Romans 16:14

Romans 16:14, in plain English

Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers gathered around them.

Why it's here

These are probably members of another house church or a group within the Roman church. Paul is grouping them together, maybe because they worship together or work together, and he wants the whole church to know he sees them and values them.

Who's speaking

Paul, greeting a group of believers

Where it sits in the story

Church life is communal and relational—people gathered in groups, served together, prayed together, and Paul saw all of it.

The scholarly reading

Paul greets a group including Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, and Hermas, along with the brothers assembled with them.

Language and setting

This listing shifts from individual commendation to collective greeting—five names followed by the notation 'and the brothers with them,' suggesting a house church or prayer circle united under these leaders' oversight. The names are predominantly Greek, indicating non-Jewish community members or Hellenized Jews. The move from individual salutation to corporate greeting acknowledges the primacy of communal identity over individual distinction, even as specific leaders are named.

Voice

Paul, greeting a house church community.

Significance

This aggregated greeting reflects the practical reality of early Christianity's organization—leadership was distributed among multiple figures within localized assemblies, each house church maintaining some autonomy while acknowledging broader apostolic authority. The shift in greeting style itself illuminates ecclesiology: the local community preceded the universal church.

12Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, women who have worked hard in the Lord.

13Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me as well.

14Greet Asyncritus, Phlegon, Hermes, Patrobas, Hermas, and the brothers with them.

15Greet Philologus and Julia, Nereus and his sister, and Olympas and all the saints with them.

16Greet one another with a holy kiss.

Read all of Romans 16 — Paul names over two dozen co-workers — men and women, Jews and Gentiles — revealing a movement built on real relationships and shared sacrifice.