Philemon ☧
🗓️ (No Feast Day)
Philemon was a leader in a Christian community in Asia Minor and the addressee of Psaul’s letter of the same name. The letter was written on behalf of Philemon’s runaway slave, Onesimus. Given Philemon’s circumstances (wealthy resident of a veteran colony, possessed slaves, etc.), it’s entirely plausible that Onesimus and Philemon fought on opposing forces in battle, with the former being taken as spoil by the latter.
Mandatory Fun:
Epistle to Philemon
Day Ten of #12saints12days
Soldier
Philemon is a Christian leader in Colossae, who hosted mass in his own house. The letter is co-authored by Saul and Timothy, who we have already seen is described in no uncertain military terms; a good-fighter of the faith who suffers as a Christian soldier should. A slave, Onesimus, has fled and Saul is publicly pressuring Philemon to deal more leniently with him.
The greetings are noteworthy, suggesting a strong connection to military themes beyond mere metaphor. Co-recipients are addressed along with Philemon, “Apphia our sister, to Archippus our systratiōtēs.” (v.2, fellow-soldier) According to recent scholarship almost every known instance of this word in Greek literature refers to actual soldiers. Saul uses this specific phrase in the hopes that it will tug on Philemon’s heartstrings, a closer translation might be “Archippus, our little trooper.” Where do most references to systratiōtēs occur? In letters between battle buddies sent to and from the frontlines. For veterans, it’s a gut check right in the feels - it evokes the scribbled epistles held by fellow soldiers to deliver to our widows and orphans in the event of our untimely deaths…
What is unspoken, but highly plausible, is that Philemon gained his wealth, status, and an indentured servant, Onesimus, through his own military service. This aligns with the social context in which CPT Marvel’s doulos, as well as Cornelius’ oiketēs, reside. Saul and Timothy are appealing to Philemon’s better angels; the church is your true family; ‘your son and your servant are no different in God’s eyes.’ Saul goes on to refer to himself as Onesimus’ father (v.10) and also Philemon’s brother (v.20), but these references do not stand out so strongly as those which would connect with a veteran.
POW
Another thing that stands out is that Saul repeatedly calls himself a prisoner, desmos. But in concluding his letter he uses a different word. To really prick the conscience of his veteran friend, he joins himself with Epaphras as a (syn-)aichmalōtos. (v.23) The word combines aichme (spear), and halōsis (caught or taken), literally a prisoner taken at spear point, in war. Here Saul is placing himself in solidarity with captives taken as the spoils of war, the very manner in which Onesimus probably found himself enslaved by Philemon. If that’s true then it probably happened before Philemon converted to Christianity. What is he to do about the sins committed before he came to faith? Saul is subtle but clear, the Christian thing to do is to to “proclaim liberty to the aichmalōtos.” (Isaiah 61:1, Luke 4:18)
Finally, when Philemon is told to treat Onesimus as he would Saul (v.17), it would be a little more compulsory than implied by the familial language if Saul possessed Roman citizenship. It’s part of the leverage Saul employs, citizens outrank soldiers, the latter serves the former. Anyone reading the letter can recognize that Saul commands respect ecclesiastically, but that is not all that’s going on here. It is his legal status as a citizen that makes Saul “confident in [Philemon’s] obedience.” (v.21) Saul’s interaction with Claudius Lysias (see Acts 21-23) teaches him, if he didn’t already know it, that citizenship allows him to epitassō (command, v.8) a representative of the military.
Philemon may be an Unknown in terms of military service, but his epistle makes clear the value of a martial hermeneutic for appreciating the full scope of the Christian faith.
