What is an apostle
An apostle is a propagator of biblical doctrine, of the Christian faith and of the power and love of God. He is so a evangelizer which has the mission of preaching about Jesus Christ and his Redemptive work, his life, his death and his resurrection.
The term apostle comes from the Greek Απόστολος, which means ‘sent‘. This was the word used to call each of the twelve main disciples chosen by Jesus Christ to preach and spread the Gospel (which in Greek means ‘good news’).
According to the gospels, which are books written by some disciples of Jesus about his life, these were the Apostles chosen by Jesus Christ:
Simon Peter, James the Greater, Andrew, John, Philip of Bethsaida, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the Less, Judas Thaddeus, Simon the Zealot and Judas Iscariot. The latter was replaced by Matthias after his suicide by Judas and the Ascension of Jesus.
Paul of Tarsus and Barnabas were also Apostles, although they were not directly called by Jesus Christ before his crucifixion, but later.
They all had the mission of expanding the Kingdom of God. According to the biblical stories, in addition to preaching the Gospel, they performed different wonders, signs and miracles, such as healing the sick, resurrecting, casting out demons, etc.
Some religions or Christian denominations believe that apostles exist today. For example, the so-called New Apostolic Churchwave Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saintswhich has a Quorum of the twelve Apostles who are present today.
In modern times, it is common to call “apostle” any person who dedicates himself to propagate a political and social ideaor also to preach a doctrine or a religious belief with great fervor.
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