Our Saints: The Reverend Apostles

Churches
were at first inside the believers' homes as St. Mark's (Acts 12:12).
It was also in Cemeteries, and then Churches started to be constructed,
also, during the Apostles' era.

The
Apostles are the first who made the Holy Chrism (anointing oil), as
mentioned in (1Jn2:20, 27) "But you have an anointing from the Holy One
". Believers, at first, received the Holy Spirit when the Apostles laid
their hands on them as mentioned in (Acts8), (Acts19). And when
Churches grew in number in many different countries, the Apostles then
used the Sacrament of the Holy anointing (Myron).

The Reverend Apostles were the first preachers, and that shows how importantly great they were:

That
was after the day of Pentecost when they obeyed God's saying to them;
"But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you;
and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth" (Acts1:8).

Their
missionary started on the day of Pentecost when they attracted 3000
souls to the faith and baptized them (Acts2:41). and then when they
healed the lame man at the gate of the temple which was called
Beautiful, they then said to the chiefs of the Jews: it is not by our
own power or godliness we had made this man walk…and the Apostles
directed the people's attention to God the Holy One whom they delivered
up and denied when they asked for a murderer to be granted to them
instead…and they said that through faith in His name, the lame man
stood and walked (Acts3). Then many of those who heard the word
believed; and the number of the men came to be about five thousand
(Acts4:4).

And
after ordination of the seven Deacons, we read that: "the word of God
spread, and the number of the disciples multiplied greatly in
Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith"
(Acts6:7).

After
a great persecution had arisen against the church which was at
Jerusalem, and lots were all scattered, we also read that "those who
were scattered went everywhere preaching the word" (Acts8:1, 4).

We
then read about the faith of the Samarians, and that the Apostles sent
them the two Saints Peter and Paul who laid their hands on them so they
received the Holy Spirit (Acts 8).

Preaching
then started to be extended throughout Cities, and lots of territories,
as from Jerusalem it extended to Antioch. The Disciples were first
called Christians in Antioch (Acts 11:26). Then preaching moved forward
outside of Judea and Galilee to Cyprus and Minor Asia, to the Western
direction in Greece and Rome and towards the East in Iraq and India,
also it moved towards the South to Egypt and Libya and in the Northern
direction to Europe.

During 30 years of time, preaching has been extending in such a great success.

Saul of Tarsus, his faith had helped the preaching missionary to grow (Acts9), Saul whom God appeared to him and called him to be a prophet for the Gentiles.
Preaching grew with the great effort of this great Saint, whom Bernaba
participated with for some time, then St. Mark with lots of other
disciples who then became Preachers.

God granted the Reverend Apostles a power of working miracles; this power helped strengthening their preaching.

In
this concern, the Bible says "And through the hands of the apostles
many signs and wonders were done among the people…And believers were
increasingly added to the Lord, multitudes of both men and women, so
that they brought the sick out into the streets and laid them on beds
and couches, that at least the shadow of Peter passing by might fall on
some of them. Also a multitude gathered from the surrounding cities to
Jerusalem, bringing sick people and those who were tormented by unclean
spirits, and they were all healed" (Acts5:12-16).

Concerning
St. Paul the Apostle, the Bible says" Now God worked unusual miracles
by the hands of Paul, so that even handkerchiefs or aprons were brought
from his body to the sick, and the diseases left them and the evil
spirits went out of them." (Acts19:11, 12).

We can notice in their preaching the quality of courage and endurance.

when
the Chief Priests wanted to stop them, and threatened them not to speak
at all nor teach in the name of Jesus, they answered and said to them:
"we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard"
(Acts4:20). On the contrary, they replied courageously "We ought to
obey God rather than men"(Acts5:29).

When
the Apostles were whipped and imprisoned, they went rejoicing out of
jail that they were counted worthy to suffer shame for His name. "And
daily in the temple, and in every house, they did not cease teaching
and preaching Jesus as the Christ" (Acts5:41, 42).

they
were preaching everywhere, even along the roads as when Philip preached
the Ethiopian eunuch who was sitting in his chariot reading the
scripture of Isaiah the prophet, the Spirit said to Philip, "Go near
and overtake this chariot" and Philip preached Jesus to him. When he
believed, Philip baptized him and then he went on his way rejoicing
(Acts8:27-39).

And
also Paul the Apostle who preached the Gospel to the jailer when he was
in the prison of Philippi, the jailer was saved and his entire
household (Acts16). God's Angel was always getting the Reverend
Apostles out of jails, then they resume their preaching mission and
chiefs became amazed of what they do.

They employed all methods of preaching.

St.
Paul the Apostle says" and to the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might
win Jews; to those who are under the law, as under the law, that I
might win those who are under the law; to those who are without law, as
without law (not being without law toward God, but under law toward
Christ, that I might win those who are without law; to the weak I
became as weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to
all men, that I might by all means save