APOS'TLE (Gk. one sent forth, a delegate, from chrd.apo, from + b-reXXetv, stellein. to send). The name used in the New Testament to designate specifically that group of Christ's disciples who were called 'by Him to he His more intimate companions during His ministry. and to proclaim. as His representa tives. the Gospel to men. They were twelve in number: Simon Peter (Hebrew name Cephas), Andrew. James (the son of Zebedee), John (brother of James), Philip. Bartholomew, Mat thew (Hebrew name Levi). Thomas (also called Didymus). James (the son of Alphams), Jude I the son of James, doubtless to be identified with Thaddasus. named in his place in the lists of Matthew and Mark), Simon (the Canaanite, also called the Zealot), and Judas Iscariot.
Their qualifications. as understood by the early Church. were evidently that they should have been with Him during His ministry. and have seen Him after His resurrection (Acts i. 21, 22: "Of these which emnpanied with us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out us . . . unt-t one be a witness with us of the resurrection"). As a result, however, of exer cising its rights in the election of a substitute for Judas Iscariot, in order to maintain the original number, and as a result, further, of admitting into this number an extra apos tle in the person of the divinely appointed Paul. the Church evidently considered itself justified in modifying these qualifications, so as to adapt the office to the needs of its de veloping mission. As a result, others prominent in this work received the name of apostle be sides the Twelve and Paul. So James, the Lord's brother, head of the Jerusalem Church, is re ferred to by Paul as an apostle (Galatians i. 19: "But other of the apostles saw I none, save James, the Lord's brother." See also L Corin thians ix. 5, in which passage Paul speaks of his right to lead about a wife "as well as other apostles, and the brethren of the Lord, and Cephas," a statement that would seem to indi cate that all the brethren of the Lord were rec ognized as apostles.) So Barnabas, companion with Paul in his first mission tour, is designated by Luke as an apostle (Acts xiv. 4, 14: "But when the apostles, Barnabas and Paul, heard of it, they rent their garments"). So perhaps An dronicus and Junias, kinsmen and fellow prison ers of Paul's, are mentioned by him as distin guished apostles (Rom. xvi. 7: "Androniens and Junias . . . who are of note among the apostles"). Possibly, also, Apollos is intended by him to be considered as an apostle together with himself (I. Cor. iv. 6, 9, where Paul speaks of God's setting forth "us the apostles -last of all, as men doomed to death"; and the immediate context makes reference, apparently, to Apollos as the one Paul had in mind besides himself). This enlarged application of the term is recognized by patristic writers, such as the author of the Didache and of the Shepherd of Hennas.
Among the credentials of the apostolic office were apparently the ability to work miracles (e.g. II. Cor. xii. 12: "Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you . . .
by signs and wonders and mighty works") ; also the conversion to God of those to whom they brought the Gospel (e.g. 1. Con ix. 2: '"I'he seal of mine apostleship are ye in the Lord"). If the office possessed peculiar rights, to these might belong the appointment of the original officers of the local churches (e.g. Acts xiv. 23: "And when they had appointed for them elders in every church . . . "), and pos sibly, in extreme cases, the regulation of the teaching and morals within the churches' or ganized limits (e.g. 11. Thess. iii. 6: "Now we command you, brethren, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye withdraw your selves from every brother that walketh disor derly, and not after the tradition which they re ceived of us"). The characteristic duty of the office consisted, most likely, in the preaching and missioning of the Gospel (e.g. Acts vi. 2-4: "And the twelve . . . said, It is not fit that we should forsake the word of God and serve tables." 1. Cor. i. 17: "Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel"). At the same time, however, as to how far the apostolate was considered by the early Church as an office at all is a question of large debate.
There is no evidence of any division of terri tory among the Twelve. The nearest approach to this is in the mutual understanding referred to in Gal. ii. 9 ("They gave us the right hand of fellowship, that we should go unto the Gentiles, and they unto the circumcision"), by which Peter was recognized as the leader of the mission to the circumcision, which would natu rally mean, in general terms, the Palestinian Jews; and Paul and Barnabas were recognized as the leaders to the uncircumcision, which would as naturally indicate, generally, the Gentiles out side of Palestine; and even this was not strictly carried out, since Paul began his work iu most places to which he went by preaching in the synagogue, while the address in I. Pet. would imply that Peter had a considerable parish of Gentile Christians in Asia Alinor.
In II. Cor. viii. 23 and Phil. ii. 25, in which passages Paul speaks of the messengers of the churches, the word drocroNos is used in its common classical meaning of delegate, and in Heb. iii. 1, where Christ is referred to as "the Apostle and High-Priest of our confes sion," the word is applied in the same sense, from the point of view of Christ's divine sending into the world (see John xvii. 18). For de tails of apostolic life and work, see under indi vidual apostles.
BIBLIOGRAPHY. In general, see J. B. Lightfoot, Bibliography. In general, see J. B. Lightfoot, "Excursus on Name and Office of an Apostle," in Commentary on Galatians (London, 1877) : C. Weizsacker, The Apostolic Age, English transla tion (Edinburgh, 1894) ; A. Harnack, Die Apos tellehre, second edition (Leipzig, 1896) ; E. Haupt, Zuni Verstundnis des Apostolats im Neuen Testament (Halle, 1896) A. V. G. Allen, Christian Institutions (New York, 1897) ; F. J. A. Hort, Ecelesia (New York, 189S) ; W. Fal coner, From Apostle to Priest (New York, 1900).