Saint Apostle Sosipater
of the Seventy.

Sosipater was a native of Patras in Achaia. Both Sosipater and Jason became disciples of Saint Paul, who called them his kinsmen (Romans 16:21). As one of the Seventy Apostles chosen by Christ for the work of preaching the Gospel, Sosipater was educated in the faith directly under the teaching of the Apostle Paul and numbered among the chosen disciples sent two by two into the world.

Saint Sosipater was made bishop in Iconium by the Apostle Paul himself. He was later succeeded as Bishop of Iconium by Saint Tertius, another of Paul's companions. After shepherding his flock faithfully for many years, Sosipater felt called to further missionary work in regions yet unreached by the Gospel.

In 63 AD, he traveled west preaching the Gospel and reached the island of Kerkyra (Corfu) in the Ionian Sea near Greece. With Apostle Jason, he built a church in the name of the Protomartyr Stephen and baptized many, establishing Christianity on an island that had not yet heard the Good News. Through their preaching and example, they brought countless souls to faith in Christ.

The governor of the island learned of their missionary success and locked them up in prison, where they met seven thieves: Saturninus, Iakischolus, Faustianus, Januarius, Marsalius, Euphrasius and Mammius. The governor ordered the Apostles Jason and Sosipater to be whipped and again locked up in prison. Yet even in their suffering, they did not cease witnessing to Christ, converting the very prisoners held with them.

The succeeding governor gave orders to throw the Apostles Jason and Sosipater into a cauldron of boiling tar. When he beheld them unharmed, he cried out with tears, "O God of Jason and Sosipater, have mercy on me!" Having been set free, the Apostles baptized the governor and gave him the name Sebastian. The miraculous preservation of the two apostles in the boiling tar became a powerful testimony to the truth of their faith, converting even their persecutors.

With the governor Sebastian's help, the Apostles Jason and Sosipater built several churches on the island and increased the flock of Christ by their fervent preaching, continuing to preach the Gospel and build up the Church in Corfu until a very old age, when they gave up their souls to God.

The legacy of Apostle Sosipater is remembered with great reverence in the Eastern Orthodox Church. The Church commemorates Holy Apostles Jason and Sosipater of the Seventy and their companions on Corfu. Sosipater is commemorated on April 28, as well as on November 10 with other Apostles of the Seventy, and on January 4 with the entire group of Seventy Apostles.

In the ancient city of Corfu, a church from the first centuries, built in their honour and bearing inscriptions that mention the Saints by name, verifies the historical account concerning them. The sacred skulls of the Holy Apostles Jason and Sosipater are kept in the Holy Monastery of Venerable Loukas of Boeotia, where they are venerated as precious relics. The faithful continue to honor Sosipater as an enlightener of the islands and a faithful witness to the Gospel of Christ, seeking his intercession for themselves and their communities.

Apostle Sosipater of the Seventy is numbered among the disciples chosen by the Lord and sent forth by Christ to preach the Gospel. A native of Patras in Achaia, he became a disciple of Saint Paul, who even called him his kinsman (Romans 16:21). He is thought to be the same Sosipater mentioned in Acts 20:4..

Saint Sosipater was made bishop in Iconium by the Apostle Paul. In 63 AD, after shepherding his church well for a long time, he traveled west preaching the Gospel and reached the island of Kerkyra (Corfu) in the Ionian Sea near Greece, where he and Apostle Jason built a church in the name of the Protomartyr Stephen and baptized many.

The governor of the island locked them in prison, where they met seven thieves. The governor ordered the Apostles Jason and Sosipater to be whipped and again locked up in prison. The governor succeeding him gave orders to throw the Apostles Jason and Sosipater into a cauldron of boiling tar. When he beheld them unharmed, he cried out with tears, "O God of Jason and Sosipater, have mercy on me!" Having been set free, the Apostles baptized the governor and gave him the name Sebastian.

With his help, the Apostles Jason and Sosipater built several churches on the island and increased the flock of Christ by their fervent preaching, continuing to preach the Gospel and build up the Church in Corfu until a very old age, when they gave up their souls to God. The sacred skulls of the Holy Apostles Jason and Sosipater are kept in the Holy Monastery of Venerable Loukas of Boeotia.