SOSIPATRO (Σωσίπατρος, Vulg. Sosipater). – Collaborator of St. Paul in missionary activity.
His name is found among those who send greetings in the Letter to the Romans (16:21). There, together with Jason and Lucius, the Apostle calls him his “kinsman” (συγγενός), to be understood, in all probability, in a broad and metaphorical sense. The text allows us to infer his presence in Corinth during the third missionary journey, at least during the last days of the Apostle’s stay in that city.
This fact makes the identification of this S. with the man who accompanied Paul on his journey to Jerusalem (Act. 10:4; cf. Rom. 15:31) highly plausible. There, however, he is called in the best Greek codices Σώπατρο (Vulg. Sopater) and is said to be “the son of Pyrrhus, of Berea.” The reference to the city suggests that he was a convert won by Paul during his brief but fruitful apostolate in Berea (Act. 17:10–15).