Ananias of Damascus
Ananias of Damascus | |
---|---|
Apostle, Disciple, Prophet, and Martyr | |
Born | Unknown (perhaps |
Major shrine | Zoravor Surp Astvatsatsin Church in Yerevan, Armenia |
Feast |
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Ananias of Damascus (
New Testament narrative of Ananias
According to Acts 9:10, Ananias was living in Damascus. In Paul's speech in Acts 22, he describes Ananias as "a devout man according to the law, having a good report of all the Jews" that dwelt in Damascus (Acts 22:12). According to F. F. Bruce, this indicates that he was not one of the refugees from the persecution in Jerusalem described in Acts 8:1.[4]
Healing of Saul
During his
Biblical status by modern scholars
According to Roderick L. Evans, Ananias was a prophet despite being mentioned as a disciple. In his opinion on New Testament prophets, biblical figures who receive a message from God or reveal future events are considered prophets despite alternative titles such as apostle or disciple.[5] Anglican priest and theologian Edward Carus Selwyn recognized Ananias as a prophet as well as one of the seventy disciples and the apostles allocated with different tasks.[6] F. F. Bruce suggests that Ananias "has an honoured place in sacred history, and a special claim upon the gratitude of all who in one way or another have entered into the blessing that stems from the life and work of the great apostle."[7] Ananias is also listed by Hippolytus of Rome and others as one of the seventy disciples whose mission is recorded in Luke 10:1–20.[8]
According to Catholic tradition, Ananias was martyred in Eleutheropolis.[9] A tomb is located below the Zoravor Church in Yerevan, Armenia.
Veneration
Roman Catholicism
In the 2004 edition of Roman Martyrology, Ananias is listed under 25 January as a saint commemorated on the same day as the Feast of the Conversion of St Paul.[10]
Eastern Orthodoxy
The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates Ananias on October 1.[11]
Oriental Orthodoxy
The Coptic Orthodox Church commemorates Ananias on Paoni 27.[12]
See also
- House of Saint Ananias, the supposed house of Ananias in Damascus
References
- ^ Domar: the calendrical and liturgical cycle of the Armenian Apostolic Orthodox Church 2003 A.D. Armenian Orthodox Theological Research Institute, 2002, p. 526.
- ^ Greek lexicon G367, Hebrew lexicon H2608
- ^ Ananias in Acts chapter 9 and chapter 22
- ISBN 0-8028-2505-2.
- ISBN 9781601411563.
- ^ Selwyn, Edward Carus (1901). St. Luke, the prophet. University of Wisconsin-Madison: Macmillan. p. 31.
Ananias of Damascus a prophet?.
- ISBN 0-8028-2505-2.
- ^ Hippolytus, On the Seventy Apostles (See also Seventy disciples for other lists.)
- ^ St. Ananias II
- ^ Martyrologium Romanum, 2004, Vatican Press (Typis Vaticanis), page 116.
- ^ "Apostle Ananias of the Seventy". www.oca.org. Archived from the original on 2023-08-27. Retrieved 2023-10-22.
- ^ "Commemorations for Paona 27". www.copticchurch.net. Archived from the original on 2021-10-23. Retrieved 2023-10-23.