Onesimus Series

Onesimus

Bishop of Byzantium

Installed 54

Term ended 68

Personal details

Denomination Early Christianity

Saint

Painting depicting death of Onesimus, from the Menologion of Basil II (c.?1000 AD)

Holy Disciple Onesimus

Bishop of Byzantium

Died c.?68 AD or 81-95 AD

Rome (then Roman province)

Venerated in Roman Catholic Church

Eastern Orthodox Church

Lutheranism

Feast

February 15 or 16 (Gregorian calendar) or February 28 (Julian calendar)

Onesimus (Greek: meaning "useful"; died c.?68 AD, according to Catholic tradition), also called Onesimus of Byzantium and The Holy Apostle Onesimus in the Eastern Orthodox Church, was probably a slave to Philemon of Colossae, a man of Christian faith. He may also be the same Onesimus named by Ignatius of Antioch (died c.?107) as bishop in Ephesus, putting Onesimus's death closer to 95. If so, Onesimus went from enslaved person to brother to a bishop.

The name "Onesimus" appears in two New Testament epistles—in Colossians 4 and Philemon. In Colossians 4:9, 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. He may well be the freed Onesimus from the Epistle to Philemon.

The Epistle to Philemon was written by Paul the Apostle to Philemon concerning a person believed to be a runaway slave named Onesimus. Some modern scholars doubt the traditional designation of Onesimus as an enslaved person. Onesimus found his way to the site of Paul's imprisonment (most probably Rome or Caesarea) to escape punishment for a theft he was accused of. After hearing the Gospel from Paul, Onesimus converted to Christianity. Having earlier converted Philemon to Christianity, Paul sought to reconcile the two by writing the letter to Philemon, which today exists in the New Testament. The letter reads (in part):

I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, whom I have begotten in my chains, who once was unprofitable to you, but now is profitable to you and me. Therefore, you receive him, that is, my own heart, whom I wished to keep with me, that he might minister to me in my chains for the gospel on your behalf. 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. I am sending him back.

—?Paul of Tarsus to Philemon, Epistle to Philemon 1:10–16 (NKJV)

In tradition

Although it is doubted by authorities such as Joseph Fitzmyer, 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 following Timothy. During the reign of the 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). However, since the reign of Domitian was from 81 AD to 96 AD, then Onesimus' death would have to fall within these years and not 68 AD, as stated above.

In Liturgy

Onesimus is regarded as a saint by many Christian denominations. The Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod commemorates him and Philemon on February 15.

The traditional Western commemoration of Onesimus is on February 16. Eastern Churches remember Onesimus on February 15. But in the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, Onesimus is listed under February 15. 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 wrote to Philemon, Onesimus's master."

External links

Who was Onesimus in the Bible?

Onesimus was the fugitive slave of Philemon, the Apostle Paul's friend. Onesimus had robbed his master Philemon and fled to Rome, a large city where he could easily hide. Providentially, Onesimus encountered Paul in Rome, where the Apostle was serving time in prison.

Some scholars suggest that Paul had led Onesimus to Christ previously in Colossae and that, when Onesimus ran away, he sought out Paul on purpose. However, it is more likely that Onesimus became a Christian after running away from Philemon and running into Paul in Rome: "I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains" (Philemon 1:10).

The name Onesimus means "helpful," "useful," or "profitable." It was a common name for slaves in that day. Before salvation, Onesimus had been useless or unprofitable to Philemon, but now he had become immensely beneficial to both his master and to Paul. Paul uses a play on words when he refers to Onesimus in verse 11: "Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and me." as a believer in Jesus Christ, Onesimus lived up to his name.