Troparion -in Tone 3
Holy Apostles, Erastus, Olympas, Herodion,
Sosipater, Quartus and Tertius,
entreat the merciful God,
to grant our souls forgiveness of transgressions.
Kontakion in Tone 2
Illumined by divine light, O holy apostles,
you wisely destroyed the works of idolatry.
When you caught all the pagans you brought them to the Master
and taught them to glorify the Trinity.
The Holy Apostles Erastus, Sosipater, Quartus
and Tertius were disciples of Saint Paul. The Apostle to the Gentiles
speaks of them in the Epistle to the Romans, "And Erastus, the
city treasurer, greets you, and Quartus, a brother" (Romans 16:
23).
Saint Tertius was the second bishop (after
Saint Sosipater) in Iconium, where he converted many pagans to Christ,
and ended his life as a martyr. The Apostle Paul mentions him in the
Epistle to the Romans (Rom. 16:22).
The Apostle Sosipater was a native of Patra,
Achaia. He is thought to be the same Sosipater mentioned in Acts 20:4.
They both became disciples of St Paul, who even called them his kinsmen
(Rom 16:21). St John Chrysostom (Homily 32 on Romans) says that this is
the same Jason who is mentioned in Acts 17:5-9. St Jason was made bishop
in his native city of Tarsus, and St Sosipater in Iconium. They traveled
west preaching the Gospel, and in 63 they reached the island of Kerkyra
[Korfu] in the Ionian Sea near Greece.
