Saint Apollos is an apostle who is also a 1st century

Christianity in the 1st century

The earliest followers of Jesus composed an apocalyptic, Jewish sect, which historians refer to as Jewish Christianity. The Apostles and others following the Great Commission's decree to spread the teachings of Jesus to "all nations," had great success spreading the religion to gentiles. Peter,...

 Alexandrian Jewish Christian mentioned several times in the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

. After the Christian couple Priscilla and Aquila corrected his incomplete Christian doctrine, his special gifts in preaching Jesus

Jesus

Jesus of Nazareth , commonly referred to as Jesus Christ or simply as Jesus or Christ, is the central figure of Christianity...

 persuasively made him an important person in the congregation at Corinth, Greece after Paul

Paul of Tarsus

Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...

's first visit there. He was with Paul at a later date in Ephesus

Ephesus

Ephesus was an ancient Greek city, and later a major Roman city, on the west coast of Asia Minor, near present-day Selçuk, Izmir Province, Turkey. It was one of the twelve cities of the Ionian League during the Classical Greek era...

.

Helper to Paul of Tarsus

Paul considered Apollos to be an apostle (1 Cor 4:6, 9-13)http://usyd.academia.edu/MerrilynMansfield/Papers/1150262/Priscilla_and_Aquila_teach_an_Apostle who became a leader in the important Corinthian congregation. In harmony with Paul's notices are the statements in Acts

Acts of the Apostles

The Acts of the Apostles , usually referred to simply as Acts, is the fifth book of the New Testament; Acts outlines the history of the Apostolic Age...

 that Apollos was a highly educated Alexandria

Alexandria

Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...

n Jew, who "spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, even though he knew only the baptism of John." He came to Ephesus (probably in the year 52-3 CE). After Christians in Ephesus first wrote to their counterparts recommending Apollos to them, he went to Achaia where Paul names him as an apostle (1 Cor 4:6, 9-13) Given that Paul only saw himself as an apostle 'untimely born' (1 Cor 15:8) it is certain that Apollos became an apostle in the regular way (as a witness to the risen Lord and commissioned by Jesus - 1 Cor 15:5-9; 1 Cor 9:1).

Christian doctrine

From Acts 18:24-28 we deduce that Apollos had an 'accurate' understanding of Jesus most likely derived from the Scriptures. He was also boiling in the Spirit which is most likely the Holy Spirit. Apollos only knew of the baptism of John which suggests, as is reflected in Acts, that consistent baptismal practice was still developing in the nascent church. He began to preach boldly to the crowds about Jesus with accuracy and Priscilla and Aquila, who had accompanied Paul to Ephesus, and were still there, though Paul had departed, correctively instructed the eloquent and brilliant Apollos. "When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more adequately." Though already an apostle, Apollos was open to instruction on a fine point of Christian doctrine.

Possible preaching style

Apollos, portrayed as both outspoken and scholarly, may have captivated his hearers by teaching "wisdom" in the allegorical style of Philo

Philo

Philo , known also as Philo of Alexandria , Philo Judaeus, Philo Judaeus of Alexandria, Yedidia, "Philon", and Philo the Jew, was a Hellenistic Jewish Biblical philosopher born in Alexandria....

. He was evidently a man of unusual magnetic force. This suggestion has been recently repeated by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor

Jerome Murphy-O'Connor

Reverend Dr Jerome Murphy-O'Connor O.P., is a Dominican priest, a leading authority on St...

: "It is difficult to imagine that an Alexandrian Jew ... could have escaped the influence of Philo, the great intellectual leader ... particularly since the latter seems to have been especially concerned with education and preaching."

Divisions in Corinthian church

In are references to four parties in the Corinthian church, of which two attached themselves to Paul and Apollos respectively, using their names (the third and fourth were Peter, identified as Cephas, and Jesus himself). There is no indication that Apollos favored or approved an overestimation of his person.
Apollos and Paul were both in Ephesus at the time Paul wrote the letter (55 AD); 16:12 states Apollos was unwilling to go to Corinth yet at Paul's urging, but that he would later when he had an opportunity.

Retirement and bishop status

Jerome

Jerome

Saint Jerome was a Roman Christian priest, confessor, theologian and historian, and who became a Doctor of the Church. He was the son of Eusebius, of the city of Stridon, which was on the border of Dalmatia and Pannonia...

 states that Apollos was so dissatisfied with the division at Corinth, that he retired to Crete with Zenas, a doctor of the law; and that the schism having been healed by Paul's letter to the Corinthians, Apollos returned to the city, and became its bishop. Less probable traditions assign to him the bishopric of Duras, or of Iconium in Phrygia, or of Caesarea. In the Epistle to Titus

Epistle to Titus

The Epistle of Paul to Titus, usually referred to simply as Titus, is one of the three Pastoral Epistles , traditionally attributed to Saint Paul, and is part of the New Testament...

, Apollos is mentioned with Zenas as bearer of the letter to Crete.

Other

Martin Luther

Martin Luther

Martin Luther was a German priest, professor of theology and iconic figure of the Protestant Reformation. He strongly disputed the claim that freedom from God's punishment for sin could be purchased with money. He confronted indulgence salesman Johann Tetzel with his Ninety-Five Theses in 1517...

 and some modern scholars have proposed Apollos as the author of the Epistle to the Hebrews

Epistle to the Hebrews

The Epistle to the Hebrews is one of the books in the New Testament. Its author is not known.The primary purpose of the Letter to the Hebrews is to exhort Christians to persevere in the face of persecution. The central thought of the entire Epistle is the doctrine of the Person of Christ and his...

, rather than Barnabas

Barnabas

Barnabas , born Joseph, was an Early Christian, one of the earliest Christian disciples in Jerusalem. In terms of culture and background, he was a Hellenised Jew, specifically a Levite. Named an apostle in , he and Saint Paul undertook missionary journeys together and defended Gentile converts...

, another contender. Both were Hebrew Christians with sufficient intellectual authority. Other than this, there are no known surviving texts attributed to Apollos.

Apollos is regarded as a saint by several Christian churches, including the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod

Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod

The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 2.3 million members, it is both the eighth largest Protestant denomination and the second-largest Lutheran body in the U.S. after the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The Synod...

, which hold a commemoration for him, Aquila and Priscilla

Priscilla (Christian)

Priscilla and Aquila were a first century Christian missionary couple described in the New Testament and traditionally listed among the Seventy Disciples. They lived, worked, and traveled with the Apostle Paul, becoming his honored, much-loved friends and coworkers in Christ Jesus...

on February 13.