Apostle Aristobulus of the Seventy the Bishop of Britain

Commemorated on March 16

The Holy Apostle Aristobulus of the Seventy was born on Cyprus. He and his brother, the holy Apostle Barnabas of the Seventy, accompanied the holy Apostle Paul on his journeys. Saint Aristobulus is mentioned by the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Romans (Rom 16:10).

Saint Paul made Aristobulus a bishop and sent him to preach the Gospel in Britain, where he converted many to Christ. He endured the torments and malice of the pagans, and eventually baptized them.

Saint Aristobulus died in Britain among the people he had evangelized. His memory is celebrated on October 31 and also on the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles January 4.

The Orthodox Church in America

Archpriest Andrew Phillips writes of the apostle Aristobulus in Orthodox England (vol. 8,4):

From Cyprus and one of the Seventy, he [the Apostle Aristobulus] was the brother of St Barnabas and is mentioned in Romans 16, 10. Some say that he was the father-in-law of the Apostle Paul. In any case, the Eastern Lives of the Saints quite specifically affirm that he was sent by the Apostle Paul to preach in Britain, inhabited by “a very warlike and fierce race,” in particular in the Isles of Scilly and Cornwall. Here he toiled much and suffered from cruel and unbelieving people. He was beaten, dragged as a criminal along streets and suffered misfortune, malice and mockery. Finally, local people accepted from him the Light of Christ. He taught them the Faith, baptised them, built churches and ordained priests and deacons, reposing in Britain. Some sources add that he was also martyred in Britain, but we do not need to believe the Cypriot folklore that he was eaten by cannibals. Accounts of these events can be found in the writings of Haleca, Bishop of Augusta, and Dorotheus of Tyre.

As regards folk memory, the British Achau, or Genealogies of the Saints, say that St Aristobulus was known as Arwystli Hen (the Elder) and that he came to Britain with others, Jewish converts, and also his own son, called ‘Manaw’. An area on the River Severn in what was Montgomeryshire in Wales used to be called ‘Arwystli’, for this was said to be the site of his martyrdom. St Aristobulus is feasted on 15/28 March in the Greek Churches and 16/29 March in the other Orthodox Churches.

3/29/2018

See also
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Saint Alban of Verulamium, Protomartyr of Britain Saint Alban of Verulamium, Protomartyr of Britain
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Holy Hierarch Chad of Lichfield, Apostle of Mercia, Wonderworker Holy Hierarch Chad of Lichfield, Apostle of Mercia, Wonderworker
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Holy Hierarch Aidan of Lindisfarne, Apostle of Northumbria and Wonderworker Holy Hierarch Aidan of Lindisfarne, Apostle of Northumbria and Wonderworker
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The first missionary who came from Iona was Corman, but he was very stern with the Angles and could not speak their language, so he soon had to go back. On his return to Iona, Corman told the brethren: “What a hopeless task it is to preach to these savage and stubborn Angles!” One of the monks, named Aidan, answered him gently: “Brother, you were probably too strict with these illiterate people.” So it was decided to send Aidan to Northumbria.
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Indeed, spiritual progress can only be made through the Cross, through sacrifice. Wherever there is no sacrifice, there the Church becomes a mere institution, a ritual, an empty form. But where there is sacrifice, martyrdom, the Cross, there is spiritual life.
Bede’s World: Early Christianity in the British Isles Bede’s World: Early Christianity in the British Isles Bede’s World: Early Christianity in the British Isles Bede’s World: Early Christianity in the British Isles
Fr. John Nankivell, pastor of the Greek Orthodox Church of the Nativity of the Mother of God in Walsall, West Midlands, spent over thirty years teaching chemistry and religious studies before retiring as principal of Joseph Chamberlain College in Central Birmingham to take on a full-time ministry. His first book, Saint Wilfrid, on Wilfrid of York was published in 2002, and he has served as chaplain on a number of occasions to the annual Friends of Orthodoxy on Iona pilgrimage.
Comments
Chris Robinson 4/23/2024 3:23 pm
Britain got Orthodoxy 1AD before the Russians who came into it around 980AD. Then the Roman church came 500AD and amalgamated. When the British King left the Roman Church he remained in a church and was restoring the Orthodox rule . So it cannot be a Protestantism or reformation as people know it, since he disliked Luther and Britain was first primarily converted by Orthodox Monks.
Editor3/30/2018 10:28 am
Justin: note that the author says, "Some say that he was the father-in-law..." There is nothing in New Testament that would argue for or against St. Paul having been married, only that when he was writing his epistles he did not have a wife. That does not mean that he never had a wife. She might have died, or they might have voluntarily separated. Although we know that the apostle Paul was celibate, the only disciple of Christ whom the holy fathers repeatedly call a "virgin" is St. John the Theologian.
Justin3/29/2018 8:40 pm
This the first hint I have ever heard of St. Paul having a "father-in-law", i.e. that he was married. Is this not absurd? Why would this be mentioned?
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