A P O 
turns to another; this is an apofefts mete dads. So Pliny 
cails the apojlema. 
APOS' fASY , f \_apofafe, Fr. apoftafia, Lat. of oarro- 
ranx, of ulpiretpott, Gr. to depart.] Departure from what 
a man lias profeded : it is generally applied to religion ; 
fometimes with the particle from. — 1 he canon law defines 
apojtafy to be a wilful departure from that date ot faith, 
which any perfon has profeded himfelf to hold in the 
Chridian church. Ay life.— Whoever do give different 
worfhips, mud bring in more gods ; which is an apofafy 
from one God. Stilling feet. The primitive church didin- 
guifhed feveral kinds of apodafy. The fird, of thole who 
went over entirely from Chridianity to Judaifm; the fe- 
cond, of thofe who mingled Judaifm and Chridianity to¬ 
gether ; and the third, of thofe who complied fo far with 
the Jews, as to communicate with them in many of their 
ceremonies, without making a formal profefiion of their 
religion. But the fourth fort was of thofe who, after 
having been fome time Chridians, voluntarily relapfed in¬ 
to paganifm. The apodafy of a Chridian to Judaifm, pa- 
ganifm. See. was punifiied by the emperors Condantius 
and Julian with confifcation of goods; to which the em¬ 
perors Theodolius and Valentinian added capital punifli- 
ment, in cafe the apodate endeavoured to pervert others 
to the fame iniquity. A punifiiment too fevere for tem¬ 
poral laws to inflift; and yet the zeal of our ancedors im¬ 
ported it into this country ; for we find by Braclon, that 
in his time apodates were burnt to death. Doubtlefs the 
prefervation of Chridianity, as a national religion, is, ab- 
drafted from its ow n intrinfic truth, of the utmoft conle- 
quence to the civil date ; which a fingle indance will fuffi- 
ciently demondrate. The belief of a future date of re¬ 
wards and punifhments, the entertaining jud ideas of the 
moral attributes of the flip re me Being, and a firm perfua- 
fion that he fuperintends, and will finally compenfate, 
every action in human life, are the grand foundation of all 
judicial oaths ; which call God to witnefs the truth of 
thofe faffs, which perhaps may be only known to Him, 
and the party atteding : all moral evidence therefore, all 
confidence in human veracity, mud be weakened by apo- 
ftafy, and overthrown by total infidelity. But yet the lofs 
of life is a heavier penalty than the offence, taken in a 
civil light, deferves ; and, taken in a fpiritual light, our 
laws have no jurifdiftion over it. This punifhment, there¬ 
fore, has become obfolete ; and the offence of apodafy 
was for a long time the object only of the ecclefiadical 
courts, which corrected the offender pro falule animae. But 
about the clofe of the lad century, the civil liberties to 
which we were then redored being tiled as a cloke of ma- 
licioufnefs, and the mod horrid doctrine fubverdve of all 
religion being publicly avowed both in difconrfe and wri¬ 
tings, it was thought neceffary again for the civil power 
to interpofe. To this end it was enafted by 9 and 10W. III. 
c. 32. that if any perfon educated in, or having made pro- 
fedion of, the Chridian religion, diall by writing, print¬ 
ing, teaching, or advifed fpeaking, deny tire Chridian re¬ 
ligion to be true, or the holy fcriptures to be of divine 
authority, he diall upon the fird offence be rendered inca¬ 
pable to hold any office or place of trud; and for the fe- 
cond be rendered incapable of bringing any action, or of 
being guardian, executor, legatee, or purchafer of lands, 
and diall differ three yea'rs imprifonment without bail. 
To give room, however, for repentance, if, within four 
months after the drd convidtion, the delinquent will in 
open court publicly renounce his error, he is difeharged 
for that once from all di(abilities. 
APOSTA'TA CA'PIENDO, f. in the Englifli law, a 
writ that formerly lay againft a perfon who, having enter¬ 
ed into fome order of religion, broke out again, and wan¬ 
dered up and down the country. 
APOS'TATE, f. \_apofata, Lat. Gr.] One 
that has forfaken his profefiion ; generally applied to one 
that has left his religion.—The angels, for dilobedience, 
thou had referved to a miferable immortality; but unto 
man, equally rebellious, equally apojlate from thee and 
Vol. I. No. 51. 
A P O 809 
goodnefs, thou had given a Saviour. Rogers. Among the 
Romanids, it dgnifies a man who, without a legal difpen- 
fation, forfakes a religious order of which he had made 
pro fed ion. 
APOSTA'TICAL,«rf/. Afterthe mannerofan apodate. 
To APOS'TATIZE, v.n. To forfake one’s profefiion : 
it is commonly ufed of one who departs from his religion. 
—None revolt from the faith, becaufe they mud not look 
upon a woman to lud after her, but becaufe they are re¬ 
drained from the perpetration of their luds. if wanton 
glances, and libidinous thoughts, had been permitted by 
tlie gofpel, they would have apofatized. neverthelefs. Bentley. 
To APOS'TEMATE, v.n. To become an apodeme; 
to fwcll and corrupt into matter.—There is care to be ta¬ 
ken in abfeedes of the bread and belly, in danger of break¬ 
ing inwards ; yet, by opening thefe too foon, they fome¬ 
times apofemale again, and become crude. Wifeman. 
APOSTEMA'TION,/ The formation of an apodeme; 
the gathering of a hollow purulent tumour.—Nothing can 
be more admirable than the many ways nature hath pro¬ 
vided for preventing or curing of fevers ; as vomitings, 
apofemotions, falivations, See. Grew. 
APOSTE'ME, or Apostume, f. [amoreua, of afyer- 
to depart.] A hollow fwelling, filled with puru¬ 
lent matter; an abfeefs.—With equal propriety we may 
affirm, that ulcers of the lungs, or apof ernes of the brain, 
do happen only in the left fide. Drown. —The opening of 
apof ernes, before the fuppuration be perfected, weakeneth 
the heat, and renders them crude. Wifeman. 
A POSTERIORI,/, or demondration a poferiori. See 
Demonstration. 
APOS'TIL, f. The fame with a marginal note. 
APOS'TLE,/ \_apotre, Fr. apofolus, Lat. of a/roroA^-, 
of a. 7 rore AAo;, Gr. to fend on a mefiage.] In general figni- 
des a melfenger, a perfon fent upon fome fpecial errand, 
for the difeharge of fome peculiar affair of him that fent 
him ; but is more particularly applied to the difciples 
w hom our Saviour fent to preach the gofpel to all nations. 
He feleifted only twelve of his difciples to be inveded with 
the apodlefhip. Their names were Simon Peter, Andrew, 
James the greater, John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, 
Matthew, James the lefs, Jude furnamed I.ebbeus or 
Thaddeus, Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Ifcariot. Of 
thefe Simon, Andrew, James the greater, and John, were 
dlhermen; and Matthew a publican, or receiver of the 
public revenues: of what profefiion the red were, we are 
not told in Scripture; though it is probable they were fidi- 
ermen. There are various conjectures as to the reafon. of 
our Saviour's making choice of twelve apodles. The mod 
probable is, that it might be in alludon to the twelve pa¬ 
triarchs, as the founders of their feveral tribes; or to the 
twelve chief heads or rulers of thofe tribes, of which the 
body of the Jevvidi nation confided. This opinion feems 
to be countenanced by what our Saviour tells his apodles, 
that £< when the Son of man diall fit in the throne of his 
glory, they alfo diall fit upon twelve thrones, judging the 
twelve tribes of Ifrael.” The fird commifiion of our Sa¬ 
viour to his apodles was in the third year of his public 
minidry, about eight months after their folenm election ; 
at-which time he lent them out by two and two. They 
were to make no provifion of money for their lublidence, 
but to expect it from thofe to whom they preached. They 
were to declare, that the kingdom of heaven was at hand ; 
and to confirm their doCfrine by miracles. They were to 
ayoid going either to the Gentiles or to the Samaritans, 
and to confine their preaching to the people of Ifrael. In 
obedience to their Mader, the apodles went into all the 
parts of Paledine inhabited by the Jews, preaching the 
gofpel, and working miracles. The evangelical hiidory is 
filent as to the particular circumdances attending this fird 
preaching of the apodles ; and only informs us, that they 
returned, and told their Mader of all that they had done. 
Their fecond commifiion was of a more extenlive nature. 
They were not to confine their preaching to the Jews, but 
to “ go and teach ail nations, baptizing them in the name 
9 U of 
