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-pag ...

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 The Coptic Orthodox Church ( cop, Ϯⲉⲕ̀ⲕⲗⲏⲥⲓⲁ ⲛ̀ⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ⲛ̀ⲟⲣⲑⲟⲇⲟⲝⲟⲥ, translit=Ti.eklyseya en.remenkimi en.orthodoxos, lit=the Egyptian Orthodox Church; ar, الكنيسة القبطي� ...

. Finally, he is commemorated on January 4 among the Seventy Apostles.

Biblical account

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,

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 et ...

, 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 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 Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

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 Conversion or convert may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman'' * "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series * "The Conversion" ...

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 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 ...

)

References

External links

Jason & Sosipater the Apostles of the 70 & their Companions
( GOARCH)
Analecta BollandianaCatholic 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

Biblical account

Hagiography

See also

References

External links