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Tryphaena and Tryphosa were deacons of a house church in Rome mentioned
in Paul’s Letter to the Romans “Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and
Tryphosa” (Romans 16:12).
According
to the ancient Roman Martyrology, Tryphaena and Tryphosa were converted by Paul
and opened their home to help others to progress in the faith. Tryphaena was the great grandchild of Mark
Antony and a descendant of Ptolemy. She
married the Thracian prince and bore him two sons and two daughters. Her husband was captured and murdered by his
uncle who wanted to lay claim to his territory, and Tryphaena was forced to
flee with her family. After the uncle
was brought to trial, he died and the Emperor turned the Thracian kingdom over
to Tryphaena and made her Queen in her own right.
No
details of Tryphosa's life have survived, but she seems to have been a trusted
maid servant, a sister or other near relative of the queen. In the sixteenth chapter of the book of
Romans, Paul lists the women who supported the church in Rome: Phoebe, Prisca,
Mary, Junia, Tryphaena, Tryphosa, Rufus’ mother, Julia, and Nereus’
sister. Perhaps, then, Tryphosa is the
mother of Rufus, and Julia is Nereus' sister.
Further information is needed to know for certain.
