Amplias

Biblical Record

Amplias appears only once, in Romans 16. As Paul closes the letter, he sends greetings by name to a number of believers in Rome, among them: "Greet Amplias my beloved in the Lord" (Romans 16:8). The very next verse continues with greetings to Urbane and Stachys.

The text says nothing about his family, his occupation, how he came to faith, or when and where he met Paul. The only facts that can be established from Scripture are that he belonged to the community of believers in Rome when Romans was written and that Paul called him "beloved in the Lord."

Significance in Scripture

The phrase "in the Lord" indicates that the relationship between the two men went beyond personal friendship and was formed within their shared faith in Christ. The list of greetings in Romans 16 includes a number of men and women, such as Phebe, Priscilla and Aquila, and Junia (Romans 16:1–7). The list is frequently cited as evidence that the early Roman church was made up of people from varied backgrounds, and Amplias is among them.

Interpretation and Debated Points

• Name: The Greek form of his name is thought to derive from the Latin name Ampliatus. This name is known to have been common among slaves and freedmen in Rome, and some scholars therefore suggest that he came from such a background. The text itself, however, does not state his social status.
• Archaeological evidence: A tomb inscribed with the same name has been discovered in the Catacomb of Domitilla in Rome, an underground burial site of early Christians. Some scholars connect it with the Amplias of Romans, but the evidence that they are the same person is not conclusive.
• Tradition: Eastern Orthodox tradition counts him among the Seventy sent out in Luke 10 and holds that he later became a bishop. This is a later tradition; the biblical text contains no such information.

In the Korean Church

Sermons and teaching materials devoted solely to Amplias are relatively rare. He is usually introduced as one of the names in the greeting list in expositions of Romans 16. In that context he is cited as an example of how even an ordinary believer, mentioned only once in Scripture, was remembered and loved by the apostle, or as an illustration of the value of fellowship within the church.