The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130
Mary of Rome
fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) · Laborer of the Roman church · Rome
The Apostolic Fathers
Who Mary of Rome was
“Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.” The verb is kopiaō — the sweat-word Paul uses for his own apostolic toil — and in Romans 16 he applies it exclusively to women: Mary, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, Persis. A Jewish Miriam or a Roman Maria, one of the church’s pre-Pauline builders; the greeting implies the Roman congregation predates any apostle’s arrival.
Common questions
When was Mary active?
Mary of Rome is dated fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Mary 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 Mary?
Mary 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 Mary from?
The archive associates Mary of Rome with Rome.
Who were Mary’s contemporaries?
The archive links Mary of Rome to 3 other figures, including Persis, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. 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.
Origen, Commentary on Romans X (on Romans 16:6)
c. AD 246Homilies on Romans XXXI
c. AD 391How is this? A woman again is honored and proclaimed victorious! Again are we men put to shame. … For he says, “who bestowed much labor on us,” that is, not on herself only, nor upon her own advancement … but upon others also, so carrying on the race Apostles and Evangelists ran.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 Mary.
- 1Rome