TRYPHENA AND TRYPHOSA (Τρύφωνα καὶ Τρυφῶσα). - Christians of Rome, greeted by St. Paul in Rom. 16:12 as women "who labored for the Lord," perhaps as deaconesses (R. Cornely). According to the Martyrologium Romanum (10 Nov.), which depends on the Acts of Paul and Thecla, they were two sisters converted by Paul, together with Thecla, at Iconium.

In the columbaria of the house of Caesar at Rome these names were found: cf. CIL, VI, 4866 (Tryphosa), 5035, 5343 (Tryphaena). In the Acts of Paul and Thecla there is mention of a queen Tryphaena, who protects St. Thecla at Antioch of Pisidia. This Tryphaena is probably to be identified with the namesake daughter of Polemon I, king of a part of Lycaonia and Cilicia, wife of Cotys, king of Thrace, and mother of Polemon II, king of Pontus. She was a descendant of Mark Antony and a distant relative of the emperor Claudius. Her brother Polemon embraced Judaism.

Bibliography2 works

BIBL.: W. M. Ramsay, The Church in the roman empire before A. D. 170, London 1893, p. 382; anon., Tryphene, in DB, V, col. 2330.

Pietro De Ambrogyi

@incollection{ec12_trifena_e_trifosa_truphona_kai, author = {De, Ambroggi Pietro}, title = {Trifena e Trifosa (ΤΡΎΦΩΝΑ ΚΑῚ ΤΡΥΦΩ͂ΣΑ)}, booktitle = {Enciclopedia Cattolica}, volume = {XII}, pages = {523--524}, note = {Cited by column}, publisher = {Ente per l’Enciclopedia Cattolica e per il Libro Cattolico}, address = {Città del Vaticano}, year = {1954}, url = {https://azioneromana.com/article/trifena-e-trifosa-truphona-kai-truphosa} }

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Tryphena and Tryphosa (Τρύφωνα καὶ Τρυφῶσα)

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