Apostolic

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˌæp.əˈstɒl.ɪk/

Definitions

1. Connected to the original followers of Jesus Christ known as apostles ; relating to the Christian church or traditions tracing back to the apostles ; describing a status of authority derived from the apostolic lineage
2. Having to do with the twelve early disciples of Christ ; associated with the practices and beliefs of the early apostolic church ; referring to the official succession and authority passed down from the apostles
3. Concerning the historical apostles themselves ; linked to the teachings and heritage maintained by the apostolic church ; indicating a legitimate power or office inherited from the apostles through direct succession

Etymology: The Greek verb "apostéllō" meant "to send off" or "to dispatch," and "apóstolos" was simply a sent-out messenger or envoy. Greek "apostolikós" was the adjective built from that noun, meaning "of a messenger or envoy." Nothing in the word's ancestry is specifically religious; the sense of the sent-out figure was added later, when the noun came to refer to the disciples of Jesus. The adjective reached English as a learned borrowing from Latin "apostolicus," which had itself been formed from the Greek. Its English use therefore carries the ecclesiastical sense from the start, and it still means "related to the apostles" in religious contexts, as well as to the authority of the papacy in phrases such as "apostolic succession."

Synonyms: discipleship, missionary