DISCIPLES OF THE LORD. - This title (μαθηταί Κυρίου) in the Gospel often designates the Apostles (v.), in Acts all believers. In a stricter sense, it indicates those followers of Jesus who, not having been included in the apostolic college, were less intimate with the Savior, although they went with Him more or less often (Jn. 6:66). Therefore they were also "witnesses" (Acts 1:8; 10:59; etc.) for the future evangelization. Once they are sent on a mission (ἀνέδειξεν): Lk. 10:1. Their number is now 70 (οἱ ἑβδομήκοντα), now 72. The brilliant success of this first preaching is described (Lk. 10:17), which the Master strengthened with miracles. Certainly many of the "500 brethren" (1 Cor. 15:6) to whom the Risen One appeared belonged to these d.
In the Gospels and in Acts only four d. appear with their name: the rich Joseph of Arimathea (Mt. 27:5; ἐμαθητεύθη τῷ Ἰησοῦ); two of them (Lk. 24:13; δύο ἐξ αὐτῶν) go to Emmaus; one has the name Κλεατός. Furthermore St. Peter names two "men who were always united with us from the baptism of John until the Ascension" (Acts 1:21); Joseph Barsabbas (v.) the Just, and Matthias.
Subsequently attempts were made to find the names of the others. Papias (early 2nd cent.) names two d. as τοῦ Κυρίου μαθηταί, Ἀριστῶν καὶ ὁ πρεσβύτερος Ἰωάννης; but there is almost general agreement that the "presbyter Johannes" is the product of a doubling, being the same apostle John. Of Aristion (v.), the teacher of Papias, an Armenian manuscript of the Gospels of 986 speaks: before the close of Mk. (16:9-20) one reads there in red ink: "of the presbyter Ariston" (Ariston eritzu), where this d. appears as the author of those 12 verses (E. Nestle, Einführung in das Neue Testament, Göttingen 1909, pl. 9; 4th ed. ibid. 1923, pl. 19).
Clement of Alexandria does not yet know any catalogue of the d., but names "Barnabas, Sosthenes" (1 Cor. 1:1) and Cephas, who has the same name as the apostle Peter (fragment of book V of the Hypotyposes, in Eusebius, Hist. eccl., I, 12, 1; PG 20, 117; ed. Schwartz, 80, 17-82, 5; ed. Stählin, 3, 196). The notices given by Eusebius himself are very controversial and practically unusable (Th. Schermann, pp. 294-97).
Contemporary is the assertion of Adamantius (De vera fide: PG 11, 1721; ed. W. H. van de Sande Bakhuyzen, p. 10), that Mark and Luke belonged to the "70." For the Jewish-Christian Luke this is to be excluded entirely; but even for Mark this is very improbable. This false notice about Mark and Luke was accepted by St. Epiphanius, who completed it in a wholly fantastic manner: the two Evangelists were among those who were scandalized at Jesus' eucharistic discourse (Jn. 6:62) and separated from Him. Their masters Peter and Paul won them back to the faith (Haer., 51, 6, 11; PG 41, 900, 908; ed. Holl, 2, 256, 263). Moreover, Epiphanius names the 7 deacons (Acts 6:5), Paul and 5 other men.
The Constitutiones Apostolicae (5th cent.) have the Apostles speak of "bishops ordained by us": 30 names are given there (VII, 64; ed. Funk, pp. 452-55). The Chronicon Paschale (ca. 629) uses all the names of Acts and of the Pauline epistles to form a list of 70 names (PG 92, 1059-66). Since the subsequent lists of d. lack any historical value, it will suffice to list the principal ones (with Th. Schermann): Ps. Epiphanius (early 8th cent.), Ps. Dorotheus (early 9th cent.), Ps. Hippolytus (mid-9th cent.),
Ps. Simeon Logothetes (10th cent.), finally the Greek Synaxaria (of the 11th and 12th centuries). There are also lists by Arab writers (Solomon of Bosra and 'Amr, etc.) of the same time. Th. Schermann presents with precision (pp. 327-49) the individual names of the 145 persons who, even once, were numbered among the d. of the L., giving all the references.
Bibliography
Urbano Holzmeister