Ariston of Smyrna ( el, Άριστον, Latin: ''Aristo Smyrnaeus''), also known as Ariston the Elder ( hy, Արիստոն էրիցու.), was an Early Christian, Bishop of Smyrna (modern

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

, Turkey), who allegedly was an eyewitness and disciple of Jesus of Nazareth and a companion of

John the Elder John the Presbyter was an obscure figure of the early Church who is either distinguished from or identified with the Apostle John and/or John of Patmos. He appears in fragments from the church father Papias of Hierapolis as one of the author's ...

Personal Information

Ariston, or Aristion, is known from early traditions (preserved by

Papias of Hierapolis Papias ( el, Παπίας) was a Greek Apostolic Father, Bishop of Hierapolis (modern Pamukkale, Turkey), and author who lived c. 60 – c. 130 AD. He wrote the ''Exposition of the Sayings of the Lord'' ( el, Λογίων Κυριακῶν Ἐξ ...

) as an elder from whom Papias learned apostolic traditions. Aristion is identified in

Ado of Vienne Ado of Vienne ( la, Ado Viennensis, french: Adon de Vienne; died 16 December 874) was archbishop of Vienne in Lotharingia from 850 until his death and is venerated as a saint. He belonged to a prominent Frankish family and spent much of his early ...

(874 CE) as "one of the seventy-two disciples of Christ." Very little details are know about his life, Papias, then, inquired of travelers passing through Hierapolis what the surviving disciples of Jesus and the elders—those who had personally known the

Twelve Apostles In Christian theology and ecclesiology, the apostles, particularly the Twelve Apostles (also known as the Twelve Disciples or simply the Twelve), were the primary disciples of Jesus according to the New Testament. During the life and minist ...

—were saying. One of these disciples was Aristion, and another was

, usually identified (despite Eusebius' protest) with

John the Evangelist John the Evangelist ( grc-gre, Ἰωάννης, Iōánnēs; Aramaic: ܝܘܚܢܢ; Ge'ez: ዮሐንስ; ar, يوحنا الإنجيلي, la, Ioannes, he, יוחנן cop, ⲓⲱⲁⲛⲛⲏⲥ or ⲓⲱ̅ⲁ) is the name traditionally given ...

, residing in nearby Ephesus, of whom Papias was a hearer;Irenaeus
''Adv. Haer.'' 5.33
4. The original Greek is preserved apud Eusebius

1. Papias frequently cited both.Eusebius

7, 14. From the daughters of Philip, who settled in Hierapolis, Papias learned still other traditions.Eusebius
''Hist. Eccl.'' 3.39
9. This close association with John could mean that Ariston too was young during Jesus's ministry. However his name is not mentioned in any later tradition of the

Seventy disciples The seventy disciples or seventy-two disciples, known in the Eastern Christian traditions as the seventy apostles or seventy-two apostles, were early emissaries of Jesus mentioned in the Gospel of Luke. The correct Greek terminology is evdomik ...

Relation to the Gospel of Mark

One Armenian manuscript, Matenadaran 2374 (formerly known as Etchmiadsin 229), made in 989, features a note, written between Mark 16:8 and 16:9, ''Ariston eritzou,'' that is, "By Ariston the Elder/Priest". Implying that the authorship of the long ending of Mark would be traditionally attributed to this first century Bishop. This would explain why Church Fathers like

Irenaeus of Lyon Irenaeus (; grc-gre, Εἰρηναῖος ''Eirēnaios''; c. 130 – c. 202 AD) was a Greek bishop noted for his role in guiding and expanding Christian communities in the southern regions of present-day France and, more widely, for the dev ...

already received the longer ending as canonical part of the Gospel. Others contest this association and claim that this could well refer Ariston of Pella another unknown Ariston instead.

References

{{reflist Church Fathers People from İzmir 1st-century bishops in Roman Anatolia Ancient Smyrnaeans 1st-century Romans Eastern Orthodox bishops of Smyrna