Dispersion of the Apostles
The
The Acts of the Apostles, the canonical sequel to the Gospel of Luke, portrays the dispersal as occurring a substantial time after the ascension, with the ministry staying in Jerusalem at first and spreading from there beginning with the conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch.
The dispersion of the Apostles
According to Book 3 of the Church History of Eusebius:
Meanwhile the holy apostles and disciples of our Saviour were dispersed throughout the world. Parthia, according to tradition, was allotted to Thomas as his field of labor, Scythia to Andrew, and Asia to John, who, after he had lived some time there, died at Ephesus. Peter appears to have preached in Pontus, Galatia, Bithynia, Cappadocia, and Asia to the Jews of the dispersion. And at last, having come to Rome, he was crucified head-downwards; for he had requested that he might suffer in this way. What do we need to say concerning Paul, who preached the Gospel of Christ from Jerusalem to Illyricum, and afterwards suffered martyrdom in Rome under Nero? These facts are related by Origen in the third volume of his Commentary on Genesis.[3]
Arthur Cushman McGiffert comments:
According to
Asia Minor.[3]
Liturgical feast
The first vestige of the liturgical feast of the Dispersion of the Apostles appears in the undoubtedly authentic
The feast is next mentioned by
In 1909, according to the article by Frederick Holweck published in that year in volume 5 of the Catholic Encyclopedia, the feast was still kept with solemnity by some missionary societies, in Germany and Poland, also in some English and French dioceses and in the United States by the ecclesiastical provinces of St. Louis, Chicago, Milwaukee, Dubuque, and Santa Fé.[6]
The feast was not included in the Tridentine calendar or in any later revision of the General Roman Calendar.
The proper Office for this feast is relegated to the "Pro Aliquibus Locis" or "For Other Places." The feast is celebrated in some places on July 15, titled "The Division of the Apostles" with a rank of Double. The rubric is taken from the Common Office, except the proper Nocturns for Matins, and the following Prayer that is recited throughout that day:
O GOD, Who hast been pleased to bring us to know Thy Name by the means of Thy blessed Apostles, grant us the grace to honor their everlasting glory by our own progress and by the same honoring also to progress. Through our Lord.[9]
See also
- Early centers of Christianity
References
- ^ Mark 16:19–20
- ^ Matt 28:19–20
- ^ a b The Church History of Eusebius translated with prolegomena and notes by Arthur Cushman McGiffert, book III, chapter I
- ^ Acts 12:17
- ^ Spanheim, Friedrich (1829). Ecclesiastical Annals: From the Commencement of Scripture History to the Epoch of the Reformation. J. Smith.
- ^ a b c "CATHOLIC ENCYCLOPEDIA: Dispersion of the Apostles". www.newadvent.org. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
- .
- ^ Rafael Schwemmer (Programming and Design) – Douglas Kim (Programming, Solr Consulting) – Roger Klein (PHP and JavaScript Consulting) – Torsten Schaßan (XML and XSLT Transformations). "e-codices – Virtual Manuscript Library of Switzerland". www.e-codices.unifr.ch. Retrieved 2020-09-27.
- ^ Catholic Church. English; Bute, John Patrick Crichton-Stuart (1908). The Roman Breviary: Reformed By Order Of The Holy Œcumenical Council Of Trent ; Published By Order Of Pope St. Pius V. ; And Revised By Clement VIII, Urban VIII, And Leo XIII ; Together With The Offices Since Granted And The Martyrology, Volume 3 – Summer. Edinburgh : W. Blackwood.