Troparion in Tone 4
O holy Apostle Thaddeus, witness of God,
Who appeared in the flesh for our sake,
You brought the light of saving grace to those in darkness
And were revealed as an excellent physician to those in Edessa.
Wherefore shelter those who fervently seek you.
Kontakion in Tone 4
The Church has acquired you as a brilliant Saint ar,
And is ever enlightened by your miracles, O Apostle Thaddeus.
Save those who in faith honor your memory.
Saint Thaddeus, Apostle of the Seventy,
was by descent a Hebrew, and he was born in the Syrian city of Edessa.
The holy Apostle Thaddeus of the Seventy must be distinguished
from Saint Jude, also called Thaddeus or Levi (June 19), who was
one of the Twelve Apostles.
When he came to Jerusalem for a feastday, he
heard the preaching of John the Forerunner. After being baptized by him
in the Jordan, he remained in Palestine. He saw the Savior, and became
His follower. He was chosen by the Lord to be one of the Seventy
Disciples, whom He sent by twos to preach in the cities and places where
He intended to visit (Luke. 10: 1).
After the Ascension of the Savior to Heaven,
Saint Thaddeus preached the good news in Syria and Mesopotamia. He
came preaching the Gospel to Edessa and he converted King Abgar, the
people and the pagan priests to Christ. He backed up his preaching with
many miracles (about which Abgar wrote to the Assyrian emperor Nerses).
He established priests there and built up the Edessa Church.
Prince Abgar wanted to reward Saint
Thaddeus with rich gifts, but he refused and went preaching to other
cities, converting many pagans to the Christian Faith. He went to the
city of Beirut to preach, and he founded a church there. It was in this
city that he peacefully died in the year 44. (The place of his death is
indicated as Beirut in the Slavonic MENAION, but according to other
sources he died in Edessa. According to an ancient Armenian tradition,
Saint Thaddeus, after various tortures, was beheaded by the sword
on December 21 in the Artaz region in the year 50)
