UNTOLD DEATH OF APOSTLES OF JESUS CHRIST

Welcome back to another video. Today we are exploring one of the most prominent figures of Christianity, the chosen few, handpicked by Jesus himself, embarked on a journey that transcends mortal boundaries. Apostles of Jesus Christ. As we go further, this video is about how did the Apostles of Jesus Christ died. Out of 12 disciples, 11 were martyred. We all know Jesus called these Apostles one by one in helping in his missionary work. These Apostles were with Jesus all the while through his ministry years. After Jesus died and resurrected, the disciples were sent out around the world to preach the good news and convert people to turn to God. But after sending them out, we know very little to less information about how did their lives ended here on earth. As leaders in the early church, each of the Apostles played an integral role in spreading the gospel throughout the ancient world and many of them died as a result of their ministry efforts. Often at the hands of the people, they were called to preach. In the Bible, only two of their deaths are recorded, who are James the Just and Judas Iscariot. Later, Judas was replaced, Matthias, by other Apostles. And we have the most widely known another Apostle of Jesus is our Paul. Now let's see them individually. Let's take brothers first, Saints Peter and his older brother Andrew. Tradition says both were crucified as old men. Peter was our very first Pope. Christ's vicar, the head of the church. Among the Apostles, Saint Andrew was the first to be called by Jesus. He was a disciple of John the Baptist. Saint Andrew preached the faith in Asia Minor, that is modern-day Turkey. He also preached in Greece and Macedonia. According to tradition, he was crucified in the Greek city of Petras in the year 61. He went to the land of man-eaters, the cannibals, in what is now the Soviet Union. Christians there claim him as the first to bring the gospel to their land. Like his brother Peter, Saint Andrew did not consider himself worthy to die in the same way as Jesus. And so he was bound not to be nailed to a cross like Jesus. So instead he was hung in an X-shaped cross instead of a T. For this reason, an X-shaped cross is sometimes referred to as Saint Andrew's cross. This narrative comes from an apocryphal book called Acts of Andrew, which also includes numerous supernatural accounts of Andrew's miracles, including a claim that he preached for three days straight as he hung on the cross, and it did not emerge until decades, maybe even centuries, after his death. According to Acts of Andrew, part of Andrew's three-day sermon, which he gave while dying, involved praising the cross as a symbol of Christ's beautiful redemption. Another account from Fox Book of Matters says that Saint Andrew preached the gospel to many Asiatic nations, but on arrival to Edessa, he was taken and crucified on a cross, the two ends of which were fixed transversely in the ground, hence the derivation of the term Saint Andrew's cross. Saints Peter and Paul both are martyred by the same Emperor Nero by persecution. Saint Peter was crucified on the cross, but not as his master. Peter too was crucified by nails on Vatican Hill. His wish was to be crucified upside down, out of reverence for Jesus and out of his profound humility, and it was granted to him. Tradition says Saint Paul the Apostle was beheaded outside the walls of Rome on the same day as Peter. Saint James the Great, son of Zebedee, was the first of Jesus' apostles to die for following him, and he's one of the only two apostles whose death is recorded in the Bible. He was executed by sword. We read about his death in Acts 12 verse 1 through 2. It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them. He had James, brother of John, put to death with sword. King Herod was eager to win the favor of the Jews, since the Jews were very interested in preventing Christianity from spreading. He believed persecuting Christians would please his Jewish subjects, and it did. Scholars generally believe James was killed in Jerusalem in 44 AD, shortly after Jesus' death. Saint John the Beloved, he was the youngest of all the twelve apostles. He is said to be the most beloved disciple of Jesus among them. Tradition tells us that he outlived the remaining apostles and was the only one to die of natural causes. After Pentecost, John the Apostle is believed to have traveled to various places for missionary work. Tradition also tells us that he spent a considerable amount of time in Ephesus, a major city in the Roman province of Asia, which now is modern-day Turkey. In Ephesus, John is said to have continued spreading the teachings of Jesus, establishing a Christian community, and writing the Gospel of John. According to tradition and biblical accounts, the Apostle was exiled to the island of Patmos during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian. He is known for his persecution of Christians. The book of Revelation in the New Testament is written at the time when he was in exile. This is also mentioned in the introduction of the book Revelation. During the reign of Domitian, John the Apostle was persecuted along with many Christians. Tradition says Saint John the Apostle was boiled in hot oil but was miraculously survived. Watching this miracle, audience in the Colosseum converted to Christians. After this, they had no option but to let go of John. He subsequently exiled to the island of Patmos, where he wrote the book Revelation through the visions from Jesus Christ. After Emperor Domitian's death, Saint John the Apostle has returned from exile to Ephesus around in the year 100, where he continued to preach. Early Christian writings says he died at an old age of 88 years old due to natural causes, making him the only Apostle to have not been martyred. Compared to other Apostles like Peter or Paul, Apostle Philip is relatively less known. But he played significant role in events like the miracle of the loaves and fishes. After Pentecost, he have engaged in many missionary activities with traditions linking him to the conversion of the Ethiopian Enoch, a high-ranking official in the court of the Queen of Ethiopia. There are numerous accounts and theories about his death. But the most widely believed cause of his death is that he has been martyred by crucifixion. According to Acts of Philip, this non-canonical book recalls the preaching and miracles of Philip. According to these accounts, following the resurrection of Jesus, Philip was sent with his sister Mariam and Bartholomew to preach in Greece, Phrygia and Syria. He was martyred in the city of Hierapolis. Tradition says through a miraculous healing and his preaching, he converted the wife of the proconsul, that is the governor of a Roman province of the city. This enraged the proconsul and he had Philip, Bartholomew and Mariam all tortured. Philip and Bartholomew were then said to be crucified upside down and Philip started preaching from his cross. As a result of Philip's preaching, the crowd released Bartholomew from his cross but Philip insisted that they not release him and Philip died on the cross. Philip is also said to have been martyred by beheading rather than crucifixion in the same city of Hierapolis. Just like Apostle Philip, he is also less known apostle of Jesus, witnessing Jesus' ministry and resurrection. Tradition says Bartholomew was probably martyred. The most popular and prolific one says that he was flayed, that is, it refers to the act of removing the skin from his body. This punishment is used at those times to metaphorically describe severe criticism or exposure as if one's metaphorical skin is being figuratively stripped away. After being flayed, he was beheaded, which is why most art portrays Apostle Bartholomew either holding or wearing his skin or associates him with flaying knees. St. Thomas, the Apostle Thomas, also known as the unfamous Doubting Thomas, has a fairly straightforward tradition surrounding his death. The Acts of Thomas, early Christian writing, says he was martyred in Mylapore in India, where he was stabbed with spears. Syrian Christian tradition specifies Thomas was martyred in Mylapore on July 3rd, 72 AD, noting that he was killed with a spear. Apostle Matthew is named in the New Testament as one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was also one of the four evangelists as author of the Gospel of Matthew and thus is also known as Matthew the Evangelist. There are several conflicting accounts of Matthew's death. Early church fathers such as Irenaeus Clement of Alexandria say that Matthew preached the gospel to the Jewish community in Judah before going to other countries. Ancient writers are not in agreement as to which other countries these are, but almost all sources mention Ethiopia. The Catholic Church and Orthodox Church each hold the tradition that Apostle Matthew died as a martyr and the Babylonian Talmud appears to report his execution in Sanhedrin, a Jewish council or court. According to church tradition, while preaching in Ethiopia, Matthew converted and then consecrated Ephigenia of Ethiopia, the virgin daughter of King Agippus. When King Hithakus succeeded Agippus, he asked the Apostle if he could persuade Ephigenia to marry him. Matthew thus invited King Hithakus to liturgy the following Sunday, where he rebuked him for lusting after a girl as she was a nun and therefore was the bride of Christ. The enraged king thus ordered his bodyguard to kill Matthew who stood at the altar making him a martyr. Simon the Zealot. Simon, Jude and James the Less are brothers and cousins of our Lord. Although there is less and no specific accounts of his actions or teachings in the New Testament, his name is mentioned twice in the Gospels Mark and Matthew as one of the Apostle of Jesus Christ. After Pentecost, when the disciples dispersed to preach the gospel around the world, Simon the Zealot preached the faith in Persia together with his brother Jude. Tradition tells us that Simon was crucified at Edessa around the year 67. This version is the one found in the golden legend. St. Jude was martyred the same year in Persia as Apostle Simon the Zealot. He was clubbed and killed with an axe making him a martyr. He was named Jude to distinguish between Judas the traitor who betrayed Jesus. Jude's former name was Judas but later changed to clear the confusion. He was also named Thaddeus meaning big-hearted to distinguish him from Judas the traitor. It is traditionally believed that Jude was martyred in Syria on his missionary journey with Simon the Zealot. The authenticity of this account is still questioned. However, according to the golden legend, Simon and Jude command demons to come out of idols and destroy their own images. Then the religious leader killed Simon and Jude. James the Less also known as James son of Alphaeus was one of the twelve Apostles of Jesus mentioned in Mark and Matthew. James the Less only mentioned twice in the Bible but he was an important leader in the early church. He is not to be confused with James the Great. James the Less was termed less in order not to be confused with James the Great. St. James the Less was the first bishop of Jerusalem and he remained there permanently in order to save a remnant of Jews. The ancient of the Jews however were tired of his preaching and they took him to the pinnacle of the temple and told him to renounce Christ before all the people who gathered below. Having none of that, he rather preached Christ crucified as Savior and they cast him off his pulpit. Still living after he hit the ground, a vicious fuller smashed his head with the club. Tradition says this way James the Less has been mattered. Judas Iscariot. He was also one of the twelve disciples of Jesus. He betrayed Jesus to the religious authorities for 30 pieces of silver. On the night of the Last Supper, Jesus identified Judas as the one who would betray him. After the betrayal, Judas led a group of soldiers and religious leaders to Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane where he betrayed Jesus with a kiss. This event ultimately led to Jesus' arrest and subsequent crucifixion. Feeling remorseful for his actions, Judas tried to return the silver to the chief priests but they refused to take it back. Overwhelmed with the guilt, he went out and hanged himself. The details of Judas' death are found in the Gospel of Matthew and the Acts of Apostles. This way Judas Iscariot, an apostle of Jesus Christ, died. Mattias. He was a disciple of Jesus from his baptism by John until his ascension. He replaced Judas Iscariot following Judas' betrayal of Jesus and his subsequent hanging. Greek tradition holds that St. Mattias preached the Gospel around Cappadocia along the Caspian Sea living near the port of Issus. It is also said that he preached in Ethiopia, modern-day Georgia. Tradition says that he was possibly martyred. He was martyred by either stoning or beheading. His remains are buried in St. Mattias Benedictine Abbey in Trier, Germany. Some traditions also say that he was crucified.