Today the Church honors Sts. Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus, Martyrs.
Orate pro nobis.
Philemon and his wife Apphia lived in the city of Colossae in Phrygia, Asia Minor. When St. Paul came to Colossae to preach the Gospel of Jesus, Philemon and Apphia became disciples of the Lord. After they were baptized by the holy Apostle Paul, they converted their house into a house of prayer, one of the first churches, where all those who believed in Christ gathered to learn the truths of the Faith, for prayer and to worship God, and to receive the Sacraments. They were noted for having devoted themselves to serving the sick and outcast.
Saint Philemon preached the Word of God throughout Phrygia. The holy Apostle Paul continued to be his guide, and addressed to him his Epistle filled with love, and in which he sends blessings “to Philemon our dearly beloved, and fellow laborer, and to our beloved Apphia, and to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the church in thy house” (Phil 1:1-3).
Saint Onesimus, also mentioned in the Epistle, was Saint Philemon’s former slave, whom he freed after his conversion.
Saints Philemon and Apphia, and also Saint Archippus (who also lived at Colossae), were all martyred for the Faith during the persecution of Nero (AD 54-68), the same persecution during which Sts. Paul and Peter were martyred.
These are the details. During a pagan festival, an enraged crowd rushed into the Christian church in their home while the holy liturgy was being celebrated. All fled in terror, and only Saints Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus remained. They were seized by the mob and led them off to the city prefect. The crowd beat and stabbed Saint Archippus with knives, and he died on the way to the court. Saints Philemon and Apphia were stoned to death by order of the prefect in AD 68.
Almighty God, by whose grace and power your holy martyrs Philemon, Apphia, and Archippus triumphed over suffering and were faithful even to death: Grant us, who now remember them in thanksgiving, to be so faithful in our witness to you in this world, that we may receive with them the crown of life; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
Amen.
