Artemas

Artemas (meaning whole or sound; possibly a shortened form of Artemidoros, "gift of Artemis") was a trusted companion and associate of the apostle Paul, mentioned once in the Epistle to Titus. Paul writes: "When I send Artemas or Tychicus to you, do your best to come to me at Nicopolis, for I have decided to spend the winter there" (Titus 3:12). The pairing with Tychicus — one of Paul's most reliable delegates (Ephesians 6:21; Colossians 4:7; 2 Timothy 4:12) — suggests Artemas was of comparable stature and capability, able to assume oversight of the Cretan churches in Titus's absence.

Beyond this single reference, Artemas's career is attested only in later church tradition. Dorotheus and other early ecclesiastical writers identified him as one of the seventy disciples sent out by Jesus (Luke 10:1) and assigned him the bishopric of Lystra in Asia Minor — the city where Paul and Barnabas had worked and where Timothy originated. These traditions cannot be confirmed from Scripture, but Paul's naming of Artemas as a potential replacement for Titus in the important mission field of Crete indicates he was an experienced, trusted church worker in the apostolic circle whose administrative and pastoral gifts were well established.