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What Happened to the 12 Apostles

And now... what ever happened to the disciples of Jesus
How the Apostles Died

Parent: JWO/JWO_30_PaulorJamesChurch

What Happened to the 12 Apostles

Ichthus has an article entitled "what happened to the 12 Apostles"

Sources on what happened to Jesus' disciples:

Hippolytus of Rome:

Birth unknown, died around 236 AD
See his entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia: click here
Here is a page on the Internet containing his writings: click here

Eusebius:

Was the Bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, known as the "Father of Church History" because he wrote about the church history.
Lived around 260-341 AD
See his entry in the Catholic Encyclopedia: click here

And now... what ever happened to the disciples of Jesus

Judas:

We all know what happened to him...

Andrew:

According to Hippolytus:

Andrew preached to the Scythians [modern day Georgia] and Thracians [modern day Bulgaria], and was crucified, suspended on an olive tree, at Patrae, a town of Achaia [Greece]; and there too he was buried.

Bartholomew:

According to Hippolytus, Bartholomew preached in India:

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, a town of the great Armenia
[modern day southern Georgia].

Eusebius, in his Church History, confirms the ministry of Bartholomew in India, and adds an eye witness account:

About that time, Pantaenus, a man highly distinguished for his
learning, had charge of the school of the faithful in
Alexandria... Pantaenus...is said to have gone to India. It is
reported that among persons there who knew of Christ, he found the
Gospel according to Matthew, which had anticipated his own  arrival.
For Bartholomew, one of the apostles, had preached to them,
and left with them the writing of Matthew in the Hebrew language,
which they had preserved till that time. ---- (Book 5, Chapter 10)

James, Son of AlphaeusL:

Hippolytus identifies that James was stoned to death in Jerusalem:

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

James, Son of Zebedee:

James was the brother of John, the disciple "that Jesus loved".

According to the Book of Acts in the New Testament, James was killed by Herod:

(Acts 12:1) And at that time Herod the king threw on his hands to oppress some of those of the church.

(Acts 12:2) And he killed James the brother of John with the sword.

This is confirmed by Hippolytus:

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

Eusebius descibed more precisely what was cut off of James:

First Stephen was stoned to death by them, and after him James,
the son of Zebedee and the brother of John, was beheaded... (Book 3,  Chapter 5)

Yep... James' head was cut...

John, brother of James and son of Zebedee:

John was one of the few disciples that did not die a cruel death, but of "old age".

Eusebius discusses the reason that John wrote his Gospel:

"Matthew and John have left us written memorials, and they,
tradition says, were led to write only under the pressure of
necessity...And when Mark and Luke had already published their
Gospels, they say that John, who had employed all his time in
proclaiming the Gospel orally, finally proceeded to write for the
following reason. The three Gospels already mentioned having come
into the hands of all and into his own too, they say that he
accepted them and bore witness to their truthfulness; but that
there was lacking in them an account of the deeds done by Christ
at the beginning of his ministry." (Book 3, Chapter 24)

According to Hippolytus, John was banished by Domitian to the Isle of Patmos, and later died in Ephesus:

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.

Matthew/Levi:

Eusebius referenced to Bishop Papias of Hierapolis, as early as c. 110 A.D., bearing witness to Matthew's authorship of his gospel:

....Matthew put together the oracles [of the Lord] in the Hebrew
language, and each one interpreted them as best he could."
(Eusebius, Book 3, Chapter 39)

According to Hippolytus:

Matthew wrote the Gospel in the Hebrew tongue, and published it at
Jerusalem, and fell asleep at Hierees, a town of Parthia.
[Parthia is near modern day Tehran]

**Simon/Peter: **

Eusebius, quoting Papias of Hierapolis (c. 110 A.D.), records a tradition that the Gospel of Mark preserved the Gospel as preached by Peter:

"Mark having become the interpreter of Peter, wrote down accurately whatsoever he remembered.... he accompanied Peter..." ---- (Book 3, Chapter 39)

Irenaeus (c. 180 A.D.) records a similar tradition, and mentions that Peter and Paul founded the Church in Rome:

"Matthew also issued a written Gospel among the Hebrews in their
own dialect, while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome, and
laying the foundations of the Church. After their departure, Mark,
the disciple and interpreter of Peter, did also hand down to us in
writing what had been preached by Peter..."
---- (Irenaeus, "Against Heresies", Book 3, Chapter 1)

Eusebius records that Peter was put to death under Nero in Rome:

It is, therefore, recorded that Paul was beheaded in Rome itself,
and that Peter likewise was crucified under Nero. This account of
Peter and Paul is substantiated by the fact that their names are
preserved in the cemeteries of that place even to the present  day.
---- (Book 2, Chapter 25)

(Paul was a Roman citizen can cannot be crucified but got an "easier" death sentence.)

Hippolytus confirmed the fact that Peter was crucified by Nero in Rome:

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.

Philip :

According to Hippolytus, Philip preached and was executed in what today is eastern Turkey:

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

Simon the Zealot [sic: Canaanite]:

According to Hippolytus, Simon the Zealot was the second Bishop of Jerusalem:

 Simon the Zealot, the son of Clopas, 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.

Thaddaeus/Judas son of James:

According to Mat 10:3 (KJV): Philip, and Bartholomew; Thomas, and Matthew the publican; James the son of Alphaeus, and Lebbaeus, whose surname was Thaddaeus.... Thaddaeus is also known as Lebbaeus.

Hippolytus records:

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

Thomas:

Hippolytus records that Thomas was an active missionary, and that
he met his fate in India And Thomas preached to the Parthians,
Medes, Persians, Hyrcanians, Bactrians, and Margians, and was
thrust through in the four members of his body with a pine spear
at Calamene, the city of India, and was buried there.

How the Apostles Died

See also "How the Apostles Died," Prayer Foundation (2012) which states:

ANDREW:

Traveling to what is now modern-day Russia, to the "land of the man-eaters,"
Andrew preached Jesus to its inhabitants.  Christians there claim that he was the
first to bring them the gospel.  It is also said that he preached in the Roman
province of Asia (modern-day Turkey).  Tradition also has him preaching in
Greece, and says that he was crucified there.

BARTHOLOMEW:

Tradition says that he went on missionary journeys to Southern Arabia and
Ethiopia.  That with Thomas he traveled to India, and also that he preached in
Armenia.  Accounts of his death vary, but all agree that he was martyred for the
faith.

JAMES, THE SON OF ALPHEUS:

James, the Son of Alpheus, is  said to have proclaimed Jesus in Syria. Josephus
(a Jewish historian writing for Romans; see also our page:Josephus On Jesus)
reported that he was stoned and then clubbed to death.

JOHN:

The only Apostle for certain never said to have been martyred, is theApostle
John.  John became Bishop of Ephesus (a Greek City located in what is now
modern-day Turkey).  He was exiled to the Island of Patmos. There John was
inspired by God to write the Book of Revelation.  Tradition holds that this
happened in a particular cave which you can still go and visit.  Greek Orthodox
Monks long ago built a Church and monastery over it.

MATTHEW:

Matthew (Levi) was the tax collector who followed Jesus and later wrote the
Gospel of Matthew.  He preached in Persia and Ethiopia. There is disagreement as
to whether or not he was martyred.  According to some of the oldest sources, he
was not martyred.  Other sources hold that Ethiopia was the place where he died;
and that he was stabbed to death there.

MATTHIAS:

The other Apostles by casting of lot chose Matthias to take the place of Judas in
an attempt to fulfill the Old Testament prophecy "...let another take his office"
-Psalm 109:8, quoted in Acts 1:20 (however, some feel that the Lord Himself
fulfilled this prophecy by replacing Judas with the Apostle Paul).  Matthias is
never mentioned again in Scripture.  Tradition says that Matthias traveled to
Syria with Andrew and was burned to death.

PETER:

It is said that Peter asked to be crucified upside down in Rome, saying that he
was not worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.  He was executed  ca. 66
A.D. by the Roman Emperor Nero.

PHILIP:

To the northern African city of Carthage, Philip is said to have brought the
Gospel.  It is also said that he led the wife of a Roman proconsul to the Lord,
and that the proconsul was not pleased with this.  It is said that he had Philip
arrested, and executed with great cruelty.

SIMON THE ZEALOT:

Simon, it is held, traveled to Persia.  Tradition says that he refused to
sacrifice to the Persian's sun god, and was killed because of it.

THOMAS:

It is held that Thomas preached east of Syria.  Tradition says
that he proclaimed Christ in India, and founded the church of Mar
Thoma.  This church is still in existence today, and claims Thomas
as its founder.  In India they say that he then traveled to China
and also preached the Gospel there, later returning again to
India.  Thomas is said to have died in India, killed by four
soldiers armed with spears.