This term is applied in the New Testament to a certain class of Christian teachers who were not fixed to any particular spot, but traveled either independently, or under the direction of one or other of the Apostles, for the purpose of propagating the Gospel. Philip, one of the seven deacons, is termed the Evangelist (). St. Paul exhorts Timothy 'to do the work of an Evangelist' (); and though this name is not given to Titus, the injunctions addressed to him, and the services he rendered, are so similar as to render the propriety of applying it to him unquestionable. In the Epistle to the Ephesians () the Evangelists are expressly distinguished from the pastors and teachers. The chief points of difference appear to be that the former were itinerant, the latter stationary; the former were employed in introducing the Gospel where it was before unknown; the business of the latter was to confirm and instruct the converts statedly and permanently.
This Encyclopedia of Biblical Literature is a 6 volume set in 1 book. It has over 2Read More
John Kitto was an English biblical scholar of Cornish descent.Born in Plymouth, John Kitto was a sickly child, son of a Cornish stonemason. The drunkenness of his father and the poverty of his family meant that much of his childhood was spent in the workhouse. He had no more than three years of erratic and interrupted education. At the age of twelve John Kitto fell on his head from a rooftop, and became totally and permanently deaf. As a young man he suffered further tragedies, disappointments and much loneliness. His height was 4 ft 8 in, and his accident left him with an impaired sense of balance. He found consolation in browsing at bookstalls and reading any books that came his way.
From these hardships he was rescued by friends who became aware of his mental abilities and encouraged him to write topical articles for local newspapers, arranging eventually for him to work as an assistant in a local library. Here he continued to educate himself.
One of his benefactors was the Exeter dentist Anthony Norris Groves, who in 1824 offered him employment as a dental assistant. Living with the Groves family, Kitto was profoundly influenced by the practical Christian faith of his employer. In 1829 he accompanied Groves on his pioneering mission to Baghdad and served as tutor to Groves's two sons. In 1833 Kitto returned to England via Constantinople, accompanied by another member of the Groves mission, Francis William Newman. Shortly afterwards he married, and in due course had several children.
A London publisher asked Kitto to write up his travel journals for a series of articles in the Penny Magazine, a publication read at that time by a million people in Britain, reprinted in America and translated into French, German and Dutch. Other writing projects followed as readers enquired about his experiences in the East amidst people living in circumstances closely resembling those of Bible times.
Wikipedia