The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130
Hermes of Rome
fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) · Believer of a Roman house circle · Rome
The Apostolic Fathers
Who Hermes of Rome was
The commonest slave-name in the city of Rome — the god of luck and errands bestowed on boys by the thousand — borne here by a member of Asyncritus’s house church. The greeting-list’s sociology is its message: the congregation of the world’s capital was substantially a church of slaves and freedmen, and Paul greets them as the aristocracy of the new age.
Common questions
When was Hermes active?
Hermes of Rome is dated fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Hermes 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 Hermes?
Hermes of Rome 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 Hermes from?
The archive associates Hermes of Rome with Rome.
Who were Hermes’ contemporaries?
The archive links Hermes of Rome to 2 other figures, including Asyncritus and Phlegon. 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 16:14
c. AD 55Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them.Paul · read ↗
Origen, Commentary on Romans X (on Romans 16:14)
c. AD 246Homilies on Romans XXXI
c. AD 391“Salute Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermas, Patrobas, Hermes, and the brethren which are with them.” … Or rather even this is no slight praise that he even calls them brethren, as also those that are after them he calls saints.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 Hermes.
- 1Rome