Illustration created for this project.
Gaius
A well-loved Christian commended for his hospitality and faithfulness, recipient of John's third letter.
What we know — and how we know it
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 2
Life, role & deeds
ScholarlyLater church tradition sought to give the various Gaii a career: the Apostolic Constitutions list a Gaius as the first bishop of Pergamon ordained by the apostle John, an identification sometimes linked to the Gaius of 3 John.
Apostolic Constitutions 7.46; a late (4th-century) tradition, historically uncertain and conflating separate figures.
Name & titles
ScholarlyGaius (Greek Gaios, from the Latin praenomen Gaius/Caius) was among the most common Roman first names, which is precisely why the New Testament's several bearers are hard to identify with one another: Paul's host at Corinth (Romans 16:23; 1 Corinthians 1:14), the Macedonian seized in the Ephesus riot (Acts 19:29), the man of Derbe (Acts 20:4), and the addressee of 3 John. Scholars generally treat these as distinct individuals.
Latin/Greek onomastics; the multiplicity of NT Gaii is a standard source-critical and prosopographical problem in mainstream commentary.