Creating a play like The Story of Christ or a Passion Play we must understand the Cast of Characters. In this list we concentrate on the Disciples of Christ who sat with Jesus at the Last Supper. A Passion Play does not need to include the scene of the Last Supper but as your volunteers increases this maybe an option. Costuming of this scene will be easy. You will be able to use extra characters from your production like Townspeople and Shepherds to create the scene of the Last Supper. The key is to make suttle and easy changes to their costuming - remove or add a headpiece, caftan, bedroll or Prayer Shawl.

 

It is not absolutely clear on all of the names of the twelve Disciples. Their names are based on the four Gospels that gives us varying names of the twelve. According to the list occurring in each of the three Synoptic Gospels (Mark 3:13-19, Matthew 10:1-4, Luke 6:12-16), these are the Twelve Disciples chosen by Jesus near the beginning of his ministry:

   1. Peter: Peter's birth name was Simon who was a fisherman from the Bethsaida "of Galilee". The name of Peter was given to Simon by Jesus.
   2. Andrew: He is the brother of Simon(Peter), also a Bethsaida fisherman, and a former disciple of John the Baptist.
   3. James (son of Zebedee): The brother of John.
   4. John: The brother of James. Jesus named both of them Bo-aner'ges, which means "sons of thunder".
   5. Philip: He is also from the Bethsaida of Galilee.
   6. Bartholomew, son of Talemai: There is speculation that Bartholomew is also known as Nathanael, who is mentioned in John 1:45-51.
   7. Matthew: The tax collector. Matthew may also be known as Levi as mentioned in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
   8. Thomas: Also known as Judas Thomas Didymus.
   9. James (son of Alphaeus): Generally identified with "James the Less", and also identified by Roman Catholics with "James the Just".
  10. Thaddeus: In some manuscripts of Matthew, the name "Lebbaeus" occurs. Thaddeus is traditionally identified with Jude or Judas(not to be confused with Iscariot).
  11. Simon the Zealot: Some have identified him with Simeon of Jerusalem.
  12. Judas Iscariot: He is the disciple who later betrayed Jesus. The name Iscariot may refer to the Judaean towns of Kerioth, or to Issachar. Also referred to as "Judas, the son of Simon". After Judas betrayed Jesus, Judas killed himself. Judas was replaced by Matthias as an apostle shortly after Jesus' resurrection.


The Gospel of John, unlike the Synoptic Gospels, does not offer a formal list of Jesus' Disciples. The following are the nine Disciples that are identified:

    * Peter
    * Andrew: he is identified as Peter's brother
    * the Sons of Zebedee: presumably meaning John and James, even though they are not named.
    * Philip
    * Nathanael
    * Thomas: also called Didymus
    * Judas Iscariot
    * Judas (not Iscariot): probably Thaddeus/Jude.

Of these, only Nathanael is not in the lists in the other gospels. His name has traditionally been identified with Bartholomew, though this identification is disputed.

Apart from Bartholomew, the three not mentioned at all in John's gospel are James son of Alphaeus, Matthew, and Simon the Zealot.