Colossae #86

Colossae was a small city in the Lycus Valley of the Roman province of Asia, in what is now western Turkey. It is known almost entirely through one New Testament letter, Paul’s epistle to the Colossians, and through the short letter to Philemon, who according to tradition was a member of the church there. Colossae stood close to two other towns mentioned in the same letter, Laodicea and Hierapolis.

Biblical Significance

Colossians makes clear that Paul had not founded this church and had not met most of its members (Colossians 2:1). The gospel came to Colossae through Epaphras, a native of the town whom Paul calls a faithful minister of Christ (Colossians 1:7; 4:12). While Paul was in prison, Epaphras came to report on the church, and Paul wrote to encourage the believers and to correct dangerous teaching (Colossians 1:7-8; 2:8). The false teaching seems to have blended Jewish observances, ascetic practices, and the veneration of angels, and Paul answers it by insisting that Christ alone is supreme. The letter contains one of the most exalted descriptions of Christ in the New Testament, calling him the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation, and the one in whom all things hold together (Colossians 1:15-20). Paul told the Colossians to let no one judge them by food, festivals, or the Sabbath, and to seek the things above, where Christ is seated (Colossians 2:16-17; 3:1-4).

The letter also shows the network around the church. Tychicus carried it, together with Onesimus, described as “one of you” (Colossians 4:7-9). Onesimus was the runaway slave for whom Paul appealed to his owner in the letter to Philemon (Philemon 1:10-16), and Archippus, mentioned in both letters, apparently lived in the same community (Colossians 4:17; Philemon 1:2). Paul asked that the letter be read at Laodicea and that the Colossians read the letter coming from Laodicea (Colossians 4:16).

Today

Colossae was once a prosperous center for the wool trade, and ancient writers such as Herodotus call it a great city. By the first century it had been overshadowed by Laodicea and Hierapolis, and it was probably damaged by earthquakes in the same period. The site, near the modern Turkish town of Honaz, remains largely unexcavated and appears as a large mound (tell) with a few visible remains. Limited archaeological work has begun in recent years. Because the city faded from history so completely, some scholars have observed that Paul’s letter is the most enduring monument it has.