Lives of Scripture

Prochorus is named among the seven men chosen by the Jerusalem church to resolve a dispute over food distribution: Greek-speaking widows were being overlooked in the daily serving of food compared to Hebrew-speaking widows (Acts 6:1). Rather than neglect prayer and the ministry of the word to manage this practical need themselves, the apostles asked the congregation to select 'seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom,' whom the apostles could appoint over the task (6:2-3). The church chose Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolas, and presented them to the apostles, who prayed and laid hands on them (6:5-6). Unlike Stephen, whose ministry and martyrdom are recorded at length in the following chapters, or Philip, who becomes a traveling evangelist, Scripture says nothing further about Prochorus specifically. His inclusion in this list, however, marks him as one of the earliest believers publicly recognized for Spirit-filled character and entrusted with responsibility for the young church's most vulnerable members, at a pivotal moment when meeting practical needs well was treated as essential to the church's health and growth (6:7).