Philemon was an early Christian in Asia Minor

Asia Minor

Asia Minor is a geographical location at the westernmost protrusion of Asia, also called Anatolia, and corresponds to the western two thirds of the Asian part of Turkey...

 who was the recipient of a private letter from Paul of Tarsus

Paul of Tarsus

Paul the Apostle , also known as Saul of Tarsus, is described in the Christian New Testament as one of the most influential early Christian missionaries, with the writings ascribed to him by the church forming a considerable portion of the New Testament...

. This letter is known as Epistle to Philemon

Epistle to Philemon

Paul's Epistle to Philemon, usually referred to simply as Philemon, is a prison letter to Philemon from Paul of Tarsus. Philemon was a leader in the Colossian church. This letter, which is one of the books of the New Testament, deals with forgiveness.Philemon was a wealthy Christian of the house...

 in the New Testament

New Testament

The New Testament is the second major division of the Christian biblical canon, the first such division being the much longer Old Testament....

. He is known as a saint by several Christian churches along with his wife Apphia.

Philemon was a wealthy Christian and a minister (possibly a bishop) of the house church

House church

House church, or "home church", is used to describe an independent assembly of Christians who gather in a home. Sometimes this occurs because the group is small, and a home is the most appropriate place to gather, as in the beginning phase of the British New Church Movement...

 that met in his home in Colosse, Phrygia

Phrygia

In antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...

..

The Menaia of 22 November speak of Philemon as a holy apostle who, in company with Apphia, Archippus

Archippus

Archippus was an early Christian believer mentioned briefly in the New Testament epistles of Philemon and Colossians.-Role in the New Testament:...

, and Onesimus

Onesimus

Saint Onesimus |churches]]) was a slave to Philemon of Colossae, a man of Christian faith. Eventually, Onesimus transgressed against Philemon and fled to the site of Paul the Apostle's imprisonment to escape punishment for a theft he was said to have committed, there, he heard the Gospel from...

 had been martyred at Colossae during the first general persecution in the reign of Nero

Nero

Nero , was Roman Emperor from 54 to 68, and the last in the Julio-Claudian dynasty. Nero was adopted by his great-uncle Claudius to become his heir and successor, and succeeded to the throne in 54 following Claudius' death....

.

In the list of the Seventy Apostles, attributed to Dorotheus of Tyre

Dorotheus of Tyre

Saint Dorotheus bishop of Tyre is traditionally credited with an Acts of the Seventy Apostles , who were sent out according to the Gospel of Luke 10:1....

, Philemon is described as bishop of Gaza

Gaza

Gaza , also referred to as Gaza City, is a Palestinian city in the Gaza Strip, with a population of about 450,000, making it the largest city in the Palestinian territories.Inhabited since at least the 15th century BC,...

.