The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130
Tryphosa
fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) · Laborer in the Lord · Rome
The Apostolic Fathers
Who Tryphosa was
Tryphaena’s pair — sister or fellow-servant — the second of the two “Dainty” names that Paul yokes to the plain participle “labouring in the Lord.” Both names appear in the burial inscriptions of the imperial household staff, which is likely their world: working women of the palace basements building the Roman church a generation before it had a famous name in it.
Common questions
When was Tryphosa active?
Tryphosa is dated fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Tryphosa 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 Tryphosa?
Tryphosa 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 Tryphosa from?
The archive associates Tryphosa with Rome.
Who were Tryphosa’s contemporaries?
The archive links Tryphosa to 3 other figures, including Tryphaena, 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)
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 Tryphosa.
- 1Rome