Zacchaeus the Publican

1st century

Also known as Apostle Zacchaeus · Zacchaeus, Bishop of Caesarea · Zacchaeus of Caesarea

The wealthy chief tax-collector of Jericho who climbed a sycamore tree to see Christ and, receiving Him into his house, repented and made fourfold restitution; tradition counts him among the Seventy and as a bishop of Caesarea.

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Commemorated as

The Holy Apostle Zacchaeus, Bishop of Caesarea

Life

Zacchaeus the Publican was a wealthy chief tax-collector at Jericho whose encounter with Christ is recorded in the Gospel of Luke (19:1-10). Tax collectors of the period were widely despised as collaborators with Rome and as agents of extortion, and Jericho's customs post was an especially profitable one, since the town was a center for the production and export of balsam. Being short in stature, Zacchaeus climbed a sycamore tree to see Jesus as he passed through the town.

Orthodox tradition carries his story beyond the Gospel narrative: he is numbered among the Seventy Apostles, and is said to have accompanied the Apostle Peter after the Ascension and to have been appointed by him as bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, where he died in peace. He is commemorated on April 20, and the Gospel reading of his conversion is appointed for the Sunday that opens the pre-Lenten cycle in the Orthodox Church.

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1st centuryChief tax-collector at JerichoZacchaeus held the office of chief tax-collector in Jericho, a lucrative post on account of the town's balsam trade, and had grown wealthy in it.
1st centuryThe sycamore tree and conversionShort in stature, he climbed a sycamore tree to see Christ passing by. Jesus addressed him by name and announced that he would lodge at his house, to the scandal of the crowd, who saw Zacchaeus as a sinner. In response Zacchaeus pledged to give half of his possessions to the poor and to repay fourfold anyone he had defrauded by false accusation.
After the AscensionCompanion of Peter and bishop of CaesareaBy tradition he accompanied the Apostle Peter on his travels and was appointed by him bishop of Caesarea in Palestine, where he reposed in peace. The Apostolic Constitutions name Zacchaeus as the first bishop of Caesarea.

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Veneration and the Sunday of Zacchaeus

Zacchaeus is commemorated in the Orthodox Church on April 20. The Gospel account of his meeting with Christ (Luke 19:1-10) is read on the Sunday before the liturgical book known as the Triodion begins, the period that opens the movement toward Great Lent and Pascha; for this reason the day is widely known as the Sunday of Zacchaeus.

His repentance and restitution are held up as a pattern of the recognition of sin and the desire to seek out Christ. As a figure of the apostolic age, he is venerated in both the Orthodox and Catholic traditions, a heritage shared from before the schism.

Traditional Accounts

Beyond the canonical Gospel, several later traditions attach to Zacchaeus. The Apostolic Constitutions identify him as the first bishop of Caesarea. A medieval Western legend associated him with Saint Amadour and the French sanctuary of Rocamadour, and Clement of Alexandria has been read as reporting that some identified Zacchaeus with the apostle Matthew or Matthias. These identifications are traditional rather than firmly attested.

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The Seventy Apostles

Commemorated together · Jan 4

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The Lord whose call at Jericho — summoning Zacchaeus down from the sycamore and lodging at his house — brought about the repentance that defines his memory (Luke 19).

Jesus Christ

Apostle whom Zacchaeus accompanied after the Ascension and by whom, in tradition, he was appointed bishop of Caesarea in Palestine.

Apostle Peter

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Sources: OCA Synaxarion (oca.org), Lives of the Saints; OrthodoxWiki; GOARCH calendar