Msg Base:  AREA 5  - ASK FATHER            CIN ECHO   AMDG
  Msg No: 173.  Sat 11-02-91 22:52  (NO KILL)  (MAILED)
    From: Father Matoe
      To: Jim Cox
 Subject: Apostles and Apostolic Men

³ In "The Documents of Vatican II", Abbott edition, Dogmatic
³ Constitution on Divine Revelation, Chap. II, Art. 7, says this:
³ Therefore Christ the Lord, in whom the full revelation of the
³ supreme God is brought to completion, commissioned the apostles to
³ preach to all . . .This commission was faithfully fulfilled by the
³ apostles who, by their oral preaching, by example . . .The
³ commission was fulfilled, too, by those apostles and apostolic
³ men who under the inspiration of the same Holy Spirit  committed
³ the message of salvation to writing.
³ My question is this who are the "apostolic men"?  I understand this
³ to say that the apostles "by their oral preaching" conveyed the
³ message of the Gospel. And other men of their time period,
³ 'apostolic' if you will, did the writing.
³  
³ My second question is this: What is your background?  I understand
³ you are a priest.  But, what I want to know is, what is your
³ specialty? Sacred Scripture, Moral Theology, what?
³  
³ Thanks, Jim.
³  
³  
 
Dear Jim,
 
The key word is the relative pronoun 'who'.  What is its antecedent?
The answer must be: 'apostles and apostolic men'.  Both groups preached
and both groups wrote.
 
Who are the apostolic men?  Best known is Luke, Paul's missionary
preaching companion and the author of a gospel and the Book of Acts,
but not himself an apostle.  Mark also was not an apostle.  Controversy
swirls still about the authorship of Hebrews, James, Jude, 2 Peter, 2
and 3 John, and Revelation.  One may prefer to assign these to unknown
contemporaries of the apostles, i.e., apostolic men.
 
I write under a nom de plume.  Are you trying to blow my cover?!  My
background?  Convert from Protestantism, public school education,
seminary courses leading to ordination.  My specialty on this net:
unreconstructed, totally bigoted Roman Catholicism.
 
                        Sincerely in Christ,
 
                        Father Mateo