The Apostolic Fathers · AD 70–130
Urbanus
fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) · “Our helper in Christ” · Rome
The Apostolic Fathers
Who Urbanus was
“Salute Urbane, our helper in Christ” — a freedman’s name (“the city man”) frequent in the imperial household’s burial registers. Paul calls him synergos, co-worker, the term he uses for Timothy and Titus: whatever Urbanus did in Rome, the apostle counted it ministry in the full sense.
Common questions
When was Urbanus active?
Urbanus is dated fl. c. 57 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Urbanus 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 Urbanus?
Urbanus 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 Urbanus from?
The archive associates Urbanus with Rome.
Who were Urbanus’ contemporaries?
The archive links Urbanus to 2 other figures, including Ampliatus and Stachys. 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 16:9)
c. AD 246Homilies on Romans XXXI
c. AD 391“Salute Urbane, my helper in the Lord.” This is a greater encomium than the other. For this even comprehends that.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 Urbanus.
- 1Rome