Apostle

An apostle (əˈpɒsəl), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (apóstolos), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (apostéllein), "to send off". The purpose of such sending off is usually to convey a message, and thus "messenger" is a common alternative translation; other common translations include "ambassador" and "envoy". The term in Ancient Greek also has other related meanings. The term derives from the Ancient Greek. In Christianity, the term was used in the New Testament for Jesus' Twelve Apostles (including Peter, James, and John), as well as a wider group of early Christian figures, including Paul, Barnabas, and Junia. The term is also used to designate an important missionary of Christianity to a region, e.g. the "apostle of Germany". Some other religions use the term for comparable figures in their history. The word in this sense may be used metaphorically in various contexts, but is mostly found used specifically for early associates of the founder of a religion, who were important in spreading his or her teachings. The term is also used to refer to someone who is a strong supporter of something. The term apostle is derived from Classical Greek ἀπόστολος (apóstolos), meaning "one who is sent off", from στέλλειν ("stellein"), "to send" + από (apó), "off, away from". The literal meaning in English is therefore an "emissary" (from the Latin mittere, "to send", and ex, "from, out, off". The word apostle has two meanings: the broader meaning of a messenger and the narrower meaning of an early Christian apostle directly linked to Jesus. The more general meaning of the word is translated into Latin as missiō, and from this word we get missionary. The term only occurs once in the Septuagint. But Walter Bauer in his Greek-English Lexicon relates the term to the rabbinical idea of a Shaliah, or agent: "Judaism had an office known as apostle (שליח)". The Friberg Greek Lexicon gives a broad definition as one who is sent on a mission, a commissioned representative of a congregation, a messenger for God, a person who has the special task of founding and establishing churches.