Course 3, Chapter 4: Christianity established. — Lives of the other Apostles. First Century

1. Who was St. Andrew?

St. Andrew was the brother of St. Peter; he was received into the number of the apostles by our Saviour himself. After Pentecost he carried the gospel into Asia Minor and the country of the Scythians, and was afterwards crucified in the city of Patros.

2. Who was St. James the greater?

St. James, surnamed the greater, was brother to St. John the Evangelist, and son of Salome, the first

cousin of the Blessed Virgin. After Pentecost, he preached the gospel to the twelve tribes dispersed in different countries, and penetrated as far as Spain. He then returned to Jerusalem, where he was beheaded by order of Herod Agrippa, whose crime did not remain long unpunished, for he soon after died, devoured by worms.

Q Who was St. John?

A. St. John was the youngest of the apostles, and especially beloved by our Saviour. After Pentecost, he preached the gospel to the Parthians, a warlike nation, which alone disputed with the Romans the empire of the world. The saint returned into Asia Minor, and fixed his residence in the city of Ephesus.

3. What happened to him there?

The emperor Domitian had him apprehended and conducted to Rome, where he was thrown into a caldron of boiling oil, from which he escaped unhurt. The tyrant then banished him to the isle of Patmos, where he wrote his Apocalypse or revelation of the things to come in the course of ages. He afterwards returned to Ephesus and wrote his Gospel, for the purpose of showing the divinity of our Saviour. He also wrote three letters to the faithful, and finally died, aged about one hundred years.

4. Who was St. Jamep the less?

St. James the less was the son of Alpheus and of Mary, a near relative of the Blessed Virgin. Before the ascension, our Saviour commended to him the church of Jerusalem. He was afterwards the first bishop of that church. He wrote a letter to all the churches, and was finally thrown from the top of the temple by the Jews, in hatred of Christianity.

5. Who was St. Philip?

A St. Philip was of Bethsadia, in Galilee; he was one of the first disciples of our Lord. After Pentecost, he set out for Phrygia, where he established ChristiAnity, and where h* died at an advanced old age.

256 CATECHISM OF PERSEVERANCE.

6. Who was St. Bartholomew?

St. Bartholomew was also of Galilee. After Pentecost, he directed his course towards the most barbarous countries of the east, and penetrated to the farthest extremities of India. He then returned to Armenia, where he received the crown of martyrdom.

7. Who was St. Matthew?

St. Matthew was a publican, and a collector of the revenues. He was converted by our Lord himself, and received into the number of the apostles. After Pentecost, he started for Africa, where he died.

8. Who was St. Simon?

St. Simon was of Cana, in Galilee. After Pentecost, he set out for Persia, where he was martyred by order of the idolatrous priests.

9. Who was St. Jude?

St. Jude, also called Thaddeus, was the brother of St. James the less. After Pentecost, 1^ went into Africa, and planted the faith in Lybia. He returned to Jerusalem, and afterwards died in Armenia. He wrote a letter, addressed to all the churches, to guard them against the heresies of the Nicolites and Gnostics, then beginning to spring up.

10. Who was St. Thomas?

St. Thomas was also of Jewish origin. After the resurrection, he was permitted by our Lord to put his hand into his sacred wounds. He started after Pentecost for the east, and carried the gospel into Persia, Ethiopia and India, in which last he sealed with his blood the doctrine he had preached.

11. Who was St. Mathias?

St. Mathias was a disciple of our Lord, and was chosen by lot to replace Judas. History says nothing of his evangelical labors, nor of the manner of his death.

12. How many evangelists are there?

There are four evangelists; St. Matthew, St. Mark, St. Luke and St. John. They are called evan-

gelists, because they wrote the four Gospel, or life of our Lord.*