Remembered on November 22
Philemon, Archippus, Apphia and Onesimus
- MartyrA saint who was killed for bearing witness to Christ.
All martyrs
- Philemon: Apostle
- Archippus: Apostle
- Apphia: Apostle
- Onesimus: Apostle
These four Christians belong to the first generation of the Church. Paul’s letter names Philemon, Apphia and Archippus, and asks that Onesimus, an enslaved man, be welcomed as a beloved brother. Their lives bring the Gospel into the relationships of an ordinary household. Their remembrance asks us to take Christian brotherhood seriously in how we treat one another.
How they died
Tradition remembers all four as martyrs: Archippus is said to have been stoned, while accounts differ about how Philemon, Apphia and Onesimus were killed.
- Feast day
- November 22
Parishes on the Old Calendar keep it on December 5. - Kind of saint
- Martyr, Apostle
Life written by Simply Orthodox; quote freely with a link.