Free English Translation
The Lives of the Apostles
De Vitis Apostolorum
10 chapters · ~2 min read · by Pseudo-Jerome
About The Lives of the Apostles
This brief text gives ten short notices on the apostles and several associates, recording where each preached, where each died, and where each was buried. Andrew is placed among the Scythians and buried at Patrae; James the son of Zebedee among the dispersed Jewish tribes, beheaded by a tetrarch; Philip in Phrygia, buried at Hierapolis; Bartholomew among the Indians, buried at Albanopolis in Armenia; Thomas among the Parthians, Medes, and Persians, buried at Calamina in India; Simon the Canaanite, crucified under Trajan; Matthias in Ethiopia; Timothy as bishop of Ephesus; Titus as bishop of Crete; Crescens in Gaul; and the eunuch of Candace in Arabia and Taprobana. The notices are terse, citing inherited tradition rather than argument, and give no date of composition. The piece is traditionally printed among Jerome's works, not his, and belongs to a family of short apostolic notices, related to the better-known Breviarium Apostolorum, that circulated under his name in medieval manuscripts and early printed editions.
By Pseudo-Jerome. Collected in Patrologia Latina, Volume 23.
In this work
1. Andrew, Apostle to the Scythians
Andrew, Peter's brother, as our ancestors have handed down, preached the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to the Scythians, the Sogdians, and the Saccae, and he preached in Sebastopolis, which is surnamed the Great, where is the inrush of the Apsarus, and the river Phasis; there dwell the inner Ethiopians. He was buried, however, at Patrae, a city of Achaia, having been fixed to a cross by Aegeas, prefect of the Edessenes.
2. James Son of Zebedee, Martyred by the Sword
James, the son of Zebedee, preached the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to the twelve tribes that were in the dispersion, to all of them. He was slain, however, by the sword, by the Tetrarch of the Jews.
3. Philip, Apostle to Phrygia
Philip the apostle preaches the Gospel of the Lord Jesus in Phrygia. He is buried at Hierapolis, together with his daughters, honorably.
4. Bartholomew, Apostle to the Indians
Bartholomew the apostle preached the Gospel of Christ to those Indians who are called the Fortunate, and delivered to them the Gospel that is according to Matthew. He fell asleep, however, at Albanopolis, a town of Greater Armenia.
5. Thomas, Apostle to the Parthians and Persians
Thomas the apostle, as has been handed down to us, preached the Gospel of the Lord to the Parthians and the Medes and the Persians and the Carmanians and the Hyrcanians and the Bactrians and the Magi. He fell asleep in the city of Calamina, which is in India.
6. Simon the Canaanite, Bishop After James
Simon the Canaanite, surnamed Judas, brother of James the bishop, who also succeeded him in the episcopate, after the death of James surnamed the Just, lived a hundred and twenty years. Crucified, however, under the emperor Trajan, a grievous persecution having been stirred up, he fell asleep.
7. Matthias, Chosen to Replace Judas
Matthias, since he was one from the number of the Seventy, was chosen into the order of the eleven apostles, in the place of Judas Iscariot, who was the betrayer. In the other Ethiopia, where is the inrush of the Apsarus, and the port of Ilyssus, he preached the Gospel, when the men there were savage. And there he fell asleep, and there he was buried, even unto this present day.
8. Timothy, Bishop of the Ephesians
Timothy, moreover, was ordained bishop of the Ephesians by blessed Paul, being of the Gentiles, not of the circumcision. Concerning whom Paul testifies many things, admonishing him to keep the honorable profession of the gift given to him, who also there gloriously bore his testimony.
9. Titus, Bishop of Crete
Titus, bishop of Crete, preached the Gospel of Christ in that same island and in the surrounding islands. There too he fell asleep, and there he was buried, namely in Crete.
10. Crescens and the Eunuch of Candace
Crescens preached the Gospel in the Gauls, and there he was buried. Candace's eunuch, serving the queen of the Ethiopians, preached the Gospel of the Lord in Arabia surnamed the Happy, and in the island of Taprobana in the Red Sea. They say, moreover, that he there also endured martyrdom, and was honorably buried.
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