Church Of The Holy Apostle

The Apostles And Pentecost

The commission of the Twelve was dramatically expanded following the death and resurrection of Jesus. In Johns Gospel, Jesus anticipated that those who had faith in Him would do greater things than He had done by asking in His name . The Counselor, identified as the Holy Spirit and the Spirit of truth, who was with them during the time of His earthly ministry, would soon be in them .

The Spirit would also teach them all things and remind them of everything He had said to them . John noted that Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection and said, As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said, Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive anyone his sins, they are forgiven if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven . Luke makes it clear Jesus opened the minds of the Eleven and those with them to understand the Scriptures to the end that the Christ suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem . Jesus then reminded the disciples they were to stay in the city until been clothed with power from on high .

The New Testament Prophets

Prophets are found immediately after apostles in one list of ministry gifts . and their activity is closely linked to that of apostles throughout the New Testament. Paul had a high view of their role: And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets… . Further, the church is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone . Along with the apostles, prophets were complementary gifts to the foundational era of the church.

The historical accounts in the New Testament affirm these complementary roles. New Testament prophets first appeared by name in Acts when a group, apparently residing in Jerusalem, went to Antioch and one of their number, Agabus, accurately predicted the coming great famine . Antioch soon had its own group of resident prophetsBarnabas, Simeon, Lucius, Manaen, and Saul . Two other Jerusalem leaders and prophets were chosen to bear the council letter to Antioch, Syria, and Cilicia, and along the way said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers . On Pauls return to Jerusalem after the third missionary journey, he stayed at the house of Philip the evangelist, who had four unmarried daughters who prophesied, and we learn women were active and recognized as prophets. At that time Agabus made his way down from Jerusalem to Caesarea and prophesied that the Jews of Jerusalem would bind Paul and hand him over to the Gentiles .

The Place Of The Twelve

The opening chapter of Acts reflects a concern to maintain the number of the Twelve. Peter and the other members of the original Twelve, with the 120, looked to the Scriptures and determined that the vacancy created by the defection and death of Judas should be filled. It was important that the full complement of 12 be maintained for the effusion of the Spirit. Luke had previously recorded the promise of Jesus to the Twelve: I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel . The importance of maintaining 12 apostles as a symbol of the 12 tribes of Israel is unmistakable. The apostolate was to be intact for the coming of the Spirit and the launching of a fully equipped church on its worldwide mission.

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The Authority Of The Apostles

The authority of the apostles was modeled by the chief Apostle, the Lord Jesus Christ, who taught them that the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, . Jesus, on occasion, acted sharply and decisively against certain sins, such as the desecration of His Fathers house and the exploitative hypocrisy of the teachers of the Law and Pharisees .

However, He carefully avoided the trappings of political and institutional power and modeled extraordinary humility and patience for His apostles. His divine attributes were cloaked in human flesh and He was the exposition and example of His Fathers word and work.

Some modern interpreters insist apostolic authority was merely local, not universal, and exercised only in churches the apostles founded.13 To be sure, apostles seem to have been aware of certain protocol in churches they did not pioneer . However, they did cross geographical boundaries. The pattern of evidence throughout the New Testament indicates their authority was universal in doctrinal and ethical matters, binding in some sense upon all the churches. However, that authority must not be construed in political or bureaucratic terms. There is little evidence of their involvement in local administrative matters.

The Church Of The Holy Apostles

Though several churches were removed in the clearing of the site for excavation, it was decided to save and restore the little Byzantine church dedicated to the Holy Apostles.

The church, with an unusual tetraconch interior plan and decorative tilework on the exterior, is among the oldest in Athens, probably to be dated just before A.D. 1000. It was surely the focal point of an extensive neighborhood in the Byzantine period, the remains of which were recorded and removed in the course of the excavations. The eastern half of the church was relatively untouched, but several additions, the latest dating to the late 19th century, had damaged and obscured the western end. After excavation, these later additions were removed and the church restored to its original form. The work was funded by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation and supervised by Alison Frantz. With the Stoa of Attalos, this reconstruction was completed and dedicated in 1956. The festival of the Twelve Apostles is still celebrated at the church every June 30th.

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The Special Case Of The Apostle Paul

Pauls status as an apostle is unique. He was neither a member of the Twelve nor present for Christs post- Resurrection appearances his calling as an apostle came in a later and separate vision of the risen Lord.

Recorded three times in Acts and often intimated in his letters , the account of Pauls conversion demonstrates the authenticity and power of his call to be an apostle of Jesus Christ. Like the Twelve, he recognized the apostolic office was conferred in the personal call of Christ through post-Resurrection appearances . Paul acknowledged he was as… one abnormally born . The word is usually used for miscarriages. But rather than Paul saying he was born unnaturally early, he is saying that as a witness to the Resurrection and as an apostle he was born unnaturally late. His apostolic calling was thus without parallel and made his credentials vulnerable to attack from enemies who sought to discredit him .

Welcome To Holy Apostles

Holy Apostles strives to be a genuinely family-friendly and welcoming church, accepting people for who they are and where they are at. Worshipping God is central to what we do. We also aspire to support and encourage each other in our spiritual lives as we share Gods love within our communities and wherever we live out our faith seven days a week.

The church family encompasses people of all ages from both within the parish and the wider surrounding area, and we are a mix of people, from those who have been Christians for decades, to others who are just testing the waters of faith. We are all still rough around the edges but feel Holy Apostles is a perfect place for imperfect people. At the moment you can join us on Facebook if you search for HA Cheltenham, or click facebook.com/HACheltenham

If you are new to Holy Apostles and would like to connect with us and find out more then please have a look at our ‘Connect’ page.

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The Church And Its Reflections

The Holy Apostles was one of the earliest foundations of Constantinople. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, the first structurea mausoleum destined to house Constantines own mortal remainswas completed by the time of the emperors death in 337. As the same source records, it was originally conceived as twelve cenotaphs or markers raised in memory of the Apostles surrounding the emperors sarcophagus, an arrangement reminiscent not only of the Tomb of Christ set within the Anastasis Rotunda in Jerusalem, but also, according to a now lost Coptic source by a certain Chaeremon, possibly a member of the Museum in Alexandria in ca. 80 AD, of the setting of Alexander the Greats burial.

Interest in the architectural complex continued into the middle Byzantine period , when it found reflections in the literary space of visually evocative rhetorical descriptions , which describe the forms of the church and elaborate on the symbolic meanings associated with it. It is by way of these texts, notably the tenth-century poem of Constantine the Rhodian and the early thirteenth-century description of Nicholas Mesarites, that the image of the Holy Apostles has resisted oblivion, despite its destruction during the second half of the fifteenth century, when it was replaced by the Fatih Camii, a mosque dedicated to the conqueror of the Byzantine capital, the Ottoman sultan Mehmed II.

Attention High School Teens

You are invited to a WELCOME Barbecue on Sunday, Sept. 18th, 5:30-7:00pm here at Holy Apostles. We will have great food, a chance to use the gym/game room, Benediction and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, view a video of the retreat and discuss activities for the first semester. Hope to see as many as possible at this kick-off celebration.

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Church Of The Holy Apostles Peter And Paul Ras

The Church of the Holy Apostles Peter and Paul , commonly known as Church of St Peter or simply Peter’s Church is a Serbian Orthodox church, the oldest intact church in Serbia and one of the oldest ones in the region, situated on a hill of Ras, the medieval capital of the Serbian Grand Principality , in , Serbia. It is part of the Stari Ras complex, an UNESCO World Heritage Site.

It was founded in the 4th century during Roman rule, while additions were made in the 7th and 9th centuries, after which it served as the ecclesiastical seat of the Serbian church, and as the baptismal church and state council site of the Nemanji dynasty, until the last years of the 12th century. It is dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul.

The Church Of Holy Apostles Istanbul

The site of the Fatih Mosque initiated by Mehmet the Conqueror around 10 years after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople), belonged to the Church of Holy Apostles . There is even a speculation that the Emperor Constantine I is buried here as he wanted to become the 13th Apostle but it is not confirmed. But the relics of Christian saints like Luke, Timothy and Andrew are here. There is nothing left of the Church in its original site, as it was destroyed by the Crusaders and can be found in Italian museums apart from 16 granite and marble comumns in hospice. The most famous Christian relic was procured by Bizantine and is now held in Istanbul but in a different place . Mehmet had it in mind to outperform Byzantine’s architecture when he commissioned the construction of Fatih mosque. Indeed, it looks quite similar to Hagia Sophia. The mosque is beautiful but it s more attractive when you think about organic interconnection between two religions.

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Apostles Of The Churches

Scholars occasionally point out a distinction between the Apostles of Christ and the Apostles of the Churches.9 Paul spoke of unnamed brothers who are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ . He also wrote to the Philippians about Epaphroditus… who is also your messenger , whom you sent to take care of my needs . These references provide ample evidence the early churches did use the word apostle from time to time for other than those who had witnessed the Resurrection. However, the term is used in these cases in its generic sense of dispatching representatives on an official mission on behalf of the senders. For that reason, English translations of the Bible normally render the word apostolos in the two instances above as messenger or representative.10

Holy Apostles Orthodox Church

Holy Apostles Orthodox Church is a community of believers in our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The Orthodox Church is evangelical, but not Protestant. It is Orthodox, but not Jewish. It is catholic, but not Roman. It isn’t non-denominational, it is pre-denominational. It has believed, taught, preserved, defended and died for the Faith of the Apostles since the Day of Pentecost 2000 years ago. We belong to the Body of Christ, the Church of Christ. The Eastern Orthodox Church is organically the same congregation which was born at the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem on Pentecost, a direct continuation from the Apostles by laying on of hands from each generation of priests to the next. Orthodox Christians have been baptized in the name of the Holy Trinity and follow the ideals and beliefs of both the Scriptures and Sacred Tradition. We believe in the living and loving God, Whose Grace protects and guides us in the path of redemption. We believe that God has revealed Himself in the Bible through the prophets, and especially in the person of Jesus Christ, His only-begotten Son who is man’s Savior. We especially believe in the Incarnation of Christ as God-Man, in His Crucifixion and Resurrection, in His Gospel and Commandments, and in the world to come. *

Divine Liturgy: Sun 10:00 AMVespers: Wed 6:00 PMVigil: Sat 6:00 PM

Many other weekday services and classes are served at Holy Apostles. Please check our Calendar for opportunities to pray and learn.

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Welcome To Church Of The Holy Apostles

Church of the Holy Apostles was established in 1977 to be a symbol of ecumenism honoring both Roman Catholic and Episcopal traditions. We have one worship service with two liturgies designed to provide a unique, cohesive, joyful experience where inter-faith and same faith families can remain together, feel valued and welcome. Join us at 10 :30 a.m. each Sunday for One Worship Service Two LiturgiesATTEND IN PERSON OR WATCH FROM HOME ON OUR FACEBOOK PAGE.Worship with us on our page.

All Are Welcome No Exceptions

COVID-19 PREVENTIONMay 26, 2022, MASKS MANDATORYnot

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Holy Apostles Catholic Church

Holy Apostles is a Catholic Community dedicated to discern and accept Gods call to faith and service. Our mission is to foster individual spiritual growth and to celebrate in community our shared faith at Gods altar. Our mission is to preach, teach and give witness to the gospel of Jesus Christ. We do this mindful of our Catholic heritage and the ever-pressing needs of humankind. We are a people inspired by the lived faith of the Apostles and a people who remain open to the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to fulfill our sacred mission.

Join Our Worship Community Online And In Person

Holy Eucharist | Sunday 9AM Holy Eucharist | Sunday 11AM Insight | Tuesday 6:15PM Morning Prayer and Bible Study | Wednesday 8:30AM Compline | Thursday 9PM

About the Church

We are an episcopal church, founded in 1844, with a diverse and growing membership.

We are an inclusive faith tradition and welcome people from all backgrounds.

We run an active meal outreach and social services operation.

We are devoted to social justice and equity.

We embrace the traditions of our faith while making them relevant in an ever-changing modern world.

Adopted June 20, 2019

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The Marks Of An Apostle

Striving to protect the Corinthians from the seduction of false apostles, Paul pointed out characteristics that identified a genuine apostle. From that context and the larger New Testament background, the following are apparent: