Apostle 1st century

Apostle Onesimus of the Seventy

1st century – c. 109

Also known as Onesimus of Byzantium · Onesimus the runaway slave · Onesimos

A runaway slave of Philemon of Colossae, Onesimus fled to Rome where the Apostle Paul converted and baptized him; Paul's Epistle to Philemon commends him as a brother. He later served the apostles, preached in many lands, and became a bishop, succeeding the Apostle Timothy at Ephesus. He was martyred under Trajan by stoning and beheading around 109.

Feast Day

February 15

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Commemorated as

The Holy Apostle Onesimus of the Seventy

Come to them for

Deliverance from the Occult

Life

Onesimus is venerated among the Seventy Apostles and is best known as the subject of the Apostle Paul's Epistle to Philemon. By the account preserved in the synaxarion, he was a slave in the household of Philemon, a Christian of Colossae in Phrygia. Having committed an offense against his master and fearing punishment, he fled to Rome, where as a runaway he was imprisoned. There he encountered the Apostle Paul, who instructed him in the faith and baptized him.

Paul, who had grown to love Onesimus during his imprisonment, sent him back to Philemon with a letter asking that the runaway be forgiven and received no longer as a slave but as a brother. This short letter is preserved in the New Testament as the Epistle to Philemon. According to the tradition, Philemon forgave Onesimus and sent him back to serve the Apostle Paul.

After Paul's death, Onesimus continued to serve the apostles and in time was ordained a bishop. The synaxarion relates that he preached the Gospel in many lands and cities, naming Spain, Carpetania, Colossae, and Patras, and that in his old age he occupied the episcopal throne of Ephesus, succeeding the Apostle Timothy. He was arrested under the emperor Trajan and put to death for the faith around the year 109, and is commemorated by the Church on February 15.

Timeline 4 moments Read Hide

1st century Conversion at Rome A runaway slave of Philemon, Onesimus is converted and baptized by the imprisoned Apostle Paul.
1st century Epistle to Philemon Paul sends him back to Philemon with the letter commending him as a brother; he later returns to the apostle's service.
1st century Bishop of Ephesus Ordained a bishop, he preaches in many lands and in old age succeeds the Apostle Timothy at Ephesus.
c. 109 Martyrdom Arrested under Trajan and taken to Puteoli, he is martyred for the faith.

Contributions & Legacy

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The Epistle to Philemon

Onesimus is unique among the Seventy in that the circumstances of his conversion are recorded in a canonical book of the New Testament. Paul's Epistle to Philemon is a brief, personal appeal on his behalf: having received Onesimus as a convert during his Roman imprisonment, the apostle returns him to his master with a request that he be welcomed back not as a fugitive slave but as a beloved brother in Christ. The tradition holds that Philemon, himself numbered among the Seventy, granted the request and freed Onesimus for the service of the Church.

Episcopate and Martyrdom

Following the deaths of the apostles, Onesimus was made a bishop and carried the Gospel through a succession of lands and cities before settling, in his old age, at Ephesus as the successor of the Apostle Timothy. Accounts relate that during the reign of the emperor Trajan he was arrested by the eparch Tertillus, held in prison for eighteen days, and then sent to Puteoli. Remaining steadfast under interrogation, he was martyred there around the year 109; the synaxarion records that he was stoned and beheaded. By tradition a noblewoman recovered his body and laid it in a silver coffin.

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