Dorcas

Dorcas (Greek: Δορκάς, Dorkás; Aramaic: טביתא‎‎ Ṭabītā) was a disciple who lived in Joppa, referenced in the Acts of the Apostles (9:36–42) in the New Testament. Her name in the Textus Receptus is "Ταβιθά" (Tabitha).

Acts recounts that when she died, she was mourned by "all the widows...crying and showing (Peter) the robes and other clothing that she had made while she was still with them" (Acts 9:39). The Greek construct used in this passage indicates that the widows were the recipients of her charity, but she may also have been a widow herself. It is likely that she was a woman of some means, given her ability to help the poor. The disciples present called upon Peter, who came from nearby Lydda to the place where her body was being laid out for burial, and raised her from the dead.

This narrative concerning Tabitha/Dorcas indicates her prominence in the community at Joppa. This might also be indicated by the fact that Peter took the trouble to come to her from a neighbouring city, when requested by the community members.

The name Dorcas is a Greek translation of the Aramaic name Tabitha, meaning "gazelle". One species of gazelle is now known as the dorcas gazelle.

Dorcas, along with Lydia of Thyatira and Phoebe, is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America on January 27. The Evangelical Lutheran Church also places their joint commemoration on January 27, immediately after the male missionaries remembered after the feast of St. Paul's Conversion, but the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod (LCMS) commemorates these three faithful women on October 25. The Catholic Church commemorates Dorcas (under the Aramaic version of her name, St Tabitha) on October 25, the same date as the Eastern Church.Dorcas societies, which provide clothing to the poor, are named after her.

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