Apollos
Pre-Congregation | |
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Feast | 13 February |
Apollos (
Biblical account
Acts of the Apostles
Apollos is first mentioned as a Christian preacher who had come to Ephesus (probably in AD 52 or 53), where he is described as "being fervent in spirit: he spoke and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John".[1] Priscilla and Aquila, a Jewish Christian couple who had come to Ephesus with the Apostle Paul, instructed Apollos:
- "When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more adequately."[2]
The differences between the two understandings probably related to the Christian baptism, since Apollos "knew only the baptism of John". Later, during Apollos' absence, the writer of the Acts of the Apostles recounts an encounter between Paul and some disciples at Ephesus:
And he said to them, "Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?" And they said, "No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit." And he said, "Into what then were you baptized?" They said, "Into John's baptism." And Paul said, "John baptized with the baptism of repentance, telling the people to believe in the one who was to come after him, that is, Jesus." On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they began speaking in tongues and prophesying.[3]
Before Paul's arrival, Apollos had moved from Ephesus to Achaia[4][5] and was living in Corinth, the provincial capital of Achaia.[6] Acts reports that Apollos arrived in Achaia with a letter of recommendation from the Ephesian Christians and "greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus.[7]
1 Corinthians
Paul's First Epistle to the Corinthians (AD 55) mentions Apollos as an important figure at Corinth. Paul describes Apollos' role at Corinth:
- I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth.[8]
Paul's Epistle refers to a
Apollos was a devout Jew born in Alexandria. Apollos' origin in Alexandria has led to speculations that he would have preached in the allegorical style of Philo. Theologian Jerome Murphy-O'Connor, for example, commented: "It is difficult to imagine that an Alexandrian Jew ... could have escaped the influence of Philo, the great intellectual leader ... particularly since the latter seems to have been especially concerned with education and preaching."[13]
There is no indication that Apollos favored or approved an overestimation of his person. Paul urged him to go to Corinth at the time, but Apollos declined, stating that he would come later when he had an opportunity.[14]
Epistle to Titus
Apollos is mentioned one more time in the New Testament. In the Epistle to Titus, the recipient is exhorted to "speed Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way".[15]
Extrabiblical information
Jerome states that Apollos was so dissatisfied with the division at Corinth that he retired to Crete with Zenas; and that once the schism had been healed by Paul's letters to the Corinthians, Apollos returned to the city and became one of its elders.[16] Less probable traditions assign to him the bishopric of Duras, or of Iconium in Phrygia, or of Caesarea.[9]
Pope Benedict XVI suggested that the name "Apollos" was probably short for Apollonius or Apollodorus.[17] He also suggested there were those in Corinth "...fascinated by [Apollo's] way of speaking...."[17]
Significance
Martin Luther and some modern scholars have proposed Apollos as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews, rather than Paul or Barnabas.[9] Both Apollos and Barnabas were Jewish Christians with sufficient intellectual authority.[18] The Pulpit Commentary treats Apollos' authorship of Hebrews as "generally believed".[19] Other than this, there are no known surviving texts attributed to Apollos.
Apollos is regarded as a saint by several Christian churches, including the
Apollos is not to be confused with
Notes
- ^ Acts 18:24–25
- ^ Acts 18:26
- ^ Acts 19:2–6
- ^ Acts 18:27
- ^ So the Alexandrian recension; the text in 𝔓38 and Codex Bezae indicate that Apollos went to Corinth. Joseph Fitzmyer, The Acts of the Apostles (New York: Doubleday, 1998), p. 639.
- ^ Acts 19:1
- ^ Acts 18:27–28
- ^ 1 Cor 3:6
- ^ a b c public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Apollos". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 2 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 189. One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
- ^ 1 Cor 1:10–13
- ^ Knox, R. Enthusiasm, p. 13.
- ^ 1 Cor 3:1–4
- ^ J Murphy-O'Connor. Paul: A critical life. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996, p. 275
- ^ 1 Cor 16:12
- ^ Titus 3:13
- ^ Jerome, Commentary on the Epistle to Titus 3:13
- ^ a b "Pope Benedict XVI. "Barnabas, Silas, and Apollos", L'Osservatore Romano, February 7, 2007, p. 11".
- ^ The NIV study bible, new international version; English (UK) edition; London, Hodder & Stoughton, 1987; p.1817.
- ^ Pulpit Commentary on I Corinthians 3, accessed 19 March 2017
- ^ "Apostle Apollos of the Seventy". www.oca.org.
- ^ "St. Apollo". catholic.org. Catholic Online.
References
- Articles in
- Encyclopaedia Biblica
- Herzog-Hauck, Realencyklopadie
- The Jewish Encyclopedia (Jewish Encyclopedia: Apollos)
- James Hastings, Dictionary of the Bible
- Karl Heinrich von Weizsäcker, Das apostolische Zeitalter (1886)
- A. C. McGiffert, History of Christianity in the Apostolic Age.
- Initial text from Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia of Religion