AN ACCOUNT by Saint Epiphanius, Bishop of Cyprus, of the twelve holy apostles, of where each of them preached, and in what manner died, and where their holy bodies have been laid.

Saint PETER , brother of Andrew the First-called, from an inglorious and poor town called Bethsaida, son of Jonah, from the tribe of Simeon, who is now the first and supreme among the apostles, and the finest adherent of Christ, as witnessed by his writings. And he preached the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ first in Judea. then in Antioch, and in Pontus, and in Galatia, and Cappadocia, also in Asia and in Bethinia, and in Italia, and in Illyricum, He even came down to Rome, where Simon the sorcerer had promised to denounce Peter before the emperor as not being a true server of God; for Simon said that in a little while he would go up into heaven and would openly expose Peter before everyone. And on the said day, with the royal Nero having come with many others to view such a spectacle, Simon put a crown of laurels on his head and, shielding himself with demonic symbols and incantations, started walking up into the air. Saint PETER, lifting up his righteous hands, prayed, saying: “O Lord, glorify Thy holy Name, and may the demonic apparitions dissipate.” And, looking at Simon, he said in a loud voice: “In front of all those watching on earth, may you fall down and crumble.” And at his words the demons immediately ran away as from fire. and at the sound of the apostle’s voice they let Simon go, and he fell down to earth and was completely crushed. Later, during Nero’s reign. Saint Peter was crucified in Rome head down, in accordance with his own wish, and was buried also in Rome, on the 29th day of June.

ANDREW the first-called, brother of Peter, preached the Gospel of Christ in Bethinia, Pontus and Armenia, to the Scythians, Sogdinians, and Gorsinians; he also preached in Sebastopolis the Great, where an Assyrian regiment stands, and to the Sakai, the Bay of Hyssys and the River Phasis, beyond which the Moors dwell, and coming down even to Hellas, he was crucified on a cross in Patras of Achaia by order of Aegeatus, king of Tyre, and he died and was buried there.

JAMES the son of Zebedee , the brother of John the Evangelist, preached the Gospel of Christ to the twelve dispersed tribes [of Israel]; for his fearlessness and zeal he was killed with a sword by Herod the Judean tetrarch, and was buried there in Judea.

JOHN the Evangelist and Theologian , the brother of James, the one who lay on Christ’s bosom, preached the Gospel of Christ in Asia and for preaching the word of God was exiled by the Roman emperor Trajan to the island of Patmos; and there he wrote the Gospel and gave it to Gaius the hosteler. After Trajan’s death he returned from the island to Ephesus, and there buried himself alive, being, by the will of God, one hundred and twenty years old.

PHILIP the apostle , who came from Bethsaida, the town of Peter and Andrcw, preached the Gospel of Christ in Greater Phrygia: in Hierapolis he was crucified head down during the reign of Domitian, and was nobly buried there by his own people.

BARTHOLOMEW of Galaaditis [Gilead] preached the Gospel of Christ to the Indians; he gave them the holy Gospel of Matthew, translating it into their own language; he was crucified head down in the city of Albanopolis, in Greater Armenia, and was buried there in Albania, a city of Armenia the Great.

THOMAS the apostle , (as tradition holds it), came from the Galilean town of Paneas, and preached the Gospel of Christ to the Parthians and the Medes, to the Persians and the Germans, to the Hyrcanians and the Indians, to the Bactrians and in Margiana; and there he died, pierced by the latter with a spear, and was nobly buried in the city of Calamina.

MATTHEW the Evangelist came from Jerusalem, and there he wrote the Gospel of Christ in the Hebrew tongue, and John the Theologian translated it from Hebrew into Greek; Matthew died in Hierapolis of Parthis, being pierced with a sword, and was nobly buried. He wrote about his life, that he had been the head of the publicans, but was chosen to be an apostle, and was the first to write about the holy mysteries of our Lord Jesus Christ.

JAMES the son of Alphaeus , and also the brother of Matthew, both of them having had Alphaeus for their father, preached Christ to the pagans and richly sowed the divine seed; and for his zealous preaching, and for having strongly denounced intemperate gatherings, he was hung on a cross and gave uphis spirit to God.

JUDAS the son of James , who is mentioned in the Gospel of Luke and in the Acts as Judas, but is called Lebbaeus and Thaddeus by Matthew and Mark, was the brother in flesh of our Lord Jesus Christ: he preached the Gospel in Mesopotamia, and was later hung on a cross by the infidels and died from being pierced with arrows.

SIMON the Zealot , who came from Cana of Galilee, who is called Nathanicl in the Gospel of John, passed through Mauritania and the entire African land, and even reached Britannia, and having preached Christ, died by crucifixion.

MATTHEW , one of the seventy disciples, who was revealed by our Lord after His resurrection, who was added unto the eleven apostles in place of Judas Iscariot, preached the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ in outer Ethiopia, and was martyred there by the Ethiopians, and later in Jesus’ resting place (i.e. Judea).

PAUL , having been empowered by the high priest to go to Damascus, in order to destroy all those pronouncing the name of Jesus Christ, as he was approaching Damascus, a light from heaven suddenly shone around him and he heard a voice telling him that it was impossible for him. a human being, to overpower the force of God: and he was also told there to go to Damascus, to the disciple of Christ Ananias, who baptized him; and from that time he entered the rank of the apostles, and was a chosen vessel of Christ, and, as though having wings, he traversed the entire world and caught it into his net; starting out from Jerusalem, he went to Illyricum, and Italy, and Spain, preaching the Gospel of Christ. And subsequently, coming to Rome and teaching many people there, by order of Caesar he was beheaded outside the city. Thus died the blessed Paul; and his body was laid beside Peter’s in the same place.