December. Onesimus (54-68)—Claimed as 3rd
Bishop of Byzantium
Saint Onesimus (Greek: Ὀνήσιμος Onēsimos, meaning "useful"; died c. 68 AD),[1] also called Onesimus of Byzantium andThe Holy Apostle Onesimus in some Eastern Orthodox churches, was a slave to Philemon
of Colossae, a man of Christianfaith. He may be the same Onesimus named by Ignatius
of Antioch as Bishop in Ephesus.
Contents
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 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.[5]). The letter read (in part):
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“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.”
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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.
See also
References
3.
Jump up^ 'The
Letter to Philemon', Joseph A. Fitzmyer S.J., paragraph 5, pages 869-870 The New
Jerome Biblical Commentary, 1989,
Geoffrey Chapman
9.
Jump up^ Lutheran
Church - Missouri Synod. Lutheran Worship. Concordia Publishing House, 1982, updated by the same church's Lutheran
Service Book.
Concordia Publishing House, 2006.
10.
Jump up^ The
Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church, 2nd edition, E. A. Livingstone, 2000, Oxford University Press,
p. 414.
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Preceded by
Stachys the Apostle |
Bishop of Byzantium
54–68 |
Succeeded by
Polycarpus I of Byzantium |
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