The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130
Tryphaena
fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) · Laborer in the Lord · Rome
The Apostolic Fathers
Who Tryphaena was
Greeted in one breath with Tryphosa — “who labour in the Lord” — the paired names (from tryphē, “softness, luxury”) almost certainly sisters, perhaps twins, from one household’s naming habit. The fathers relished the irony Paul may have intended: women named “Dainty” and “Delicate” commended with his heaviest labor-verb. The name recurs for the queen in the Acts of Paul and Thecla; the Roman laborer is the earlier and the real one.
Common questions
When was Tryphaena active?
Tryphaena is dated fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Tryphaena 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 Tryphaena?
Tryphaena 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 Tryphaena from?
The archive associates Tryphaena with Rome.
Who were Tryphaena’s contemporaries?
The archive links Tryphaena to 3 other figures, including Tryphosa, Persis and Mary of Rome. 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 16:12; distinct from the queen of the Thecla acts)
c. AD 246Homilies on Romans XXXI
c. AD 391“Salute Tryphena and Tryphosa, who labor in the Lord.” And in regard to the former woman, he says that “she bestowed labor upon you,” but of these that they are still laboring. And this is no small encomium, that they should be in work throughout, and should not only work, but labor even.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 Tryphaena.
- 1Rome