Person New Testament
Rufus
Rufus was a believer in Rome, chosen in the Lord, whose mother had also been a mother figure to Paul. Mentioned once in Scripture, at Romans 16:13.
Why it matters. Believer in Rome, son of Paul's "mother"
- Primary passages
- Last reviewed
- 2026-08-30 by the FaithGraph team
About Rufus
Rufus is mentioned in Rom.16.13 as a member of the Christian community in Rome. Paul describes him as "chosen in the Lord," indicating that he was a faithful and distinguished believer. Paul also sends greetings to Rufus' mother, whom he says had been like a mother to him as well. This suggests that Rufus and his mother had a close relationship with Paul and had shown him kindness and hospitality, possibly during his missionary travels. The fact that Paul singles out Rufus and his mother for special mention implies that they were well-known and respected within the Roman church. Some scholars speculate that this Rufus could be the same person as the son of Simon of Cyrene mentioned in Mrk.15.21, but there is no conclusive evidence to support this connection.
Description from STEPBible TIPNR (Tyndale House, Cambridge), CC BY 4.0, lightly reformatted. This is background reference material, not Scripture and not a FaithGraph editorial claim.
Connections
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Appears in Scripture
Named in 1 verse across 1 book. Occurrence data from STEPBible TIPNR (CC BY 4.0); references only, no translation text.
Romans (1 verse)