Saint Apostle Hermes
of the Seventy, Bishop of Dalmatia.

The early biographical details of Apostle Hermes remain obscure in the surviving historical record. In the Synaxarion of Hippolyte Delehaye (1902) he is called Ermylos. Like many of the Seventy Apostles, his name appears in Sacred Scripture as one chosen personally by the Lord Jesus and appointed as a missionary herald of the Gospel. The apostles of this second rank were drawn from faithful disciples who had witnessed the Resurrection and received the commission to evangelize the known world.

He is usually identified with the Hermes mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:14, and said to have succeeded Titus as Bishop of Dalmatia. In this episcopal capacity, Hermes oversaw the fledgling Christian community in Dalmatia—a region encompassing the eastern coast of the Adriatic Sea (in the territory of modern-day Croatia and Bosnia). As a bishop and shepherd of the Church, he would have been responsible for instructing the faithful, celebrating the sacred mysteries, and strengthening the believers in their newfound faith amid a pagan environment.

Hermes worked to establish and build up the Christian community in Dalmatia, converting many from idolatry and founding or consolidating the ecclesiastical structures that would endure. His episcopate coincided with the apostolic age, making him a direct witness and successor to the teachings of the Apostles themselves.

All these disciples for their intrepid service to Christ underwent fierce sufferings and were found worthy of a martyr's crown. Apostle Hermes' steadfast proclamation of the Gospel and his refusal to abandon the faith eventually brought him into conflict with pagan authorities. Rather than compromise the truth entrusted to him, he endured persecution and martyrdom, sealing his apostolic witness with his blood.

His martyrdom is commemorated by the Church as testimony to his unwavering fidelity to Christ in the face of worldly opposition. The tradition of persecution and suffering became the mark of apostolic faithfulness in those early centuries, and Hermes joined the glorious company of apostles and martyrs who preferred death to denying their Lord.

The veneration of Apostle Hermes extended throughout Christian lands, particularly in regions connected to Dalmatia. Some of his relics were given to Spoleto by Gregory the Great. Other relics went to Lothair I by Pope Leo IV; Lothair brought them first to Cornelismünster, near Aachen. The relics were recovered in 940 and housed in a Romanesque-style crypt in 1083. The church of Saint Hermes was consecrated in 1129. These relic translations demonstrate the widespread honor accorded to the martyr apostle in medieval Christendom.

In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, Apostle Hermes is remembered as a faithful shepherd of the Church and a bold proclaimer of Christ. His feast days are celebrated on April 8 with his fellow martyrs, and on January 4 among the Seventy. The Church honors him not only on his individual commemoration but also in the annual remembrance of all the Seventy Apostles, recognizing his role in the apostolic mission and his enduring intercession for all believers.

Apostle Hermes stands among the Seventy Apostles chosen and sent forth by our Lord Jesus Christ. He is numbered among the Seventy Apostles and was bishop in Dalmatia. He is usually identified with the Hermes mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:14, and said to have succeeded Titus as Bishop of Dalmatia. This identification places him among those apostles whom the holy Apostle Paul greets in the Epistle to the Romans (Rom 16:14).

Very little historical detail survives regarding the life of Apostle Hermes. According to Tradition, he was the Bishop of Dalmatia and reposed in peace. His appointment as bishop of the Roman province of Dalmatia represents his role as a guardian of the faith in the turbulent early centuries of Christianity's expansion into the Balkan regions. All these disciples for their intrepid service to Christ underwent fierce sufferings and were found worthy of a martyr's crown.

The Eastern Orthodox Church venerates Hermes as both an apostle and a martyr, recognizing his courage in proclaiming the Gospel and his steadfastness under persecution. His feast days are celebrated on April 8 with his fellow martyrs, and on January 4 among the Seventy. The April 8 commemoration joins him with fellow apostles Herodion, Agabus, Rufus, Asyncritus, and Phlegon—the six-fold choir of apostles whose names appear together in the Epistle to the Romans and whose memory the Church honors together.