The Apostles of the Seventy
The five saints belong to the Seventy (or Seventy-Two) Disciples sent out by Christ, distinct from the Twelve. Much of what is recorded of them comes from tradition rather than detailed biography. An early list attributed to Hippolytus of Rome (3rd century), titled On the Seventy Apostles, assigns each of them an episcopal see, though it provides little detail beyond their office and region.
In Orthodox tradition these apostles, grouped with Aristobulus, are remembered collectively as 'treasures of the Holy Spirit and rays of the Sun of glory.'
Stachys, Bishop of Byzantium
Stachys is mentioned once in the New Testament, where the Apostle Paul greets him as 'my dear friend' (Romans 16:9). According to tradition, the Apostle Andrew ordained him as the second Bishop of Byzantium, a position he is said to have held for sixteen years.
He is reported to have founded a church at Argyropolis (Argyropouli), where people gathered to hear him preach and where he converted many to the Christian faith. Beyond his single scriptural mention, the accounts of his life rest on tradition. He is venerated in both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Churches.
Amplias (Ampliatus), Bishop of Odessus
Amplias, or Ampliatus, was a Roman Christian whom Paul greets as 'Ampliatus, whom I love in the Lord' (Romans 16:8). The Eastern Orthodox Church numbers him among the Seventy, and tradition holds that he became a follower of the Apostle Andrew.
He is said to have served as bishop of Odessus (modern Varna, Bulgaria), and according to tradition he and his companions ultimately died as martyrs. The Orthodox Church commemorates him with a Troparion and Kontakion.
Apelles, Bishop of Heraclea
Apelles of Heraklion was a first-century bishop and saint numbered among the Seventy. He is recorded as bishop of Heraclea in Trachis, though the Hippolytus list instead names him bishop of Smyrna.
Tradition relates that he assisted the Apostle Andrew alongside the other apostles greeted by Paul in Romans 16:8-11. Historical references to him include St. Nikolai Velimirovic's Prologue from Ohrid and J. B. Lightfoot's The Apostolic Fathers (1891).
Narcissus, Bishop of Athens
Narcissus was a first-century Bishop of Athens, ordained according to tradition by the Apostle Philip and numbered among the Seventy. He is named in Paul's greeting in Romans 16:8-11 and is said to have assisted the Apostle Andrew alongside his fellow apostles.
Tradition records that he succeeded Dionysius the Areopagite as Bishop of Athens and was in turn succeeded by Publius of Athens.
Urban, Bishop in Macedonia
Urban is numbered among the Seventy Apostles and is greeted by Paul in Romans 16:8-11. According to tradition, the Apostle Andrew ordained him bishop in Macedonia, where he labored alongside his companions.
He is said to have died as a martyr in the first century. He is venerated by the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic Church, and other Christian communions.
Veneration and Feast Days
The five apostles are commemorated together on October 31, the day on which the Orthodox Church also remembers Aristobulus of the Seventy, brother of the Apostle Barnabas, who is said to have proclaimed the Gospel in Britain.
Several of them are additionally commemorated on January 4 with the general Synaxis of the Seventy Disciples. In the Roman Catholic calendar, Urban is observed on July 13.
