Apostle 1st century

Apostles and Deacons Prochorus Nicanor, Timon, and Parmenas of the Seventy

Also known as Prochorus · Nicanor · Timon · Parmenas

Four of the seven deacons chosen by the apostles in Jerusalem to serve the tables, numbered also among the Seventy, who preached the Gospel and ended their lives in the apostolic labor.

Feast Day

July 28

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Commemorated as

The Holy, Glorious and All-Praised Apostles and Deacons Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, and Parmenas of the Seventy

Come to them for

Missionary Work

Life

Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, and Parmenas were among the seven men "full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom" whom the twelve Apostles chose and appointed as deacons in the earliest Jerusalem community, as recorded in Acts 6:1-6. They were ordained alongside Stephen, Philip, and Nicolaus to serve the practical needs of the church so that the Apostles could devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.

All four are also numbered among the Seventy, the wider company of disciples sent out by Christ, and are commemorated together on July 28. They are likewise remembered on January 4 in the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles. From their service at the common tables in Jerusalem they went out to preach the Gospel, and tradition holds that each ended his life in the apostolic labor.

Timeline 2 moments Read Hide

1st century Chosen as deacons in Jerusalem The twelve Apostles selected seven men full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom and appointed them to serve as deacons (Acts 6:1-6). Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, and Parmenas were among these first seven, together with Stephen, Philip, and Nicolaus.
1st century Numbered among the Seventy and sent to preach Counted also among the Seventy disciples, the four went out from Jerusalem to proclaim the Gospel, and tradition assigns to several of them episcopal sees in the lands where they labored.

Contributions & Legacy

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The Deacons of Acts 6

As the early Christian community in Jerusalem grew, a dispute arose over the daily distribution to widows. In response the Apostles called the faithful together and directed them to select seven men of good repute, full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, to take charge of this service. The men chosen were Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus, who were set before the Apostles and ordained by the laying on of hands (Acts 6:1-6).

By holy tradition the four commemorated here were also among the Seventy disciples sent out by Christ, and so they hold a place both among the first deacons and among the wider apostolic company. The Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles on January 4 gathers their memory together with that of their fellow disciples.

Prochorus

Tradition relates that Prochorus first accompanied the Apostle Peter, by whom he was made bishop of Nicomedia in Bithynia. He later became a companion and coworker of the Apostle John the Theologian and was banished with him to the island of Patmos, where John received and wrote the Book of Revelation; in Orthodox iconography Prochorus is therefore depicted as the scribe of John, transcribing the Apocalypse.

After his return he is said to have preached in Antioch, converting pagans to Christ, and there to have received a martyr's crown in the first century. Variant traditions also connect him with the see of Antioch.

Nicanor, Timon, and Parmenas

Less is recorded of the other three. One tradition holds that Nicanor died at the time of the martyrdom of the Archdeacon Stephen, sharing in the persecution that followed Stephen's death.

Early lists associated with Hippolytus assign Timon the see of Bostra and name Parmenas bishop of Soli, placed by various accounts either in Cyprus or in Asia Minor. All are remembered as first-century laborers of the apostolic age.

Commemorated with Read Hide

The Seventy Apostles

Commemorated together · Jan 4

Notes

Of the Seventy and of the first seven deacons (Acts 6).

Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints