Achaicus ( grc-gre, Ἀχαϊκός , "belonging to Achaia") was a Corinthian Christian who according to the Bible, together with Fortunatus and Stephanas, carried a letter from the

Corinthians The First Epistle to the Corinthians ( grc, Α΄ ᾽Επιστολὴ πρὸς Κορινθίους) is one of the Pauline epistles, part of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and a co-aut ...

St. 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; ...

, and from St. Paul to the Corinthians (1 Corinthians 16:17; cf. also 16:15).

Life

Eastern Orthodox Church The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops vi ...

tradition, Achaicus is also often numbered as 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 ...

, a group of early followers sent out by Jesus in

Luke's gospel The Gospel of Luke), or simply Luke (which is also its most common form of abbreviation). tells of the origins, birth, ministry, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ. Together with the Acts of the Apostles, it makes up a two-vol ...

. The Biblical account does not mention the names of the seventy disciples, but various lists including Achaicus have been compiled since the 7th century, such as in the ''

Orthodox Study Bible ''The Orthodox Study Bible'' (OSB) is an Eastern Orthodox study Bible published by Thomas Nelson in 2008. It features an English translation of the St. Athanasius Academy Septuagint edition for the Old Testament, and utilizes the New King James V ...

''. It's not known whether the three Corinthians walked to Ephesus, a distance of about 900 miles, or crossed the Aegean Sea by ship in two weeks or more. We don't know whether the trip to Ephesus "was a specially commissioned assignment or a regular part of other responsibilities that brought them to the area anyway". But we know for sure they reliably carried two letters and linked a pastor to his people.

Veneration

Achaicus is venerated as saint by

Roman Catholic Church 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 other Christian Churches. In the Orthodox Church, he is commemorated with a feast day on June 15, with his companion Fortunatas. He is also remembered on the Synaxis of 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 ...

on January 4.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Achaicus Of Corinth People in the Pauline epistles 1st-century Greek people Seventy disciples Saints of Roman Corinth First Epistle to the Corinthians People from Corinth