Definition of "apostle" []

• One of a group made up especially of the 12 disciples chosen by Jesus to preach the gospel. (noun)
• A missionary of the early Christian Church. (noun)
• A leader of the first Christian mission to a country or region. (noun)
• One of the 12 members of the administrative council in the Mormon Church. (noun)
• One who pioneers an important reform movement, cause, or belief: an apostle of conservation. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "The term apostle is applied by St. Paul not only to the Twelve, but also to himself, to Barnabas, to his kinsmen,"
• "That the first Gospel was written by this apostle is the testimony of all antiquity."
• "-- So understanding the words, the apostle is here giving the language of the true method of justification; and this sense we prefer (with Calvin, Beza, Ferme, Locke, Jowett)."