The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130
Apelles
fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) · “Approved in Christ” · Rome
The Apostolic Fathers
Who Apelles was
“Salute Apelles approved in Christ” — dokimos, tested and found genuine, the assayer’s word for true coin. The phrase implies a trial survived: sickness, poverty, tribunal, or the Claudian expulsion. A Jewish name common enough that Horace uses it for his stock Jew (“credat Iudaeus Apella”). Later lists made him bishop of Smyrna or Heraclea; the verse’s one word of assay outweighs them.
Common questions
When was Apelles active?
Apelles is dated fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Apelles in the Apostolic Fathers (AD 70–130). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Apelles?
Apelles is named in 3 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Paul, Origen of Alexandria and John Chrysostom. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Apelles from?
The archive associates Apelles with Rome.
Who were Apelles’ contemporaries?
The archive links Apelles to 1 other figure, including The Household of Aristobulus. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (3)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Romans 16:10
c. AD 55Salute Apelles approved in Christ. Salute them which are of Aristobulus’ household.Paul · read ↗
Origen, Commentary on Romans X (on 'approved in Christ')
c. AD 246Homilies on Romans XXXI
c. AD 391“Salute Apelles, approved in Christ.” There is no praise like this, being unblamable, and giving no handle in the things of God. For when he says, “approved in Christ,” he includes the whole list of virtues.John Chrysostom · Homilies on Romans XXXI · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
- AD 64 · The Great Fire and Nero’s persecution, AD 64
- AD 70 · The fall of Jerusalem, AD 70
Place
Places served
The one place the sources put Apelles.
- 1Rome