Jason of Thessalonica (Greek: Ίάσων ό Θεσσαλονικεύς), also known asJason of Tarsus, was aJewish convert andearly Christian believer mentioned in theNew Testament inActs 17:5–9 andRomans 16:21.
Jason isvenerated as asaint in theOrthodox andRoman Catholic 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 onthe 3rd of Pashons in theCoptic Orthodox Church and in eastern Christian traditions he is commemorated on 4 January among theSeventy Apostles.
InActs 17, Jason's house inThessalonica was being used as a refuge by the apostlesPaul,Silas, andTimothy. Some Thessalonian Jews were annoyed with Paul's remarks in theirsynagogue 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.[1] Jason is specifically accused of having "welcomed" the apostles.[2]
Paul referred to Jason, Lucius andSosipater as his "countrymen" (Greek:οἱ συγγενεῖς μου) inRomans 16:21, which has led some to call him "Jason ofTarsus" (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'[3] to the same person.
The literary source (hagiographic legend) of the life of Jason and Sosipater was newly edited and translated by B. Kindt as appendix to "La version longue du récit légendaire de l'évangelisation de Corfou par les saints Jason and Sosipatre",Analecta Bollandiana 116 (1998) 259–295.
Born inTarsus, he was appointedBishop of Tarsus by theApostle Paul. With the apostle Sosipater he traveled to the island ofCorfu,[1] where they built a church in honor of theApostle Stephen the Protomartyr and converted manypagans to the Christian faith. Seeing this, the king of Corfu threw them into prison where theyconverted seven other prisoners to the Christian faith: Saturninus, Jakischolus, Faustianus, Januarius, Marsalius, Euphrasius and Mammius. The king had those seven put to death in boiling pitch for their faith.
The king's daughter, the virgin Cercyra, having watched these holy apostles being tortured, turned to the Christian faith and distributed all her jewels to the poor. The king became angry and put her in prison, yet she would not denyChrist. So he had the prison burned, but she remained unharmed. Many people werebaptized upon seeing thismiracle. He then had her killed with arrows while tied to a tree.
Many believers fled to a nearby island to get away from the enraged king, but as he chased them, his boat sank. The new king embraced the Christian faith and in baptism received the name Sebastian. From then on Sosipater and Jason freely preached theGospel and built up the Church in Corfu until a very old age, when they gave up their souls to God.[4]
Vlatades Monastery in Thessaloniki is believed to have been built on the former site of Jason's house.[1]
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