Sopater of Berea

Sopater, also called Sosipater, was a Christian of Berea in Macedonia, in the first century, the son of Pyrrhus, mentioned in the Acts of the Apostles as a companion of the Apostle Paul on his leaving Macedonia. He is venerated as a saint in the Orthodox Church and commemorated on 29 April.

In Acts 20:4 it is said that Sopater, together with Aristarchus and Secundus of Thessalonica, Gaius of Derbe, Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia, accompanied Paul out of Macedonia, after a group of Jews had plotted against him. Then they sailed from Philippi to Alexandria Troas, where they met Paul, who had gone by land. According to the Sinaitic codex, Sopater was the son of one Pyrrhus. The Greek source shows him returning from Paul's third missionary journey, from Greece toward Asia Minor.

It is commonly accepted that Sopater is the kinsman of Paul named in the Epistle to the Romans as Sosipater, though some authors think that the words "son of Pyrrhus" were added to distinguish Sopater from Sosipater.