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Epaphras
A fellow-worker of Paul who founded and prayed earnestly for the church at Colossae.
What we know — and how we know it
Scholarly — supported scholarly belief · 2
Life, role & deeds
ScholarlyLater church tradition regards Epaphras as the founder and first bishop of the church at Colossae, extrapolating from Paul's statement that the Colossians learned the gospel from him. This is a plausible inference from the text but rests on later ecclesiastical tradition, not independent evidence.
Traditional identification (e.g., in later martyrologies); inferential from Col 1:7, 4:12-13.
Name & titles
ScholarlyEpaphras (Ἐπαφρᾶς) is a shortened, affectionate form (hypocoristicon) of the fuller name Epaphroditus, both ultimately built on the name of the goddess Aphrodite, so it means something like 'lovely' or 'favored by Aphrodite.' The two forms are distinct persons in Paul's letters despite the shared root.
Greek onomastics; contraction of Epaphroditos, a widely used name in the Greco-Roman world.