Onesimus of Byzantium | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Byzantium | |
 Saint Onesimus | |
| Installed | 54 AD |
| Term ended | 68 AD |
| Predecessor | Stachys the Apostle |
| Successor | Polycarpus I of Byzantium |
| Personal details | |
| Died | c. 107 AD |
| Denomination | Early Christianity |
Onesimus | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Painting depicting death of Onesimus, from theMenologion of Basil II (c. 1000 AD) | |
| The Holy Apostle Onesimus Bishop of Byzantium | |
| Died | Rome (thenRoman province) |
| Venerated in | Catholic Church Eastern Orthodox Church Oriental Orthodox Church Lutheranism |
| Feast | 15 February (formerly 16 February in the West) |
Onesimus of Byzantium (Ancient Greek:Ὀνήσιμος,romanized: Onēsimos, meaning "useful"; diedc. 107 AD, according toCatholic tradition),[1] also calledOnesimus andThe Holy Apostle Onesimus in theEastern Orthodox Church,[2] was aslave[3] toPhilemon, a man of Christian faith. He may also be the same Onesimus named byIgnatius of Antioch (diedc. 107) as bishop inEphesus[4] which would put Onesimus's death closer to 107. If so, Onesimus went from slave to brother to bishop.
The name "Onesimus" appears in twoNew Testament epistles — in Colossians 4 and in Philemon. In Colossians 4:9[5] a person of this name is identified as a Christian accompanyingTychicus to visit the Christians inColossae; nothing else is stated about him in this context. He may well be the freed Onesimus from theEpistle to Philemon.
The Epistle to Philemon was written byPaul the Apostle to Philemon concerning a person believed to be a runaway slave named Onesimus. The traditional designation of Onesimus as a slave is doubted by some modern scholars.[6] Onesimus turned up where Paul was imprisoned (most probablyRome orCaesarea Maritima)[7] to escape punishment for a theft of which he was accused.[8] After hearing theGospel from Paul, Onesimus converted toChristianity. 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.[9] The letter reads (in part):
I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten while in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and to me. I am sending him back. You therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, whom I wished to keep with me, that on your behalf he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel. But without your consent I wanted to do nothing, that your good deed might not be by compulsion, as it were, but voluntary. For perhaps he departed for a while for this purpose, that you might receive him forever, no longer as a slave but more than a slave — a beloved brother, especially to me but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.
Though this is questioned by authorities such asJoseph Fitzmyer,[10] it may be the case that this Onesimus was the same one consecrated abishop by the Apostles, and who accepted theepiscopal throne in Ephesus[11] followingSaint Timothy. Whether in the reign ofRoman emperorDomitian or thepersecution ofTrajan, Onesimus was imprisoned in Rome. He may have beenmartyred bystoning (some sources claim he was beheaded). However, since the reign of Domitian was from 81 to 96 AD, and that of Trajan lasted to 117, Onesimus' death would have to fall within these years and not in 68, as above.
Onesimus is regarded as a saint by many Christian denominations.
TheLutheran Church–Missouri Synod commemorates him andPhilemon on 15 February.[12]
The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates Onesimus on a variety of dates:
The traditional Western commemoration of Onesimus is on 16 February.[17] But in the 2004 edition of theRoman Martyrology, Onesimus is listed under 15 February. There, he is described as "[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".[18]
For perhaps [Onesimus] was for this reason separated from you for a while, that you would have him back forever, no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother, especially to me, but how much more to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.(New American Standard Bible (NASB))
... Onesimus, whose love surpasses words, in the flesh as your bishop. I pray that you may love him with a love according to Jesus Christ and that you may all be like him. For blessed is He Who granted unto you, worthy as you are, to possess such a bishop.(chapter 1)
| Titles of the Great Christian Church | ||
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| Preceded by | Bishop of Byzantium 54 – 68 | Succeeded by |
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