connects them to this trans-provincial movement. Through Epaphras, the Colossians have learned the gospel, the life of faith in the Messiah, and no doubt news about other churches in Palestine, Syria, Asia Minor, Greece, and Italy too. Epaphras’s status, and therefore his continuing influence in Colossae, is lauded by Paul when he calls Epaphras a beloved fellow-slave and faithful servant. Paul uses similar terms for other coworkers elsewhere (e.g., Tychicus in 4:7) and the place of Epaphras as a