Metalogos The Gospels of Thomas & Philip & Truth

Yet there is no evidence that he was ever admitted
to that inner circle of the original Twelve.... Those
who expect the Acts to be the complete early
history of Christianity are doomed to
disappointment.... The Bible student is soon, and
perhaps unconsciously, caught up in the personal
ministry of Paul. Peter, though prominent at first, is
later ignored, as the Acts unfolds for the reader the
story of Paul and his friends.... There is absolutely
no evidence that Paul ever recognized the
‘primacy’ of Peter.
Ronald Brownrigg, The Twelve Apostles
(1974): The letters of Paul present a marked
contrast to Luke's writings [in his Gospel and the
Acts]. Whereas Luke suggests that the Apostles
were a closed corporation of twelve governing the
whole Church, Paul disagrees, claiming his own
Apostleship to be as valid as any of the twelve....
Certainly Paul knew no authority of the twelve....
The qualification for Apostleship, at the election of
Matthias [Ac 1:15-26], had been a divinely guided
selection and a constant companionship with
Jesus throughout his [active] lifetime.
Elaine H. Pagels, The Gnostic Paul (1975);
346