Coptic Orthodox Diocese of the Southern United States

Interesting Holy Bible Facts

How do Biblical Scholars Believe the Holy Apostles Died?

The 12 Disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ:

  1. St. John the Beloved: Faced martyrdom when he was placed in a boiling vessel of oil during a period of Christian persecution in Rome; however he survived and was miraculously delivered from death. St. John was then sentenced to the mines on the prison island of Patmos. Here St. John wrote his prophetic Holy Book of Revelation. The apostle St. John the Beloved, was later freed and returned to serve as Bishop of Edessa in modern Turkey. He died of old age, the only apostle known to have died peacefully.

  2. St. Peter: Crucified upside down in Rome on an X shaped cross. According to most Biblical scholars it was because St. Peter told his tormentors that he felt unworthy to die in the same manner that our Lord Jesus Christ had died.

  3. St. James the Just: The leader of the Church in Jerusalem was thrown over a hundred feet down from the southeast pinnacle of the Temple when St. James refused to deny his faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. When discovered that he survived the great fall, his enemies beat St. James to death. It is thought that the pinnacle where St. James fell was the same where Satan had taken our Lord Jesus during the Temptation.

  4. St. James the Great, Son of Zebedee: A fisherman by trade when our Lord Jesus Christ called him to a lifetime of ministry. As a strong leader of the early church, St. James was ultimately beheaded in Jerusalem…The Roman officer who guarded St. James watched amazed as St. James defended his faith at his trial. Later the officer walked beside St. James to the place of execution. Overcome by conviction, the Roman officer declared his new faith to the judge and knelt beside St. James to accept beheading as a Christian.

  5. St. Bartholomew: Also known as Nathaniel was a missionary to Asia. He witnessed for our Lord Jesus Christ in present day Turkey. St. Bartholomew was martyred for his preaching and teaching in Armenia where he was flayed to death by a whip.

  6. St. Andrew: Was crucified on an X shaped cross in Patras Greece. After being whipped severely by seven soldiers he was tied to the cross with cords to prolong his agony. St. Andrew's followers reported that when he was led toward the cross, he said, "I have long desired and expected this happy hour." St. Andrew continued to preach to his tormentors for two days until he died upon his cross.

  7. St. Thomas: Was stabbed with a spear in India during one his missionary trips to establish the church there.

  8. St. Thaddeus: See St. Simon the Zealot.

  9. St. Simon the Zealot: Killed with arrows when they refused to deny their faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. According to the Armenian tradition, Saint Thaddeus suffered martyrdom about 65 AD in Beirut, in the Roman province of Syria, together with the apostle St. Simon the Zealot.

  10. St. Philip: Arrested after converting a mayor's wife into a believer. He was dragged through the city streets, beaten, mocked, and imprisoned along with St Bartholomew. Then they were both sentenced to be crucified. St. Philip was crucified upside down while the people cast stones at him. St. Bartholomew was crucified on a wall but when a great earthquake struck and the swallowed some of the people, the rest of them took him down immediately. By the time they reached St. Philip, he has already reposed in martyrdom in the year 71 A.D.

  11. St. Matthew: Captured and his body was set afire. When the flame was extinguished, St. Matthew was alive and unharmed. Then He was accused of being a sorcerer and was set afire again. After St. Matthew rebuked the flame that was about to engulf the prince, he prayed to the Lord for his soul to be placed into His hands and then he departed. The grateful prince wanted to honor St Matthew so he placed his unharmed body into a golden bier after dressing him in costly vesture and the coffin set to sea.

  12. St. Matthias: Was the apostle chosen to replace Judas Iscariot whom betrayed our Lord Jesus Christ. The Jewish High Priest Ananias whom earlier had commanded that St. James be flung down from the heights of the Temple, commanded that the Apostle Matthias be arrested and brought for judgment before the Sanhedrin at Jerusalem where he was sentenced to death and ordered to be stoned. The Apostle Matthias received the martyr's crown of glory in the year 63 stoned and beheaded.

Other important people of the Holy Bible:

  1. St. Mark: Martyred in Alexandria Egypt after being dragged by horses through the street until he died.

  2. St. Luke: Hung in Greece as a result of his preaching and teaching to "the lost".

  3. St. Paul: Tortured and beheaded by Emperor Nero in Rome in AD 67. St. Paul endured a lengthy imprisonment, where he wrote many epistles to the churches he founded throughout the Roman Empire.

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