Christian Churches of God

No. 122B

 

 

 

The Fate of the

Twelve Apostles

 

(Edition 1.0 20100410-20100410)

 

What happened to the twelve Apostles? Some died by martyrdom and others died from natural causes. In this paper we look at where each of them preached and where each met his end, according to the writings of Hippolytus.

 

 

Christian Churches of God

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(Copyright ©  2010 Wade Cox)

 

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The Fate of the Twelve Apostles


The fate of the Twelve apostles according to Hippolytus (ANF Vol. 5, pp, 254-255) and the dispersal of the Seventy are of interest to the church. These lists were held in doubt by later writers because of what he says and the lesser importance he places on the work of Peter or Cephas in Rome. XLIX was also added to with the canons of Abulides as being also his which is in doubt. His writings on the Twelve and the Seventy are however considered authentic.

 

XLIX.

 

"Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee the crown of life."

 

Ye have heard, beloved, the answer of the Lord; ye have learned the sentence of the Judge; ye have been given to understand what kind of awful scrutiny awaits us, and what day and what hour are before us. Let us therefore ponder this every day; let us meditate on this both day and night, both in the house, and by the way, and in the churches, that we may not stand forth at that dread and impartial judgment condemned, abased, and sad, but with purity of action, life, conversation, and confession; so that to us also the merciful and benignant God may say, "Thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace; "139 and again, "Well done, good and faithful servant; thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many, things: enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."140 Which joy may it be ours to reach, by the grace and kindness of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom pertain glory, honour, and adoration, with His Father, who is without beginning, and His holy, and good, and quickening Spirit, now and ever, and to the ages of the ages. Amen.141

 

Hippolytus ON The Twelve Apostles

Where Each OF Them Preached, And Where HE Met His End.

 

1. Peter preached the Gospel in Pontus, and Galatia, and Cappadocia, and Betania, and Italy, and Asia, and was afterwards crucified by Nero in Rome with his head downward, as he had himself desired to suffer in that manner.

 

2. Andrew preached to the Scythians and Thracians, and was crucified, suspended on an olive tree, at Patrae, a town of Achaia; and there too he was buried.

 

3. John, again, in Asia, was banished by Domitian the king to the isle of Patmos, in which also he wrote his Gospel and saw the apocalyptic vision; and in Trajan's time he fell asleep at Ephesus, where his remains were sought for, but could not be found.

 

4. James, his brother, when preaching in Judea, was cut off with the sword by Herod the tetrarch, and was buried there.

 

5. Philip preached in Phrygia, and was crucified in Hierapolis with his head downward in the time of Domitian, and was buried there.

 

6. Bartholomew, again, preached to the Indians, to whom he also gave the Gospel according to Matthew, and was crucified with his head downward, and was buried in Allanum,142 a town of the great Armenia.143

 

7. And Matthew wrote the Gospel in the Hebrew tongue,144 and published it at Jerusalem, and fell asleep at Hierees, a town of Parthia.

 

8. And Thomas preached to the Parthians, Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and Margians,145 and was thrust through in the four members of his body with a pine spears146 at Calamene,147 the city of India, and was buried there.

 

9. And James the son of Alphaeus, when preaching in Jerusalem was stoned to death by the Jews, and was buried there beside the temple.

 

10. Jude, who is also called Lebbaeus, preached to the people of Edessa,148 and to all Mesopotamia, and fell asleep at Berytus, and was buried there.

 

11. Simon the Zealot,149 the son of Clophas, who is also called Jude, became bishop of Jerusalem after James the Just, and fell asleep and was buried there at the age of 120 years. [James, brother of Christ, was martyred in 63 CE, at the end of the 69 weeks of years of Daniel 9:25 and succeeded by Clophas (Cleopas) and immediately afterwards by Clophas’ son Simon who then took the church to Pella where it was safe from the destruction in Jerusalem in 70 CE. The church returned to Jerusalem later. Cox. ed.]

 

12. And Matthias, who was one of the seventy, was numbered along with the eleven apostles, and preached in Jerusalem, and fell asleep and was buried there.

 

13. And Paul entered into the apostleship a year after the assumption of Christ; and beginning at Jerusalem, he advanced as far as Illyricum, and Italy, and Spain, preaching the Gospel for five-and-thirty years. And in the time of Nero he was beheaded at Rome, and was buried there.

 

The Original Twelve Apostles

  1. Simon named Peter (or Cephas)
  2. Andrew his brother,
  3. James
  4. John,
  5. Phillip,
  6. Bartholomew
  7. Matthew,
  8. Thomas,
  9. James son of Alphaeus,
  10. Simon the Zealot son of Clophas and cousin of Christ,
  11. Judas brother of James named Thaddaeus,
  12. Judas Iscariot the traitor.

 

Judas was replaced by Matthias determined by Lot (Acts 1:26)

(a)    Thaddaeus (Matthew 10: 1-4; Mark 3:13 -19)

(b)   Judas brother of James is the corresponding name in Luke’s gospel (Luke 6:12-16)

Thaddaeus is the Greek rendering of the Aramaic Thaddaios which occurs in the text in Matthew and Mark and does not appear in the text in Luke. It is taken as a rendering for Judas brother of James. There is no deviation of the persons in the texts except for the order in which they are listed.

 

Of the original Twelve Apostles John, Matthew, Jude and Simon died natural deaths. The others were martyred for the faith.

 

The Same Hippolytus ON The Seventy Apostles.150

1. James the Lord's brother,151 bishop of Jerusalem.

2. Cleopas, bishop of Jerusalem.

3. Matthias, who supplied the vacant place in the number of the twelve apostles.

4. Thaddeus, who conveyed the epistle to Augarus.

5. Ananias, who baptized Paul, and was bishop of Damascus.

6. Stephen, the first martyr.

7. Philip, who baptized the eunuch.

8. Prochorus, bishop of Nicomedia, who also was the first that departed,152 believing together with his daughters.

9. Nicanor died when Stephen was martyred.

10. Timon, bishop of Bostra.

11. Parmenas, bishop of Soli.

12. Nicolaus, bishop of Samaria.

13. Barnabas, bishop of Milan.

14. Mark the evangelist, bishop of Alexandria.

15. Luke the evangelist.

 

These two belonged to the seventy disciples who were scattered153 by the offence of the word which Christ spoke, "Except a man eat my flesh, and drink my blood, he is not worthy of me."154 But the one being induced to return to the Lord by Peter's instrumentality, and the other by Paul's, they were honoured to preach that Gospel155 on account of which they also suffered martyrdom, the one being burned, and the other being crucified on an olive tree.

 

16. Silas, bishop of Corinth.

17. Silvanus, bishop of Thessalonica.

18. Crisces (Crescens), bishop of Carchedon in Gaul.

19. Epaenetus, bishop of Carthage.

20. Andronicus, bishop of Pannonia.

21. Amplias, bishop of Odyssus.

22. Urban, bishop of Macedonia.

23. Stachys, bishop of Byzantium.

24. Barnabas, bishop of Heraclea.

25. Phygellus, bishop of Ephesus. He was of the party also of Simon.156

26. Hermogenes. He, too, was of the same mind with the former.

27. Demas, who also became a priest of idols.

28. Apelles, bishop of Smyrna.

29. Aristobulus, bishop of Britain.

30. Narcissus, bishop of Athens.

31. Herodion, bishop of Tarsus.

32. Agabus the prophet.

33. Rufus, bishop of Thebes.

34. Asyncritus, bishop of Hyrcania.

35. Phlegon, bishop of Marathon.

36. Hermes, bishop of Dalmatia.

37. Patrobulus,157 bishop of Puteoli.

38. Hermas, bishop of Philippi.

39. Linus, bishop of Rome [son of Caradog of Britain Cox ed.].

40. Caius, bishop of Ephesus.

41. Philologus, bishop of Sinope.

42, 43. Olympus and Rhodion were martyred in Rome.

44. Lucius, bishop of Laodicea in Syria.

45. Jason, bishop of Tarsus.

46. Sosipater, bishop of Iconium.

47. Tertius, bishop of Iconium.

48. Erastus, bishop of Panellas.

49. Quartus, bishop of Berytus.

50. Apollo, bishop of Caesarea.

51. Cephas.158

52. Sosthenes, bishop of Colophonia.

53. Tychicus, bishop of Colophonia.

54. Epaphroditus, bishop of Andriace.

55. Caesar, bishop of Dyrrachium.

56. Mark, cousin to Barnabas, bishop of Apollonia.

57. Justus, bishop of Eleutheropolis.

58. Artemas, bishop of Lystra.

59. Clement, bishop of Sardinia.

60. Onesiphorus, bishop of Corone.

61. Tychicus, bishop of Chalcedon.

62. Carpus, bishop of Berytus in Thrace.

63. Evodus, bishop of Antioch [appointed by Cephas].

64. Aristarchus, bishop of Apamea.

65. Mark, who is also John, bishop of Bibloupolis.

66. Zenas, bishop of Diospolis.

67. Philemon, bishop of Gaza.

68, 69. Aristarchus and Pudes.

70. Trophimus, who was martyred along with Paul.

Note the extensive missions of Peter and from the Bible texts and this and other records. He was not bishop of Rome but was responsible for the tribe of Israel through Parthia and the north and at Antioch.

 

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