Died 54 AD, Byzantium | ||
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Stachys the Apostle (Greek: Στάχυς "ear-spike"), was the second bishop of Byzantium, from AD 38 to AD 54. He seemed to be closely connected to Saint Andrew and Saint Paul. Eusebius quotes Origen as saying that Andrew had preached in Asia Minor and in Scythia, along the Black Sea as far as the Volga and Kiev, hence he became a patron saint of Romania and Russia. According to tradition, Saint Andrew founded the See of Byzantium in 38, installing Stachys as bishop (the only bishopric in that neighbourhood before that time had been established at Heraclea). This See would later develop into the Patriarchate of Constantinople, having Apostle Andrew as its Patron Saint. It was not clear if Stachys was the same person as the one Paul calls "dear" in the Epistle to the Romans (Rom. 16:9).
His feast day is on October 31.