Sopater

Sopater (meaning: father who saves) was a Christian from Berea in Macedonia who accompanied Paul on his journey from Greece through Macedonia and Asia at the end of the third missionary journey (Acts 20:4–6). He is likely the same person as Sosipater, greeted by Paul in Romans 16:21 as a kinsman. If so, he was a fellow-Jew and a trusted associate who participated in carrying the collection for the Jerusalem church.

Sopater's inclusion in the apostolic travel party alongside delegates from Thessalonica, Derbe, Asia Minor, and Ephesus reflects the representative character of the group — one from each major region of Paul's Gentile mission — accompanying the collection as proof of its integrity. His Berean origin recalls the church in that city whose members "searched the scriptures daily" (Acts 17:11).