Posted on 08/17/2008 4:07:18 PM PDT by Salvation
All except one. According to tradition, all of the twelve apostles died as martyrs during the first century A.D. Only St. John, the writer of the Gospel with his name and the Book of Revelation died a natural death. It is believed he died near the year 100 A.D.
The possible causes of death of each of the Twelve Apostles:
Sources for the above information:
In the New Testament he is sometimes called Simon the Zealot because of the zeal he showed for the Mosaic law which he practised before his call.
St. Thomas is remembered for his incredulity when the other Apostles announced Christ's Resurrection to him: "Except I shall see in his hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the place of the nails, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe" (John 20:25); but eight days later he made his act of faith, drawing down the rebuke of Jesus: "Because thou hast seen me, Thomas, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and have believed" (John 20:29).
Of course, the first priest was Jesus Christ. High Priest.
Gospels for Easter Vigil follow the regular rotation. I checked back.
The recent book “Jesus of Nazareth” by Pope Benedict XVI has a very good analysis of the Gospel of John, which connects authorship to the Apostle John. If John the Evangelist did not write it himself, it appeared to be written by his disciples whom John obviously gave his oral testimony to.
Just like the early chapters of Luke. How did those events find their way into print? Because Mary kept all those things in her heart, just like it says! She told the Apostles her story, and they passed it on, and it was eventually written down by Luke.
The other Evangelists (other than John) were also martyred, just in case anyone is keeping track.
Hmmm...well that's true. It could be argued that Paul was actually the twelfth apostle. But then he also was martyred. In fact, the term "apostle" gets a bit murky as Paul refers to Apollos as an apostle.
If we're just sticking to the twelve apostles that were actually with our Lord Jesus during His earthly ministry, that would rule out both Matthias and Paul. If not then the issue becomes more cloudy.
And I do believe the traditions that the rest were martyred except Judas. Oddly, I do think Judas was sorry but succumbed to despair, guess it isn't for us to know his ultimate destiny, the "Son of Perdition." Sometimes I wonder what would have happened if he had asked forgiveness at the foot of the cross. It would have taken great humility and faith to do such a thing, don't like to think about it too much; my mind goes into a pretzel :-)
Father, we celebrate the memory of Christ, your Son. We, your people and your ministers, recall his passion, his resurrection from the dead, and his ascension into glory; and from the many gifts you have given us we offer to you, God of glory and majesty, this holy and perfect sacrifice: the bread of life and the cup of eternal salvation.
Look with favor on these offerings and accept them as once you accepted the gifts of your servant Abel, the sacrifice of Abraham, our father in faith, and the bread and wine offered by your priest Melchizedek.
Almighty God, we pray that your angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in heaven. Then, as we receive from this altar the sacred body and blood of your Son, let us be filled with every grace and blessing. [Through Christ our Lord. Amen.]
Remember, Lord, those who have died and have gone before us marked with the sign of faith, especially those for whom we now pray, {names deceased loved ones whom the celebrant or parishioner wishes to offer before God}. May these, and all who sleep in Christ, find in your presence light, happiness, and peace. [Through Christ our Lord. Amen.]
For ourselves, too, we ask some share in the fellowship of your apostles and martyrs, with John the Baptist, Stephen, Matthias, Barnabas, [Ignatius, Alexander, Marcellinus, Peter, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Anastasia] and all the saints. Though we are sinners, we trust in your mercy and love. Do not consider what we truly deserve, but grant
Amen. Hallelujah!
Thanks, I wasn’t certain either.
I believe that tradition has always held that Matthias was also martyred, though there is a great deal of disagreement regarding when, how and where.
Melchizedek lived alongside Abraham, who sprung from the lineage of Adam, Seth, Enosh...
It's one of my favorite verses also. But then, I favor the whole Bible.
Sorry, I thought you were talking about the Gospels.
That’s why I wrote IF I had to choose.
Many consider St. John to be a martyr as well. He miraculously survived being boiled in oil and later died “naturally”. The boiling in oil would certainly have resulted in his unequivocal martyrdom without supernatural intervention.
For a Thomistic discussion please refer to:
“Why St. John Was Not Boiled in Oil”
http://www.cts.org.au/2001/universitas10/stjohnnooil.htm
“Perhaps you are thinking as you read the title that I am going to demythologise the tradition that St John the Evangelist was miraculously preserved from death in boiling oil. Not at all. Quite the opposite, in fact. This article presupposes that the miracle did take place and seeks to understand the nature of the miracle that occurred... “
Thanks for that link.
This may be a stupid question, but I am not a Christian.
Did any of the apostles die before Jesus?
Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Christ, hung himself and presumably died a few hours before Jesus did.
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