Apostle1st century

Apostles Archippus and Philemon of the Seventy and Martyr Apphia

first century

Also known as Archippus · Philemon of Colossae · Apphia · the household of Colossae

Companions of the Apostle Paul at Colossae — Philemon, to whom Paul addressed an epistle, his wife Apphia, and Archippus — who hosted the Church in their home and suffered martyrdom under Nero.

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The Holy Apostles of the Seventy Archippus and Philemon, and the Martyr Apphia

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Archippus, Philemon, and Apphia were a household of the church at Colossae in Phrygia (Asia Minor) and companions of the Apostle Paul, who numbers them among the Seventy. They are best known from Paul's short Epistle to Philemon, which is addressed to Philemon, to Apphia, and to Archippus, and which commends to Philemon his runaway slave Onesimus as a brother in Christ. The synaxarion relates that the Christians of the city gathered for worship in the home of this family. The three are commemorated together on February 19 and again on November 22.

By tradition Philemon was an eminent citizen of Colossae whom Paul ordained bishop; he went about the cities of Phrygia preaching the Gospel and, the tradition adds, later became archpastor of the city of Gaza. Archippus, named by Paul as his fellow soldier and charged in the Epistle to the Colossians to fulfil the ministry he had received (Col. 4:17), is remembered as bishop of Colossae. Apphia, the wife of Philemon, is described as her husband's co-worker in proclaiming the word of God, who took the sick and the homeless into her house and attended to them.

The synaxarion places their martyrdom during the persecution under the emperor Nero (54-68). The three were brought to trial before a ruler named Artocles for confessing Christ. By the account, Archippus was cut with knives, while Philemon and Apphia were buried in the ground up to the waist and stoned to death by the pagans. They are honoured as among the first of the apostolic generation to seal their preaching with martyrdom in Asia Minor.

Kontakion & Troparion2 hymnsReadHide

KontakionTone 4

The Church has gained you as a great star, O Archippus,
and enlightened by the rays of your wonders it cries out to you:
“Save us, who with faith honor your memory.”

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

TroparionTone 3

With your whole heart you followed the way of holiness
and became a companion of the Apostles, O Archippus.
By your word you preached the Faith,
and by your life you uprooted evil.
Having proved steadfast in contest you were granted the crown of righteousness.

Text used with permission of the Orthodox Church in America (oca.org).

Timeline2 momentsReadHide

c. AD 60Epistle to PhilemonPaul writes from prison to Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus, commending the converted Onesimus to them.
54-68Martyrdom under NeroTried before the ruler Artocles, Archippus is cut with knives and Philemon and Apphia are stoned to death at Colossae.

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The household at Colossae and the Epistle to Philemon

The family is known to Scripture chiefly through Paul's letter to Philemon, the shortest of his epistles, which opens by greeting Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus together with the church that met in their house. The occasion of the letter was Onesimus, a slave of Philemon who had fled to Rome; there he encountered the imprisoned Paul, was converted and baptized, and was sent back with the letter in which Paul asks Philemon to receive him no longer as a slave but as a beloved brother. Orthodox tradition counts Onesimus too among the Seventy and commemorates him separately on February 15.

Because the letter names all three and speaks of a church in their home, the tradition treats them as a single household given over to the service of the Gospel: Philemon and his wife Apphia as hosts and ministers, and Archippus as one entrusted with a ministry in the same city. Some accounts describe Archippus as the son of Philemon and Apphia, though the sources are not uniform on this point.

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