Who was Tryphena in the Bible, and why is her name mentioned in Romans?

Whenever we encounter a name in the Bible, it is there because God intended it to be. So, what can we learn about Tryphena, a woman Paul thanks in Romans 16?

Have you ever skipped over the parts of the New Testament where Paul thanks people? Guilty as charged, I admit it. I’m always eager to get to the “main point,” and his thanking people without even specifying why often doesn’t feel like a “valuable section” to me. This happens in Romans 16, where Paul thanks Tryphena, a Christian woman in the early church.

However, every time we come across a name in the Bible, God wanted that name to be there. We need to examine the mention of Tryphena in the Bible, what Paul says about her, and also what church tradition tells us about her and her possible martyrdom. Let’s begin.

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Who was Tryphena in the Bible?

In Romans 16, Tryphena’s name is mentioned alongside another woman named Tryphosa. People have speculated about the nature of their relationship. Given the similarity of their names, most theologians agree they were likely sisters. Regarding the names, what does Tryphena mean? It means “delicate,” and the name Tryphosa means “thrice shining” or “triple brightness.” We can probably deduce that these women were Romans, as Paul’s letter to the Romans was, you guessed it, written to Romans. Paul was also a Roman citizen, allowing him to preach to both Jewish and Gentile audiences.

The Bible tells us one thing about these ladies: they worked hard for the Lord. We do not know their occupations or how they worked hard for the Lord. Women in the New Testament church held various capacities. They did everything from household chores and hosting to much more.

Women preached, taught, used apologetics, financed ministries, served, and created products to earn income and support the church (e.g., tentmakers and dyers of cloth). They used their resources, power, and everything else to spread the Gospel. Since Tryphena grew up in a patriarchal Roman society, we can assume she might have had restrictions depending on her class. The wealthier a woman was in Rome, the less technical influence and independence she had. Nevertheless, however she could, Tryphena “bloomed where she was planted” for the Lord.

So, do we know what happened to Tryphena? Unfortunately, the Bible doesn’t say. We can assume that when Paul wrote this, she was still alive; otherwise, he wouldn’t have expressed his thanks to her. To find out what happened to Tryphena, we must turn to church tradition. Like many people of the first century who followed Christ, Tryphena did not seem to die a natural death.

How Did Tryphena Die a Martyr?

Tryphena’s name is sometimes written as Tryphena and sometimes as Tryphaena, and although many women in Roman times had this name, it is conceivable that the martyr recorded by the Orthodox Church is likely the same person mentioned in Romans 16. Now, we should mention that we should always view any story outside the Bible with a bit of skepticism. However, the Orthodox Church has a very good record of documenting what happened in the lives of early saints.

If tradition is true, Tryphena came from a place called Cyzicus, a Greek town now in Turkey. At that time, this city was under Roman rule and was administered during the time of Tiberius (the same empire that ruled during Jesus’ death and resurrection). This city was very influential at that time. According to tradition, she tried to convert the people of her city to Christianity. Initially, they tried to dissuade her from doing so.

When persuasion didn’t work, they resorted to torture. For the sake of sensitive readers, I won’t detail these brutal methods of torture. I can say that I’m not sure how she survived some of them. After literally throwing everything at her—and she did not die (saints tended to escape very horrific deaths)—she was eventually killed by a raging bull.

What is Tryphena a Saint Of?

Tryphena was recognized as a saint in the Orthodox Church. This essentially means they venerate her and commemorate her life and brave death on a specific day, January 31. Some church traditions designate people as “saints” of specific things. Whether or not we agree with this practice, we should be aware that the Orthodox Church has honored Tryphena as the “saint” of something specific. What would that be? Women who have trouble breastfeeding.

It’s a bit hard to say why she has been designated as a saint in this particular area. Many women have trouble breastfeeding. It can cause discomfort, and in more remote areas of the world, it can potentially be deadly for some infants. Tradition about her is already quite sparse. Perhaps she faced this issue herself during her life, or maybe she helped mothers whose babies wouldn’t nurse. It’s hard to say, but for our purposes, it’s useful to know she has been venerated in this way in some church circles. Some people in these church circles might ask her to pray with them to God to help them with breastfeeding.

What Can We Learn from Tryphena in the Bible?

Unfortunately, one verse doesn’t provide much to go on, especially if it doesn’t give many details about a person and the kind of life they led. However, based on what we know from Romans 16 and what tradition tells us, Tryphena was a woman who was on fire for the Lord. She not only was willing to work hard during her ministry but also took it to the grave with her. Here are three life lessons we can extract from her:

1. God Wants Us to Work Hard for HimRegardless of what this looks like, whether it’s breastfeeding our babies or going to our 9-5 job, we should work for the Lord, not for humans. Paul knew many Christians in the New Testament church, so the fact that he specifically calls her out for her diligence says something.
2. God Wants Us to Work Where We AreGiven that Tryphena lived in Greece and the Roman world, she may not have had much leeway in terms of what she could do and whom she could serve. People often didn’t listen to women at that time, especially in higher circles. Nevertheless, Tryphena set out to preach to all, even if it meant certain death.
3. God Wants Us to Be Aware of the Consequences and Costs of Our Actions and DecisionsReading about her torture made it hard to imagine enduring such things myself. If we’re honest, many of us haven’t seriously considered the cost of being a Christian. Christians in some parts of the world now endure the same persecution that the early church did. Jesus was very real about the cost of following Him. Every culture recoils from His message and sees it as contrary to any culture. We can hope that if such a day ever comes for us, we will stand strong like Tryphena. In the meantime, let’s be diligent workers like her and share the love of Christ with others in our communities.