The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130
Herodion
fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) · Kinsman of Paul · Rome
The Apostolic Fathers
Who Herodion was
“Salute Herodion my kinsman” — a name built on Herod’s, of the type borne by that dynasty’s freedmen, greeted immediately after the household of (the Herodian) Aristobulus. A Jewish believer, then, likely of the Herodian service, and Paul’s syngenēs: kinsman by nation or by clan. The sequence of three greetings is a little map of how the gospel ran along the corridors of a single Roman palace complex.
Common questions
When was Herodion active?
Herodion is dated fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Herodion 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 Herodion?
Herodion 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 Herodion from?
The archive associates Herodion with Rome.
Who were Herodion’s contemporaries?
The archive links Herodion to 2 other figures, including The Household of Aristobulus and Paul of Tarsus. 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 16:11
c. AD 55Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord.Paul · read ↗
Origen, Commentary on Romans X (on Paul's kinsman)
c. AD 246Homilies on Romans XXXI
c. AD 391“Salute Herodion my kinsman; greet them which be of the household of Narcissus” … and after giving them the encomium which was suited to them, that of being faithful … “Which are in the Lord.”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 Herodion.
- 1Rome