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Kontakion in tone 8
Let us thankfully praise the wise Apostles
Stáchys, Amplías, Úrbanus, Narcíssus, Apélles, and Aristobúlus,
those treasures of the Holy Spirit and rays of the Sun of glory,
who were gathered together by the grace of our God.

The Holy Apostles of the Seventy: Stachys; Apelles, Bishop of Heraclea; Amplias, Bishop of Odyssopolis; Urbanus, Bishop of Macedonia; Narcissus, Bishop of Athens; and Aristobulus, Bishop of Britain.

After the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, a group of seventy men banded together who pledged to carry the message of salvation throughout the world. They were called the “Ebdomekonta,” from the Greek word meaning seventy. It is not unlikely that the original seventy swelled in numbers as converts joined this army of Christ in ever increasing numbers. The remarkable group that formed to leave, not only the Holy Land but the continental limits of Europe as well, were introducing the New Faith to new frontiers, making them pioneers as well as missionaries.

Of these holy Apostles mentioned above, Stachys, who was consecrated by the Apostle Andrew, became the first Bishop of Byzantium, later to be called Constantinople. Having shepherded his people for sixteen years, he reposed in the Lord. As for the others, each one shone forth in the Episcopal see appointed to him.