Evodius

Saint Evodius
Bishop of Antioch
Diocese	Antioch
See	Antioch
In office	Circa 53-66 A.D.
Predecessor	Peter I
Successor	Ignatius of Antioch
Personal details
Died	Circa 66 A.D. Antioch, Syria, Roman Empire
Sainthood
Feast day	6 May (Catholic Church) 7 September (Eastern Orthodox Church)
Venerated in	Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodoxy Assyrian Church of the East Ancient Church of the East
Attributes	Bishop

Evodius or Euodias (died c. 69) was an Early Christian bishop of Antioch, succeeding Peter. He is regarded as one of the first identifiable Christians, and is venerated as a saint.

Biography

Little is known of the life of Evodius. At the time, Antioch was an opulent and cosmopolitan city where both Hellenized Jews and pagans were influenced by monotheism. Peter became the bishop of Antioch and led the church there.

Evodius was one of the 72 disciples of Christ.^[1] He eventually succeeded Peter as bishop of Antioch when Peter left for Rome.^[2]

Evodius was bishop of Antioch until 66 AD, and was succeeded by Ignatius of Antioch. Catholic tradition says it is likely that Evodius died of natural causes, however, the Eastern Orthodox tradition holds that he was martyred under Emperor Nero in 66 AD.^[3] As one of the first pagans to come to the new church, he is venerated as a saint in the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox Church, Oriental Orthodox Church, as well as the Assyrian Church of the East. His feast day is 6 May in the Catholic Church and 7 September in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

It has been claimed that in one of his many writings, Evodius asserts that the Virgin Mary gave birth to Jesus Christ, the Saviour, when she was fifteen. However, no known writings of Evodius survive today.

Notes

This page was last edited on 30 March 2024, at 09:21