SYNAXIS OF THE SEVENTY APOSTLES

The memory of all Seventy Apostles is celebrated once a year. Theologically, it is extremely relevant that it precedes the Epiphany. In Orthodox Churches that follow the Julian calendar, the Synaxis of the Seventy falls on January 17. This date is easy and very important to remember.

1 On the eve of Epiphany, the Orthodox Church celebrates the memory of the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles. The calling of the seventy disciples is described in the 10th chapter of the Gospel of Luke. “After this, the Lord chose seventy other disciples and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go. He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field’” (Luke 10:1). According to ancient tradition and the consensus of the Church Fathers, Luke himself was one of the seventy.

2 According to Eusebius of Caesarea (260–340), “the names of the Apostles of the Savior are known to everyone from the Gospels; but there is no list of the seventy disciples.” In the memory of the Church, Eusebius is called the “Father of Church History.” He personally knew many martyrs, saints, and teachers of that magnificent ancient time. Therefore, each of his testimonies is very significant. Nevertheless, ancient menologies, as well as works attributed to Hippolytus of Rome (170–235) and Dorotheus of Tyre (255–362), contain lists of the seventy apostles. The names in these lists do not always coincide, and in this sense, Eusebius is right. It has not been possible to preserve an accurate list of names. “If you think about it, you will see that Christ had more than seventy disciples,” he wrote (History 1:12).

3 The number 70 is deeply symbolic. It is closely connected with the history of the biblical people. First, in the Book of Numbers, Moses appointed 70 elders to assist in judging and governing the people. “And the Lord came down in the cloud, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and gave it to the seventy men,” so that “they might bear the burden of the people with Moses, and he should not bear it alone,” according to the Pentateuch (Numbers 11:16–17; 24–25). Second, the Babylonian captivity of God’s chosen people lasted seventy years. It served as a purification. As archaeology attests, there were no longer any traces of idolatry among God’s chosen people after it. Finally, the first translation of the Holy Scriptures into Greek was done by seventy interpreters. According to the Church Fathers, this translation was done by the power of the Holy Spirit. Like the biblical text itself, it was divinely inspired. Even the discrepancies found in it with the original text are not accidental, but are themselves prophecies. The Greek name for this translation is Septuagint, which means “translation of seventy.”

4 Relevantly, some ancient lists of the Gospel text say that there were seventy-two apostles. This was pointed out by some interpreters of the sacred text. Like 70, the number 72 has a special biblical meaning. According to the beliefs of the ancient Jews, there were 72 pagan nations in the world. The Lord’s choice of 72 Apostles, many of whom were converted from paganism, thus He indicated that the preaching of the Gospel would spread throughout the world. Twelve is the number of the tribes of Israel. The Lord originally called 12 Apostles. At the same time, the number 6 represents the days of creation. Creation is very good. It is blessed by God (cf. Gen. 1:31). Multiplied by 6, the number 12 results in 72. Thus, the world, which was the place of Adam’s expulsion, became a place of salvation thanks to the preaching of the Gospel. Thus, in the Lord Jesus and through the labors of His Apostles by the Holy Spirit, creation and salvation became links in a single life-giving chain, which in theological language is called Apostolic Succession.