Apostle
Apostle Sopater
I век
Apostle Sosipater (Sopater) of Iconium of the Seventy — a native of Achaia, companion of Apostle Jason of Tarsus in preaching on the island of Corfu, where they built a church dedicated to the Protomartyr Stephen; later Bishop of Iconium.
Apostle Sosipater (Sopater) of the Seventy, a native of Achaia, is mentioned by Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Romans: "Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you" (Romans 16:21). Together with Apostle Jason of Tarsus he went west to preach the Gospel and in 63 AD reached the island of Corfu in the Ionian Sea, where they built a church dedicated to the Protomartyr Stephen and baptized many of the island's inhabitants, suffering persecution from the local ruler. He was later made Bishop of Iconium, where he died. His memory is kept on April 28/May 11 together with Apostle Jason (see apostle_jason — a paired icon confirming their joint veneration), as well as January 4/17 in the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles.
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