Apostles

The apostles were Jesus' closest followers and became the primary teachers of his message. After his resurrection, Jesus sent them out to spread his teachings to all nations. This event has been called the dispersion of the apostles. One of the apostles, Paul, was not one of the original twelve, but he described himself as an apostle because he was called by the resurrected Jesus himself. Paul later described himself as "an apostle to the Gentiles." The period of early Christianity during the lifetimes of the apostles is called the Apostolic Age. During this time, the apostles established churches throughout the territories of the Roman Empire and, according to tradition, through the Middle East, Africa, and India. Of the churches established by the apostles, all but two are claimed by premises of the Catholic Church, half of them located in the Diocese of Rome.