From: Pippin Michelli [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
>
>Paul is considered an apostle in most reckonings, especially
medieval.
Paul refers to himself as an apostle; during his lifetime, apostello
was a job description, distinct from being "one of the Twelve." Only later
were the two descriptions conflated. It's generally forgotten that a number
of other figures in the Acts of the Apostles were also identified as
"apostles" and that it was originally a generic job title for those who
preached the gospel (small "g"). Later the meaning narrowed to denote one
who had received the gospel directly from Jesus-hence Paul's insistence that
he was the "last called" by virtue of his vision on the road to Damascus.
Eventually, the term came to be used synonymously with the Twelve.
Frequently in images of the "apostles," one of the Jameses, usually
James the Lesser, was dropped and the more famous Paul was retained instead.
Francine Nicholson
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