by Paulo Barata
and circumstances of his death are historically unverifiable, Christian tradition holds that Barnabas was martyred at Salamis, Cyprus, in 61 AD. He is traditionally identified as the founder of the Cypriot Orthodox Church.
Cephas
Simon Peter, apostle, first bishop of Rome
Saint Peter or Simon Peter was an early Christian leader and one of the twelve apostles of Jesus. Peter is featured prominently in the New Testament Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles and is venerated as a saint. The son of John or of Jonah or Jona, he was from the village of Bethsaida in the province of Galilee or Gaulanitis. His brother Andrew was also an apostle. Peter is venerated in multiple churches and is regarded as the first pope by the Catholic Church.
After working to establish the church of Antioch and presiding for seven years as the leader of the city's Christian community, he preached, or his epistle was preached in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia Minor and Bithynia to scattered communities of believers: Jews, Hebrew Christians and the gentiles. He then went to Rome where in the second year of Claudius, it is claimed, he overthrew Simon Magus and held the Sacerdotal Chair for 25 years.
Peter wrote two general epistles. The Gospel of Mark is also ascribed to him (as Mark was his disciple and interpreter). Several other books bearing his name‚ the Acts of Peter, Gospel of Peter, Preaching of Peter, Apocalypse of Peter, and Judgment of Peter‚ are rejected by the Catholic Church as apocryphal.
According to New Testament accounts, Peter was one of twelve apostles chosen by Jesus from his first disciples. Originally a fisherman, he was assigned a leadership role by Jesus and was with Jesus during events witnessed by only a few apostles, such as the Transfiguration.
Peter is said to have been crucified under Emperor Nero. It is traditionally held that he was crucified upside down at his own request, since he saw himself unworthy to be crucified in the same way as Jesus Christ.
Ephraim*
Miracle worker in Jaffa
Hermione
Daughter of Philip, the Evangelist
Hila
Daughter of Philip, the Evangelist
James
James, the Just, apostle, first bishop of Jerusalem
He is called James the brother of the Lord by Paul, James the brother of the Lord, surnamed the Just by Hegesippus and others, "James the Righteous", "James of Jerusalem", "James Adelphotheos", and so on.
James became the leader of the Christian movement in Jerusalem in the decades after Jesus' death, but like the rest of the early Christians, information about his life is scarce and ambiguous. Apart from a handful of references in the Gospels, the main sources for his life are the Acts of the Apostles, the Pauline epistles, the historian Josephus, and St. Jerome who also quotes the early Christian chronicler Hegesippus.
The Epistle of James in the New Testament is traditionally attributed to him, and he is a principal author of the Apostolic Decree of Acts 15. Hegesippus in his fifth book of his Commentaries, writing of James, says "After the apostles, James the brother of the Lord surnamed the Just was made head of the Church at Jerusalem."
As a consequence of the doctrine of perpetual virginity, which does not allow that Mary had children after Jesus, Jerome considered that the term "brother" of the Lord should be read "cousin", and concluded that James "the brother of the Lord," is therefore James, son of Alphaeus, one of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus, as well as James, the son of Mary Cleophas.
Paul lists James with Cephas (better known as Peter) and John as the three "pillars" of the Church and who will minister to the "circumcised" (in general Jews and Jewish Proselytes) in Jerusalem, while Paul and his fellows will minister to the "uncircumcised".
When Paul arrives in Jerusalem to deliver the money he raised for the faithful there, it is to James that he speaks.
James ben Zebedee
James, the Greater, apostle, martyr
One of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. He was a son of Zebedee and Salome, and brother of John the Apostle. He is also called James the Greater to distinguish him from James, son of Alphaeus, who is also known as James the Less.
James is described as one of the first disciples to join Jesus. The Synoptic Gospels state that James and John were with their father by the seashore when Jesus called them to follow him.
James was one of only three apostles whom Jesus selected to bear witness to his Transfiguration. The Acts of the Apostles records that Herod had James executed by sword.
He is the only apostle whose martyrdom is recorded in the New Testament. He is, thus, traditionally believed to be the first of the 12 apostles martyred for his faith.
Linus
Second bishop of Rome
Pope Saint Linus (died c. 76) was, according to several early sources, Bishop of the Diocese of Rome after Saint Peter. This would make Linus the second Pope. According to other early sources Pope Clement I was the Pope after Peter. Linus is the only person specifically mentioned in the New Testament, other than Peter, considered by the Catholic Church to have held the position of Pope.
Philip
Philip the Evangelist, one of the seven deacons
Philip the Evangelist appears several times in the Acts of the Apostles. He was one of the Seven Deacons chosen to care for the poor of the Christian community in Jerusalem.
After the martyrdom of Saint Stephen he went to "the city of Samaria", where he preached with much success, Simon Magus being one of his converts. He preached and performed miracles in Samaria, and met and baptized an Ethiopian man, a eunuch, in Gaza, traditionally marking the start of the Ethiopian Church.
Later, he lived in Caesarea Maritima with his four daughters who prophesied, where he was visited by Paul.
A late tradition describes him as settling at Tralles in Anatolia, where he became the bishop of that church.
Philip*
Head of the Messianics in Tiberias
Saul
Paul of Tarsus, disciple and missionary
Paul the Apostle (c. AD 5 - c. AD 67) is the most influential early Christian missionary and leader of the first generation of Christians. Among the many other apostles and missionaries involved in the spread of the Christian faith, Paul is often considered to be one of the two most important people in the history of Christianity, and one of the greatest religious leaders of all time
A Greek-speaking Jew, he grew up in Jerusalem where he studied "at the feet of Gamaliel", a famous rabbi and leading authority in the Sanhedrin. For the first half of his life, Paul was a member of the Pharisees, a Jewish faction that promoted strict orthodoxy and formalism. Before his conversion he zealously persecuted the newly-forming Christian church, trying to destroy it.
While traveling on the road from Jerusalem to Damascus on a mission the resurrected Jesus appeared to him in a great light. He was struck blind, but after three days his sight was restored by Ananias of Damascus.
Paul's conversion dramatically changed the course of his life. He began to preach that Jesus of Nazareth is the Jewish Messiah and the Son of God. Through his missionary activities and writings he eventually transformed religious belief and philosophy around the Mediterranean Basin. His leadership, influence and legacy led to the formation of communities dominated by Gentile groups that worshiped the God of Israel, adhered to the "Judaic moral code", but relaxed or abandoned the ritual and dietary teachings of the Law of Moses, that these laws and rituals were symbolic precursors of Christ.
Thirteen epistles in the New Testament are traditionally attributed to Paul. More than half of the book of Acts is devoted to describing his pioneering activities. Augustine of Hippo developed Paul's idea that salvation is based on faith and not "works of the law".
Paul was compelled to struggle to validate his own worth and authority. His contemporaries probably did not hold him in esteem as high as they held Peter and James. Along with Simon Peter and James the Just he was one of the most prominent early Christian leaders.
The Bible does not record Paul's death. In his secon
d letter to Timothy, Paul writes about anticipating his death. Writing around 110, Ignatius noted that Paul had been martyred. He probably died in Rome c. A.D. 62-64.
Silas
Missionary and companion to Saul
Saint Silas or Saint Silvanus was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who later accompanied Paul on parts of his first and second missionary journeys.
He was with Paul in Philippi when they were imprisoned, but were freed when an earthquake broke their chains and opened the prison door. He is thus sometimes depicted carrying broken chains.
Simeon
Second bishop of Jerusalem
Saint Simeon of Jerusalem, son of Clopas, was a Jewish Christian leader and according to most Christian traditions the second Bishop of Jerusalem (62-107).
According to a universal tradition the first bishop of Jerusalem was Saint James the Just, the "brother of the Lord," who according to Eusebius said that he was appointed bishop by the Apostles Peter, St. James, and John.
According to Eusebius, James was killed at the instigation of the high priest, Ananus, in about the year 63. Eusebius relates that Simeon was elected by the community at Jerusalem chosen to succeed James.
Stephen
One of the seven deacons, protomartyr
Saint Stephen, the protomartyr of Christianity, is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Oriental Orthodox and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
According to The Acts of the Apostles, Stephen was among seven men of the early church at Jerusalem appointed to serve as deacon. However, after a dispute with the members of a synagogue, he is denounced for blasphemy against God and Moses and speaking against the Temple and the Law. Stephen is tried before the Sanhedrin. His defense is presented as accusing the Jews of persecuting the prophets who had spoken out against the sins of the nation:
While on trial, he experienced a theophany in which he saw both God the Father and God the Son.
He is condemned and stoned to death by an infuriated mob, which is encouraged by Saul of Tarsus, later to be known as Saint Paul the Apostle. After his own conversion to Christianity, Paul makes reference to witnessing Stephen's martyrdom in his writings.
Thadeus*
Head of the Messianics in Jericho
Timon*
Head of the Messianics in Jaffa
Yeshua ben Joseph
Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ
Jesus (7 BC to 30/36 AD), also referred to as Jesus of Nazareth, is the central figure of Christianity, whom the teachings of most Christian denominations hold to be the Son of God and is regarded as a major Prophet in Islam.
Virtually all scholars of antiquity agree that Jesus existed. While the quest for the historical Jesus has produced little agreement on the historicity of gospel narratives and their theological assertions of his divinity, most scholars agree that Jesus was a Jewish teacher from Galilee in Roman Judaea, was baptized by John the Baptist, and was crucified in Jerusalem on the orders of the Roman Prefect, Pontius Pilate. Scholars have offered various portraits of the historical Jesus, which at times share a number of overlapping attributes, such as the leader of an apocalyptic movement, Messiah, a charismatic healer, a sage and philosopher, or a social reformer who preached of the "Kingdom of God" as a means for personal and egalitarian social transformation.
Christians hold Jesus to be the awaited Messiah of the Old Testament and refer to him as Jesus Christ or simply as Christ, a name that is also used secularly. Most Christians believe that Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of a virgin, performed miracles, founded the Church, died sacrificially by crucifixion to achieve atonement, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, from which he will return. The majority of Christians worship Jesus as the incarnation of God the Son, and the Second Person of the Holy Trinity.
Zacheus*
Head of the Messianics in Caesarea
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