The Epistle of St Paul to Philemon (Book of Philemon)

The Epistle to Philemon, in the Vulgate Epistola ad Philemonem, is the shortest of the fourteen Epistles of St Paul: a single chapter of twenty-five verses, which you can read in five minutes on Philemon 1. It is also the most personal. There is no dispute about doctrine and no church in crisis, only a slave who ran away, an apostle in chains who baptized him, and a master asked to take him back as a brother. The Fathers saw how much this small matter holds: charity that pleads rather than commands, a sinner restored, a debt paid by another, and a new bond between master and slave in Christ.

The author: St Paul, writing in chains

St Paul the Apostle, with Timothy named beside him. The letter opens, "Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy, a brother: to Philemon, our beloved and fellow labourer," and Paul signs his promise in his own hand: "I Paul have written it with my own hand: I will repay it" (verse 19). He calls himself "Paul an old man, and now a prisoner also of Jesus Christ" (verse 9). For his life and labours, see our article on St Paul, the Apostle to the Gentiles.

The ancient witness is clear. The Muratorian Fragment, the oldest surviving list of the New Testament books, counts a letter "to Philemon" among the Epistles of Paul. Tertullian notes that even the heretic Marcion, who cut and altered St Paul's letters, kept this one, which was saved by its brevity. Origen cites it as Paul's, and Eusebius places it among the books received by all. The 1911 Catholic Encyclopedia concludes that its authenticity rests on witness of this kind and on its perfect agreement with Colossians.

In the fourth century some objected, not that Paul did not write it, but that a note about a slave was beneath the dignity of Scripture. Both St Jerome and St John Chrysostom answered them in the prefaces to their commentaries. Chrysostom rebukes the critics and lists what the letter teaches; Jerome replies that God's concern reaches the small affairs of life as well as the great. The Pontifical Biblical Commission issued no special decree on Philemon, since its authorship was never seriously contested. Modern scholars, too, almost all accept it as one of Paul's undoubted letters.

Date and place: Rome, about AD 61–63

In Rome, during St Paul's first imprisonment, about AD 61 to 63. This is the captivity described at the close of Acts 28: "he remained two whole years in his own hired lodging," under guard but free to receive visitors. That is how a runaway slave from Asia could find him. Philemon belongs with Colossians, Ephesians and Philippians among the four "Captivity Epistles."

It was written and sent together with Colossians. The two letters name the same companions (Epaphras, Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, Luke) and the same Onesimus, whom Paul sends back to Colossae with Tychicus, calling him "a most beloved and faithful brother, who is one of you" (Colossians 4, verse 9). Paul even asks Philemon to "prepare me also a lodging" (verse 22), hoping to be released. Some modern writers propose Caesarea or Ephesus as the place of writing; tradition and the internal evidence favour Rome.

The recipients: Philemon, Apphia and Archippus

To Philemon, a Christian of Colossae in Phrygia, a man of means who owned slaves and whose house served as the local church: "to the church which is in thy house" (verse 2). Paul calls him "fellow labourer," and reminds him, "thou owest me thy own self also" (verse 19), which suggests that Paul himself converted him, most probably during his long stay at Ephesus.

The letter is also addressed to "Appia, our dearest sister" (Apphia in modern Bibles), generally believed to be Philemon's wife, and to "Archippus, our fellow soldier," probably their son, the minister whom Paul exhorts in Colossians 4: "Take heed to the ministry which thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it." The Roman Martyrology keeps Saints Philemon and Apphia on 22 November, recording that they were martyred at Colossae under Nero, stoned by a pagan crowd on a feast of Diana.

Onesimus, the runaway who became a bishop

Onesimus was Philemon's slave. As St John Chrysostom tells it, he stole from his master and fled to Rome, found Paul in prison, heard his teaching and was baptized: "my son, whom I have begotten in my bands" (verse 10). His name means "useful" or "profitable" in Greek, and Paul plays on it: he "hath been heretofore unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable both to me and thee" (verse 11).

Tradition did not forget him. The Roman Martyrology, on 16 February, keeps "the birthday of blessed Onesimus, concerning whom the apostle St. Paul wrote to Philemon," and says that Paul made him bishop of Ephesus after St Timothy, and that he was led a prisoner to Rome and stoned to death for the faith. About AD 107, St Ignatius of Antioch, writing to the Ephesians on his way to martyrdom, praises their bishop Onesimus, "a man of inexpressible love." Many have believed this was the same man. The Apostolic Constitutions name an Onesimus as bishop of Beroea.

What is the Book of Philemon about? A summary

Greeting and thanksgiving (verses 1–7)

The letter opens on Philemon 1 with the greeting to Philemon, Apphia, Archippus and the church in their house, then gives thanks for Philemon's "charity and faith, which thou hast in the Lord Jesus, and towards all the saints." Paul has heard how generous he is: "the bowels of the saints have been refreshed by thee, brother." The praise is sincere, and it also prepares the request that follows.

The plea for Onesimus (verses 8–21)

This is the heart of the Epistle to Philemon. Paul could command, yet "for charity sake I rather beseech." He pleads "for my son... Onesimus," and sends him back: "do thou receive him as my own bowels." He would gladly have kept him as a helper, "but without thy counsel I would do nothing: that thy good deed might not be as it were of necessity, but voluntary."

Then he reads Providence in what happened: "perhaps he therefore departed for a season from thee, that thou mightest receive him again for ever: not now as a servant, but instead of a servant, a most dear brother." Paul takes the debt on himself, "put that to my account... I will repay it," and closes, confident that Philemon "wilt also do more than I say." Paul never utters the word freedom, but many readers, ancient and modern, have heard it in that last line.

Lodging and greetings (verses 22–25)

The letter ends at Philemon 1:22 with a request for lodging, since Paul hopes "through your prayers" to be set free, and with greetings from "Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus," and from "Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke my fellow labourers." Then comes the blessing: "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen."

Themes and the Catholic reading

Charity that beseeches. Paul writes with apostolic authority ("I have much confidence in Christ Jesus, to command thee") and chooses to entreat. Chrysostom draws from this the first lesson of the letter: if Paul spends such care on "a runaway, a thief, and a robber," we must not be negligent of any soul. No one is beyond the reach of grace, and the one who had been "unprofitable" becomes a fellow worker of the Apostle.

Forgiveness of injuries. Paul asks Philemon to do what the Gospel asks of every Christian: to forgive a real wrong and receive the wrongdoer back. To forgive offences willingly is one of the spiritual works of mercy, and the letter is a living example of what we treat in What Does God Say About Forgiveness?.

A debt paid by another. "If he hath wronged thee in any thing, or is in thy debt, put that to my account... I will repay it." Here we see in miniature what Christ has done for us: the guilty one is received for the sake of another, who takes the debt upon himself. Paul's intercession for Onesimus, and his trust that he will be freed "through your prayers," also show the charity by which the members of Christ help one another, which the Creed calls the Communion of Saints.

Spiritual fatherhood. "My son, whom I have begotten in my bands." Paul uses the same language in 1 Corinthians 4: "in Christ Jesus, by the gospel, I have begotten you." The one who brings a soul to Christ through Baptism and the Word is truly its father in the faith.

Slavery and the Gospel. Paul does not order Philemon to free Onesimus, and he does not keep the slave without his master's consent; Chrysostom draws the lesson that we ought not to withdraw slaves from their masters' service, lest the name of God and His teaching be blasphemed, as though the faith overturned all order. But Paul changes the relation from within. The slave is now "a most dear brother... both in the flesh and in the Lord," as in Galatians 3: "there is neither bond nor free...

For you are all one in Christ Jesus," and in 1 Corinthians 7: "he that is called in the Lord, being a bondman, is the freeman of the Lord." Pope Leo XIII, in his encyclical In Plurimis (1888) on the abolition of slavery, cites this very letter as "specially remarkable": St Paul exerting himself for "Onesimus, the fugitive of Philemon." The Catholic Encyclopedia calls these principles a leaven "which slowly and steadily spread throughout the whole empire."

Famous verses from Philemon

Philemon 1:6. "That the communication of thy faith may be made evident in the acknowledgment of every good work, that is in you in Christ Jesus" (Philemon 1). Faith is shown by works of charity.

Philemon 1:10–11. "I beseech thee for my son, whom I have begotten in my bands, Onesimus, who hath been heretofore unprofitable to thee, but now is profitable both to me and thee."

Philemon 1:15–16. "For perhaps he therefore departed for a season from thee, that thou mightest receive him again for ever: not now as a servant, but instead of a servant, a most dear brother" (Philemon 1).

Philemon 1:17–18. "If therefore thou count me a partner, receive him as myself. And if he hath wronged thee in any thing, or is in thy debt, put that to my account."

Philemon 1:24. "Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke my fellow labourers." Two of these names have their own history. Mark, once parted from Paul, is here at his side again, and in 2 Timothy 4 Paul writes, "he is profitable to me for the ministry." Demas, faithful here, later "left me, loving this world."

Philemon in the Bible and in the liturgy

Philemon is a book of the New Testament in every Catholic, Orthodox and Protestant Bible, under the same name and with the same single chapter. In the Douay-Rheims and the Vulgate it stands after Titus and before Hebrews, the last of the letters Paul addressed to individuals. The Council of Trent (Session IV, 1546), listing the canon, names among the fourteen Epistles of Paul the Apostle "one to Philemon." Our English text is the Douay-Rheims Bible, printed beside the Latin Vulgate on the chapter page.

In the Roman Breviary the Epistle is read at Matins on the Saturday of the fifth week after Epiphany, verses 1 to 19 in the three lessons, between the Epistle to Titus and the Epistle to the Hebrews. No Mass of the 1962 Missal takes its Epistle from Philemon. Follow the season in our liturgical calendar and pray the Office in the Breviary.

How to read the Book of Philemon

Read it straight through, aloud if you can: it is a letter, written to be read to the church in Philemon's house. Then read it again beside Colossians 3 and Colossians 4, sent to the same town at the same time, where Paul gives the rule for masters and servants and names Onesimus. Keep the Latin in view: nunc autem et mihi et tibi utilis (verse 11) and hoc mihi imputa (verse 18) give the play on the name and the weight of Paul's pledge. Finally, ask whom we are called to receive back "as myself."

Frequently Asked Questions

Who wrote the Book of Philemon?

St Paul the Apostle wrote it, with Timothy named beside him in the greeting. Paul signs it in his own hand (verse 19). The Muratorian Fragment, Tertullian, Origen and Eusebius all received it as his, and even Marcion kept it; modern scholars almost all accept it as one of Paul's undoubted letters.

When was the Book of Philemon written?

About AD 61 to 63, during St Paul's first imprisonment in Rome, at the same time as Colossians and Ephesians. Onesimus carried it back to Colossae with Tychicus, who carried the letter to the Colossians.

Where was Paul when he wrote the Book of Philemon?

He was a prisoner in Rome, living under guard "in his own hired lodging" for two years while awaiting trial (Acts 28:30). He calls himself "a prisoner of Christ Jesus" and names Epaphras as his "fellow prisoner" (verse 23).

What is the Book of Philemon about?

St Paul sends back to Philemon his runaway slave Onesimus, whom Paul had converted and baptized in prison, and asks Philemon to forgive him and receive him "not now as a servant, but... a most dear brother." Paul offers to pay any debt Onesimus owes. It is a letter about charity, forgiveness and the new brotherhood of master and slave in Christ.

Who was Onesimus in the Book of Philemon?

Onesimus was Philemon's slave, who wronged his master, fled to Rome, met St Paul in prison and became a Christian. His name means "profitable," which is why Paul writes that he was once "unprofitable" but is now "profitable." The Roman Martyrology honours him on 16 February as bishop of Ephesus after St Timothy and a martyr stoned at Rome.

Who was Apphia in the Book of Philemon?

Apphia, "Appia, our dearest sister" in the Douay-Rheims, is generally believed to have been Philemon's wife, with Archippus their son. The Roman Martyrology keeps Saints Philemon and Apphia on 22 November as martyrs of Colossae under Nero.

Why is the Book of Philemon in the Bible?

Because it is an inspired letter of the Apostle, received by the Church from the beginning and defined in the canon by the Council of Trent. When some thought it too slight for Scripture, St Jerome and St John Chrysostom defended it, showing how much it teaches about charity, forgiveness and the worth of every soul.

How many chapters are in the Book of Philemon?

Philemon has a single chapter of 25 verses, in the Douay-Rheims, the Latin Vulgate and Protestant Bibles alike. It is the shortest of St Paul's Epistles. Read it in full on Philemon 1, Latin and English side by side.

Where is the Book of Philemon in the Bible, and which book precedes it?

It is in the New Testament, the thirteenth of the fourteen Epistles of St Paul, preceded by the Epistle to Titus and followed by the Epistle to the Hebrews. It is in every Catholic Bible, including the Douay-Rheims in our online Catholic Bible.

Read the whole Epistle to Philemon verse by verse, Latin and English, in the Iter Fidei Catholic Bible app.

Sources. The Epistle to Philemon, Latin Vulgate and Douay-Rheims (Challoner revision, 1749-1752); Acts of the Apostles 28; Epistle to the Colossians 4; the Muratorian Fragment; Tertullian, Against Marcion V; Eusebius, Ecclesiastical History III; St Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Ephesians 1; St John Chrysostom, Homilies on the Epistle to Philemon, Argument; St Jerome, Commentary on the Epistle to Philemon, Preface; Origen; Apostolic Constitutions VII, 46; Council of Trent, Session IV, Decree on the Canonical Scriptures (1546); Leo XIII, In Plurimis (1888); The Catholic Encyclopedia (1911), "Epistle to Philemon"; Martyrologium Romanum, 16 February and 22 November; Breviarium Romanum (1962), Saturday of the fifth week after Epiphany.