Saints Jason

Description

Jason of Thessalonica (Greek: Ίάσων ό Θεσσαλονικεύς) was a Jewish convert and early Christian believer mentioned in the New Testament in Acts 17:5–9 and Romans 16:21.

Jason is venerated as a saint in Catholic and Orthodox traditions. His feast day is 12 July in the Roman Catholic Church, 28 April in the Slavic Christian tradition, and 29 April in the Greek Christian tradition. His feast is celebrated on the 3rd of Pashons in the Coptic Orthodox Church and in eastern Christian traditions he is commemorated on 4 January among the Seventy Apostles.

Biblical account
In Acts 17, Jason’s house in Thessalonica was being used as a refuge by the apostles Paul, Silas, and Timothy. Some Thessalonian Jews were annoyed with Paul’s remarks in their synagogue and so, not finding him and Silas, they dragged Jason and some of the other Christian disciples before the city authorities, where he was fined and released. Jason is specifically accused of having “welcomed” the apostles.

Paul referred to Jason, Lucius and Sosipater as his “countrymen” (Greek: οἱ συγγενεῖς μου) in Romans 16:21, which has led some to call him “Jason of Tarsus” (since Paul was from Tarsus). However, most scholars understand Paul’s use of “countryman” here and elsewhere to mean “fellow Jew”. Both references to Jason point ‘very probably’ to the same person.