The Bible Book

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which continued into the 4th

century. The reputation of these

men, and the esteem in which they

were held, grew as the Church

spread through the world.

Holy lineage

To this day, churches that are

believed to have been founded by

one of the Apostles are referred

to as “apostolic sees,” among

which the Holy See of Rome is pre-

eminent. Bishops throughout the

Christian world have traditionally

claimed their authority via

“apostolic succession”—claiming

to trace their roots back to the

original 12 disciples. In practice,

this means that bishops today

are consecrated by older bishops,

who in turn were consecrated

by bishops before them, with

a chain stretching directly back

to the 12 Apostles.

Today, personal apostolic

succession is still a requirement

for a bishop’s ordination in many

Christian denominations—notably

the Roman Catholic, Eastern

Orthodox, and Anglican churches. ■

THE GOSPELS

Fishing and

the Ichthys

Just as fishermen bear great

symbolism in the New

Testament as “fishers of men,”

so do fish themselves. The

most famous reference to fish

in the Gospels is the feeding

of the 5,000 using just five

loaves of bread and two fish,

which is reported in all four

(Matthew 14:13–21; Mark

6:30–44; Luke 9:10–17; John

6:1–15). In Matthew 13:47–52,

in the Parable of the Net,

Jesus compares God’s Final

Judgment on who goes to

heaven and who to hell to

fishermen sorting out their

catch, keeping the good fish

and throwing the bad away.

After His resurrection, Jesus

is offered grilled fish to eat

in Luke 24:41–43.

The many mentions of

fish in the New Testament

may explain why the ichthys

(Greek for “fish”), the elliptical

shape ending in a fish tail,

became a symbol of early

Christianity. Deployed as

a secret code by Christians

during times of persecution,

the ichthys is sometimes

seen etched into walls or

in floor mosaics in early

Christian basilicas. To this

day, Christians incorporate

the fish symbol in jewelry

and clothing.

Christ

Peter

John James

Andrew

Philip

Bartholomew

Matthew

Thomas

James, son of Alphaeus

Thaddaeus

Simon

the Zealot

Judas

Iscariot

The Apostles of Jesus

The disciples closest to Jesus were

Peter, James, and John. They spent

the most time with Him and witnessed

more of His miracles. In any list of the

Apostles, Peter is always first.

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