Equal-to-the-Apostles Averky of Hierapolis

Equal-to-the-Apostles Averky was made bishop of the city of Hierapolis in Phrygia in the second half of the 2nd century, during the reign of Emperor Marcus Aurelius (161-180). Imitating the Apostle Paul, he undertook extensive travels, visiting Rome, Syria, and Mesopotamia, everywhere preaching the Gospel and performing numerous miracles and healings, for which he was honored by the Church with the title Equal-to-the-Apostles. He died at an advanced age, in his 72nd year, in his native Hierapolis. He is also renowned for his famous epitaph, composed by himself during his lifetime and known in scholarship as the "Abercius Inscription" (Inscriptio Abercii) — one of the oldest surviving monuments of early Christian epigraphy, containing veiled references to the Eucharist. His memory is kept on October 22/November 4.