The Feast of the 12 Apostles

The Bible contains four lists of the names of the Twelve Disciples of Christ: Matthew 10:12, Mark 3:13, Luke 6:14 and Acts of the Apostles 1:13. They vary slightly as well as the sequence although they list Peter first, even though it was Andrew (his brother) who was called first by the Lord.  It is believed that Christ selected only 12 because it was the number of the twelve sons of Jacob (the most famous of whom is Joseph, whose story fills the Book of Genesis) who later became the leaders of the 12 tribes of Israel (In the Book of Genesis, Jacob is renamed Israel by God, after he wrestled with an angel. See Genesis 32:27-28). After Pentecost, Christ’s twelve disciples became the leaders of the “new Israel.” The number 12 was considered so important that very shortly after the falling of Judas Iscariot, the remaining 11 voted in a new Apostle by the name Matthias, so that there would be 12 once again (Acts of the Apostles 1:15-26).

These disciples followed Jesus as He traveled and were eyewitnesses to His numerous wonders. After the Ascension of Christ back to heaven they continued His work of redeeming mankind from sin. In fact at the Ascension Jesus commanded the apostles to go out and make disciples of all nations through baptism and to teach nations all that they had observed and all that He commanded of them (Matthew 28:16-20, see also Acts of the Apostles 1:6-11).  He enabled them to succeed in that he bestowed the Holy Spirit upon them (at Pentecost) as they traveled to far away lands.

The authority of the Apostles in the Church was unquestionable from the very beginning.  Their powers were derived from Christ Himself. They preached boldly and acted as His representatives, teaching and speaking “in the Holy Spirit.”  The place of honor accorded to them by the Church has no equal except for that of the Theotokos.  They each have their own separate date of commemoration and they have a joint commemoration on June 30, a feast whose importance is shown by the fact that it is preceded by a period of fasting.

The Feast of the Apostles is called the Synaxis of the Holy Apostles because it follows the Feast of Sts. Peter and Paul, on June 29. In Orthodox liturgical practice, important feasts are followed by an additional celebration of a saint or saints connected to the feast. For example, on January 6 we celebrate the Feast of Theophany (Epiphany), on January 7, we celebrate the Feast of St. John the Baptist. On March 25, we celebrate the Feast of the Annunciation, on March 26, we celebrate the Feast of the Archangel Gabriel.