Patrobas

Holy Apostle Patrobas was one of the Seventy Apostles, bishop of Naples (Neapolis) or of Puteoli (Pozzuoli), mentioned by the Apostle Paul in the Epistle to the Romans. He is commemorated on 5 November by the old calendar (18 November), together with the apostles Hermas, Linus, Gaius and Philologus, and on 4 January (17 January) in the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles. Catholics commemorate him on 4 November.

The New Testament says nothing of him apart from the name. The Apostle Paul, writing to the Romans, sends greetings to Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes and the brethren with them. He was probably a prominent member of the Church of Rome, if he was worthy of the apostle's greeting. In the Lives of the Saints of Saint Demetrius of Rostov it is said that he was bishop in Naples and Puteoli, and in the Biblical Encyclopedia of Archimandrite Nikephoros it is said that he was one of the Seventy and the most zealous of the companions and helpers of the Apostle Paul; by tradition he was bishop of Naples and Puteoli and received the crown of martyrdom for the name of Christ. Another source, following Dorotheus, says that he was bishop in Puteoli.

In the Orthodox Church there is no separate service for the Apostle Patrobas; he is mentioned in the service of the Seventy Apostles, in the third verse of the seventh ode, where it is said that the Apostle Patrobas proclaimed the coming of the Lord in the flesh, guiding the erring to knowledge and enlightening them with the dawn of faith.