Apostle of the Seventy Sosipater of Iconium

Apostle of the Seventy Sosipater came from Achaia and is mentioned by the Apostle Paul himself in the Epistle to the Romans (16:21): "Sosipater, my kinsmen, greet you." He accompanied the apostle on his travels, then together with Apostle Jason of Tarsus (already documented in our database as a separate entry, martyr_jason) set out westward on a mission, reaching the island of Kerkyra (modern Corfu) around 63 AD, where they built a church in honor of the Protomartyr Stephen and baptized many inhabitants — including the local ruler, who took the name Sebastian at baptism, after a failed attempt to execute the preachers in a cauldron of boiling pitch.

IMPORTANT NOTE: sources disagree on the saint's later fate — one tradition holds he became bishop of Iconium and died there peacefully in old age; another, more detailed tradition centers his later life and death on Kerkyra together with Jason. Both epithets ("of Iconium" and "of Kerkyra") are established in church tradition; modern sources often list "of Kerkyra" first.

His feast is kept on April 28/May 11 (together with Apostle Jason), also November 10/23 and January 4/17 in the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles.