Apostle 1st century

Apostle Hermes of the Seventy

1st century

Also known as Hermes of Dalmatia

One of the brethren greeted by the Apostle Paul (Rom 16:14); by tradition bishop of Dalmatia.

Feast Day

March 8

Also Apr 8, Nov 5

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Commemorated as

The Holy and All-Praised Apostle Hermes of the Seventy, Bishop of Dalmatia

Life

Hermes is venerated as one of the Seventy Apostles, the wider circle of disciples sent out by Christ beyond the Twelve. He is identified with the Hermes greeted by the Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans (16:14), and by tradition he served as bishop in Dalmatia.

Little detailed biography survives. The Orthodox tradition remembers him as a first-century laborer of the apostolic generation who carried the Christian message into the region of Dalmatia on the eastern Adriatic coast. The Orthodox Church in America commemorates him on March 8, recording that he reposed in peace.

Because his name was borne by more than one figure of the early Church, sources take care to distinguish him from another Apostle of the Seventy named Hermas who is associated with Philippopolis in Thrace.

Timeline 3 moments Read Hide

1st century Greeted by Paul in Romans Hermes is named among the believers the Apostle Paul greets in his Epistle to the Romans (16:14); tradition numbers him among the Seventy Apostles.
1st century Bishop in Dalmatia By tradition Hermes served as bishop in Dalmatia, on the eastern Adriatic coast, where one account holds that he succeeded Titus.
1st century Repose According to the Orthodox Church in America, Hermes reposed in peace.

Contributions & Legacy

2 contributions Read Hide

Identity and Apostolic Mission

Hermes is numbered among the Seventy Disciples and is usually identified with the Hermes named by the Apostle Paul in Romans 16:14, where Paul sends greetings to a group of believers at Rome. From this single scriptural mention the Church remembers him as one of Paul's co-workers in the apostolic generation.

According to tradition he served as bishop in Dalmatia, a province along the eastern shore of the Adriatic. One strand of the tradition holds that he succeeded Titus as Bishop of Dalmatia, linking his ministry to the apostolic mission established in that region.

Commemoration

The Orthodox Church in America commemorates the Apostle Hermes on March 8 and records that he reposed in peace. In the broader liturgical tradition he is also remembered on April 8, where he is named together with fellow apostles of the Seventy, and on January 4 in the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles.

Liturgical hymnography commemorates him in the company of other apostles of the Seventy, among them Herodion, Agabus, Rufus, Asyncritus, and Phlegon. The Synaxarion compiled by Hippolyte Delehaye (1902) records that he appears in some witnesses under the name Ermylos.

Commemorated with Read Hide

The Seventy Apostles

Commemorated together · Jan 4

Notes

One of the Seventy Apostles; commemorated in the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles (Jan 4). Distinct from the Apostle Hermas of the Seventy (Philippopolis).

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints