According to the Bible's
New Testament, the
apostles were the primary
disciples of
Jesus, the central figure in
Christianity. During the life and
ministry of Jesus in the first century AD, the apostles were his closest followers and became the primary teachers of
the gospel message of Jesus. The word "disciple" is sometimes used interchangeably with "apostle" for instance the
Gospel of John makes no distinction between the two terms. In modern usage, prominent
missionaries are identified as apostles a practice which stems from the Latin equivalent of apostle, , the source of the English word "
missionary".
