An early Roman disciple named in Saint Paul’s letter to the Romans, remembered simply as a faithful member of the first Christian community.

Saint Phlegon was a layman of the first-century Church in Rome, named by Saint Paul among the believers he greets at the close of his Letter to the Romans (16:14). Nothing more of his life survives in the historical record beyond that mention. The Church honors him as one of the ordinary faithful who made up the earliest Christian community in the imperial capital, a witness whose importance lies not in any recorded deed but in simply being named and remembered as one of Paul’s own circle.

Quick Facts

• Died: 1st century, Rome, Italy
• Venerated as: Disciple of Saint Paul
• Status: Layperson

Who Was Saint Phlegon?

Phlegon belonged to the small but growing Christian community of Rome in the apostolic age. Everything the Church knows of him comes from a single line of Scripture: at the end of his letter to the Romans, Paul sends greetings to a list of named believers, and Phlegon is one of them. That he was worth naming at all tells us he was a real, known member of that congregation, trusted enough by Paul to be singled out by name even though Paul had likely never visited Rome himself at that point.

Historical Setting

The mid-first century was the founding generation of Roman Christianity, a community made up largely of converts from Judaism and the wider Gentile population, meeting in private homes under the constant risk of official suspicion. Paul’s letter, written probably from Corinth around A.D. 57, addresses this community before he had ever set foot in the city, relying on networks of traveling Christians to keep him informed of who made up the Roman church.

Why the Church Remembers Saint Phlegon

The Church remembers Phlegon precisely because Scripture remembers him: to be named in an apostolic letter was, for the early community, itself a mark of honor and a sign of faithful service to the Gospel. Later tradition folded such scripturally-named companions of the apostles into the broader company of saints, honoring them as part of the foundational generation of believers even where no further biographical detail survives.

Canonization and Feast Day

No formal process of beatification or canonization exists for Phlegon, and none should be expected: his veneration belongs to the ancient and immemorial category of cult recognized simply through the Church’s continuous liturgical memory of those named in the New Testament, received long before formal canonization procedures existed.

What Catholics Can Learn Today

Phlegon’s entire legacy is a single mention in a greeting, yet the Church has kept his name alive for two thousand years. His witness is a reminder that faithfulness does not require public achievement to be remembered by God and, in time, by the Church — being known and trusted within a small community of believers is itself a form of holiness worth honoring.

A Prayer to Saint Phlegon

Saint Phlegon, faithful companion of the apostle Paul, you were content to be known simply as a believer among believers. Help us to serve the Church quietly and faithfully, trusting that no act of fidelity is too small to be remembered by God. Amen.

Sources

• Romans 16:14, New Testament
• New Advent Catholic Encyclopedia (newadvent.org)
• Roman Martyrology (Martyrologium Romanum)