Apphia
Apphia
Info
- #benefactor #female
- Home:: Colossae
- Other Locales:: None recorded
- References:: Philemon 1#1:2
Notes
- Called "our sister" by Paul
- Co-addressee of the letter to Philemon, likely his wife
- Part of the household that hosted the Colossian house church
Summary
Apphia appears only in Philemon 1#1:2, where Paul addresses his letter to "Philemon our beloved fellow worker, and Apphia our sister, and Archippus our fellow soldier, and the church in your house." Her inclusion as a named co-addressee suggests she was Philemon's wife and co-manager of the household where Onesimus had served.
Paul calls her "our sister," the standard term for a female member of the Christian community. That she is named alongside Philemon indicates she had standing in the congregation in her own right. The letter concerns the household she helped manage: the return of Onesimus and Paul's request that he be received "no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a beloved brother" (Philemon 1#1:16). Apphia's consent and cooperation would have been essential for this reconciliation.
The house church that met in their home made Apphia a host-patron of the Colossian congregation, placing her in the same functional category as Nympha in Laodicea (Colossians 4#4:15), Lydia in Philippi (Acts 16#16:40), and Priscilla in Ephesus and Rome (Romans 16#16:5). These women provided the physical and social infrastructure that made congregational life possible.
The name "Apphia" is Phrygian in origin, consistent with her residence in Colossae. Early church tradition names Apphia as a martyr, though this is late and uncertain.