20 GIANCARLO BIGUZZI drama at least on the literary level, and perhaps, as a consequence, in the apostolic field as well 38. Pontificia Università Urbaniana Giancarlo BIGUZZI Via Urbano VIII, 16 00165 Roma, Italy SUMMARY The program of Act 1,8 is carried through by the Twelve only in Jerusalem, Samaria and the Mediterranean coast, — but not “till the end of the earth”. Their witness, however, is prolonged by the Seven of Jerusalem, the Five of Syrian Antioch, and the Seven companions of Paul of Act 20,4. Surprisingly, for every- one of the four groups of witnesses, the author narrates then the witnessing of only two of them. The narrative lacuna, apparently intentional since it recurs four times, allows Luke to involve the reader in reconstructing the spread of the gospel in all the directions for the remaining ten twelfths. The transfer of the testimony from Paul to Luke’s readers is denied by 38 P.G. BOLT, “Mission and Witness”, Witness to the Gospel. Theology of Acts (Grand Rapids, MI 1998) (eds. H. MARSHALL – D. PETERSON 211: “Because the criterion for the twelve witnesses is historical, it is by definition unrepeatable (1,21-22)”. Cf. his headline “Destroying some common bridges” (210-212).