Synaxis of saints
Synaxis the Glorious and All-Praised Twelve Apostles
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Also known as: Свв. двенадцать апостолов, Собор двенадцати апостолов, Собор 12-ти апостолов, Собор славных и всехвальных 12-ти апостолов
The common commemoration of Christ's twelve apostles on 30 June (13 July), the day after the feast of the Chief Apostles Peter and Paul.
The Synaxis of the Glorious and All-Praised Twelve Apostles is the common commemoration of Christ's twelve closest disciples, kept on 30 June (13 July), the day after the feast of the Chief Apostles Peter and Paul. The Church honours Peter, his brother Andrew, James son of Zebedee, his brother John, Philip, Bartholomew, Thomas, Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Jude (Thaddaeus), Simon the Zealot and Matthias, chosen after the Ascension in place of Judas Iscariot (Acts 1:26). Each of them also has his own feast day.
According to the Gospel, the Lord spent a night in prayer and then chose twelve from among His disciples, naming them apostles, that is, envoys (Luke 6:12–13). The number recalls the twelve tribes of Israel; in Revelation the heavenly Jerusalem rests on twelve foundations bearing the names of the twelve apostles (Rev. 21:14).
The commemoration on 30 June is found in most menologia; the 7th-century Jerusalem Kanonarion placed it on the third Saturday of Lent. The present Russian Typikon prescribes a polyeleos service, and the kontakion of the feast also glorifies the Apostle Paul together with the Twelve.