Prochorus

Prochorus (meaning leader of the chorus) was one of the seven men chosen by the Jerusalem church to oversee the daily distribution to the Hellenistic widows, freeing the apostles to concentrate on prayer and the ministry of the word (Acts 6:1–6). He is listed third in canonical order: "they chose Stephen, a man full of faith and of the Holy Spirit, and Philip, and Prochorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, and Nicolaus, a proselyte of Antioch" (Acts 6:5). The seven were presented to the apostles, who prayed and laid hands on them, formally commissioning them for the work.

While Stephen and Philip go on to starring roles in Acts — Stephen as the first martyr and Philip as the evangelist in Samaria and on the Gaza road — Prochorus is not mentioned again in the canonical New Testament. Later tradition, however, makes him a significant figure: the apocryphal Acts of John identifies him as the apostle John's companion and secretary, accompanying him into exile on Patmos and writing the Book of Revelation from John's dictation. Some manuscript traditions of Revelation's prologue name Prochorus explicitly. Church tradition further identifies him as bishop of Nicomedia in Bithynia and later of Antioch, commemorated as a martyr in Eastern Christianity, though these claims are not confirmed by Scripture.