According to the New Testament, seven people were chosen to serve alongside the apostles in Jerusalem.
Acts 6 describes a dispute in the early Jerusalem community. Greek-speaking widows were reportedly being overlooked in the daily distribution of food. The apostles asked the believers to select seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and wisdom, so the apostles could devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word.
The community chose Stephen, Philip, Prochorus, Nicanor, Timon, Parmenas, and Nicolaus of Antioch. The apostles prayed and laid their hands on them. Later Christian tradition often calls these seven the first deacons, although Acts does not use the technical title in the same explicit way later church traditions do.
The episode is distinct from the Twelve apostles and from the larger group of seventy or seventy-two disciples mentioned in Luke. Its focus is practical service and the fair distribution of resources within the growing Jerusalem community.