Illustration created for this project.
Apphia
A Christian of Colossae greeted by Paul alongside Philemon, traditionally his wife.
What we know — and how we know it
Bible — stated in scripture (with verse) · 1
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 2
Family & lineage
Death & legacy
ScholarlyLater Byzantine martyrologies commemorate Apphia together with Philemon and Archippus as martyrs stoned at Colossae under Nero. This is a late hagiographic tradition, centuries after the fact, not contemporary evidence for her.
Tradition preserved in the Menologion of Basil II and Byzantine synaxaria (feast commemoration), framed as late tradition.
Name & titles
ScholarlyApphia (Greek Apphia) is a distinctively Phrygian-Anatolian term of endearment rather than a typical Greek or Semitic name, and it is abundantly attested in local inscriptions throughout Phrygia. This onomastic profile fits neatly with a woman addressed in a letter to Colossae, in the Lycus valley of Phrygia.
Onomastic: the name's dense epigraphic distribution across Phrygian inscriptions (standard NT commentary on Philemon, e.g. Moule, Dunn).
Where in scripture
Philemonto the beloved Apphia, to Archippus, our fellow soldier, and to the assembly in your house:
Philemon 1:2 — 'Apphia our sister'
Scripture quotations are from the World English Bible, a public-domain translation.