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Rh APOSTLES

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APOSTLES

VI, on the relation of tlie Anostolate to the office of bishop; VII, on the origin of the feasts of the Apos- tles. The reader will find at the end of this article various titles of other articles which contain supple- mentary information on subjects connected with the Apostles.

I. The Name. — The word "Apostle", from the Greel< diroffrAXw " to send forth ", " to dispatch ", has etyrnologically a very general sense. 'At6<tto\o5 (.\ix)stlc) means one who is sent forlli, dispatched — in other words, who is entrusted with a mission, rather, a foreign mission. It has, however, a stronger sense than the word mesxcn/jer, and means as much as a delegate. In the classical writers the word is not fre<|uent. In the Greek version of the Old Testa- ment it occurs once, in III Kings, xiv, 6 (cf. ibid., xii, 24). In the New Testament, on the contrarj', it occurs, according to Brudor's Concordance, about eighty times, and denotes often not all the disciples of the Lord, but some of them specially called. It is obvious that our Lord, who six)ke an Aramaic dialect, gave to some of his di.sciples an .\ramaic title, the Greek equivalent of which was "Apostle". It seems to us that there is no reasonable doubt about the Aramaic word being n?!? Seliah, by which also the later Jews, and probably already the Jews l)0- fore Christ, denoted "those who were despatched from the mother city by the rulers of the race on any foreign mission, especially such as were charged with collecting the tribute paid to the temple serv- ice" (Lightfoot, "Galatians ', London, 189C, p. 93). The word ajmxtle would be an exact rendering of the root of the word seliah, = dToo-xAXu.

II. V.\Rious Me.a.vings. — It is at once evident that, in a Christian sense, everyone who had re- ceived a mission from God, or Christ, to man could be called "Apostle". In fact, however, it was re- served to those of the disciples who received this title from Christ. At the same time, like other hon- ourable titles, it was occasionally applied to those who in some way reiilizetl the fundamental idea of the name. The word also has various meanings. (a) The name Apoxlk denotes principally one of tlie twelve disciples who, on a solemn occasion, were called by Christ to a special mission. In the Gos- pels, however, those disciples are often designated by the expressions ot tta0riTal (the disciples) ol SJiSiKa (the Twelve) and, after the treason and death of Judas, even oi (vScKa (the Eleven). In the Synop- tics the name Apostle occurs but seldom with this meaning; only once in Matthew and Mark. But in other JKJoks of the New Testament, chiefly in the Epistles of St. Paul and in the Acts, this use of the word is current. Saul of Tarsus, being miraculously converted, and called to preach the Gospel to the heathens, claimed with much insistency this title and its rights. (6) In the Epistle to the Hebrews (iii, 1) the name is applie<l even to Christ, in the original meaning of a delegate sent from God to preach revealed truth to the world, (c) The word Apostle ha.s also in the New Testament a larger mejining, and denotes some inferior disciples who, under the direction of the Apostles, preached the Gospel, or contributed to its diffusion; thus Bar- nabas (.\cts. xiv, 4, 14), probably Andronicus and Junias (Rom., xv'i, 7), Epaphrodftus (Phil., ii, 2.5), two unknown Christians who were tlclegate<I for the collection in Corinth (II Cor., vii, 2.3). We know not why the honourable name of Apostle is not given to such illustrious missionaries as Timothy, Titus, and others who wovild equally merit it. — 'fhere are some pa.ssagcs in which the extension of the word Apostle is doubtful, as Luke, xi, 49; John, xiii, 16; H Cor., xi, 13; I Thes., ii, 7; Ephcs., iii,. 5; Jude, 17. and perhaps the well-known expression ".Apostles and Prophets". Even in an ironical meaning the word occurs (II Cor., xi,5; xii, 11) to denote pseudo-

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apostles. There is but little to add on the use of the word in the old Christian literature. The first and third meanings are the only ones which occur frequently, and even in the oldest literature the larger meaning is .seldom found.

III. Oric.in of the Ai'ostolate. — The Gospels point out how, from the Ix-ginning of his ministry, Jesus called to him some Jews, and by a very diligent instruction and formation tnade them his disciples. After some time, in the Galilean ministry, he selected twelve whom, as Mark (?) and Luke (vi, 13) say, "he also named Apostles." The origin oj the Apostolale lies therefore in a special roeation, a format appoint- ment of the Lord to a determined office, with con- nected authority and duties. The appointment of the twelve Apostles is given by the three Synoptic Gospels (.Mark, iii, 13-19; Matthew, x, 1-4; Luke, vi, 12-16) nearly in the same words, so that the three narratives are literally dependent. Only on the im- mediately connected events is there some difference l)etween them. It seems almost needless to outline and disprove rationalistic views on this topic. The holders of these views, at least some of them, contend that our Lord never appointed twelve Apostles, never thought of establishing di.sciples to help him in his ministry, and eventually to carry on his work. These opinions are only deductions from the ration- alistic principles on the credibility of the Gospels, Christ's doctrine on the Kingdom of Heaven, and the eschatologj' of the Gospels. Here it may be sufficient to observe (a) that the very clear testimony of the three .synoptic (iospels constitutes a strong historical argument, representing, as it does, a very old and widely-spread tradition that cannot be erro- neous; (b) that the universally acknowledged au- thority of the Apostles, even in the most heated controversies, and from the first years after Christ's death (for instance in the Jewish controversies), as we read in the oldest Epistles of St. Paul and in the Acts, cannot be explained, or even be understood, unless we recognize some apix)intment of the Twelve by Jesus.

IV. Office and Conditions of the Apostolate. — Two of the sj-noptic Gospels add to their account of the appointment of the Twelve brief statements on their office: Mark, iii, 14.15, "He appointed twelve to be with him and to send them to herald, and to have power to heal the illnesses and to ciist out demons"; Matthew, x, 1, "He gave them power over unclean spirits so as to expel them, and to heal every disease and every illness". Luke, where he relates the appointment of the Twelve, adds nothing on their office. Afterwards (Mark, vi, 7-13; Mat- thew, X, 5-15; Luke, ix, 1-5), Jesus sends the Twelve to preach the kingdom and to heal, and gives them verj' definite instructions. From all this it results that the Apostles are to be with Jesus and to aid Him by proclaiming the kingdom and by healing. However, this was not the whole extent of their of- fice, and it is not difficult to understand that Jesus did not indicate to His Apostles the whole extent of their mission, while as yet they had such imperfect ideas of His own person and mission, and of the Messianic kingdom. The nature of the Apostolic mission is made still clearer by the sayings of Christ after His Resurrection. Here such passages as Mat- thew, xxviii, 19, 20; Luke, xxiv, 46-49; Acts, i, S, 21-22 are fimdamental. In the first of these texts we read, "Go ye therefore and make disciples all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son. and the Holy Ghost, teaching them to ol)ser\-e all I have commanded you". The texts of Luke point to the same office of preaching and testifying (cf. Mark, xvi, 16). The Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles WTitten by the Apostles exhibit them in the constant exercise of this office. Everj-where the Apostle governs the disciples,