Saint Apostle Asyncritus
of the Seventy.

The holy, glorious, all-laudable Apostle Asyncritus was numbered among the Seventy Apostles. Little is known of his life before his calling to apostolic service. The Seventy Apostles are those whom the Lord chose in addition to the Twelve and were sent forth to assist in the work of preaching. Over time, the Twelve added others to their number, who were sent out with the original Seventy to preach the gospel.

Saint Asyncritus served as Bishop of Hyrcani in Asia Minor. Among the Seventy Apostles, he was chosen by Christ and sent out by Him to preach. His apostolic mission took him to the region of Hyrcania in Asia Minor, where he established the Church and labored to convert both pagans and Jews to faith in Christ.

Paul mentions Hermes, who was a bishop in Dalmatia, with the four preceding saints in this passage from his letter to the Romans: "Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, and Hermes." This personal greeting from the Apostle Paul to Asyncritus testifies to his prominence in the early Church and his recognition as a respected leader and bishop.

For their intrepid service to Christ, these disciples underwent fierce sufferings and were found worthy of a martyr's crown. Apostle Asyncritus, like the other Seventy Apostles, faced persecution for his steadfast proclamation of Christ. His faithfulness in the face of opposition and suffering became a witness to the power of the Gospel and the grace of the Holy Spirit working through the early apostles.

The memory of Apostle Asyncritus is venerated throughout the Orthodox Church. The Church remembers St. Asyncritus on April 8. He is also commemorated on 4 January with the other Seventy Apostles. The Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles celebrates their collective witness and apostolic labor.

The Church in particular venerates and praises the Seventy Apostles because they taught us to honor the Trinity One in Essence and Undivided. Asyncritus stands as one of the great cloud of witnesses who established the Church in the apostolic age and whose prayer on behalf of the faithful continues to be invoked in the Orthodox tradition.

Apostle Asyncritus was numbered among the Seventy Apostles whom the Lord chose and sent forth to assist in the work of preaching. They were sent two by two by the Lord Jesus Christ to go before Him into the cities He would visit.

The name Asyncritus is Greek, meaning "incomparable". The Apostle Paul mentions him in his letter to the Romans (cf. 16:14), where Paul mentions Hermes, who was a bishop in Dalmatia, with the four preceding saints in this passage from his letter to the Romans: "Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, and Hermes."

Saint Asyncritus (Rom. 16:14) was bishop in Hyrcania (Asia Minor). For their intrepid service to Christ, these disciples underwent fierce sufferings and were found worthy of a martyr's crown.

He is also commemorated on 4 January with the other Seventy Apostles, on the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles. The Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles was established by the Orthodox Church to indicate the equal honor of each of the Seventy.