The stories and contributions of the apostles provide an important entrée into church history. This comprehensive historical and literary introduction uncovers their lives and legacies, underscoring the apostles' impact on the growth of the early church. The author collects and distills the histories, legends, symbols, and iconography of the original twelve and locates figures such as Paul, Peter, and John in the broader context of the history of the apostles. He also explores the continuing story of the gospel mission and the twelve disciples beyond the New Testament.

Simon Peter, Andrew, James the son of Zebedee, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Jude, Simon, Judas, and Matthias—what happened to the men who answered Jesus' call to follow him? What impact did they have on the world? Where did they go and what did they do after Jesus' resurrection and ascension? In these fascinating profiles, Dr. McBirnie offers readers a snapshot of the lives of each apostle. His information was compiled by traveling to places where the apostles lived and visited, by studying the Scriptures and biblical history, by listening to local traditions, and by engaging in his own original research. Picking up where the book of Acts leaves off, McBirnie brings these men to life as he explores the legends, traditions, and real lives of the Twelve as they built the foundation of Christianity.

The story of Twelve Apostles is the story of early Christianity: its competing versions of Jesus’s ministry, its countless schisms, and its ultimate evolution from an obscure Jewish sect to the global faith we know today in all its forms and permutations. In his quest to understand the underpinnings of the world’s largest religion, Tom Bissell embarks on a years-long pilgrimage to the apostles’ supposed tombs, traveling from Jerusalem and Rome to Turkey, Greece, Spain, France, India, and Kyrgyzstan. Along the way, Bissell uncovers the mysterious and often paradoxical lives of these twelve men and how their identities have taken shape over the course of two millennia. Written with empathy and a rare acumen—and often extremely funny—Apostle is an intellectual, spiritual, and personal adventure fit for believers, scholars, and wanderers alike.

Who were the Apostles really? What happened to them after the end of the Gospel story? You'll be surprised by the wealth of detail Ruffin has dug up for each apostle - even Judas Iscariot.

Draws on St. Paul's letters and other early sources to reveal the apostles' sharply competing ideas about the significance of Jesus and his teachings while demonstrating how St. Paul independently shaped Christianity as it is known today.

This book is a definitive history of the lives and deaths of the Twelve Apostles of Jesus. It details the lives of twelve Jewish men who walked the earth with the Son of God and who changed the course of world history. Using scholarly sources, modern translations of the ancient texts, and the often-ignored concept of local tradition, the author follows each of the Twelve Apostles from their calling by the Lord, to the most likely geographical locations of their evangelical missions, and to the locations of their deaths by martyrdom. As well as it can be known, the author goes one step further and tells the reader the fascinating stories of the far-flung postmortem journey's of each apostle's earthly remains and informs us of where their tombs can be visited today. Along with all of this, Dr. Orzeck shares with us his firsthand account of his adventures involved in visiting the locations mentioned in the book. He does so first and most importantly because of what he feels is a huge responsibility to get the story of these great men correct as humanly possible. With the possible exception of the late Pope John Paul II, to the best of his knowledge, he (and his wife and traveling partner) are the only persons ever to have been in the physical presence of all Twelve Apostles of Jesus since the first Pentecost, an honor he doesn't take lightly.