrected Christ unto his death by beheading at Nad-Davar...

Date of Martyrdom: 60-70 A.D.

The Latin Church celebrates the feast of St. Matthew on 21 September, and the Greek Church on 16 November...

 

 St. Matthew is represented under the symbol of a winged man, carrying in his hand a lance as a characteristic emblem...

Matthew’s Gospel is given pride of place in the canon of the New Testament, and was written to convince Jewish readers that their anticipated Messiah had come in the person of Jesus. He preached among the Jews for 15 years; his audiences may have included the Jewish enclave in Ethiopia, and places in the East...  

    St. James the Lesser

James, the son of Alpheus, Apostle (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15; Acts 1:13.)...

St. James the Less, the author of the first Catholic Epistle, was the son of Alphaeus of Cleophas. His mother Mary was either a sister or a close relative of the Blessed Virgin, and for that reason, according to Jewish custom, he was sometimes called the brother of the Lord. The Apostle held a distinguished position in the early Christian community of Jerusalem. St. Paul tells us he was a witness of the Resurrection of Christ; he is also a "pillar" of the Church, whom St. Paul consulted about the Gospel...

James was appointed to be the head of the Jerusalem church for many years after Christ's death. In this, he undoubtedly came in contact with many hostile Jews (the same ones who killed Christ and stated "His [Christ's] blood be on us and our children" (Matt. 27:25). In order to make James deny Christ's resurrection, these men positioned him at the top of the Temple for all to see and hear. James, unwilling to deny what he knew to be true, was cast down from the Temple and finally beaten to death with a fuller's club to the head...

Date of Martyrdom: 62 A.D... martyred c.62 at Jerusalem by being thrown from a pinnacle of the Temple, then stoned and beaten with clubs, including fuller‘s mallets, while praying for his attackers... 

Feastday: May 3...

Cousin of Jesus. Brother of Saint Jude Thaddeus. Raised is a Jewish home of the time with all the training in Scripture and Law that was part of that life. Convert. One of the Twelve Apostles. One of the first to have visions of the risen Christ. First Bishop of Jerusalem. Met with Saint Paul the Apostle to work out Paul‘s plans for evangelization. Supported the position that Gentile converts did not have to obey all Jewish religious law, though he continued to observe it himself as part of his heritage, may have been a vegetarian. A just and apostolic man known for his prayer life and devotion to the poor. Martyr...

Having been beaten to death, a club almost immediately became his symbol. This led to his patronage of fullers and pharmacists, both of whom use clubs in their professions. He is reported to have spent so much time in prayer that his knees thickened, and looked like a camel’s. Soon after the Crucifixion, James said he would fast until Christ returned; the resurrected Jesus appeared to him, and fixed a meal for James Himself...  

    St. Jude Thaddaeus

St. Jude, known as Thaddaeus, was a brother of St. James the Less, and a relative of Our Saviour. St. Jude was one of the 12 Apostles of Jesus...

Ancient writers tell us that he preached the Gospel in Judea, Samaria, Idumaea, Syria, Mesopotamia, and Lybia. According to Eusebius, he returned to Jerusalem in the year 62, and assisted at the election of his brother, St. Simeon, as Bishop of Jerusalem...

Judas questioned the Lord: "Judas said to him (not Iscariot), Lord, how is it that you will show yourself to us, and not unto the world?" (John 14:22). After he witnessed Christ's resurrection, Judas then knew the answer to his question. Preaching the risen Christ to those in Mesopotamia in the midst of pagan priests, Judas was beaten to death with sticks, showing to the world that Christ was indeed Lord and God...

Date of Martyrdom: 72 A.D... beaten to death with a club, then beheaded post-mortem in 1st century Persia; relics at Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy, at Rheims, France, and at Toulouse, France..

Feastday: 28 October (Roman Church); 19 June (Eastern Church)...

Son of Cleophas, who died a martyr, and Mary who stood at the foot of the Cross, and who annointed Christ’s body after death. Brother of Saint James the Lesser. Nephew of Mary and Joseph; blood relative of Jesus Christ, and reported to look a lot like him. May have been a fisherman. Apostle...

Wrote the canonical Epistle named for him. Preached in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia with Saint Simon. Healer. Exorcist. Could exorcise pagan idols, which caused the demons to flee and the statues to crumble...

His patronage of lost or impossible causes traditionally derives from confusion by many early Christians between Jude and the traitor Judas Iscariot; not understanding the difference between the names, they never prayed for Jude’s help, and devotion to him became something of a lost cause...  

   St. Simon the Apostle

In the New Testament he is sometimes called Simon the Zealot because of the zeal he showed for the Mosaic law which he practised before his call...

Called the Cananean or Zealot because of his zeal for the Jewish law; he was not from Cana, nor a member of the Zealot party. Like all the Apostles, he was a convert, and was trained by Saint Peter the Apostle. Evangelized in Egypt and Mesopotamia, though there are traditions of him being in several other locations. He was a martyr for the faith, but several places claim to have been the site of that, too...

Simon was a Jewish zealot who strived to set his people free from Roman oppression. After he saw with his own eyes that Christ had been resurrected, he became a zealot of the Gospel. Historians tell of the many different places that Simon proclaimed the good news of Christ's

resurrection: Egypt, Cyrene, Africa, Mauritania, Britain, Lybia, and Persia. His rest finally came when he verified his testimony and went to be with Christ, being crucified by a governor in Syria...

Date of Martyrdom: 74 A.D...martyred; Abyssinians claim he was crucified in Samaria; Lipsius says he was sawn in half at Suanir, Persia; Moses of Chorene writes that he was martyred at Weriosphora in Iberia; many locations claim to have relics including Toulouse, France, and Saint Peter’s Basilica, Rome, Italy...

Feastday: 28 October (Roman Church); 10 May (Coptic Church)...

St Simon is surnamed the Canaanean or Canaanite, and the Zealot, to distinguish him from St. Peter, and from St. Simeon, the brother of St. James the Less, and his successor in the see of Jerusalem. From the first of these surnames some have thought that St. Simon was born at Cana, in Galilee: certain modern Greeks pretend that it was at his marriage that our Lord turned the water into wine. It is not to be doubted but he was a Galilean. Theodoret says, of the tribe either of Zabulon or Nepthali. Hammond and Grotius think that St. Simon was called the Zealot, before his coming to Christ, because he was one of that particular sect or party among the Jews called Zealots, from a singular zeal they possessed for the honour of God and the purity of religion. A party called Zealots were famous in the war of the Jews against the Romans...  

    Judas Iscariot

“...Judas Iscariot, the one who betrayed Him.."

Judas Iscariot - was, according to the New Testament, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He is infamously known for his kiss and betrayal of Jesus to the hands of the chief Sanhedrin priests for a ransom of 30 pieces of silver...

Very little is told us in the Sacred Text concerning the history of Judas Iscariot beyond the bare facts of his call to the Apostolate, his treachery, and his death. His birthplace, as we have seen, is indicated in his name Iscariot, and it may be remarked that his origin separates him from the other Apostles, who were all Galileans. For Kerioth is a city of Judah. It has been suggested that this fact may have had some influence on his career by causing want of sympathy with his brethren in the Apostolate. We are told nothing concerning the circumstances of his call or his share in the ministry and miracles of the Apostles. And it is significant that he is never mentioned without some reference to his great betrayal. Thus, in the list of the Apostles given in the Synoptic Gospels, we read: "and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed him"...

But, apart from this consideration, it may be urged that in exaggerating the original malice of Judas, or denying that there was even any good in him, we minimize or miss the lesson of this fall. The examples of the saints are lost on us if we think of them as being of another order without our human weaknesses. And in the same way it is a grave mistake to think of Judas as a demon without any elements of goodness and grace. In his fall is left a warning that even the great grace of the Apostolate and the familiar friendship of Jesus may be of no avail to one who is unfaithful....

There are a few descriptions of the death of Judas, two of which are included in the modern Biblical canon: Matthew 27:3–10 says that Judas returned the money to the priests and committed suicide by hanging himself. They used it to buy the potter's field. The Gospel account presents this as a fulfillment of prophecy...  

    Saint Matthias the Apostle

Matthias replaced Judas Iscariot (the betrayer of Christ who hanged himself) as the twelfth Apostle of Christ (Acts 1:26). It is believed by most that Matthias was one of the seventy that Christ sent out during his earthly ministry (Luke 10:1). This qualifies him to be an apostle. Matthias, of which the least is known, is said by Eusebius to have preached in Ethiopia. He was later stoned while hanging upon a cross...

Date of Martyrdom: 80 A.D...

Feastday: May 14 (Roman Catholic Church, Anglican Communion); August 9 (Eastern Orthodox Churches)..

Matthias, according to the Acts of the Apostles, was the apostle chosen by the remaining eleven apostles to replace Judas Iscariot following Judas' betrayal of Jesus and suicide... His calling as an apostle is unique in that his appointment was not made personally by Jesus, who had already ascended to heaven, and, it was made before the descending of the Holy Spirit upon the early Church...

Not that they became apostles through being chosen for some distinguished peculiarity of nature, since also Judas was chosen along with them. But they were capable of becoming apostles on being chosen by Him who foresees even ultimate issues. Matthias, accordingly, who was not chosen along with them, on showing himself worthy of becoming an apostle, is substituted for Judas...

   

Faith without works is dead...

"But now Faith, Hope, Love, abide these three ; but the greatest of these is Love."  1 Corinthians 13:13, Bible

 

      Dvylika  apaštalų

"Dvylikos apaštalų vardai: pirmasis Simonas, vadinamas Petru, ir jo brolis Andriejus; Zebediejaus sūnus Jokūbas ir jo brolis Jonas; Pilypas ir Baltramiejus; Tomas ir muitininkas Matas; Alfiejaus sūnus Jokūbas ir Lebėjus, vadinamas Tadu; Simonas Kananietis ir Judas Iskarijotas, kuris išdavė Jėzų.." Mato 10,2-4, Biblija  

Apaštalai ( pasiuntiniai) – 12 pirmųjų Jėzaus Kristaus pasirinktų mokinių, kuriuos jis siuntė skelbti pasauliui apie save ir savo mokymą...

Dvylika Biblijoje minimi apaštalų: Andriejus, Baltramiejus, Jokūbas Jaunesnysis, Jokūbas Vyresnysis, Jonas, Judas Iskariotas – apaštalas, išdavęs Jėzų, Matas, Pilypas, Simonas Kananietis, Simonas Petras – laikomas pirmuoju popiežiumi katalikybėje, Tadas, Tomas...

  Apaštalas Andriejus ( taip pat žinomas kaip Andriejus pirmas pašauktas) – vienas iš Jėzaus Kristaus mokinių, apaštalas, Apaštalo Petro brolis... Apaštalas Andriejus mirė kankinio mirtimi ant raidės „X“ formos kryžiaus (Andriejaus kryžius), apie 70 m. Graikijos Patrų mieste... Apaštalo Andriejaus minėjimo data lapkričio 30 d...

  Apaštalas Baltramiejus ( mirė apie 70 m.) – vienas iš dvylikos apaštalų, Naujajame Testamente minimas tik apaštalų sąrašuose...Manoma, kad Evangeljose minimas Baltramiejus  ir Evangelijoje pagal Joną minimas Natanaelis yra vienas ir tas pats asmuo... Šventojo Baltramiejaus diena Katalikų bažnyčioje minima rugpjūčio 24 d., Rytų bažnyčiose – birželio 11 d. Armėnų apaštališkoji bažnyčia Šventąjį Baltramiejų, kartu su šventuoju Tadu laiko savo globėjais. Koptų bažnyčia šv. Baltramiejų mini sausio 1 d...

  Apaštalas Jokūbas jaunesnysis – vienas iš 12 Jėzaus Kristaus apaštalų. Minimas visose keturiose evangelijose. Kartais tapatinamas su Apaštalu Jokūbu teisinguoju...Pagal tradiciją laikoma, kad Apaštalas Jokūbas jaunesnysis mirė kankinio mirtimi – buvo nukryžiuotas Ostrakino mieste žemutiniame Egipte... Mirė: apie 62 m... minėjimo data gegužės 3 d...

  Apaštalas Jokūbas vyresnysis  – vienas iš 12 Jėzaus Kristaus mokinių, apaštalas... Jokūbas gimė Palestinoje, užmuštas 44 m. Jeruzalėje. Jo vyresnis brolis buvo Apaštalas Jonas evangelistas... minėjimo data liepos 25-ąją ( anksčiau rugpjūčio 5-ąją)... Pagal legendą jo palaikai buvo perkelti į Ispaniją į Santjago de Compostela   miestą .XI a. kelionės į Santjagą įgavo antrą pagal reikšmę piligrimystės vietą po kelionių į Šventąją žemę...

  Apaštalas Jonas – vienas iš 12 apaštalų, Evangelijos pagal Joną, Apreiškimo knygos ir trijų laiškų, įeinančių į Naująjį Testamentą autorius... Apaštalas Jonas ypatingai buvo mėgiamas Jėzaus už visišką nuolankumą ir vaikišką sielos tyrumą. Po savo pašaukimo Jonas nesiskyrė su savo gelbėtoju ir buvo vienu iš trijų mokinių, kuriuos Jėzus ypatingai mylėjo ir būdamas ant kryžiaus nurodė rūpintis Marija... Apaštalas Jonas gyveno daugiau kaip 100 metų ir mirė sava mirtimi nuo senatvės, tuo tarpu visi kiti apaštalai mirė kankinio mirtimis...

  Apaštalas Matas – vienas iš Jėzaus Kristaus apaštalų. Pagal Naująjį Testamentą buvo muitininkas iš Kafarnaumo, vėliau tapo apaštalu. Jam priskiriama pirmosios evangelijos autorystė... Apie tolimesnę Mato gyvenimą beveik nieko nežinoma. Pagal vienus šaltinius jis skelbė evangeliją Etiopijoje, kur ir buvo nukankintas,  pagal kitus šaltinius jam buvo įvykdyta mirties bausmė Mažojoje Azijoje Ieralopio mieste (60-70 m)... Italijos mieste Salerno San-Matteo bazilikoje saugomi jo palaikai, pagal vieną versiją jie buvo atvežti į Italiją X a... Minėjimo diena pas katalikus yra rugsėjo 21 d., pas stačiatikius – lapkričio 16 d...

  Apaštalas Pilypas – vienas iš 12 Jėzaus Kristaus apaštalų. Evangelijoje pagal Joną nurodoma, kad jis gimė Betsaidoje, tame pačiame mieste kaip ir Apaštalas Andriejus ir Apaštalas Petras ir pašauktas su jais trečiu. Apaštalas Pilypas Jėzui Kristui atvedė Apaštalą Baltramiejų (Jn 1, 43-46). Evangelijoje pagal Joną Pilypas pasirodo dar tris kartus: jis kalbasi su Jėzumi apie duoną daugybei žmonių... 54 m., valdant Romos imperatoriui Domicianui,  už tikėjimo skelbimą buvo nukryžiuotas žemyn galva Hirapoliso mieste, Mažojoje Azijoje...minėjimo diena gegužės 3 d...

  Apaštalas Simonas Kananietis (mirė apie 74 m.) – apaštalas, pasak Biblijos, vienas iš Jėzaus Kristaus mokinių.. Apokrifiniuose šaltiniuose teigiama, jog apaštalas Simonas Kananietis pamokslavo Judėjoje, Egipte ir Libijoje. Po Jėzaus Kristaus kartu su Apaštalu Tadu Judu patraukęs pamokslauti Persijoje ir Babilone... Pagal legendą apaštalas mirė kankinio mirtimi prie Juodosios jūros Kaukaze – buvo gyvas perpjautas pjūklu... minėjimo diena spalio 28 d...

  Apaštalas Simonas Petras ( m. 64 m.) – apaštalas, Romos katalikų bažnyčios laikomas pirmuoju popiežiumi (32–64 m.)...  Pagal evangeliją tikrasis Petro vardas buvo Simonas, Jono sūnus; teigiama, kad jis buvęs žvejys iš Kafarnaumo Galilėjoje. Katalikai ir stačiatikiai laiko apaštalą Petrą šventuoju. Jam yra priskiriama dviejų laiškų, įtrauktų į Naujojo testamento kanoną, autorystė... Bažnytinė tradicija skelbia, kad Petras mirė Romoje, Vatikano kalne, kankinio mirtimi ant kryžiaus. Nukryžiuotas, jo prašymu, galva žemyn, nes manė nesąs vertas mirti taip, kaip Kristus. Vėliau toje vietoje pastatyta bažnyčia, kurioje palaidotas jo kūnas. Dabar ten stovi Vatikano bazilika... Birželio 29 d. – šventųjų Petro ir Povilo šventė ...

  Apaštalas Judas Tadas – pagal Naująjį Testamentą, Alfiejaus ir Marijos sūnus, apaštalo Jokūbo jaunesniojo brolis... Pasak legendų, apaštalas Judas Tadas skelbė tikėjimą Palestinoje, Avarijoje, Sirijoje ir Mesopotamijoje ir mirė kankinio mirtimi Armėnijoje antroje I a. pusėje (72 ) ... Apaštalo Judo Tado šventė spalio 28 d....

  Apaštalas Tomas – vienas iš Jėzaus Kristaus mokinių... Biblijoje nurodoma, kad jo nebuvo, kai Kristus prisikėlė iš numirusių ir pasirodė apaštalams. Kai vėliau Tomui apie tai buvo papasakota, jis pareiškė tuo netikįs ir patikėsiąs tik tada, kai pats pamatysiąs ir paliesiąs jo žaizdas. Kai Jėzus pasirodė ir paprašė netikintį Tomą, kad jis pirštu paliestų jo žaizdas, priblokštas Tomas pasakė: "Mano Viešpats ir mano Dievas."... Tomas mirė kankinio mirtimi Kalaminoje, Indijoje, nužudytas ietimi ar strėle (72 m.). Jo karstas yra po altoriumi Madraso katedroje netoli Bengalijos įlankos. Jo kūnas nežinomomis aplinkybėmis III a. buvo pervežtas į Edesą (dabar Urfa Turkijoje) Mažojoje Azijoje... Jo šventė yra liepos 3 d...   

  Judas Iskariotas  –  vienas iš Jėzaus mokinių... Judo vardas yra virtęs išdaviko sinonimu. Apkabinimu/bučiniu Judas Iskariotas romėnams nurodė Jėzų ir už tai gavo piniginį atlygį, “30 sidabrinių“... Naujojo Testamento evangelijos šį Judo veiksmą traktuoja kaip išdavystę, vėliau dėl išdavystės Judas pasikorė... Tačiau 1970 m. Egipte rastas gnostikų rankraštis "Judo Evangelija". „Judo Evangelija“ buvo parašyta iki 180 m., nes tais metais Liono vyskupas Šv. Iranėjus mini Judo evangeliją kaip vieną iš erezijų...   

  Apaštalas Motiejus - vienas iš Jėzaus Kristaus mokinių.... Motiejus (I a.) buvo apaštalu išrinktas vietoje Jėzaus išdaviko Judo (Apd 1, 15-26). Rinkimuose buvo du kandidatai: Juozapas Barsabas ir Motiejus. Pasimeldę išrinko Motiejų. Jis buvo liudininkas Jėzaus krikšto Jordano upėje, jo įžengimo į dangų ir prisikėlimo. kartu su kitais apaštalais jis per Sekmines gavo Šv. Dvasią. Sunku nustatyti vietoves ar laiką, kur jis apaštalavo. Teigiama, kad iš pradžių jis veikė Judėjoje, vėliau Kapadokijoje ir netoli Kaspijos jūros. Etiopijos tradicija ir netikri Andriejaus ir Motiejaus "darbai" teigia, kad jis darbavosi tuose kraštuose, Kanibalso mieste. Legenda pasakoja, kad jis miręs prikaltas prie kryžiaus ( 80 m). Imperatoriaus Konstantino motina šv. Elena apaštalo Motiejaus relikvijas atgabeno į Romą. ...  šventė gegužės 14 d..

 

Tikėjimas be darbų yra negyvas...

"Taigi dabar pasilieka Tikėjimas, Viltis ir Meilė - šis trejetas, bet didžiausia jame  yra Meilė." 1 Korintiečiams 13-13, Biblija