Apphia

Apphia, whose name is thought to mean productive or fruitful, is a female Christian addressed alongside Philemon and Archippus in Paul's letter to Philemon (Philem. 1:2). She is identified as “the sister,” a designation indicating her membership in the Christian community; many interpreters understand her to be the wife of Philemon, making the household at Colosse the setting for the meeting of the church mentioned in the same verse.

Beyond this single reference, no further information about Apphia is available from the New Testament. Early church tradition in some martyrologies lists her as having been martyred alongside Philemon and Archippus during a period of persecution at Colossae, though these accounts lack independent historical verification. Her inclusion in the opening address of the letter suggests that the matter of Onesimus, the runaway slave whom Paul was returning, directly concerned her household and that Paul sought her support along with Philemon's in the reception of Onesimus as a brother in Christ.