Apostolizer

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A person who acts as an apostle, carrying out the work of preaching and spreading a religious faith
2. Someone who takes on the role of an apostle by traveling about and proclaiming a gospel or doctrine
3. One who undertakes the mission of an apostle, spreading religious teaching and converting others to belief

Etymology: Apostles were, etymologically, people who had been sent somewhere. The Greek "apostolos" comes from "apostellein," "to send off," built from "apo-" (away) and "stellein" (to send). The earliest sense was simply a messenger or emissary, and Christian usage gave the noun its specialised meaning of the disciples sent out to preach. This word is built on that religious sense. Its base, "apostolize," means to act as an apostle or to spread the faith in an apostolic manner. That verb takes the Greek-derived "-ize" ending, which turns a noun into a verb meaning to act as or make into something. The English suffix "-er" then marks the person who performs the action, so an apostolizer is one who apostolizes: a preacher or missionary acting in the apostles' manner.