82 Apostles
82 Apostles of Christ: The Twelve Plus Seventy
From Wikipedia:
The seventy disciples were early followers of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke 10:1-24. According to Luke, the only gospel in which they appear, Jesus appointed them and sent them out in pairs on a specific mission which is detailed in the text. In Western Christianity, they are referred to as disciples, whereas in Eastern Christianity they are usually referred to as apostles. Using the original Greek words in which the New Testament is written, an apostle is one sent on a mission (the Greek uses the verb form: apesteilen) whereas a disciple is a student. The passage from Luke 10 reads:
- And after these things, the Lord did appoint also other seventy, and sent them by twos before his face, to every city and place whither he himself was about to come,
- then said he unto them, `The harvest indeed [is] abundant, but the workmen few; beseech ye then the Lord of the harvest, that He may put forth workmen to His harvest.
- `Go away; lo, I send you forth as lambs in the midst of wolves;
- carry no bag, no scrip, nor sandals; and salute no one on the way;
- and into whatever house ye do enter, first say, Peace to this house;
- and if indeed there may be there the son of peace, rest on it shall your peace; and if not so, upon you it shall turn back.
- `And in that house remain, eating and drinking the things they have, for worthy [is] the workman of his hire; go not from house to house,
- and into whatever city ye enter, and they may receive you, eat the things set before you,
- and heal the ailing in it, and say to them, The reign of God hath come nigh to you.
- `And into whatever city ye do enter, and they may not receive you, having gone forth to its broad places, say,
- And the dust that hath cleaved to us, from your city, we do wipe off against you, but this know ye, that the reign of God hath come nigh to you;
- and I say to you, that for Sodom in that day it shall be more tolerable than for that city.
- `Wo to thee, Chorazin; wo to thee, Bethsaida; for if in Tyre and Sidon had been done the mighty works that were done in you, long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes, they had reformed;
- but for Tyre and Sidon it shall be more tolerable in the judgment than for you.
- `And thou, Capernaum, which unto the heaven wast exalted, unto hades thou shalt be brought down.
- `He who is hearing you, doth hear me; and he who is putting you away, doth put me away; and he who is putting me away, doth put away Him who sent me.'
- And the seventy turned back with joy, saying, `Sir, and the demons are being subjected to us in thy name;'
- and he said to them, `I was beholding the Adversary, as lightning from the heaven having fallen;
- lo, I give to you the authority to tread upon serpents and scorpions, and on all the power of the enemy, and nothing by any means shall hurt you;
- but, in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subjected to you, but rejoice rather that your names were written in the heavens.'
At least five of these seventy apostles are given names in the Bible:
- Joseph (called Barsabas and surnamed Justus) (Acts 1:23)
- Matthias (chosen to replace Judas Iscariot in Acts 1:23-26)
- Cleopas (Luke 24:18)
- Cephas, to whom the Lord appeared after the Resurrection (1 Cor. 15:5-6)
- Simeon, called Niger (Acts 13:1
In the Greek Orthodox Church, the clergy and faithful would often gather together on specific feast days at a church dedicated to the saint of that day for liturgical celebrations. These gatherings were referred to as synaxes. The Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles was established by the Greek Orthodox Church to indicate the equal honor of each of the Seventy. They were sent two by two by the Lord Jesus Christ to go before Him into the cities He would visit (Luke 10:1).
Besides the celebration of the Synaxis of the Holy Apostles, the Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of each of them during the course of the year:
St James the Brother of the Lord (October 23); Mark the Evangelist (April 25); Luke the Evangelist (October 18); Cleopas (October 30), brother of St Joseph the Betrothed, and Simeon his son (April 27); Barnabas (June 11); Joses, or Joseph, named Barsabas or Justus (October 30); Thaddeus (August 21); Ananias (October 1); Protomartyr Stephen the Archdeacon (December 27); Philip the Deacon (October 11); Prochorus the Deacon (28 July); Nicanor the Deacon (July 28 and December 28); Timon the Deacon (July 28 and December 30); Parmenas the Deacon (July 28); Timothy (January 22); Titus (August 25); Philemon (November 22 and February 19); Onesimus (February 15); Epaphras and Archippus (November 22 and February 19); Silas, Silvanus, Crescens or Criscus (July 30); Crispus and Epaenetos (July 30); Andronicus (May 17 and July 30); Stachys, Amplias, Urban, Narcissus, Apelles (October 31); Aristobulus (October 31 and March 16); Herodion or Rodion (April 8 and November 10); Agabus, Rufus, Asyncritus, Phlegon (April 8); Hermas (November 5, November 30 and May 31); Patrobas (November 5); Hermes (April 8); Linus, Gaius, Philologus (November 5); Lucius (September 10); Jason (April 28); Sosipater (April 28 and November 10); Olympas or Olympanus (November 10 ); Tertius (October 30 and November 10); Erastos (November 30), Quartus (November 10); Euodius (September 7); Onesiphorus (September 7 and December 8); Clement (November 25); Sosthenes (December 8); Apollos (March 30 and December 8); Tychicus, Epaphroditus (December 8); Carpus (May 26); Quadratus (September 21); Mark (September 27), called John, Zeno (September 27); Aristarchus (April 15 and September 27); Pudens and Trophimus (April 15); Mark nephew of Barnabas, Artemas (October 30); Aquila (July 14); Fortunatus (June 15) and Achaicus (January 4).
With the Descent of the Holy Spirit the Seventy Apostles preached in various lands. Some accompanied the original Twelve Apostles, like the holy Evangelists Mark and Luke, or Paul’s companion Timothy, or Prochorus, John the Theologian, and others. Many of them were thrown into prison for Christ, and many received the crown of martyrdom.
Hippolytus of Rome was a disciple (student) of Irenaeus , a disciple of Polycarp, a disciple of the Apostle John. Hippolytus's works were hidden by the Catholic Church for a time until their discovery at a monastery on Mt. Athos in 1854. Two of his works were "On the Twelve Apostles of Christ", and "On the Seventy Apostles of Christ". Here is the complete text of Hippolytus' On the Seventy Apostles of Christ:
1. James the Lord’s brother, bishop of Jerusalem 2. Cleopas, bishop of Jerusalem. 3. Matthias, who supplied the vacant place in the number of the twelve apostles. 4. Thaddeus, who conveyed the epistle to Augarus. 5. Ananias, who baptized Paul, and was bishop of Damascus. 6. Stephen, the first martyr. 7. Philip, who baptized the eunuch. 8. Prochorus, bishop of Nicomedia, who also was the first that departed, 11 believing together with his daughters. 9. Nicanor died when Stephen was martyred. 10. Timon, bishop of Bostra. 11. Parmenas, bishop of Soli. 12. Nicolaus, bishop of Samaria. 13. Barnabas, bishop of Milan. 14. Mark the evangelist, bishop of Alexandria. 15. Luke the evangelist. These two belonged to the seventy disciples who were scattered by the offence of the word which Christ spoke, “Except a man eat my flesh, and drink my blood, he is not worthy of me.” But the one being induced to return to the Lord by Peter’s instrumentality, and the other by Paul’s, they were honored to preach that Gospel on account of which they also suffered martyrdom, the one being burned, and the other being crucified on an olive tree. 16. Silas, bishop of Corinth. 17. Silvanus, bishop of Thessalonica. 18. Crisces (Crescens), bishop of Carchedon in Gaul. 19. Epænetus, bishop of Carthage. 20. Andronicus, bishop of Pannonia. 21. Amplias, bishop of Odyssus. 22. Urban, bishop of Macedonia. 23. Stachys, bishop of Byzantium. 24. Barnabas, bishop of Heraclea 25. Phygellus, bishop of Ephesus. He was of the party also of Simon. 26. Hermogenes. He, too, was of the same mind with the former. 27. Demas, who also became a priest of idols. 28. Apelles, bishop of Smyrna. 29. Aristobulus, bishop of Britain. 30. Narcissus, bishop of Athens. 31. Herodion, bishop of Tarsus. 32. Agabus the prophet. 33. Rufus, bishop of Thebes. 34. Asyncritus, bishop of Hyrcania. 35. Phlegon, bishop of Marathon. 36. Hermes, bishop of Dalmatia. 37. Patrobulus,1 bishop of Puteoli. 38. Hermas, bishop of Philippi. 39. Linus, bishop of Rome. 40. Caius, bishop of Ephesus. 41. Philologus, bishop of Sinope 42, 43. Olympus and Rhodion were martyred in Rome. 44. Lucius, bishop of Laodicea in Syria. 45. Jason, bishop of Tarsus. 46. Sosipater, bishop of Iconium 47. Tertius, bishop of Iconium. 48. Erastus, bishop of Panellas. 49. Quartus, bishop of Berytus. 50. Apollo, bishop of Cæsarea. 51. Cephas. 52. Sosthenes, bishop of Colophonia. 53. Tychicus, bishop of Colophonia. 54. Epaphroditus, bishop of Andriace. 55. Cæsar, bishop of Dyrrachium. 56. Mark, cousin to Barnabas, bishop of Apollonia. 57. Justus, bishop of Eleutheropolis. 58. Artemas, bishop of Lystra. 59. Clement, bishop of Sardinia. 60. Onesiphorus, bishop of Corone. 61. Tychicus, bishop of Chalcedon. 62. Carpus, bishop of Berytus in Thrace. 63. Evodus, bishop of Antioch. 64. Aristarchus, bishop of Apamea. 65. Mark, who is also John, bishop of Bibloupolis. 66. Zenas, bishop of Diospolis. 67. Philemon, bishop of Gaza. 68, 69. Aristarchus and Pudes. 70. Trophimus, who was martyred along with Paul.
In the book "The Ancient Church" by W. D. Killen (http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/16700/pg16700.html) it says:
"In the ordination of the Twelve He evinced His regard for all the tribes of Israel; in the ordination of the Seventy He intimated that His Gospel was designed for all the nations of the earth. When the Twelve were about to enter on their first mission He required them to go only to the Jews, but He sent forth the Seventy "two and two
before His face into every city and place whither He himself would come. Towards the commencement of His public career, He had induced many of the Samaritans to believe on Him, whilst at a subsequent period His ministry had been blessed to Gentiles in the coasts of Tyre and Sidon; and there is no evidence that in the
missionary journey which He contemplated when He appointed the Seventy as His pioneers, He intended to confine His labours to His kinsmen of the seed of Abraham.
That they were called apostles as well as the Twelve, cannot, perhaps, be established by distinct testimony; but it is certain, that they were furnished with supernatural endowments; and it is scarcely probable that they are overlooked in the description of the sacred writer when He represents the New Testament Church as "built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone.
In a short time after His death the symbolical meaning of the mission of the Seventy was explained, as it very soon appeared that the gospel was to be transmitted to all the ends of the earth.
As the Church assumed a settled form, the apostles were disposed to insist less and less on any special powers with which they had been originally furnished, and rather to place themselves on a level with the ordinary rulers of the ecclesiastical community. Hence we find them sitting in church courts with these brethren, and desirous to be known not as apostles, but as elders. It is written 'By their fruits ye shall know them.'
All of them were called to preach the gospel by the living voice of Christ himself; all had 'companied' with Him during the period of His ministry; all had listened to His sermons; all had been spectators of His works of wonder; all were empowered to perform miracles; all seem to have conversed with Him after His resurrection; and all appear to have possessed the gift of inspired utterance. The great Apostle of the Gentiles did not hesitate to rely on such a proof of his commission from heaven. 'Need we,' says he to the Corinthians, 'epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you? Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men; for as much as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written, not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God, not in tables of stone, but in the fleshy tables of the heart.' Neither the Twelve nor the Seventy could produce credentials more trustworthy or more intelligible."