Next time you feel hard done by when you are mocked or maligned for your faith, or more to the point, decide not to proclaim Christ out of fear of mockery, remember what happened to the early apostles. Thanks to Fr. Richard Whalen of St Michael the Archangel in Belleville for sending this out to remind us of who we are, and whose we are.
1.
Matthew
Suffered
martyrdom in Ethiopia, Killed by a sword wound
2.
Mark
Died in
Alexandria, Egypt, after being dragged by Horses through the streets until he
was dead
3.
Luke
Was
hanged in Greece as a result of his tremendous Preaching to the lost
4
John
Faced
martyrdom when he was boiled in huge Basin of boiling oil during a wave
of
persecution In Rome . However, he was miraculously delivered from death.
John was
then sentenced to the mines on the prison Island of Patmos.
He wrote
his prophetic Book of Revelation on Patmos. The apostle John was later freed
and
returned to serve As Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey . He died as an old man,
the
only
apostle to die peacefully.
5.
Peter
He was
crucified upside down on an x-shaped cross.
According to church tradition it was
because he told his tormentors that he felt unworthy
to die
In the same way that Jesus Christ had died.
6
James
The
leader of the church in Jerusalem , was thrown over a hundred feet down from the
southeast
pinnacle
of the Temple when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they
discovered that he
survived
the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a fuller's club.
*
This was the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the Temptation.
7.
James the Great
Son of
Zebedee, was a fisherman by trade when Jesus Called him to a lifetime of
ministry.
As a
strong leader of the church, James was ultimately beheaded at Jerusalem.
The
Roman officer who guarded James watched amazed as James defended his faith at
his trial.
Later,
the officer Walked beside James to the place of execution. Overcome by
conviction, he
declared
his new faith to the judge and Knelt beside James to accept beheading as a
Christian.
8.
Bartholomew
Also
known as Nathaniel Was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord in
present day Turkey.
Bartholomew was martyred for his
preaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.
9.
Andrew
He was
crucified on an x-shaped cross in Patras, Greece.
After being whipped severely by seven soldiers
they
tied his body to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. His followers
reported that, when he was
led
toward the cross, Andrew saluted it in these words: 'I have long desired and
expected this happy hour.
The
cross has been consecrated by the body of Christ hanging on it.' He continued to
preach to his
tormentors For two days until he
expired.
10.
Thomas
Was
stabbed with a spear in India during one of his missionary trips to establish
the church in the Sub-continent
11.
Jude
Was
killed with arrows when he refused to deny his faith in Christ.
12.
Matthias
The
apostle chosen to replace the traitor Judas Iscariot, was stoned and then
beheaded.
13.
Paul
Was
tortured and then beheaded by the evil Emperor Nero at Rome in A.D. 67. Paul
endured
a
lengthy imprisonment, which allowed him to write his many epistles to the
churches he had
formed
throughout the Roman Empire. These letters, which taught many of the
foundational
Doctrines of Christianity, form a
large portion of the New Testament.
Perhaps
this is a reminder to us
That our
sufferings here Are indeed minor compared To the intense persecution And cold
cruelty
faced by
the apostles And disciples during their times For the sake of the Faith. And ye
shall be
hated Of
all men for my name's sake: But he that endureth to
the end shall be saved. Matthew
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