Eleutheropolis

— a city not mentioned in Holy Scripture, but known as an episcopal city. According to tradition, it was located in southern Palestine, on the road between Jerusalem and Gaza. St. Justus, or Joseph, one of the Seventy Apostles, was bishop there and died a martyr’s death in that city; there too St. Ananias (of the Seventy), who baptized the Apostle Paul and afterward became bishop of Damascus, was stoned to death. Today, on the site of Eleutheropolis, stands the village of Beit Jibrin and extensive ruins of buildings belonging to various periods.