Thanks to Kevin Branson for posting something that brought this to my attention.St. Paul mentions his dear friend Onesiphorus, or rather his household, twice in his second letter to St. Timothy. On the first occasion, 2 Timothy 1:18, he commends Onesiphorus, and then asks mercy for both his household and for Onesiphorus himself.
Later, in 2 Timothy 4, the apostle sends his greetings to "Prisca, Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus." From this, it is possible to infer that Onesiphorus was dead at the time the letter was written, since he does not send his greetings personally to Onesiphorus himself (as he does with Prisca and Aquila).
While it's not necessarily an ace in the hole, it's at least interesting to realize that we may very well have an apostolic endorsement of prayers for the dead in the Bible after all.
Currently listening to: Gillian Welch, "My Morphine"
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