Abdias of Babylon
First bishop of Babylon and one of the Seventy Apostles
Feast: 28 October (not on the universal Roman calendar; kept in the Roman Martyrology or local calendars)
Who they were
Abdias is said to have been one of the seventy-two disciples of Christ and the first Bishop of Babylon, consecrated by the apostles Simon and Jude. Very little is known about him.
He is mainly remembered because a Latin work in ten books on the labours and deaths of the apostles, the Historia Certaminis Apostolici, was later put under his name. The Catholic Encyclopedia explains that this work was really compiled much later, probably in the sixth century, from older legends.
The miracles
The Catholic Encyclopedia does not describe any miracles or a formal cause.
Why that counted as sanctity
Traditionally named first Bishop of Babylon, ordained by the apostles Simon and Jude.
- Catholic Encyclopedia (1913), via New Advent - Abdias of Babylon
- Wikidata Q2821315 — dates, feast day and identifiers (CC0)
- English Wikipedia — Abdias of Babylon (CC BY-SA)
Checked against the sources listed on 22 September 2026. Corrections welcome.