Saint Hermas of Philippopolis was one 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 ...

and was

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

in Philippopolis in

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

(today's Plovdiv,

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedo ...

Hermas Hermas is a masculine given name. Notable people with the name include: * Hermas of Dalmatia (1st century), one of the Seventy Disciples, feast day April 8 * Hermas of Philippopolis (1st century), one of the Seventy Disciples, feast day May 31 * H ...

, the author of ''

The Shepherd of Hermas ''The Shepherd of Hermas'' ( el, Ποιμὴν τοῦ Ἑρμᾶ, ''Poimēn tou Herma''; la, Pastor Hermae), sometimes just called ''The Shepherd'', is a Christian literary work of the late first half of the second century, considered a valuab ...

'', was often identified with him, but that Hermas was a second-generation Christian and lived some time after this Hermas. He is mentioned in

Romans Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

16:14, and his feast day is celebrated on May 31, on November 5 with Apostles Patrobas, Linus,

Gaius Gaius, sometimes spelled ''Gajus'', Kaius, Cajus, Caius, was a common Latin praenomen; see Gaius (praenomen). People * Gaius (jurist) (), Roman jurist *Gaius Acilius *Gaius Antonius *Gaius Antonius Hybrida *Gaius Asinius Gallus *Gaius Asinius P ...

, and Philologus, and on January 4 among the Seventy.

Life

He was wealthy, but fell into poverty because of

sin In a religious context, sin is a transgression against divine law. Each culture has its own interpretation of what it means to commit a sin. While sins are generally considered actions, any thought, word, or act considered immoral, selfish, s ...

and the sins of his sons. He was thus supposedly visited by an

angel In various theistic religious traditions an angel is a supernatural spiritual being who serves God. Abrahamic religions often depict angels as benevolent celestial intermediaries between God (or Heaven) and humanity. Other roles inclu ...

of repentance, who is said to have stayed with him until the end of his life, during which time he wrote ''The Shepherd of Hermas'' He ended his life as a

martyr A martyr (, ''mártys'', "witness", or , ''marturia'', stem , ''martyr-'') is someone who suffers persecution and death for advocating, renouncing, or refusing to renounce or advocate, a religious belief or other cause as demanded by an externa ...

Sources

*St.

Nikolai Velimirovic Nikolai or Nikolay is an East Slavic variant of the masculine name Nicholas. It may refer to: People Royalty * Nicholas I of Russia (1796–1855), or Nikolay I, Emperor of Russia from 1825 until 1855 * Nicholas II of Russia (1868–1918), or Niko ...

, ''The

Prologue from Ohrid The ''Prologue from Ohrid'' was compiled by Saint Nikolai Velimirovic. Bishop Nikolai's work is a compilation of lives of saints, hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpo ...

External links

Biographical links *Apostle Hermas of the Seventy, January 4 ( OCA) *Apostle Hermas of the Seventy, May 31 (OCA) *Apostle Hermes of the Seventy, November 5 (OCA) Writings by Hermas *''Early Christian Writings: The Shepherd of Hermas''

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Hermes Of Philippopolis Seventy disciples Saints from Roman Greece 1st-century Christian martyrs 1st-century bishops in the Roman Empire People from Plovdiv Year of birth unknown Angelic visionaries