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For the Apostle Peter (his feast day is June 29): His name is also Simeon or Cephas, which means rock. He lived in Bethsaida and Capernaum and was a fisherman. He evangelized Palestine, Asia Minor, and Italy. He performed many miracles (his shadow healed). He was sentenced to death by Emperor Nero. He asked his crucifiers to crucify him upside down because he considered himself unworthy to be crucified like his master. He is considered the head of the choir of the twelve disciples.
The beloved Apostle John the Evangelist and Theologian (his feast day is September 26): He is Pan Zebedee the fisherman, Salome, and the brother of the Apostle James. They are from Bethsaida. The Lord Jesus and his brother James called him “the son of thunder.” After the Dormition of the Virgin, he went to preach in Asia Minor and lived in Ephesus. Emperor Domitian tortured him, but he was not affected. The Emperor was afraid and exiled him to the island of Patmos. He rested in the Lord at an advanced age. Several books of the New Testament are attributed to him, namely the Gospel of John, the Three Epistles of John, and the Revelation of John.
The Apostle James (his feast day is April 30): Brother of John the Theologian. He preached in several places (Jerusalem and Judea) up to the borders of Spain. He was beheaded around the year 44-45 in Jerusalem by order of Herod Agrippa, and it is believed that his relics are preserved in Spain, but Father Macarius did not mention him leaving Palestine.
The Apostle Andrew (his feast day is November 30): He is the brother of the Apostle Peter and was also a fisherman. He was originally a disciple of John the Baptist. He preached the Gospel in Byzantine Scythia, the lands along the Danube, Russia, around the Black Sea, and finally in Greece. The ruler Aegeatus tortured and crucified him. It is believed that his cross was in the shape of the letter X and is known today as the “Cross of Saint Andrew.”
The Apostle Philip (his feast day is November 14): He preached in many regions in Asia Minor and Greece, where the Jews tried to kill him, but the Lord saved him with many miracles, including turning the leaders of the Jews blind and causing a great earthquake that opened up the earth, swallowing Philip’s persecutors. In the Phrygian town, Philip worked with the Apostle John the Theologian, his sister Maryamna, and the Apostle Bartholomew. With his prayers, he killed a poisonous snake that the pagans worshiped. The pagans attacked him and crucified him with his head bowed on a tree, and then they crucified Bartholomew as well. The earth opened up and swallowed the judge and others with him. The pagans quickly took Bartholomew down alive before his death, while Philip had surrendered his soul in the year 86, during the days of Emperor Domitian.
The Apostle Bartholomew (his feast day is June 11): Bartholomew and Nathanael are the same person, and he is from Cana of Galilee. He was a companion of Philip the Apostle. He preached in Asia Minor and India, and finally in Armenia, where he was martyred, crucified, and then beheaded in Armenia (3)
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The Apostle Thomas (his feast day is October 6): It is said that the apostles cast lots to know where each one of them would go to preach. The share of the Apostle Thomas was India. He was sad because he would be far away from Palestine. Then Christ appeared to him as a comforter. Thomas founded churches, ordained bishops, and was martyred in India.
The Apostle Matthew the Evangelist (his feast day is November 16): His name is Levi Ifa. He followed Jesus who called him (Matthew 9:9; Luke 5:27-28). He preached the Gospel in Persia and Ethiopia, where it is believed that he was ordained a bishop. He died a martyr. Father Makarios says that he preached in Manbij, Syria, and died of old age. He did not mention his travel to Ethiopia.
The Apostle James of Alphaeus (his feast day is October 9): He is most likely the brother of the Evangelist and Apostle Matthew. He was drawn by lottery to preach in Eleutheropolis and the surrounding areas, and then in Egypt. He was persecuted and crucified in Mathar by the pagans. Most likely, James the son of Alphaeus was not one of the so-called brothers of the Lord, but Saint Jerome in the West equated the names of Alphaeus with Clopas without historical support. (4).
The Apostle Simon the Zealot (his feast day is May 10): He preached in Mauritania and Libya. He was tortured and crucified. It is believed that the Lord attended his wedding in Cana of Galilee (5)
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The Apostle Judas (feast on June 19): In the New Testament (Luke 6:16 and Acts 1:13) he is attributed to James, as he is most likely Jacob’s son, not his brother. (6) For reasons mentioned in the commentary on the Gospel of Matthew by Chrysostom, Part Two, pp. 384-385 (Dr. Adnan Trabelsi). Therefore, Judas is not one of the Lord's brothers. His name is Thaddeus (there is another Thaddeus/Judah from the Seventy and his feast is on August 21). He preached in Judea, Samaria, Syria, Arabia, Mesopotamia, and Armenia. He preached in Edessa (Edessa) and was crucified in Arart, and some say in Persia. He was stabbed with arrows and died.
Apostle Matthias (his feast day was August 9): He was among the seventy apostles. After the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and the betrayal and suicide of Judas, lots fell on Matthias to be counted among the Twelve (Acts 1:23). He preached in Judea, then Ethiopia, where he suffered, and in Macedonia. Ananias the high priest (who killed the Apostle James) was condemned to death in Judea, stoned, and then killed by beheading with an axe.
(3) Constantinople tradition locates his martyrdom in Balu Azerbaijan (Espiro Djabour).
(4) See the commentary on Matthew by Chrysostom, Part Two, translated by Dr. Adnan Trabelsi, pp. 383-384.
(5) “Legal”. The Hebrew word is translated by Luke as “the jealous one.” It does not mean that he is from Qana. There is no truth to his wedding in Cana, as some believe.
(6) Contemporary scholars are verbal literalists. In the church tradition, there is no Judas other than Judas, the writer of the letter, who called himself the brother of James. In Matthew and Mark, his name is Thaddeus (Espiro Gebor).
