Erastus of Corinth ( el, Ἔραστος, ''Erastos''), also known as Erastus of Paneas, held the political office of

steward Steward may refer to: Positions or roles * Steward (office), a representative of a monarch * Steward (Methodism), a leader in a congregation and/or district * Steward, a person responsible for supplies of food to a college, club, or other ins ...

( el, οἰκονόμος, ''oikonomos''), in

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform, it has been part ...

, according to the

Epistle to the Romans The Epistle to the Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament, and the longest of the thirteen Pauline epistles. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by Paul the Apostle to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of Jes ...

16:23 of 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 Chris ...

. The office is defined as "the manager of household or of household affairs" or, in this context, "treasurer". The

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

uses the translation "chamberlain", while the

New International Version The New International Version (NIV) is an English translation of the Bible first published in 1978 by Biblica (formerly the International Bible Society). The ''NIV'' was created as a modern translation, by Bible scholars using the earliest a ...

uses "director of public works". A person named Erastus mentioned in 2 Timothy 4:20 and Acts 19:22 is often taken to be the same person. According to the tradition of the

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 via ...

, Erastus is numbered among 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 ...

. He served as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Chur ...

and steward of the Church at Jerusalem and later of

Paneas Banias or Banyas ( ar, بانياس الحولة; he, בניאס, label=Modern Hebrew; Judeo-Aramaic, Medieval Hebrew: פמייס, etc.; grc, Πανεάς) is a site in the Golan Heights near a natural spring, once associated with the Greek g ...

in Palestine. The Church remembers St. Erastus on January 4 among the Seventy, and on November 10.

Relevant verses

Erastus inscription

In 1929, an inscription mentioning an Erastus was found near a paved area northeast of the theater of Corinth. It has been dated to the mid-first century and reads "Erastus in return for his

aedile ''Aedile'' ( ; la, aedīlis , from , "temple edifice") was an elected office of the Roman Republic. Based in Rome, the aediles were responsible for maintenance of public buildings () and regulation of public festivals. They also had powers to ...

ship paved it at his own expense." ( la, ERASTVS. PRO. AED. S. P. STRAVIT abbreviated for ''ERASTUS PRO AEDILITATE SUA PECUNIA STRAVIT''.) Some New Testament scholars have identified this aedile Erastus with the Erastus mentioned in the Epistle to the Romans, but this is disputed by others. This debate has implications relating to the social status of the members of the Pauline churches.

Hymns

Troparion A troparion (Greek , plural: , ; Georgian: , ; Church Slavonic: , ) in Byzantine music and in the religious music of Eastern Orthodox Christianity is a short hymn of one stanza, or organised in more complex forms as series of stanzas. The wi ...

( Tone 3)Apostle Erastus of the Seventy
/ref> :Holy Apostles, Erastus,

Olympas Olympas ( el, Ὀλυμπᾶς, meaning "heavenly") was a Roman Christian whom Paul of Tarsus saluted () in around 65 AD. Olympas is regarded in the Eastern Orthodox Church as being one of the Seventy disciples The seventy disciples or seventy-t ...

Herodion Herodion is a popular mispronunciation of ''Herodeion'', the Greek name of Herodium, a hill, palace-fortress, and town named after King Herod the Great. Heodion is also an ancient Greek given name that may refer to * Herodion of Antioch (died AD ...

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 ...

, Quartus and Tertius, :entreat the merciful God, :to grant our souls forgiveness of transgressions.

Kontakion The kontakion ( Greek , plural , ''kontakia'') is a form of hymn performed in the Orthodox and the Eastern Catholic liturgical traditions. The kontakion originated in the Byzantine Empire around the 6th century and is closely associated with S ...

(Tone 2) :Illumined by divine light, O holy apostles, :you wisely destroyed the works of

idolatry Idolatry is the worship of a cult image or "idol" as though it were God. In Abrahamic religions (namely Judaism, Samaritanism, Christianity, the Baháʼí Faith, and Islam) idolatry connotes the worship of something or someone other than the ...

. :When you caught all the

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. I ...

s you brought them to the Master :and taught them to glorify the

Trinity The Christian doctrine of the Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the central dogma concerning the nature of God in most Christian churches, which defines one God existing in three coequal, coeternal, consubstantial divine persons: God th ...

. Source: 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 of Ohrid The ''Prologue from Ohrid'' was compiled by Saint Nikolai Velimirovic. 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 normall ...

References

External links

Apostle Erastus of the Seventy
November 10 (

OCA OCA or Oca may refer to: Places and jurisdictions * The ancient town and bishopric Oca in Asia Minor (present Asia Turkey), now a Latin Catholic titular see * The former Spanish Oca, modern Villafranca Montes de Oca, also see of a medieval bis ...

)
Apostle Erastus of the Seventy
January 4 (OCA)
Erastos, Olympas, Herodion, Sosipatros, Quartus, Tertios, Apostles of the 70
(

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 ...

) {{authority control People in Acts of the Apostles People in the Pauline epistles Latin inscriptions in Greece Early Christianity-related inscriptions Epistle to the Romans Seventy disciples Christian saints from the New Testament 1st-century bishops in Roman Achaea Saints of Roman Corinth 1st-century Greek people