According to St. Paul we “are fellow citizens with the holy ones … built upon the foundation of the Apostles and prophets.” In our creeds we confess that our faith is “one, holy, catholic, apostolic.” The apostles named by Jesus called “the twelve” are, therefore, central. How ironic is it that we aren’t exactly sure who they were! All four of the evangelists give lists of apostles but don’t exactly agree. Is Simon the Zealot (Luke and Acts) or the Canaanite (Matthew and Mark)? Is Thaddaeus in Matthew and Mark the same as Judas (Luke and Acts) or Jude (John)? (In the tradition we just call this person St. Jude Thaddeus.) So an apostle doesn’t need to personal credit — just bring the good news.
