Nymphas

Nymphas (meaning spouse or bridegroom) was a Christian at Laodicea (or possibly Hierapolis or Colossae) in whose house a church met. Paul sends greetings to him and the church in his house in Colossians 4:15: "Salute the brethren which are in Laodicea, and Nymphas, and the church which is in his house." The gender of the name is debated in manuscript tradition — some manuscripts read Nymphas (masculine), others Nympha (feminine) — with a corresponding variation in the pronoun used. As a house-church host, Nymphas was evidently a person of some means and standing who provided space for Christian assembly in the absence of dedicated church buildings in the first century.