Twelve apostles in the context of "Maundy (foot washing)"

An epistle (/ɪˈpɪsəl/; from Ancient Greek ἐπιστολή (epistolḗ) 'letter') is a writing directed or sent to a person or group of people, usually an elegant and formal didactic letter. The epistle genre of letter-writing was common in ancient Egypt as part of the scribal-school writing curriculum. The letters in the New Testament from Apostles to Christians are usually referred to as epistles. Those traditionally attributed to Paul are known as Pauline epistles and the others as catholic (i.e., "general") epistles.

Matthew 10 is the tenth chapter in the Gospel of Matthew in the New Testament section of the Christian Bible. This chapter opens with Jesus calling some of his disciples and sending them out to preach and heal. This chapter is also known as the Mission Discourse, the Apostolic Discourse, or the Little Commission, in contrast to the Great Commission at the end of the gospel (Matthew 28:18–20). The Apostles receiving the Little Commission are directed to enter only the towns of the "lost sheep of the house of Israel" in verse 6, but verse 18 mentions that they will also be a witness to "governors, kings and the Gentiles" while in those towns. In contrast, the Great Commission is specifically directed to all nations. This has led to debate as to whom the target audience of Jesus' original, pre-resurrection ministry was.

Matthew names the twelve apostles, or "twelve disciples", in verses 2 to 4, and gives them careful instruction as they travel around Israel. The remainder of the chapter consists almost entirely of sayings attributed to Jesus. Many of the sayings found in Matthew 10 are also found in Luke 10 and the Gospel of Thomas, which is not part of the accepted canon of the New Testament.

In the New Testament, Salome was a follower of Jesus who appears briefly in the canonical gospels and in apocryphal writings. She is named by Mark as present at the crucifixion and as one of the Myrrhbearers, the women who found Jesus's empty tomb. Interpretation has further identified her with other women who are mentioned but not named in the canonical gospels. In particular, she is often identified as the wife of Zebedee, the mother of James and John, two of the Twelve apostles. In medieval tradition Salome (as Mary Salome) was counted as one of the Three Marys who were daughters of Saint Anne, so making her the sister or half-sister of Mary, mother of Jesus.

Akeldama (Aramaic: חקל דמא or 𐡇𐡒𐡋 𐡃𐡌𐡀 Ḥaqel D'ma, "field of blood"; Hebrew: חקל דמא; Arabic: حقل الدم, Ḥaqel Ad-dam) is the Aramaic name for a place in Jerusalem associated with Judas Iscariot, one of the original twelve apostles of Jesus.

The Church of England commemorates many of the same saints as those in the General Roman Calendar, mostly on the same days, but also commemorates various notable (often post-Reformation) Christians who have not been canonised by Rome, with a particular though not exclusive emphasis on those of English origin. There are differences in the calendars of other churches of the Anglican Communion (see Saints in Anglicanism).

The only person canonised in a near-conventional sense by the Church of England since the English Reformation is King Charles the Martyr (King Charles I), although he is not widely recognised by Anglicans as a saint outside the Society of King Charles the Martyr. The Church of England has no mechanism for canonising saints, and unlike the Roman Catholic Church it makes no claims regarding the heavenly status of those whom it commemorates in its calendar. For this reason, the Church of England avoids the use of the prenominal title "Saint" with reference to uncanonised individuals and is restrained in what it says about them in its liturgical texts. In order not to seem to imply grades of sanctity, or to discriminate between holy persons of the pre- and post-Reformation periods, the title "Saint" is not used at all in the calendar, even with reference to those who have always been known by that title, for example the Apostles.