What Happened to the Apostles?

by Michael Shackleton · May 19, 2015

What happened to the disciples of Jesus? There is nothing said about them. Thabiso Hlobo

One reason why there is little or nothing written about Jesus’ disciples after his Ascension, is to be found in the words of John the Baptist who said of Jesus: He must increase but I must decrease (John 3:30).

The whole thrust of the disciples’ preaching is faith in Jesus Christ, the Son of God. The writers of the New Testament books tell of Christ’s works and words. Christ is the central and pivotal figure. So, they give very few details about themselves. Like the Baptist, they recognised that they were to carry the Good News to others, and their own story was of no importance in comparison.

St Paul wrote that preachers such as he and Apollos planted and watered the faith but they are nothing because only God can give the growth (1 Cor 3:7).

There are lots of histories and strong traditions in the Western and Eastern Church that affirm that Jesus’ disciples set out on missionary journeys into places like Greece, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Persia and Armenia. Some of these have solid historical foundations and others are dubious and apocryphal.

These traditions come from the writings of Church Fathers, folklore, legends and even fanciful stories, and this is why they often differ from one another in their details.

For instance, the tradition that Peter and Paul were martyred in Rome in 66 AD is based on solid evidence. The story that Peter was crucified upside down and Paul was beheaded is on less solid ground but it remains a tradition.

We know from Acts 12:1-5 that James the son of Zebedee was executed in Jerusalem on King Herod Agrippa’s orders, the only apostle whose martyrdom is recorded in the New Testament. Yet tradition holds that he preached in Spain and his remains lie in Santiago de Compostela, having arrived there by divine intervention.

Here are some more examples of traditional history.

Philip evangelised Carthage and other parts of north Africa where he converted the wife of a Roman official who had him killed for doing so. Andrew preached in Ukraine and Greece, where he was allegedly crucified on an X-shaped cross.

Thomas ventured into Syria and crossed over to India where Christians revere him for planting the faith there.

Based on patristic writings from the 2nd century, John was the bishop of Ephesus and he took care of Jesus’ mother Mary there. He was exiled to the island of Patmos, wrote the book of Revelation, and later returned to Ephesus where he died around 100 AD.

Whatever the traditions and their relevance to the Church today, it is the Gospel of Christ that matters.