Apostle Onesimus of the Seventy; Our Venerable Father Dalmatius of Siberia (1697); Our Venerable Father Anthimos of Chios (1960)

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon, our beloved fellow worker, ²to the beloved Apphia, to Archippus our fellow soldier, and to the assembly in your house: ³Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

⁴I thank my God always, making mention of you in my prayers, ⁵hearing of your love and of the faith which you have toward the Lord Jesus and toward all the saints, ⁶that the fellowship of your faith may become effective in the knowledge of every good thing which is in us in Christ Jesus. ⁷For we have much joy and comfort in your love, because the hearts of the saints have been refreshed through you, brother.

⁸Therefore though I have all boldness in Christ to command you that which is appropriate, ⁹yet for love’s sake I rather appeal to you, being such a one as Paul, the aged, but also a prisoner of Jesus Christ. ¹⁰I appeal to you for my child Onesimus, whom I have become the father of in my chains, ¹¹who once was useless to you, but now is useful to you and to me. ¹²I am sending him back. Therefore receive him, that is, my own heart, ¹³whom I desired to keep with me, that on your behalf he might serve me in my chains for the Good News. ¹⁴But I was willing to do nothing without your consent, that your goodness would not be as of necessity, but of free will. ¹⁵For perhaps he was therefore separated from you for a while that you would have him forever, ¹⁶no longer as a slave, but more than a slave, a beloved brother—especially to me, but how much rather to you, both in the flesh and in the Lord.

¹⁷If then you count me a partner, receive him as you would receive me. ¹⁸But if he has wronged you at all or owes you anything, put that to my account. ¹⁹I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it (not to mention to you that you owe to me even your own self besides). ²⁰Yes, brother, let me have joy from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in the Lord.

²¹Having confidence in your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even beyond what I say.

²²Also, prepare a guest room for me, for I hope that through your prayers I will be restored to you.

²³Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, greets you, ²⁴as do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas, and Luke, my fellow workers.

²⁵The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Amen.

Immediately in the morning the chief priests, with the elders, scribes, and the whole council, held a consultation, bound Jesus, carried him away, and delivered him up to Pilate.

²Pilate asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” He answered, “So you say.”

³The chief priests accused him of many things. ⁴Pilate again asked him, “Have you no answer? See how many things they testify against you!”

⁵But Jesus made no further answer, so that Pilate marveled.

⁶Now at the feast he used to release to them one prisoner, whomever they asked of him. ⁷There was one called Barabbas, bound with his fellow insurgents, men who in the insurrection had committed murder. ⁸The multitude, crying aloud, began to ask him to do as he always did for them. ⁹Pilate answered them, saying, “Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” ¹⁰For he perceived that for envy the chief priests had delivered him up. ¹¹But the chief priests stirred up the multitude, that he should release Barabbas to them instead. ¹²Pilate again asked them, “What then should I do to him whom you call the King of the Jews?”

¹³They cried out again, “Crucify him!”

¹⁴Pilate said to them, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they cried out exceedingly, “Crucify him!”

¹⁵Pilate, wishing to please the multitude, released Barabbas to them, and handed over Jesus, when he had flogged him, to be crucified.