The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70
Sopater son of Pyrrhus (Sosipater)
fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) · Delegate of Beroea · Beroea
The Apostolic Age
Who Sopater son of Pyrrhus (Sosipater) was
The Beroean delegate of the Jerusalem collection, son of Pyrrhus — from the city Luke praised as “more noble than those in Thessalonica,” searching the scriptures daily. Very possibly the “Sosipater my kinsman” who greets the Romans from Corinth that same winter (Rom 16:21); the names are one. Later Greek tradition pairs him with Jason of Thessalonica in the evangelization of Corfu.
Common questions
When was Sopater son active?
Sopater son of Pyrrhus (Sosipater) is dated fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Sopater son in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Sopater son?
Sopater son of Pyrrhus (Sosipater) is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Paul and Luke the Evangelist. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Sopater son from?
The archive associates Sopater son of Pyrrhus (Sosipater) with Beroea.
Who were Sopater son’s contemporaries?
The archive links Sopater son of Pyrrhus (Sosipater) to 4 other figures, including Paul of Tarsus, Jason of Thessalonica, Timothy of Lystra and Gaius of Derbe. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Romans 16:21
c. AD 55Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason, and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.Paul · read ↗
Acts 20:4 (as Sopater of Berea)
c. AD 62And there accompanied him into Asia Sopater of Berea.Luke the Evangelist · read ↗
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Sopater son.