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[[Image:Thaddeus (Addai).JPG|right|thumb|150px|Thaddeus (Addai) of the Seventy Disciples]][[Saint ]] '''Addai''' was the [[evangelism|evangelizer]] of Edessa and is believed to be one of the Seventy [[Apostles]] of [[Christ]], known to [[Eusebius of Caesarea]] as the '''Apostle Thaddeus''' of the Seventy. He is commemorated on [[August 21]] and on [[January 4]] with the Seventy.

Saint St. Addai is purported by Eusebius to have visited King [[Abgar]] of Edessa, healing him and preaching to him. The Syriac account of this story is titled the ''Teaching of Addai'', and there are questions about its historicity. The story possibly dates instead from the 3rd third century and may have been used in [[polemic]]s against the [[Manichaeanism|Manichaean]] "apostle" also named Addai.

The Holy Thaddeus was by descent a Hebrew, and he was born in the Syrian city of Edessa. He was [[baptism|baptized ]] by [[John the Forerunner]] in the JordanRiver. St . Thaddeus was chosen by the Lord to be one of the Seventy [[Disciple]]s, whom He sent by twos to preach in the cities and places where He intended to visit ([[Gospel of Luke|Luke]] 10: 1).

He backed up his preaching with many miracles (about which Abgar wrote to the Assyrian emperor Nerses). He established priests [[priest]]s in Edessa and built up the Church there. Abgar wanted to reward St . Thaddeus with rich gifts, but he refused and went preaching to other cities, [[conversion|converting ]] many pagans to the Christian Faith. He went to the city of Beirut to preach, and he founded a [[church ]] there. It was in this city that he peacefully died in the year 44.