Apostle
[ə'pɒs(ə)l] or [ə'pɑsl]
Definition
(noun.) (New Testament) one of the original 12 disciples chosen by Christ to preach his gospel.
(noun.) any important early teacher of Christianity or a Christian missionary to a people.
(noun.) an ardent early supporter of a cause or reform; 'an apostle of revolution'.
Editor: Mamie--From WordNet
Definition
(n.) Literally: One sent forth; a messenger. Specifically: One of the twelve disciples of Christ, specially chosen as his companions and witnesses, and sent forth to preach the gospel.
(n.) The missionary who first plants the Christian faith in any part of the world; also, one who initiates any great moral reform, or first advocates any important belief; one who has extraordinary success as a missionary or reformer; as, Dionysius of Corinth is called the apostle of France, John Eliot the apostle to the Indians, Theobald Mathew the apostle of temperance.
(n.) A brief letter dimissory sent by a court appealed from to the superior court, stating the case, etc.; a paper sent up on appeals in the admiralty courts.
Edited by Allison
Synonyms and Synonymous
n. Messenger, missionary.
Edited by Ben
Definition
n. one sent to preach the gospel: specially one of the twelve disciples of Christ: the founder of the Christian Church in a country e.g. Augustine the apostle of the English; Columba of the Scots; Boniface of Germany &c.: the principal champion or supporter of a new system or of some cause: the highest in the fourfold ministry of the Catholic and Apostolic Church: one of the twelve officials forming a presiding high council in the Mormon Church.—ns. Apos′tleship the office or dignity of an apostle; Apost′olate the office of an apostle: leadership in a propaganda.—adjs. Apostol′ic -al.—ns. Apostol′icism profession of apostolicity; Apostolic′ity the quality of being apostolic—Apostles' creed the oldest form of Christian creed that exists early ascribed to the apostles and indeed substantially if not strictly apostolic; Apostle spoons silver spoons with handles ending in figures of the apostles a common baptismal present in the 16th and 17th centuries; Apostles Teaching of the Twelve—often called merely the Didachē (Gr. 'teaching')—the title of a treatise discovered in 1883 on Christian doctrine and government closely connected with the last two books (vii.-viii.) of the Apostolic Constitutions.—Apostolic Constitutions and Canons notes of ecclesiastical customs held to be apostolical written in the form of apostolic precepts and erroneously ascribed by tradition to Clement of Rome; Apostolic Fathers the immediate disciples and fellow-labourers of the apostles more especially those who have left writings behind them (Barnabas Clement of Rome Ignatius Hermas Polycarp); Apostolic see the see of Rome; Apostolic Vicar the cardinal representing the Pope in extraordinary missions.—Apostolical succession the derivation of holy orders by an assumed unbroken chain of transmission from the apostles through their natural successors the bishops—the theory of the Catholic Church: the assumption that a ministry so ordained enjoy the succession of apostolic powers and privileges.
Typist: Ursula
Examples
- During the Tudor and Stuart reigns a fashionable gift at christenings was the apostle, so called because at the end of the handle was the figure of an apostle. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- Gregory, not the founder but the apostle of the scientific method. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- The mosaic portrait of an Apostle who was writing with a pen six feet long seemed only an ordinary Apostle. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- Yes, my boy, I'm sorry for you, now; it's a bad case--very bad; but the apostle says, 'Let everyone abide in the condition in which he is called. Harriet Beecher Stowe. Uncle Tom's Cabin.
- While Mrs. Snagsby, drawing her breath, looks hard at Mr. Snagsby, as who should say, You hear this apostle! Charles Dickens. Bleak House.
- So were the sick brought out and laid in the track of the Apostle--who had _not_ got into the good society, and had _not_ made the money. Charles Dickens. Little Dorrit.
- We could not help admiring the Apostle's modesty in never once mentioning in his writings that he could paint. Mark Twain. The Innocents Abroad.
- He often reminds me of the Apostle Paul. Thomas Hardy. The Return of the Native.
- Rosamond a sufferer, a labourer, a female apostle? Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- But I was no apostle,--I could not behold the herald,--I could not receive his call. Charlotte Bronte. Jane Eyre.
- There is no evidence that the apostles of Jesus ever heard of the Trinity--at any rate from him. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- There was among the twelve apostles one traitor, who betrayed with a kiss. Benjamin Franklin. Memoirs of Benjamin Franklin.
- It sounded to me much more like settling his co-apostles. Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Portraits of the twelve apostles in wood, and not a whole nose among 'em. Wilkie Collins. The Woman in White.
- Twelve cannon cast by Louis VII were named after the twelve peers of France, and Charles V gave twelve others the names of the twelve apostles. Various. The Wonder Book of Knowledge.
- But we must refer the reader to the Acts of the Apostles and the Pauline Epistles for an account of Paul's mission and teaching. H. G. Wells. The Outline of History_Being a Plain History of Life and Mankind.
- His position is not quite like that of the Apostles: he is only a parson among parishioners whose lives he has to try and make better. George Eliot. Middlemarch.
- The Apostles' Creed? Charlotte Bronte. Shirley.
- Neither of Peter nor of Paul nor of any of the other saints nor apostles. Hemingway, Ernest. For Whom The Bell Tolls.
Typist: Maura