Apostles Christians (second half of the second century and first half of the third century) believed that only Peter, Paul, and James, son of Zebedee, were martyred. The remainder or even all of the claims of martyred apostles do not rely upon historical or biblical evidence. The relics of the Apostles are claimed by various Churches, many in Italy. Each of the four listings of apostles in the New Testament (, , , and ) indicate that all the apostles were men. The canonical gospels and the book of Acts give varying names of the twelve apostles. The list in the
Apostles he had seen and was anointed by Jesus while on the road to Damascus. James, Peter and John in Jerusalem accepted his calling to the apostleship from the Lord to the Gentiles (specifically those not circumcised) as of equal authority as Peter's to the Jews (specifically those circumcised) according to Paul. "James, Peter and John, those reputed to be pillars ... agreed that we [Paul and Barnabas] should go to the Gentiles, and they to the Jews." Paul, despite his divine calling as an apostle, considered himself perhaps inferior to the other apostles because he had originally persecuted Christ's followers.