Contrary to popular belief, the title “apostle” is not
limited to the twelve chief male disciples of Jesus the Nazorean plus Paul, nor
did it die out in the Apostolic Era of the Church. There were itinerant apostles around up to
the early-to-mid second century.
The word “apostle” refers to ‘one who is sent out’;
literally, an emissary. Several groups
so-designated in the New Testament are of note.
This essay is not about their function or whether they
really existed, but about the contradictions in the various lists from
different sources of the Early Church.
Groups of Christian apostles
First we should look at the different groups into which
those designated as “apostle” were divided by the various writers of works of
the New Testament.
The Twelve –
Traditionally the disciples who made up his inner circle before the
crucifixion. Their identities are the
subject of this essay, mostly because no two of the ancient sources agrees on
their names. In some cases, only the
designation “The Twelve” is given. The
number twelve has numerous significance, with Israelite culture in particular
referencing the Twelve Tribes.
The Three –
‘James, Cephas, and John’ in Paul’s letter to the Galatians, and ‘Peter, James,
and John’ in the Synoptic gospels.
“James” in the first refers to the “brother of the Lord”, who was often
called “James the Just”. In the
Synoptics, “James” in the passages where it mentions the Three refers to James,
son of Zebedee and brother of John.
The Seventy –
According to the Gospel of Luke,
these were appointed and given nearly identical instructions to those given the
Twelve in the Gospel of Matthew. Several lists have been contrived of their
identities, even as the composer of Luke contrived their existence as a group,
of which no two agree any more than remotely.
Among Jews and Samaritans, the number seventy is symbolic of the Gentile
nations of the earth. In some
manuscripts, there are seventy-two apostles rather than seventy.
The Seven – In
New Testament lore, this refers to the seven men appointed to look after the
Hellenistai (Greek-speaking Jews) living in Jerusalem, often called the first
deacons. Like the Twelve and the
Seventy, the number seven has numerous mystical and philosophical shades of
meaning and is likely invented.
Later apostles –
The letters of Paul and several ancient church orders from the late first
through the second century mention other called “apostle”, sometimes by name.
The Twelve in Christian literature
Now we can look at the contradictions of the various lists
of the Twelve.
In the Gospel of Mark, the Twelve are named Simon Peter, Andrew, James bar
Zebedee, John bar Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James bar
Alphaeus, Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot. Mark
introduced the idea that the Three referred to Peter, James son of Zebedee, and
John. Since Paul actually met them and
the composer of the Gospel of Mark was
an anonymous Alexandrian who likely knew none of them, Paul’s account is
probably more accurate.
In the Gospel of Luke, the Twelve are named Simon Peter, Andrew, James, John,
Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James bar Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, Judas
of James, and Judas Iscariot.
In the Gospel of Matthew, the Twelve are named Simon Peter, Andrew, James bar
Zebedee, John bar Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James bar Alphaeus,
Lebbaeus Thaddaeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot.
In the Gospel of John, the Twelve are Simon Peter bar Jonah, Andrew bar Jonah,
the two sons of Zebedee, Philip, Nathanael, Thomas Didymus, Judas (not
Iscariot), Judas bar Simon Iscariot, and two other disciples unnamed. You may notice this adds up to only eleven.
The Pauline Epistles
mention “The Twelve” as a group, and give the names of the apostles James,
Cephas, John, Peter, Paul, Apollos, Barnabas, Timothy, Andronicus, Junia, and Silas. Depending on the correct reading of Galatians chapter 2, Cephas and Peter
are either the same person or two different people. The oldest manuscripts give the name Cephas
at all five points, while many later manuscripts give that name only once.
In the Gospel of the Ebionites, a Jewish
Christian gospel quoted by Epiphanius, the Twelve are named Simon, Andrew, James
bar Zebedee, John bar Zebedee, Philip, Bartholomew, James bar Alphaeus, Thomas, Thaddaeus,
Simon the Zealot, Judas the Iscariot, and Matthew.
In the Doctrina duodecim Apostolorum, a
church order of the second century, the apostles are given as James the Just,
Simon Cephas, John, Mark, Andrew, Luke, Jude Thomas, Addai (Thaddaeus,
identified as one of the seventy-two, or seventy), Aggaeus the disciple of
Addai; and also Paul and Timothy.
The Didascalia Apostolorum, a church
order of the second century, around 230 CE, begins “We the Twelve” without
naming any of those, adding Paul and James the Just. Inserted into Chapter III, “The Teaching of
the Twelve Apostles” names the Twelve as John, Matthew, Peter, Philip, Andrew,
Simeon, James, Jude son of James, Nathaniel, Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthias,
adding to their ranks as apostles James the Just, Paul, and Addai.
In the Apostolic Church Order of around 300,
the Twelve are John, Matthew, Peter, Andrew, Philip, Simon, James, Nathaniel,
Thomas, Cephas, Bartholomew, and Judas of James. This is one of the earliest examples to
include both “Peter” and “Cephas” among the Twelve. By this time, Galatians, with the alterations, had clearly been distributed
throughout Christendom.
In the Apostolic Constitutions, a
compilation of church orders compiled around 375 in Antioch, the Twelve are Peter,
Andrew, James, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alpheus,
Lebbeus Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Matthias. To their rank, the compiler adds James “the
brother of the Lord, and Bishop of Jerusalem” and Paul “the teacher of the Gentiles”.
In the Epistula Apostolorum, a polemic
against Gnostics written in the late fourth to early fifth century, John,
Thomas, Peter, Andrew, James, Philip, Bartholomew, Matthew, Nathanael, Judas the
Zealot, and Cephas. Some authorities
were still confusing the one as two.
In the Testamentum Domini, a church order
of fifth century Anatolia, the Apostles are named as Peter, John, Thomas,
Matthew, Andrew, Matthias, and “the rest”.
The women Mary, Martha, and Salome are treated on the same level and get
speaking parts in the preliminary section.
Epilogue
If written today, the Twelve might be called Jim, John,
Pete, Andy, Thad, Tom, Phil, Jamie, Matt, Simon, Nate, and Jude, and their
leader would be Joshua, or Josh for short.
Unless he were Latino, and then it would looked like “Jesus” and be
pronounced “HaySOOS”. Josh’s full name
would be Joshua Huckleberry Christ; unlike two millennia ago, “Christ” is
actually a surname in many parts of the world, in several languages.
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