Apostle Zenas of the Seventy

The Lawyer of the Epistle to Titus

Zenas appears only once in Scripture, in Paul's letter to Titus: 'Help Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their way; see that they lack nothing' (Titus 3:13). The instruction suggests that Zenas, traveling with Apollos, was a trusted member of the apostolic circle whose journey the local church was to support.

The epithet 'lawyer' has been understood in the Orthodox tradition to mean that Zenas was a learned man who led juridical matters in the church courts. Among commentators more broadly, there is debate over whether the Greek term points to expertise in Jewish law or in Roman law.

Among the Seventy and as Bishop

Orthodox tradition counts Zenas among the Seventy Apostles whom Christ sent out, as recorded in the Gospel of Luke. He is remembered as a disciple and co-worker of the Apostle Paul.

Following his apostolic labors, tradition holds that Zenas became bishop of Diospolis, also known as Lydda, in Palestine. His name is understood as a shortened form of 'Zenodoros.'

Commemoration

The Orthodox Church commemorates Apostle Zenas on September 27, together with the Apostles Mark and Aristarchus, and also remembers him on January 4 within the Synaxis of the Seventy Apostles.