8 io A P O 
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghoft.” 
Accordingly they began publicly, after tire afcenfion, to 
exercife their mini dry, working miracles, and making great 
numbers of converts to the Chriflian faith. 
After the apoftles had exercifed their rniniftry for twelve 
years in Paleftine, they refolved to difperfe themfelves in 
different parts of the world, and agreed to determine by 
lot what parts each (hould take. According to this divi- 
lion, St. Peter went into Pontus, Galatia, and other pro¬ 
vinces of Leffer Alia. St. Andrew had the vaft northern 
countries of Scythia and Sogdiana allotted to his portion. 
St. John’s was partly the fame with Peter’s, namely, the 
Leffer Afia. St. Philip had the Upper Alia, with forne 
parts of Scythia and Colchis. Arabia Felix fell to the lot 
of St. Bartholomew. St. Matthew preached in Chaldaea, 
Perfia, and Parthia. St. Thomas preached likevvife in 
Parthia ; as alio to the Hyrcanians, Baftrians, and Indians. 
St. James the lefs continued in Jerufalem, of which church 
he was bilhop. St. Simon had Egypt, Cyrene, Libya, and 
Mauritania. St. Jude, Syria and Mefopotamia ; and St. 
Matthias, who was chofen in the room of J.udas Ifcariot, 
Cappadocia and Colchis. Thus, by the difperfion of the 
apoftles, Chriftiani.ty vdaS quickly planted in many parts of 
the world ; yet we have but very fhort and imperfect ac¬ 
counts of their travels and aclions. The appellation is 
given in like manner to thofe perfons who firli planted the 
Chriflian faith in any place. Tims, Dionylius of Corinth 
is called the apojtlc of France ; Xavier, the apoflle of the 
indies, &c. In the Eaft Indies the Jefuit miffionaries are 
alfo called apoflles. 
Apostle is alfo ufed among the Jews for a kind of 
officer anciently fent into the feveral parts and'provinces, 
in their jurifdidlion, by way of vifitor or commiffary, to 
fee that the laws were duly obferved, and to receive the 
monies collected for the reparation of the temple, and the 
tribute payable to the Romans. The Theodoiian code, 
lib. 14. De Judceis, calls thofe apcjlali, qni ad c.xigendum 
aurum atquc argentum a patriarcha certo tempore dirigvntur. 
Julian the apoftate remitted the Jews the apojlole, cciro<ro 7 \n •, 
that is, as he himfelf explains it, the tribute they had 
been accultomed to fend him. Thefe apoftles were a de¬ 
gree below the officers of the fynagogues called patriarchs, 
and received their commiffions from them. Some authors 
obferve, that St. Paul had borne this office; and that it is 
this he alludes to in the beginning of the epiftle to the Ga¬ 
latians : as if he had laid, Paul, no longer an apoftle of 
the fynagogue, nor fent thereby to maintain the law of 
Mofes, but now an apoflle and envoy of Jems Chrift, &c. 
Apostle, in tire Greek liturgy, is particularly ufed 
for a book containing the epiftles of St. Paul, printed in 
the order wherein they are to be read in churches, through 
the courfe of the year. Another book of the like kind, 
containing the Gol'pels, is called Uvayyfrtov, Gofpel. The 
apoltle, of late days, has alfo contained the other canoni¬ 
cal epiltles, the Acts of the Apoflles, and the Revelations. 
Hence it is alfo called ABs of the Apoflles, : 
that being the fir ft book in it. 
Apostle is alfo thought by many to have been the 
original name for hilltops, before the denomination bifiop 
was appropriated to their order. Thus, Theodoras fays 
exprefsly, the fame perfons were anciently called promif- 
cuoully both biffiops and prefbyters, whilft thole who are 
now called bifhops were called aptflles. 
Apostles’ Creed ; a formula, or fummary ot the 
Chriflian faith, drawn up, according to Ruffinus, by the 
apoftles themlelves : who, during their flay at Jerufalem, 
agreed upon this creed, as a rule of faith, and as a word of 
diflinElion by which they were to know friends from foes. 
Baronius, and fome other authors, conjecture, that they 
did not compofe it till the 1'econd year of 'the reign of 
Claudius, a little before their difperfion. But there are 
reafons which may induce us to quellion whether the 
apoflles compofed any fitch creed as this. For, firli, nei¬ 
ther St. Luke, in the Ads, nor any other,epcleliaftical wri¬ 
ter before the fifth century, make any mention of an af- 
A P O 
fembly of the apoflles in order to the compofing of a creed. 
Secondly, the fathers'of the three firli centuries, in depu¬ 
ting againft the heretics, endeavour to prove that the 
doctrine contained in this creed was the lame which the 
apoflles taught; but they never pretend that the apoftles 
compofed it. Thirdly, if the apollies had made this creed, 
it would have been the fame in all churches, and in all 
ages ; and all authors would have cited it after the fame 
manner. But the cafe is quite otherwife. In the fecond 
and third ages of the church, there were as many creeds, 
as authors, and one and the fame author fets down the 
creed after a different manner in feveral places of his. 
works: which is an evidence that there was not, at that 
time, any creed which was reputed to be the apoftles’. In 
the fourth century, Ruffinus compares together the three 
ancient creeds of the churches of Aquileia, Rome, and 
the Eaft, which differ very conliderably in the terms. Front 
thele reafons it may be gathered, that, though this creed 
may be laid to be that of tire apoftles in regard to the 
dodlrines contained therein, yet it is not to be referred to- 
them as the authors and firft compofers of it. Who was- 
the true author of it, is not eafy to determine ; though its 
great antiquity may be inferred from hence, that the 
whole form, as it now (lands in the Englifh liturgy, is to- 
be found in the works of St. Ambrofe and Ruffinus, the 
former of whom flouriftied in the third century, and the 
latter in the fourth century. The primitive Chriiftians, in 
regard they always concealed this and their other myfte- 
ries, did not publicly recite the creed, except at the times 
of baptifm; which, unlefs in cafes of necellity, were only 
at Eafter and Whitfuntide. The conftant repeating it was 
not introduced into the church till the end of tire fifth 
century; about which time Petrus Gnephus, bifhop of 
Antioch, preferibed the recital of it every time divine fer- 
vice was performed. 
APOS'TLESHIP, y. The office or dignity of an apof¬ 
tle.—God hath ordered it, that St. Paul hath writ epiftles; 
which are all confined within the bulinefs of his apofllcfhip^ 
and fo contain nothing but points of Chriflian infiruction. 
Locke. 
APOSTOLA'RE, Afostolica're, apoflolizing, in 
fome middle-age writers, denotes the being preferred to 
the dignity of pope. 
APOS'TOLATE,y in a general fenfe, is ufed for mif- 
fion. In this fenfe, Olearius has a difeourfe concerning 
the apoftolate of Chrift. But it more properly denotes 
the dignity or office of an apoflle of Chrift ; but it is alfo 
ufed, in ancient writers, for the office of a bifhop. In 
this fenfe we meet with feveral letters, petitions, requefts, 
&c. diretted to bilhops, under the title of your apofolate , 
or apoflolatus ztefler. But, as the title apoflolicus had been 
appropriated to the pope, 1b that of apoflolate became at 
length rellrained to the (ole dignity of the popedom. Every 
bifhop’s fee was anciently dignified with the title of fedes 
apoflolica, an apoftolical lee, which is now the peculiar de¬ 
nomination of the fee of Rome. 
APOS'TOLI,y in law, denote -thofe letters mi Hive which 
are demanded in cafes of appeal. 
APOSTO'LIC, adj. [the accent is placed by Dryden on 
the antependlt.] Taught by the apoftles ; belonging to an- 
apoftle.—Their oppofitions, in maintenance of public fu- 
perftition againft apoflolic endeavours, were vain and fri¬ 
volous. Hooker. 
Apostolic, in the primitive church, was an appella¬ 
tion given to all Inch churches as were founded by the 
apoftles; and even to tire bifhops of thofe churches, as 
being the reputed fucceffors of the apoftles. Thefe were 
confined to four, viz. Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and 
Jerufalem. In after-times, however, other churches, af- 
1 timed the fame quality, becaufe all biffiops held them¬ 
felves fucceffors of the apoftles, or added in their diocefes 
with fimilar authority. The firft time the term apoflolical' 
is attributed to bifhops, is in a letter of Clovis to- the 
council of Orleans, held in 511, though that king does 
not there exprefsly denominate them apoftolicaf but (apo¬ 
flolica 
