(en) Since Lightfoot in 1865, the classical definition of an apostolicity reserved entirely to the “Twelve Apostles” was called into question by exegesists who were coming round to a more and more critical position as regards the historical reality of this institution and preferred, as with Harnack, to limit it to a pure charismatic function. It is time to revise this revision, of course, to propose an extended view of the concept of apostle, but also to endeavor to redefine it in light of the new paradigm of the history of the first communities and taking into account the history of its reception by the first Church Fathers.
Burnet, R. (2015). La notion d’apostolicité dans les premiers siècles. Recherches de Science Religieuse, 162(2), 185-202. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/60051 (Original work published 2015)