Aristarchus or Aristarch ( grc-gre, Ἀρίσταρχος ''Aristarkhos''), "a

Macedonian Macedonian most often refers to someone or something from or related to Macedonia. Macedonian(s) may specifically refer to: People Modern * Macedonians (ethnic group), a nation and a South Slavic ethnic group primarily associated with North M ...

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 ...

" ( Acts 27:2), was an

early Christian Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish d ...

mentioned in a few passages of the New Testament. He accompanied

Saint 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; ...

on his journey to Rome. Along with Gaius, another Roman Macedonian, Aristarchus was seized by the mob at

Ephesus Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἔφεσος, Éphesos; tr, Efes; may ultimately derive from hit, 𒀀𒉺𒊭, Apaša) was a city in ancient Greece on the coast of Ionia, southwest of present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in t ...

and taken into the theater ( Acts 19:29). Later, Aristarchus returned with Paul from Greece to Asia (). At

Caesarea Caesarea () ( he, קֵיסָרְיָה, ), ''Keysariya'' or ''Qesarya'', often simplified to Keisarya, and Qaysaria, is an affluent town in north-central Israel, which inherits its name and much of its territory from the ancient city of Caesare ...

, he embarked with Paul on a ship of Edremit (Adramyttium) bound for

Myra Myra ( grc, Μύρα, ''Mýra'') was a Lycian, then ancient Greek, then Greco-Roman, then Byzantine Greek, then Ottoman town in Lycia, which became the small Turkish town of Kale, renamed Demre in 2005, in the present-day Antalya Province of ...

in Lycia (); whether he traveled with him from there to Rome is not recorded. Aristarchus is described as Paul's "fellow prisoner" and "fellow laborer" in and , respectively.

Background

In Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholic tradition, Aristarchus is identified as one of the Seventy Apostles and bishop of

Apamea Apamea or Apameia ( grc, Απάμεια) is the name of several Hellenistic cities in western Asia, after Apama, the Sogdian wife of Seleucus I Nicator, several of which are also former bishoprics and Catholic titular see. Places called Apamea in ...

. He is commemorated as a saint and martyr on

January 4 Events Pre-1600 *46 BC – Julius Caesar fights Titus Labienus in the Battle of Ruspina. * 871 – Battle of Reading: Æthelred of Wessex and his brother Alfred are defeated by a Danish invasion army. 1601–1900 *1649 – Engli ...

, April 14, and September 27. He is mentioned in the Roman Martyrology on August 4. Aristarchus son of Aristarchus, a politarch of Thessalonica (39/38 BC?) may be the same person with Aristarchus.An annotated bibliography of 1 and 2 Thessalonians By Jeffrey A. D. Weima,

Stanley E. Porter Stanley E. Porter (born November 23, 1956) is a Canadian–American academic and New Testament scholar, specializing in the Koine Greek grammar and linguistics of the New Testament. Life and career Porter was born in Long Beach, California, on ...

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References

External links

''Smith's Bible Dictionary'', "Aristarchus"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aristarchus Of Thessalonica Seventy disciples People in Acts of the Apostles People in the Pauline epistles 1st-century bishops in the Roman Empire Saints of Roman Thessalonica Christian saints from the New Testament Politarchs of Roman Thessalonica Apamea, Syria