Apostle Sosthenes of the Seventy

Scriptural References and Identity

The name Sosthenes appears twice in the New Testament. In the Acts of the Apostles he is the ruler of the synagogue at Corinth who is beaten before the judgment seat of Gallio when the proconsul refuses to act against Paul. In the opening greeting of the First Epistle to the Corinthians, Paul writes in the name of himself "and Sosthenes our brother."

Christian tradition, following early writers, identifies these two as the same person, holding that the synagogue ruler was converted and became a fellow-worker of Paul. The sources note that this identification is traditional and not universally regarded as certain. By tradition Sosthenes was later a bishop, with the sources naming Colophon in Asia Minor, and is counted among the Seventy.

Commemoration

Sosthenes is honored among the Seventy Apostles and is commemorated on several dates in the church calendar, including January 4 with the whole company of the Seventy and December 8 with a group of fellow apostles. On March 30 he is commemorated together with the Apostles Apollos, Cephas, Caesar, and Epaphroditus.