Saint Onesimus (Greek: Ὀνήσιμος OnÄ"simos, meaning "useful"; died c. 68 AD), also called Onesimus of Byzantium and The Holy Apostle Onesimus in some Eastern Orthodox churches, was a slave to Philemon of Colossae, a man of Christian faith. He may be the same Onesimus named by Ignatius of Antioch as Bishop in Ephesus.
In Scripture
The name "Onesimus" appears in two New Testament epistles. 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 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) to escape punishment for a theft he was said to have committed. After hearing the Gospel from Paul, Onesimus converted to Christianity. 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.). The letter read (in part):
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 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).
In liturgy
Onesimus is regarded as a saint by many Christian denominations. The Lutheran Churchâ€"Missouri Synod, which commemorates him and Philemon on February 15.
Eastern Churches remember Onesimus on 15 February and 22 November.
The traditional Western commemoration of Onesimus is on 16 February. But in the 2004 edition of the Roman Martyrology, Onesimus is listed under 15 February with the Latin name Onésimi. 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 himself wrote to Philemon, Onesimus's master". 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
- The attitude of Paul is one of the arguments in the debate about Christianity and slavery.
References
External Links
- http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=4908
- http://www.santiebeati.it/dettaglio/41200