फिलेमोन

Philemon was a wealthy Christian in Colossae and the recipient of Paul's shortest canonical letter, written while Paul was in prison. He hosted a church in his home and is described warmly by Paul as 'our beloved fellow worker' (Philemon 1). The letter concerns Onesimus, Philemon's runaway slave who had met Paul in prison and become a Christian; Paul sends Onesimus back but appeals to Philemon to receive him 'no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother' (Philemon 16). Paul subtly implies, without commanding, that Philemon might consider freeing Onesimus. The letter is a masterpiece of early Christian rhetoric and a significant text in debates about the New Testament's relationship to slavery.