Although Russians are not inferior to any other people in their faith, yet not many of our people can boast of being well acquainted with church terminology. Yes, and what is there to be surprised, because all the subtleties of the Orthodox faith can only be learned in a theological seminary. Nevertheless, many are still interested in the question: who is an apostle? Is this a disciple of Christ or a holy messenger?
Well, let's try to figure out the meaning of this word, so that in the future there will be no more such misunderstandings. And for this we need to look into the past and find out where the first apostle appeared and who he was.
Disciples of Jesus Christ
So, let's start with the fact that initially there were twelve apostles. These were simple people who later became disciples of Jesus Christ and always followed him. From this we can deduce the first meaning of this word: an apostle is one of the first disciples of Christ.
The life of the twelve apostles is well known, as it is described in the holy scripture. However, most of the chapters in the New Testamentwritten by the same students. So, there is the gospel of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and also John. Because of this, they are also called the Four Evangelists of the Lord God.
Bringing the Word of God
A little later, people began to see a different meaning in the word apostle. This was due to the fact that the disciples of the son of God themselves turned into teachers. After all, as you know, Jesus was crucified on the cross, after which he resurrected and appeared to his apostles. He ordered them to take his words to people all over the world so that they would know about the Kingdom of God.
The apostles obeyed their teacher. They cast lots, which determined the route of each, and set off. Through their work and faith, the world learned about who Jesus Christ was, what he believed and taught.
This is why many people think that an apostle is a messenger of God who preaches the good news. But in reality, both meanings are true, but at the same time, when we hear the word apostle, for some reason, the twelve disciples of Christ always come to mind.
Were there other apostles?
And yet the apostles were not only the disciples of Jesus. So, the church attributed this title to St. Paul, although he did not know Christ during his lifetime. Moreover, in some Christian denominations, his doctrines are an order of magnitude higher than the gospel ones.
Also, according to the scripture from Luke, Jesus sent seventy-two apostles to all the lands of the world, with various assignments and assignments. Eastern Christians revere them as much as true disciples of Christ.
So it turns out that the exactthe number of apostles is rather difficult to determine. We can only say with certainty that the first were the twelve disciples of Jesus Christ.
