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33-712: Epaphras is mentioned three times in the New Testament, twice in Colossians and once in Philemon. He was a believer in Christ who served with the apostle Paul, who referred to him as a “fellow servant,” “faithful minister,” and “servant of Christ Jesus” (Colossians 1:7; 4:12). His name and Paul’s comment in Colossians 4:11 indicates that Epaphras was a Gentile. We also surmise that he was from Colossae in Asia Minor, since his name appears in

66-471: A faithful servant of Christ and was later martyred. But those details are not found in the Bible. The descriptions of Epaphras are significant: “our dear fellow servant,” “a faithful minister of Christ,” “a servant of Christ Jesus,” “always wrestling in prayer,” and “working hard.” The brief sketch Paul provides shows that the apostle thought highly of this follower of Christ and fellow laborer. Epaphras demonstrated

99-418: A strong faith, a rich prayer life, a boldness in sharing the gospel even at the risk of suffering, and deep care for those in whom he had invested spiritually. Epaphras is probably not the first name that comes to mind when we think of Bible characters, but he faithfully served Jesus, and his reward is sure (see Hebrews 6:10). Douglas Moo , in his commentary about Colossians, writes this about Epaphras: "Little

132-477: Is a municipality and district of Denizli Province , Turkey . Its area is 449 km , and its population is 34,074 (2022). Honaz is about 20 km (12 mi) east of the city of Denizli on the slopes of the mountain of the same name – Mount Honaz ( Honaz Dağı ). The mountain is the highest peak in Turkey's Aegean Region (2517 m). Just north of Honaz is Honaz Stream ( Honaz Çayı ), known in ancient times as

165-429: Is an annual cherry festival in the town. Tomatoes and other fruits and vegetables are grown too including a local variety of oleaster . Honaz is also the homeland of a number of well-known pehlivans ( oil wrestlers ) including the 3-time national champion Hüseyin Çokal . In the nearby depending township of Kaklık , there is a large cave called "Kaklık Cave" or "Kaklık Mağarası" which attracts visitors from all over

198-466: Is known about him, though we can infer that he was a native of Colossae and that he was perhaps converted by Paul himself during the apostle's ministry in Ephesus. The mention of a co-worker at this point in a Pauline epistle is unusual, and the strength of Paul's endorsement of him is also striking (note also 4:12-13)." Colossae Colossae ( / k ə ˈ l ɒ s i / ; Ancient Greek : Κολοσσαί )

231-434: The cardo maximus , or the city's main north–south road. Ceramic finds around the theater confirm the city's early occupation in the third and second millennia BC. Northeast of the tell , and most likely outside the city walls, a necropolis displays Hellenistic tombs with two main styles of burial: one with an antecedent room connected to an inner chamber, and tumuli , or underground chambers accessed by stairs leading to

264-541: The Colossus of Rhodes . More recently, in an interpretation that ties Colossae to an Indo-European root that happens to be shared with the word kolossos , Jean-Pierre Vernant has connected the name to the idea of setting up a sacred space or shrine. Another proposal relates the name to the Greek kolazo 'to punish'. Others believe the name derives from the manufacture of its famous dyed wool, or colossinus . The first mention of

297-609: The Lycus . In antiquity it was known as Colossae . At 500 BC Colossae was founded by the Phrygians , and then passed into the hands of the Ancient Greeks . Herodotus and Xenophon both record the passage of Greek and Persian armies though here during the Persian Wars , at that time it was a large Phrygian city . A few ruins of the ancient city remain. Like many other ancient cities of

330-458: The Maiander. " Despite a treacherously ambiguous cartography and history, Colossae has been clearly distinguished in modern research from nearby Chonai ( Χῶναι ), now called Honaz , with what remains of the buried ruins of Colossae ("the mound") lying 3 km (1.9 mi) to the north of Honaz. The medieval poet Manuel Philes incorrectly imagined that the name Colossae was connected to

363-621: The 20th century, Honaz was one of the places where the Vallahades or Valaades (ethnic Greek Muslims from southwest Greek Macedonia) were forced to resettle during the Population exchange between Greece and Turkey of 1922–23. There are 22 neighbourhoods in Honaz District: Today the economy of Honaz is centred on growing cherries , 80% of the crop being exported from Turkey, generating up to 35 million dollars of income per annum. There

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396-555: The Apostle due to its autobiographical salutation and style, but some modern critical scholars now believe it to be written by another author some time after Paul's death. It is believed that one aim of the letter was to address the challenges that the Colossian community faced in its context of the syncretistic Gnostic religions that were developing in Asia Minor. According to the Epistle to

429-564: The Byzantine renegade Manuel Maurozomes . The latter held it as an autonomous lordship together with Laodikeia , near present-day Denizli , from 1205 until his death ca. 1230. Theodore I Laskaris came to accept it in a 1206 agreement with Kaykhusraw I. There is a Seljuk fortress in Honaz, and the Murat Mosque which dates back to the reign of Ottoman Sultan Murat II ( imperabat 1404–1451). In

462-608: The Colossians, Epaphras seems to have been a person of some importance in the Christian community in Colossae, and tradition presents him as its first bishop. The epistle also seems to imply that Paul had never visited the city, because it only speaks of him having "heard" of the Colossians' faith, and in the Epistle to Philemon Paul tells Philemon of his hope to visit Colossae upon being freed from prison. Tradition also gives Philemon as

495-575: The Colossians’ “love in the Spirit” (Colossians 1:8). In his letter, Paul told the Colossians about how Epaphras cared deeply for their spiritual growth and maturity. Epaphras had committed to praying for the Colossians, “always wrestling in prayer for [them]” (Colossians 4:12). Epaphras desired for the Colossian Christians to stand firm in their faith and become mature. Paul gave testimony that Epaphras

528-594: The capital of the Roman province of Phrygia Pacatiana , signed the acts on his behalf. The city's fame and renowned status continued into the Byzantine period, and in 858, it was distinguished as a Metropolitan See. The Byzantines also built the church of St. Michael in the vicinity of Colossae, one of the largest church buildings in the Middle East. Nevertheless, sources suggest that the town may have decreased in size or may even been completely abandoned due to Arab invasions in

561-410: The city had already reached a certain level of wealth and size by this time. Writing in the 5th century BC, Xenophon refers to Colossae as "a populous city, wealthy and of considerable magnitude". It was famous for its wool trade. Strabo notes that the city drew great revenue from the flocks, and that the wool of Colossae gave its name to colour colossinus . In 396 BC, Colossae was the site of

594-612: The city may be in a 17th-century BC Hittite inscription, which speaks of a city called Huwalušija, which some archeologists believe is a reference to early Colossae. The 5th-century geographer Herodotus first mentions Colossae by name and as a "great city in Phrygia", which accommodates the Persian king Xerxes I while en route to wage war against the Greeks in the Greco-Persian Wars – showing

627-572: The entrance. Outside the tell, there are also remains of sections of columns that may have marked a processional way, or the cardo . Today, the remains of one column marks the location where locals believe a church once stood, possibly that of St. Michael. Near the Lycus River, there is evidence that water channels had been cut out of the rock with a complex of pipes and sluice gates to divert water for bathing and for agricultural and industrial purposes. The holiness and healing properties associated with

660-504: The execution of the rebellious Persian satrap Tissaphernes , who was lured there and slain by an agent of the party of Cyrus the Younger . Although during the Hellenistic period, the town was of some mercantile importance, by the 1st century it had dwindled greatly in size and significance. Paul 's letter to the Colossians points to the existence of an early Christian community. Colossae

693-554: The existence of its local angel cult. It was part of the Roman and Byzantine province of Phrygia Pacatiana , before being destroyed in 1192/3 and its population relocating to nearby Chonae (Chonai, modern-day Honaz ). Colossae was located in Phrygia , in Asia Minor. It was located 15 km (9.3 mi) southeast of Laodicea on the road through the Lycus Valley near the Lycus River at

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726-407: The foot of Mt. Cadmus , the highest mountain in Turkey's western Aegean Region , and between the cities Sardeis and Celaenae, and southeast of the ancient city of Hierapolis . At Colossae, Herodotus describes how, "the river Lycos falls into an opening of the earth and disappears from view, and then after an interval of about five furlongs it comes up to view again, and this river also flows into

759-421: The landscape. They hope to start digging in 2023-24. The site exhibits a biconical acropolis almost 100 feet (30 m) high, and encompasses an area of almost 22 acres (8.9 ha). On the eastern slope there sits a theater which probably seated around 5,000 people, suggesting a total population of 25,000–30,000 people. The theater was probably built during the Roman period, and may be near an agora that abuts

792-436: The letter to the church there and Paul says that he “is one of you” (Colossians 4:12). According to Paul, writing during his first Roman imprisonment, Epaphras was the one who shared the gospel with the Colossians and possibly started the church there: Paul speaks of “the day you heard [the gospel]” and reminds them that “you learned it from Epaphras” (Colossians 1:6–7). Epaphras traveled to Rome to visit Paul, informing Paul about

825-549: The region, Colossae was destroyed by earthquakes, with little surviving. In the Byzantine period its name was Chonai . The city and a bishopric of Chonai was established at the location of the present Honaz township by the Byzantines during the Arab invasions of the 7th century. Being further up the mountain the location was easier to defend. Following centuries of Byzantine rule the town

858-567: The second bishop of the see. The city was decimated by an earthquake in the 60s AD, and was rebuilt independent of the support of Rome. The Apostolic Constitutions list Philemon as a bishop of Colossae. On the other hand, the Catholic Encyclopedia considers Philemon doubtful. The first historically documented bishop is Epiphanius, who was not personally at the Council of Chalcedon , but whose metropolitan bishop Nunechius of Laodicea ,

891-774: The seventh and eighth centuries, forcing the population to flee to resettle in the nearby city of Chonai (modern day Honaz ). Colossae's famous church was destroyed in 1192/3 during the Byzantine civil wars. It was a suffragan diocese of Laodicea in Phyrigia Pacatiana but was replaced in the Byzantine period by the Chonae settlement on higher ground. Most archeological attention has been focused on nearby Laodicea and Hierapolis. Excavations of Colossae began in 2021 led by Bariş Yener of Pammukale University in Denizli. The first several years involve surface surveys to analyze pottery and survey

924-581: The waters of Colossae during the Byzantine era continue to this day, particularly at a pool fed by the Lycus River at the Göz picnic grounds west of Colossae at the foot of Mt. Cadmus. Locals consider the water to be therapeutic. [REDACTED]  This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain :  Easton, Matthew George (1897). " Colossae ". Easton's Bible Dictionary (New and revised ed.). T. Nelson and Sons. Honaz Honaz (also known as Khonaz or Cadmus )

957-707: Was a native of the city. Chonai was plundered twice by local independent warlords backed by the Turks (by Theodoros Mankaphas in late 1180s and by Pseudo-Alexios in 1192). It finally fell to the Seljuks soon afterwards. Kaykhusraw I promised to return it to the Byzantines, but in view of the collapse of imperial power caused by the Fourth Crusade and the Latin conquest of Constantinople he decided rather to assign it to his father-in-law,

990-452: Was an ancient city of Phrygia in Asia Minor , and one of the most celebrated cities of southern Anatolia (modern Turkey ). The Epistle to the Colossians , an early Christian text which identifies its author as Paul the Apostle , is addressed to the church in Colossae. A significant city from the 5th century BC onwards, it had dwindled in importance by the time of Paul, but was notable for

1023-692: Was first captured by the Seljuk Turks in 1070, but was then reconquered during the Komnenian period . During the reign of Manuel I Komnenos it prospered as a frontier town, a trading and pilgrimage venue for both Christians and Muslims. The forces of Louis VII of France , en route to the Holy Land as part of the Second Crusade , were attacked here by the Turks in the battle of Mount Cadmus of 1148. The Byzantine chronicler Niketas Choniates (c. 1155-1215/1216)

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1056-585: Was home to the miracle near the Archangel church, where a sacristan named Archipos witnessed, how the Archangel Michael thwarted a plan by the heathens to destroy the church by flooding it with the waters of near-by mountain rivers. The Eastern Orthodox Church commemorates this feast on 6(19) September. The canonical biblical text Epistle to the Colossians is addressed to the Christian community in Colossae. The epistle has traditionally been attributed to Paul

1089-744: Was working hard for the church in Colossae, just as he was for the believers in Laodicea and Hierapolis (Colossians 4:13). Aside from the letter to the Colossians, Epaphras’s name shows up in Paul’s personal letter to Philemon. Like Colossians, Paul wrote Philemon during his first imprisonment in Rome. Epaphras had apparently been imprisoned while in Rome visiting Paul: “Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings” (Philemon 1:23). Tradition teaches that Epaphras eventually returned to Colossae where he remained

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