Epaphroditus is a New Testament figure appearing as an envoy of the Philippian church to assist the Apostle Paul (Phil. 2.25-30). He is regarded as a saint of the Orthodox Church and the Catholic Church, first Bishop of Philippi, and of Andriaca in Asia Minor, and first Bishop of Terracina, Italy. There is little evidence that these were all the same man.

Epaphroditus appears in the New Testament only in the letter to the Philippians (2.25-30, 4.18). This is a “common personal name”, being derived from Aphrodite meaning “lovely” or “charming”; moreover, the proper name is found in the papyri with alternative spelling (81-2 B.C.) – Epaphrodeitos, Epaphrodeiton.

The name was indeed quite common. The name corresponds to the Latin Venustus (= handsome), and was very common in the Roman period. "The name occurs very frequently in inscriptions both Greek and Latin, whether at full length Epaphroditus, or in its contracted form Epaphras."Flavius Josephus describes a man by the name of Epaphroditus who was “a man who is a lover of all kind of learning” (Ant. 1.8, Life 430, Against Apion 1.1; 2.1, 296).

Randy Powell is a writer who has penned several books in the young adult literature genre. He was born in Seattle, Washington in 1956. Powell had an interest in sports, and his Little League football team won the State Championship when he was 11. While at the University of Washington he become more focused on his writing, and penned several short stories and novels. He is married, and is the father of two children.