Who were Phygellus and Hermogenes in 2 Timothy 1:15?

The names of Phygellus and Hermogenes won’t pop up any time soon in the book World’s Best Baby Names, but they do appear in 2 Timothy 1:15 (NKJV). Phygellus’s name is also spelled Phygelus in some translations. Both these men were clearly known to Timothy and Paul, and in the region surrounding Ephesus. Paul was awaiting death in a Roman prison at the time he wrote 2 Timothy, and he found that his true friends were few and far between: “You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes” (2 Timothy 1:15).

Phygellus and Hermogenes weren’t just distant standbys in the church community. Paul uses a form of the Greek word apostrephō in referencing their action. The word means to “to desert” in the sense of deliberately withdrawing or turning back from someone. Paul had formed a bond with these two, and he thought their connection to Jesus was similar to his own. But they forsook him in his distress, along with many others in Asia Minor.

Phygellus and Hermogenes had been living a pretense. They proclaimed themselves to be Christians, and, being well-known in the region, they possibly held positions of leadership. In any case, they were Paul’s colleagues, and their defection came as a shock and surprise to Paul. The desertion could have signaled that they also turned away from the faith, that is, they apostacized; but it could also simply mean that they failed to provide for Paul in his time of need. This saddened Paul greatly.

Phygellus and Hermogenes were cowards. Others remained faithful to Paul, such as Onesiphorus, who is held up as a faithful friend: “May the Lord show mercy to the household of Onesiphorus, because he often refreshed me and was not ashamed of my chains” (2 Timothy 1:16). Unlike Onesiphorus, Phygellus and Hermogenes bailed at the slightest whiff of danger from the Roman authorities and severed all ties with Paul the prisoner.

Scripture says nothing more of Phygellus and Hermogenes. Their only mention is in connection to their traitorous turning of the back on Paul. But their names may well be our names. In moments of trial, we can become just like them. We live in a world where interpersonal relationships are weak and faithfulness is downplayed. Friends forsake each other, and people leave churches for far less than what drove a wedge between Paul and his friends: an ill-advised tweet, a foolish assumption, a perceived slight, a confrontational word. There are few who have the courage to run into the face of danger with men like Paul, while following a Savior like Jesus, with fortitude, faithfulness, and fidelity.

So, rather than judge Phygellus and Hermogenes, we should repent of sinful tendencies in our own hearts. If we don’t abide in Christ, our courage goes limp. We need to be rooted and grounded in love (Ephesians 3:17), striving to keep the unity of the Spirit (Ephesians 4:3) and remembering “those in prison as if you were together with them in prison, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering” (Hebrews 13:3).