Epaphroditus

The holy apostle Epaphroditus, one of the Seventy, was the envoy of the Church of Philippi to the holy apostle Paul, mentioned in the Epistle to the Philippians. He is commemorated on 4 January, in the synaxis of the Seventy Apostles, on 8 December and on 30 March.

His name

The name Epaphroditus, derived from Aphrodite, means “lovely” or “charming”, and was very common in that time, among Greeks and Romans alike. Some have linked it with Epaphras of the epistles to the Colossians and to Philemon, as a shortened form of the name, but there is no evidence that it is the same man.

In the epistles of Paul

Epaphroditus is mentioned only in the Epistle to the Philippians, in chapters 2 and 4. He was the envoy of the Christian community at Philippi, who carried to Paul their gift during his imprisonment. Paul calls him “my brother, fellow worker and fellow soldier”, and also the minister who came to help in his need. When he reached Paul, Epaphroditus gave himself to the work of Christ, helping the apostle also in the work of preaching. He labored so hard that he lost his health and, in Paul’s words, was ill almost to death; but God had mercy on him. After he recovered, Paul sent him back to Philippi with this letter, to quiet the anxiety of his friends, who had heard of his grave illness. Paul asks the Church to receive him with joy and to honour men like him.

According to tradition

Tradition says he was bishop of the city of Andriace, in Thrace. The Menology of Symeon Metaphrastes and the Roman Martyrology call him bishop of Terracina, in Italy. There is no proof that he was the same man as all these, but the Church honours him as an apostle, among the Seventy.