On January 4th we commemorate the 70 Disciples and Apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They are those of whom Jesus chose in addition to the Twelve and sent forth to do the work of preaching. With time, others were added to their number by the Holy Apostles, who with the assistance of the 70, were preaching the Gospel of Christ in various lands. Although their number eventually exceeded 70, they were referred to as “of the Seventy” out of reverence for the number of Apostles which the Lord chose. Note: Each of the seventy apostles also has individual commemorations scattered throughout the liturgical year.
