Who are the Apostles?

And when it was day, He called His disciples to Himself; and from them He chose twelve, whom He also named apostles." (Lk 6: 13)

The 12 Apostles were a group of men hand chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ to bear witness to the Word of God and to preach the Word to the multitudes of the world. In the Holy Gospel of St. Mark, he states that the Lord Jesus Christ "appointed 12, that they might be with Him and that He might send them out to preach and to have power to heal sicknesses and to cast out demons" (3:14-15). Based on the word of Jesus Christ they are the light of the world.

The twelve apostles formed the inner core of the Lord Jesus Christ's earthly ministry. They had the power of working miracles, and were inspired to teach and to do extraordinary mission work. On the Feast of Pentecost the Holy Spirit came down on them and they became great, giving witness with the power of the life and death and the resurrection of Jesus as He declared they should.

The apostles served the Lord Jesus and later provided leadership to the first generation Christian believers. They were of such importance that the word "apostle" occurs approximately seventy-nine times in the New Testament. Acts of the Apostles portrays the apostles as leaders of the first church in Jerusalem during the Church's first decade. The apostles truly established the church and with their fast we contemplate the glory of God, their faith, and hardships in which they overcame. Apostles and Disciples of Jesus Christ took the persecution and death for His Name's sake and they gladly suffered it until their death.

Peter

Simon became a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ the day that the Lord Jesus made him a "fisher of men." The Lord Jesus Christ changed Simon's name to Peter, which means rock" (John 1:41-42). This man known as a "rock" later became one of the most influential of the Apostles, as he converted three thousand souls to Christianity after his first sermon (Acts 2). He was eventually martyred in Rome by being crucified upside down, for he did not feel that he was worthy to die in the same manner the Lord Jesus Christ died in.

St. James and St. John (Brothers)

St. James, who also became a "fisher of men," was the first of the 12 Apostles to be martyred. He was beheaded in 44 A.D. Jerusalem under the rule of Herod (Act 12:2). However, while St. James was the first to become a martyr, his brother St. John was the last to die. St. John is believed to have died a peaceful death at an old age in Ephesus, after he completed the Holy Book of Revelations. St. John was the only one to stay with the Lord Jesus Christ through all His trials and tribulations, and was made the caretaker of St Mary by the Lord Jesus while He was on the Holy Cross (John 19:25-27).
St. John wrote 1 Gospel, 3 Epistle and one Revelation.

St. Andrew

St. Andrew was also a fisherman and the brother of St. Peter. St. Andrew was known to bring many people to the Lord Jesus Christ, as he also brought St. Peter to the Lord Jesus Christ after hearing St. John the Baptist call the Lord Jesus "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29). St. Andrew preached in what is known today as Russia and moved on to Istanbul, Turkey, and then to Greece. While in Patros, Greece, Andrew became a martyr on December 4 of 60 A.D. He was crucified in a cross that has a form of "X".

St Philip

St Philip, from Bethsaida, was present on that day in which St Peter and St Andrew met with the Lord Jesus Christ. As the word spread about the Lord Jesus being the Messiah, St. Philip became a follower as the Lord Jesus Christ said to him, "Follow Me" (John 1:43). St. Philip preached in Asia Minor and was martyred at the age of 87 in Hieropolis.

St. Thomas

St. Thomas is known to be the one who doubted the Lord Jesus Christ and needed physical proof of His Resurrection (John 20:27). St. Thomas preached in Babylon, Persia, and made his way to India, where he also became a martyr.

St. Bartholomew

Most people confused him with St. Nathanael. St. Bartholomew preached with St. Peter in Asia Minor. At last when the rulers saw people are giving more attention to St. Bartholomew, they put him in sack full of sand and throw him in ocean. He died on September 1.

St. Matthew

St. Matthew also called Levi; use to be a tax-collector in Capernaum before he became a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. "As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And he said to him, `Follow Me.' So he arose and followed Him" (Matthew 9:9). After receiving his commission, he remained in the Holy Land. He has also came and peach in Agazit (Eritrea and Ethiopia) land and went back to philistine where he was beheaded and receive his martyrdom. Some people blieve he was killed in Agazit land, but this is totally wrong.

St. James, Wrote one epistle containing five chapters

St. James the son of Alphaeus, was St. Matthew's brother and known to be the younger St. James. He wrote the Holy Epistle of James and was possibly the first Bishop of the Syrian Church. He was eventually martyred by stoning in Jerusalem.

St. Thaddaeus

St. Thaddaeus also known as Jude, is the brother of James. St. Thaddaeus preached to Armenia, Syria and northern Persia, and was later martyred in Kara Kalisa.

St. Simon

St. Simon the Cananite, also known as Nathanael, is the last of the original Apostles commissioned to preach He was told the news of the Lord Jesus Christ being the Messiah by St. Philip. He also believed and followed the Lord Jesus Christ (John 1:45-51. He w as killed by the Egyptian kind.

St. Matthias

St. Matthias is the 12th Apostle, who was not directly chosen by the Lord Jesus Christ. The Apostles chose him to be the replacement for Judas Iscariot, who betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ. He preached in Armenia.