Bible Figure
Parmenas
1st century deacon
Parmenas was one of the seven men selected by the Jerusalem church to help oversee the daily distribution to widows. Like the others chosen, he was selected from men expected to have a good reputation and to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.
Biography
Acts 6 names Parmenas among Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, and Nicolaus as the seven selected after a complaint arose that Greek-speaking Jewish widows were being neglected in the church's daily distribution. The congregation chose the seven and presented them to the apostles, who prayed and laid hands on them. The New Testament gives no separate account of Parmenas' ministry afterward. Traditional stories concerning his later preaching or martyrdom are not part of the biblical evidence.
Biblical Significance
Parmenas belongs to an important episode in which the early church addressed ethnic-linguistic tension and practical inequity without neglecting prayer and the ministry of the word. His selection reflects the spiritual importance attached to trustworthy service.