Jason of Thessalonica was a Jewish convert and early Christian believer mentioned in the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
in and .
Jason is venerated as a saint in
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
and
Orthodox
Orthodox, Orthodoxy, or Orthodoxism may refer to:
Religion
* Orthodoxy, adherence to accepted norms, more specifically adherence to creeds, especially within Christianity and Judaism, but also less commonly in non-Abrahamic religions like Neo-pa ...
traditions. His feast day is July 12 in the Roman Catholic Church, April 28 in the Slavic Christian tradition, and April 29 in the Greek Christian tradition. His feast is celebrated on
the 3rd of Pashons in the
Coptic Orthodox Church. Finally, he is commemorated on January 4 among the
Seventy Apostles
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 evdomikont ...
.
Biblical account
In
Acts
The Acts of the Apostles ( grc-koi, Πράξεις Ἀποστόλων, ''Práxeis Apostólōn''; la, Actūs Apostolōrum) is the fifth book of the New Testament; it tells of the founding of the Christian Church and the spread of its message ...
17 his house in
Thessalonica
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
was used as a refuge by the apostles
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
,
Silas
Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey.
Name and ...
, and
Timothy. Some Thessalonian Jews were annoyed with Paul's remarks in the synagogue and not finding him and Silas, hauled Jason before the city authorities, where he was fined and released.
[Doyle-Nelson, Theresa. "St. Jason ― A Thessalonian Friend and Helper to Paul", ''National Catholic Register'', July 12, 2019]
/ref>
Paul referred to Jason, Lucius and Sosipater
Sosipater ( el, Σωσίπατρος) is a person mentioned in the New Testament, in Romans 16:21. He is probably the same person as Sopater mentioned in Acts 20:4.
In church tradition, he is known as Sosipater of Iconium, and is numbered among t ...
as his "countrymen" ( gr, οἱ συγγενεῖς μου) 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 ...
16:21, which has led some to call him "Jason of Tarsus" (since Paul was from Tarsus). However, most scholars understand Paul's use of "countryman" here and elsewhere to mean "fellow Jew". Both references to Jason point 'very probably' to the same person. Vlatades Monastery
Vlatades Monastery or Vlatadon Monastery ( el, Μονή Βλατάδων) is a monastery in Ano Poli, Thessaloniki, Greece. Built in the 14th century during the late era of the Byzantine Empire, it is a UNESCO World Heritage Site
A World ...
in Thessaloniki is believed to have been built on the former site of Jason's house.[
]
Hagiography
The literary source (hagiographic legend) of the life of Jason and Sosipater was newly edited and translated by B. Kindt as appendix to "La version longue du récit légendaire de l'évangelisation de Corfou par les saints Jason and Sosipatre," Analecta Bollandiana 116 (1998) 259–295.
Born in Tarsus, he was appointed 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 ca ...
of Tarsus by the Apostle Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
. With the apostle Sosipater he traveled to the island of Corfu
Corfu (, ) or Kerkyra ( el, Κέρκυρα, Kérkyra, , ; ; la, Corcyra.) is a Greek island in the Ionian Sea, of the Ionian Islands, and, including its small satellite islands, forms the margin of the northwestern frontier of Greece. The isl ...
,[ where they built a church in honor of the Apostle Stephen the Protomartyr and converted many ]pagan
Paganism (from classical Latin ''pāgānus'' "rural", "rustic", later "civilian") is a term first used in the fourth century by early Christians for people in the Roman Empire who practiced polytheism, or ethnic religions other than Judaism. ...
s to the Christian faith. Seeing this, the king of Corfu threw them into prison where they converted seven other prisoners to the Christian faith: Saturninus, Jakischolus, Faustianus, Januarius, Marsalius, Euphrasius and Mammius. The king had those seven put to death in boiling pitch for their faith.
The king's daughter, the virgin Cercyra, having watched these holy apostles being tortured, turned to the Christian faith and distributed all her jewels to the poor. The king became angry and put her in prison, yet she would not deny Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, names and titles), was ...
. So he had the prison burned, but she remained unharmed. Many people were baptized
Baptism (from grc-x-koine, βάπτισμα, váptisma) is a form of ritual purification—a characteristic of many religions throughout time and geography. In Christianity, it is a Christian sacrament of initiation and adoption, almost ...
upon seeing this miracle
A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...
. He then had her killed with arrows while tied to a tree.
Many believers fled to a nearby island to get away from the enraged king, but as he chased them, his boat sank. The new king embraced the Christian faith and in baptism received the name Sebastian. From then on Sosipater and Jason freely preached the Gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...
and built up the Church in Corfu until a very old age, when they gave up their souls to God.Apostle Jason, of the Seventy and those with him
April 28 ( OCA)
See also
* Acts 17
Acts 17 is the seventeenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the second missionary journey of Paul, together with Silas and Timothy. The book containing this chapter is anonymous, but earl ...
* First Epistle to the Thessalonians
The First Epistle to the Thessalonians is a Pauline epistle of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle, and is addressed to the church in Thessalonica, in modern-day Greece. It is likely among th ...
* Sosipater
Sosipater ( el, Σωσίπατρος) is a person mentioned in the New Testament, in Romans 16:21. He is probably the same person as Sopater mentioned in Acts 20:4.
In church tradition, he is known as Sosipater of Iconium, and is numbered among t ...
* Lucius of Cyrene
Lucius ( el, Λούκιος ''Loukios''; ett, Luvcie) is a male given name derived from ''Lucius'' (abbreviated ''L.''), one of the small group of common Latin forenames (''praenomina'') found in the culture of ancient Rome. Lucius derives from L ...
* 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 of 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 pur ...
''
References
External links
Jason & Sosipater the Apostles of the 70 & their Companions
(GOARCH
The Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, headquartered in New York City, is an eparchy of the Ecumenical Patriarchate of Constantinople. Its current primate is Archbishop Elpidophoros of America.
Archbishop
On May 11, 2019, the church's Holy ...
)
Analecta Bollandiana
Catholic Online: Jason of Tarsus
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jason
Seventy disciples
Christian saints from the New Testament
Saints from Roman Anatolia
1st-century bishops in Roman Anatolia
People from Tarsus, Mersin
People in Acts of the Apostles
People in the Pauline epistles
1st-century Jews