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The Twelve Apostles were, according to the Synoptic Gospels and Christian tradition, disciples (followers) whom Jesus of Nazareth had chosen, named, and trained in order to send them on a specific mission. After the Apostle Judas Iscariot had betrayed Jesus and subsequestly died, the remaining Apostles filled the vacancy by electing by lot Matthias, a companion of theirs ever since they had followed Jesus so that by the time of the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost they actually numbered twelve again.
Christian tradition has generally passed down that all but one were martyred, with John surviving into old age. Only the death of James, son of Zebedee is described in the New Testament, and the details of the other deaths are the subject of pious legends of varying authenticity. In some cases there is near unanimity in the tradition, and in other cases, there are widely varying and inconsistent accounts.
[edit] The Twelve
Judas Iscariot, originally one of the Twelve, died after the death of Jesus. Matthew 27:5 says that he hanged himself, and Acts 1:18 says that he fell, burst open, and his "bowels gushed out." Matthias was elected to take his place as one of the twelve.
According to Christian tradition:
- Peter, crucified upside-down in Rome circa 64 A.D.
- James, son of Zebedee was beheaded in 44 A.D., first of the twelve to die (since the addition of Matthias)
- John, son of Zebedee, natural causes due to old age, last of the twelve to die, only one of the twelve (or 13 counting Judas Isacariot) to die naturally (as mentioned by Christ at the end of his (John) Gospel.)
- Andrew, Peter's brother, was crucified upon a diagonal cross.
- Philip was crucified in 54 A.D.
- Bartholomew (also known as Nathaniel) was flayed alive (skinned) and then beheaded; some sources locate his death at Derbend on the Caspian Sea.[1]
- Matthew killed by a halberd in 60 A.D.
- Thomas was killed by a spear in Mylapore, Madras, India in AD 72.
- James, son of Alphaeus, beaten to death with a club after being crucified and stoned.
- Saint Jude was crucified.
- Simon the Zealot was crucified in 74 A.D.
- Judas Iscariot, according to the gospels, hanged himself after betraying Jesus.
- Matthias, Judas' replacement, was stoned and beheaded.
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources
[edit] References
- ^ See, for example, his entry in the Oxford Dictionary of Saints.
[edit] External links
