Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- adjective Of or relating to an apostle.
- adjective Of, relating to, or contemporary with the 12 Apostles.
- adjective Of, relating to, or derived from the teaching or practice of the 12 Apostles.
- adjective Of or relating to a succession of spiritual authority from the 12 Apostles, regarded by Anglicans, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox, and some others to have been perpetuated by successive ordinations of bishops and to be requisite for valid orders and administration of sacraments.
- adjective Roman Catholic Church Of or relating to the pope as the successor of Saint Peter; papal.
from The Century Dictionary.
- Pertaining or relating to or characteristic of an apostle, or more especially of the twelve apostles; of the apostles or an apostle: as, the apostolic age.
- According to the doctrines of the apostles; delivered or taught by the apostles: as, apostolic faith or practice.
- An epithet of the Christian church, signifying her identity with the primitive church of the apostles. See
apostolicity . - Pertaining to or conferred by the pope: as, apostolic privileges; apostolic benediction.
- noun A member of one of various sects (also called
Apostolicals or Apostolici) which professed to revive the doctrine and practice of the apostles. - noun A title of bishops in early times, afterward limited to primates, and finally to the pope.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- noun (Eccl. Hist.) A member of one of certain ascetic sects which at various times professed to imitate the practice of the apostles.
- adjective Pertaining to an apostle, or to the apostles, their times, or their peculiar spirit
- adjective According to the doctrines of the apostles; delivered or taught by the apostles.
- adjective Of or pertaining to the pope or the papacy; papal.
- adjective See under
Brief . - adjective a collection of rules and precepts relating to the duty of Christians, and particularly to the ceremonies and discipline of the church in the second and third centuries.
- adjective the Christian church; -- so called on account of its apostolic foundation, doctrine, and order. The churches of Rome, Alexandria, Antioch, and Jerusalem were called
apostolic churches . - adjective directions of a nature similar to the
apostolic canons , and perhaps compiled by the same authors or author. - adjective early Christian writers, who were born in the first century, and thus touched on the age of the apostles. They were Polycarp, Clement, Ignatius, and Hermas; to these Barnabas has sometimes been added.
- adjective a title granted by the pope to the kings of Hungary on account of the extensive propagation of Christianity by St. Stephen, the founder of the royal line. It is now a title of the emperor of Austria in right of the throne of Hungary.
- adjective a see founded and governed by an apostle; specifically, the Church of Rome; -- so called because, in the Roman Catholic belief, the pope is the successor of St. Peter, the prince of the apostles, and the only apostle who has successors in the apostolic office.
- adjective the regular and uninterrupted transmission of ministerial authority by a succession of bishops from the apostles to any subsequent period.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- adjective pertaining to an
apostle , or to the apostles, their times, or their peculiar spirit - adjective according to the doctrines of the apostles; delivered or taught by the apostles
- adjective Of or relating to the
pope or thepapacy ;papal .
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- adjective proceeding from or ordered by or subject to a pope or the papacy regarded as the successor of the Apostles
- adjective of or relating to or deriving from the Apostles or their teachings
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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“An established religion is certainly desirable,” said Atherton, “and I am inclined to believe, that those who fled from persecution, and have here founded a church on what you term apostolic principles, would be as severe towards those of different modes and opinions, and as much influenced by prejudice, as the church of England has ever been, in regard to her dissenting children.”
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In His letter the Pope has presented in unambiguous terms the apostolic nature of the Church, which is always to be led by the bishops, the successors of the Apostles, in communion with the Pope, the successor of Peter, the head of the Apostles.
Archive 2009-07-01 2009
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Like any politician, the institution of education claims direct descent in apostolic succession from the Founding Fathers. — from The Graves of Academe
11.03 M-mv 2003
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Like any politician, the institution of education claims direct descent in apostolic succession from the Founding Fathers. — from The Graves of Academe
11.03 M-mv 2003
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Like any politician, the institution of education claims direct descent in apostolic succession from the Founding Fathers. — from The Graves of Academe
11.03 M-mv 2003
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Like any politician, the institution of education claims direct descent in apostolic succession from the Founding Fathers. — from The Graves of Academe
The Underground Grammarian M-mv 2003
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This is just what we might expect; a writing known only partially at first, when subsequently it obtained a wider circulation, and the proofs were better known of its having been recognized in apostolic churches, having in them men endowed with the discernment of spirits, which qualified them for discriminating between inspired and uninspired writings, was universally accepted.
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But as it is not clear that baptism in apostolic times was exclusively by immersion [see on [2202] Ac 2: 41], so sprinkling and washing are indifferently used in the New Testament to express the cleansing efficacy of the blood of Jesus.
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Lord gives Himself this compound name, afterwards so current in apostolic preaching and writing.
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Episcopacy was adopted in apostolic times as the most expedient form of government, being most nearly in accordance with Jewish institutions, and so offering the less obstruction through Jewish prejudices to the progress of Christianity.
seanahan commented on the word apostolic
I think I've only ever heard this in terms of succession.
August 27, 2007