After Jesus was crucified and resurrected, those disciples who had followed him accepted the entrustment of the Lord to spread the gospel from Jerusalem, all Judea and Samaria to the ends of the earth as witnesses of the resurrection of the Lord. Among them, because Judas betrayed Jesus, Matthias succeeded him as an apostle (Acts 1: 26). According to the tradition of the ancient church, the apostles were later divided into three groups: Peter, Andre, Matthew and Bartholomew went to the Black Sea to preach, Thomas, Simon and thaddeus went to Parthia, and John and Philip went to Asia Minor. The history of the church in Eusebius also records that Thomas went to Parthia, Andrew went to Siguti, John stayed in Asia and died in Ephesus soon after. Peter traveled all over Pontus, Galatia, Carpathia, Bithynia and Asia, preaching the gospel to the scattered Jews, and finally returned to Rome, where he was crucified. 1. James is the son of Zebedee and the younger brother of Johanna, and was called "Big James" at that time. James was the first apostle to be martyred, and his biography recorded his martyrdom: "Herod laid hands on him in the church and killed John's brother James with a knife." "(Acts, vol. 12 1~2). According to the history of the church in Eusebius, Grimian recorded Jacob's joy and fearlessness before martyrdom in the seventh volume of his institution (namely Hypotyposes). The man who brought him to the judgment seat was deeply moved by this scene and publicly admitted that he was a Christian. They were taken together to die, and the man asked Jacob to forgive him. Jacob thought for a moment and answered, "Peace be with you." And kissed him, and they were beheaded at the same time. Second, John (John) According to the Gospel of John, John is an apostle loved by the Lord Jesus and entrusted to take care of Mary, the mother of Jesus under the cross. After the Pentecostal Church was founded, John, Peter and James, the flesh and blood brother of the Lord, became the pillars of the Jerusalem Church (Galatians. 2.9). The five volumes of books and letters written by John are included in the New Testament canon. History tells us that during the persecution of Emperor Yutian, John was exiled to Patmos Island, where he saw a vision and wrote the apocalypse. According to the records of Emmanuel, Clemens, Jerome and other godfathers, Johanna continued to preach the gospel and build churches in Ephesus after his release from Patmos Island. John was full of love in his later years and brought a lot of comfort to his brothers. When he was too old to walk, he was carried to the party. Every time he talked about it, he mentioned, "Boys! You should love each other! These are the same words in the last sermon. After the lecture, I passed away safely on the podium. Thirdly, Peter Simon BaJonah was later renamed Cephas by Jesus-that is, Peter. After Jesus was crucified and resurrected, Peter led his disciples back to the fishing place, and then met the Lord at the seaside of Tiberias and appeared to him. On Pentecost, Peter was strong enough to testify for the Lord and opened the door to the Jews. Later, he was inspired by the Lord and opened the door of the Gentiles in Cornelius' house. Peter, James and John are all elders in Jerusalem and influential apostles in the early church. According to the records of the martyr Justine, Peter arrived in Rome during Claudius' reign, but the biography tells us that Peter should have arrived in Jerusalem in 44 BC (Acts 12: 3) and 565: 438+0 (Acts 15). After that, he went to Antioch (Gal. 2 1 1), served in Asia Minor and even went to Babylon to preach. 5 13). When Paul wrote a letter to the Roman church in 60 BC, he didn't mention that Peter was in the local area, so the evidence that Peter went to Rome during Claudius was quite fragile. Peter should have arrived in Rome shortly before his martyrdom (64 BC). Peter tried his best to spread the gospel in Rome in his later years. Because of his earnest preaching, many people abandoned their idols and turned to the true God. It is said that in order to avoid attracting the attention of Rome, Peter used the "underground tomb cave" on the outskirts of Rome as a missionary place. Later, the tyrant Nile persecuted him and arrested Peter. According to Clemens and Irene, Paul and Peter were martyred in Rome almost at the same time. It is said that before being executed, Peter made such a request to the history of crime: "Please turn me upside down and crucify me. My Lord stood on the cross for me. I don't deserve to die like him. Tertullianus was the first godfather to mention that Peter was crucified, and Olkin further mentioned that Peter was crucified. Fourth, Andrew Andrew is Peter's own brother and one of the twelve apostles. When the church was persecuted in Jerusalem, its disciples were scattered everywhere. Andrew sailed by boat and preached the gospel everywhere. The tradition of some churches regards Andre as the apostle of Siguti, so the Russian church regards Andre as the patron saint. Finally, Andrew returned to Patra in Achaia province, where he was crucified and became a martyr. According to legend, Andrew was crucified in the shape of "X", and this form of cross was called "St. Andrew's Cross" from now on. According to Jerome's records, Andrew gave a wonderful sermon to everyone before he went to the cross, and then died without fear, which made many people believe that Jesus was the Lord. Philip It is said that Philip preached everywhere like other apostles. It is said that in Hilapoli, Asia Minor, he led many people who believed in the snake god to believe in the Lord, destroyed the gods of the snake god, angered officials and priests who benefited from superstition, imprisoned him, tortured him, and finally was crucified. In the letter from Policrates, the supervisor of Ephesus, to Victor, the supervisor of Rome, the apostle Philip and his daughter were mentioned: "In Asia, the luminous saints have gone to sleep, but they will be resurrected at the last day of the Lord's appearance. The Lord came down from heaven with glory and gathered all the saints. Philip, one of the twelve apostles, and his two innocent daughters are sleeping in Hilapoli. Philip's other daughter lived in the Holy Spirit and was buried in Ephesus. Six, Bartholomew Some hermeneutics think that Bartholomew may be Nathanael, because he is often placed with Philip in the list of the twelve apostles, and Philip guides him to believe in the Lord. Although the Bible does not record his words and deeds, Nathanael was one of the seven disciples when Jesus appeared on the sea of Galilee after his resurrection (about 2 1: 2). Bartholomew is an Aramaic name, while Nathanael is Hebrew. The church said that he preached and performed miracles in many places outside Judea and translated Matthew into many languages. There is a legend in India that when Paul preached in West Asia, the apostles Thomas and Bartholomew began to preach to the East. The former was in India, and Bartoloma went on to China. Bartholomew was finally beaten, crucified and killed with a knife by pagans in Armenia. Thomas Thomas, also known as Didymus, was called "suspicious Thomas" because he did not believe in the resurrection of the Lord (about 24: 25). According to the historical records of the church, after the resurrection of the Lord, Thomas, Simon and thaddeus went to Parthia to preach. In the apostolic era, Pattaya was a country whose territory extended from the Caspian Sea to the Persian Gulf. Later, according to the church tradition, Thomas even went beyond Pattaya to India, where he preached the gospel, established a church and finally died in a foreign land. At present, there are not only some churches named after Thomas in India, but also many relics of Thomas can be found. 8. Judas, the son of Jacob, or, also famous for worshipping Wu or Judas (Judas is Iscariot, not a seller), is the son of Alphaeus. According to the tradition of the church, Tathagata went to preach by boat many times. Godfather Jerome also mentioned that Datta came to Turkey today to cure King Aga's serious illness and lead the Turkish people to return to God. Finally, because of preaching the gospel in Persia, the authorities were dissatisfied and were crucified and executed. 9. Simon of the Angry Party Before following the Lord, Simon was party member of the Angry Party, a fanatical patriot and a person who strictly abided by the law of Moses. According to legend, Simon not only preached the gospel in Judea, but also went to Africa and the United States, and the main missionary area was Mesopotamia. Later, he was killed by pagans in Persia. Some people say that Simon was crucified, while others say that Simon was sawed in half and died. 10. James, the son of Alfie, may be shorter or younger than James, the son of Peter, so he is called "Little James". It was this James who spread the gospel to Egypt. As for the whereabouts of little Jacob, it is said that he was separated in the process of witnessing the persecution of Christians. Others say he preached in Persia and was martyred there. Because the Bible only records his name, but not his deeds, people call him an "Apostle without praise", and he is one of many unknown martyrs. Eleven, the tax collector Matthew (Levi, Matthew) Matthew and reputation, this is a Roman tax collector, hated and despised by Jewish compatriots. Followed by Matthew, preaching the gospel to Jewish compatriots. In his later years, he traveled all over the Middle East, Ethiopia and Africa, founded churches, and died in Persia. Twelve, Matthias (Matthias) After Jesus ascended to heaven, all the apostles drew lots to choose Matthias to replace Judas as an apostle. Matthias was originally one of the seventy disciples. According to legend, he was martyred in Jerusalem. He was stoned to death and then beheaded.
Reference: Geocities/Sarceausa/Europe/ch/lesson 01_12 Apostle.