Onesimus

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This article is about the biblical figure. For other uses, see Onesimus (disambiguation).

Saint Onesimus
Painting depicting death of Onesimus, from the Menologion of Basil II (c. 1000 AD)
Holy Disciple Onesimus Bishop of Byzantium
Died	ca. AD 68 Rome (then Roman province)
Honored in	Roman Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Lutheranism
Feast	February 15 or 16, or November 22 (Gregorian calendar), February 28 (Julian calendar)

Saint Onesimus (d. ca. 68 AD)^[1] (Greek: Ὀνήσιμος Onēsimos, meaning "useful," also called Onesimus of Byzantium and The Holy Apostle Onesimus in some Eastern Orthodox churches) was a slave to Philemon of Colossae, a man of Christian faith. He may be the same Onesimus named by Ignatius of Antioch as Bishop in Ephesus.

In Scripture

The name 'Onesimus' appears in two New Testament epistles. In Colossians 4:9^[2] a person of this name is identified as a Christian accompanying Tychicus to visit the Christians in Colossae; nothing else is stated about him in this context.

The Epistle to Philemon was written by the Apostle Paul to the slave-master Philemon concerning a runaway slave called Onesimus. This slave found his way to the site of Paul's imprisonment (most probably Rome or Caesarea)^[3] to escape punishment for a theft he was said to have committed.^[4] After hearing the Gospel from Paul, Onesimus converted to Christianity. Paul, having earlier converted Philemon to Christianity, sought to reconcile the two by writing the letter to Philemon which today exists in the New Testament.^[5]). The letter read (in part):

“	I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. For this is perhaps why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever, no longer as a slave, as a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.	”
—Paul of Tarsus to Philemon, Epistle to Philemon 1:10-16 (ESV)

In Tradition

Although it is doubted by authorities such as Joseph Fitzmyer,^[6] it may be the case that this Onesimus was the same one consecrated a bishop by the Apostles and who accepted the episcopal throne in Ephesus^[7] following Saint Timothy. During the reign of Roman emperor Domitian and the persecution of Trajan, Onesimus was imprisoned in Rome and may have been martyred by stoning (although some sources claim that he was beheaded).^[8]

In Liturgy

Onesimus is regarded as a saint by many Christian denominations. The Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, which commemorates him and Philemon on February 15.^[9]

Eastern Churches remember Onesimus on 15 February and 22 November.^[10]

The traditional Western commemoration of Onesimus is on 16 February.^[11] But in the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, Onesimus is listed under 15 February with the Latin name Onésimi. He is mentioned as follows: 'A runaway slave, whom the apostle Paul received to the faith of Christ while in prison, regarding him as a son of whom he had become father, as he himself wrote to Philemon, Onesimus's master.'.^[12] The date is designated the 'commemoration of blessed Onesimus', indicating that it is not regarded as his date of death, and suggesting that his rank in the Catholic Church may be Blessed rather than Saint.

References

↑ "Onesimus". Ecumenic Patriarchate of Constantinople. Retrieved Apr 2, 2011.
↑ Christian Bible: Colossians 4:9
↑ 'The Letter to Philemon', Joseph A. Fitzmyer S.J., paragraph 5, pages 869-870 The New Jerome Biblical Commentary, 1989, Geoffrey Chapman
↑ Saint Onesimus at SQPN website
↑ Christian Bible: Philemon verses 19-16
↑ Fitzmyer paragraph 4
↑ The Epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians
↑ The Holy Apostle Onesimus - Serbian Orthodox Calendar
↑ Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod. Lutheran Worship. Concordia Publishing House, 1982, updated by the same church's Lutheran Service Book. Concordia Publishing House, 2006.
↑ The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 2nd edition, E. A. Livingstone, 2000, Oxford University Press, page 414.
↑ Livingstone, op. cit.
↑ Martyrologium Romanum, 2004, Vatican Press (Typis Vaticanis), page 150.

Orthodox Church titles
Preceded by Stachys the Apostle	Bishop of Byzantium 54–68	Succeeded by Polycarpus I of Byzantium

v t e Bishops of Byzantium and Patriarchs of Constantinople

Bishops of Byzantium (to 330 AD)	Saint Andrew Stachys Onesimus Polycarpus I Plutarch Sedecion Diogenes Eleutherius Felix Polycarpus II Athenodorus Euzois Laurence Alypius Pertinax Olympianus Marcus I Philadelphus Cyriacus I Castinus Eugenius I Titus Dometius Rufinus Probus Metrophanes Alexander

Archbishops of Constantinople (330–451 AD)	Alexander Paul I Eusebius Macedonius I Eudoxius Evagrius Demophilus Maximus I Gregory I Nectarius John I Chrysostom Arsacius Atticus Sisinnius I Nestorius Maximianus Proclus Flavian Anatolius

Patriarchs of Constantinople Byzantine period (451–1453 AD)	Anatolius Gennadius I Acacius Fravitta Euphemius Macedonius II Timothy I John II Epiphanius Anthimus I Menas Eutychius John III John IV Cyriacus II Thomas I Sergius I Pyrrhus Paul II Peter Thomas II John V Constantine I Theodore I George I Paul III Callinicus I Cyrus John VI Germanus I Anastasius Constantine II Nicetas I Paul IV Tarasius Nicephorus I Theodotus I Antony I John VII Methodius I Ignatius Photius I Stephen I Antony II Nicholas I Εuthymius I Stephen II Tryphon Theophylact Polyeuctus Βasil I Αntony III Nicholas II Sisinnius II Sergius II Eustathius Alexius Michael I Constantine III John VIII Cosmas I Eustratius Nicholas III John IX Leo Michael II Cosmas II Nicholas IV Theodotus II Neophytus I Constantine IV Luke Michael III Chariton Theodosius I Basil II Nicetas II Leontius Dositheus George II John X Michael IV^† Theodore II^† Maximus II^† Μanuel I^† Germanus II^† Methodius II^† Manuel II^† Arsenius^† Nicephorus II^† Germanus III Joseph I John XI Gregory II Athanasius I John XII Nephon I John XIII Gerasimus I Isaias John XIV Isidore I Callistus I Philotheus Macarius Nilus Antony IV Callistus II Matthew I Euthymius II Joseph II Metrophanes II Gregory III Athanasius II

Patriarchs of Constantinople Ottoman period (1453–1923 AD)	Gennadius II Isidore II Joasaph I Sophronius I Mark II Symeon I Dionysius I Raphael I Maximus III Nephon II Maximus IV Joachim I Pachomius I Theoleptus I Jeremias I Joannicius I Dionysius II Joasaph II Metrophanes III Jeremias II Pachomius II Theoleptus II Matthew II Gabriel I Theophanes I Meletius I Neophytus II Raphael II Cyril I Timothy II Gregory IV Anthimus II Cyril II Athanasius III Neophytus III Parthenius I Parthenius II Joannicius II Cyril III Paisius I Parthenius III Gabriel II Parthenius IV Dionysius III Clement Methodius III Dionysius IV Gerasimus II Athanasius IV James Callinicus II Neophytus IV Gabriel III Neophytus V Cyprianus Athanasius V Cyril IV Cosmas III Jeremias III (Callinicus III) Paisius II Serapheim I Neophytus VI Cyril V Callinicus IV (III) Serapheim II Joannicius III Samuel Meletius II Theodosius II Sophronius II Gabriel IV Procopius Neophytus VII Gerasimus III Gregory V Callinicus V (IV) Jeremias IV Cyril VI Eugenius II Anthimus III Chrysanthus Agathangelus Constantius I Constantius II Gregory VI Anthimus IV Anthimus V Germanus IV Meletius III Anthimus VI Cyril VII Joachim II Sophronius III Joachim III Joachim IV Dionysius V Neophytus VIII Anthimus VII Constantine V Germanus V Meletius IV

Patriarchs of Constantinople Modern period (since 1923 AD)	Gregory VII Constantine VI Basil III Photius II Benjamin Maximus V Athenagoras Demetrius Bartholomew

^† in exile at Nicaea

New Testament people

Jesus Christ

views: Christian; Historical; New Testament

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Revelation

Persondata
Name	Onesimus
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth
Place of birth
Date of death
Place of death	Rome (then Roman province)

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Onesimus

In Scripture

In Tradition

In Liturgy

See also

References