Did the Apostle Paul Pray for the Dead? The Case of Onesiphoros

St. Onesiphoros the Apostle

Saint Onesiphoros (Sept. 7) is listed among the Seventy Apostles of the Lord, and is mentioned by the Apostle Paul with gratitude in his second epistle to Timothy: "May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphoros, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains. On the contrary, when he was in Rome, he searched hard for me until he found me. May the Lord grant that he will find mercy from the Lord on that day. You know very well in how many ways he helped me in Ephesus" (2 Timothy 1:16-18).

Holy Apostle Carpos of the Seventy

St. Carpos the Apostle of the Seventy (Feast Day - May 26)

Verses

The Lord received the fruits you produced O Carpos,
Which you brought every hour till the end as a harvest.
On the twenty-sixth Carpos flew away from the earth to a distant place.

Saint Carpos was among the Seventy Apostles of the Lord, who ministered to the Apostle Paul in the preaching of the gospel, and delivered his epistles. He taught many pagans to revere Christ. Some sources say he was Bishop of Varna in Thrace, while others say he was Bishop of Berroia in Macedonia. As a shining star he illumined the universe with his teachings. Daily he worked great miracles and banished evil spirits from the possessed.

Holy Apostles Nymphas and Eubulus of the Seventy

Sts. Nymphas and Eubulus the Apostles (Feast Day - February 28)

Verses

The two apostles of Christ were planted by Christ,
Eubulus and Nymphas together being associated with Christ.

The Holy Apostles Nymphas and Eubulus were disciples of the Apostle Paul.

Nymphas is mentioned by Paul in his epistle to the Colossians (4:15): "Greet Nymphas and the church that meets in his house."

Holy Apostle Timothy of the Seventy

St. Timothy the Apostle (Feast Day - January 22)

Verses

Adorned with a wreath of divine eros Timothy,
You were beaten with clubs that painted the earth with your blood.
On the twenty-second your spirit was raised Timothy.

Saint Timothy was from the city of Lystra in the province of Lycaonia, in the confines of Isauria, which is beneath Iconium. His father was a pagan called Ellinos, and his mother was a Jew called Eunike (Eunice). The Apostle Paul would later praise Timothy's mother and grandmother because of their sincere faith: "I yearn to see you again, recalling your tears, so that I may be filled with joy, as I recall your sincere faith that first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and that, I am confident, lives also in you" (2 Tim. 1:4-5). Timothy first met with the great Apostle in Lystra and was himself a witness when Paul healed the one lame from birth. Having learned the Christian faith from the Apostle Paul, and after being baptized by him, he became his co-worker, constant traveling companion and fellow preacher of the divine gospel. He traveled with him to Jerusalem, Achaia, Macedonia, Italy and Spain. Sweet in soul, he was a great zealot for the faith, and a superb preacher. Paul calls him "my own son in the faith": "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus, Who is our hope, to Timothy, my own son in the faith: grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus Christ our Lord" (1 Tim. 1:1-2).

Holy Apostles Tertius, Mark, Justus and Artemas of the Seventy

Sts. Tertius, Mark, Justus and Artemas (Feast Day - October 30)

Verses

To Tertius

Having transcribed the words of Paul,

I see you Tertius as a new author.

To Mark

Perceived as a servant of the Apostles,

I in turn see you as a fellow worker Mark.

To Justus, also known as Jesus

Jesus found the salvation of Jesus,

Showing him to be the Savior of those that bear his name.

To Artemas

Artemas partakes of the glory of noetic beings,

Keeping his nous proper for the Lord.

Holy Apostles Evodos and Onesiphoros of the Seventy

Sts. Evodos and Onesiphoros the Apostles (Feast Day - September 7)

Verses

To Evodos

Evodos ran the road of the straight word,

Running to teach it to all.

To Onesiphoros

Onesiphoros brought profit to all,

Bearing the name he hastened to preach the Word.

Holy Apostle Timothy as a Model for our Lives

St. Timothy the Apostle (Feast Day - January 22)

By Protopresbyter Fr. George Papavarnavas

The Apostle Timothy was a disciple of the Apostle Paul. He was born in Lystra of Lycaonia of a Greek father and Judean mother. Very early on his father departed this temporary life and Saint Timothy grew up with his mother Eunice and his grandmother Loida, who raised him with the pure milk of faith and taught him from his childhood to pray and study the word of God. When the Apostle Paul passed through Lystra he acknowledged the spiritual gifts of the young Timothy and saw him as a worthy missionary worker. He took him on his second apostolic journey and later placed him in Ephesus, to shepherd the flock of that Local Church as its Bishop. The Apostle Paul sent him two epistles, which can be found in the New Testament. They are wonderful texts of advice which should be studied by all believers, but especially by spiritual shepherds.

After the martyric end of the Apostle Paul in Rome, the Apostle Timothy continued his pastoral work in Ephesus until his own martyric end. According to tradition, he was martyred by angry pagans because he criticized their orgies during a series of celebrations of Artemis in Ephesus.

In his two epistles to Saint Timothy, the Apostle Paul gives him advice for his personal advancement, but also for the advancement of his flock. He writes among other things:

- "...nourished on the words of the faith and of the good teaching that you have followed" (1 Tim. 4:6).

He teaches him to be nourished on the words of the faith and the good teaching which he has followed, that he may hence be in a position to nourish as a good shepherd his reasonable flock.

The word of God is truly spiritual food that sustains and strengthens while relaxing and comforting man, but it is also living spiritual water that cools and quenches the thirst of the soul. Of course, this is when it is transmitted clearly and without distortion, because today, like it was in the time of the Apostle Timothy, and as it is in every era, heretics exist who distort the faith and with spiritual food they offer spiritual poison.

In today's age of overconsumption human societies are plagued mainly by spiritual hunger. Although many spiritual books are currently circulating and many sermons heard, in almost every part of the earth, spiritual hunger still exists: "There will be a famine of hearing the word of the Lord" (Amos 8:11). On the one hand because the majority of people unfortunately do not study, a fact of which many factors are responsible, such as television, the loosening of morals, indifference to spiritual life because of the abundance of material goods, etc. On the other hand, because most of the time, even where there abound books and sermons, that which is offered as the word of God and spiritual food is nothing but a theology of the passions. Namely, passionate human words that do not have the power to comfort, support and cause regeneration in people.

We live in an age where secularism has taken dangerous proportions and devours the marrow of Orthodox theology and life. Many sermons are, alas, colorless, odorless, tasteless and anything but the word of God. Also, words about God are one thing, but the word of God is another, the latter being the fruit of experience and the vision of God. And if the preacher of divine words does not have much personal experience and expertise, then he has the ability to "exploit" the experience and expertise of the God-seeing Saints, and he must do this and not offer his own thoughts and reflections, because there is the possibility of making serious mistakes. And certainly no one has the right to play with their own salvation, as well as the salvation of others. "So it is necessary to emphasize how it is possible for anyone to carry out the purpose of their life and obtain their salvation, in what way and by what method they should follow" (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos).

- "For God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but of power and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Tim. 1:7).

He urges the Apostle Timothy to rekindle the flame of the gift of God, given to him by the laying on of hands of the Apostle Paul, because God has not given us a spirit of timidity, but power and love and soundness of mind.

There is a widespread impression among many people that all those who struggle to experience God's will in their lives are timid, antisocial, cut off from society, losers of life who are without the strength to cope with everyday life and its problems. But what takes place is quite the contrary, because one needs to have at their disposal great bravery, inner strength and spiritual manliness to renounce one's own will, to live in obedience to the will of God, and to live with virginity, purity and soundness of mind in the difficult and adverse conditions of the world, whether it be in marriage or as an ascetic in the desert with voluntary deprivation, with asceticism and prayer, far from beloved faces, "alone except for God". "To pray for the entire world is like spilling blood" (Saint Silouan the Athonite).

Those who have learned to feed on the pure milk of the faith from the living breast of the Church rather than spoiled substitutes, will acquire spiritual antibodies, spiritual health, courage, valor and true manliness.

Source: Ekklesiastiki Paremvasi, "ΑΠΟΣΤΟΛΟΣ ΤΙΜΟΘΕΟΣ", January 2005. Translated by John Sanidopoulos.