She was eventually arrested for her faith, refusing to be called anything other than a Christian. Nonetheless, Perpetua (who at the time had a young child) was baptized. She lived during a time when Rome had been persecuting Christians all over the Empire, and accepting Jesus or becoming Jewish was punishable by death. Perpetua, one of the first female African martyrs of the early Church, was born around 181 in Carthage, North Africa (Tunisia). Yet this was not the case in the early church, which revered her choice to remain chaste. ![]() Thecla’s disavowment of her upcoming marriage was a threat to the Roman Empire, which expected young women to marry and become mothers. Thecla miraculously survived and followed Paul from Iconium to Antioch, where, so the story goes, she was nearly raped and then arrested for fighting off her attacker. She was particularly attracted to his call to celibacy and chastity and immediately converted-renouncing her family and fiance, who rejected her and promptly attempted to burn her to death. ![]() Thecla was a noble Egyptian woman from modern-day Turkey who heard the apostle Paul’s message and was so overwhelmed she didn’t eat for days. Thecla (second century AD)Īlthough the Bible never mentions Thecla-and though some scholars think her story is nothing more than a fable spread by word of mouth among the early church-her story surfaces in the apocryphal writing of the Acts of Thecla (and also the Acts of Paul and Thecla), so it deserves attention. Regardless, Paul trusted Phoebe to deliver his letter to the Romans to Rome, and he charged the Romans to “help her in whatever she may need from you” (Rom 16:2). Diakonos (“servant”) in Romans 16:1 suggests Phoebe may have held the office of deaconess in the church at Cenchrea, 1and prostatis (“helper”) could mean Phoebe was a patron who supported Paul financially” 2 or that she showed kindness to other believers. Paul used two Greek words that shed light on who Phoebe was. Her life impacted many people-including Paul, who referred to her as “our sister” (Rom 16:1). Though she’s found only once in the Bible, Phoebe was one of the earliest female believers mentioned in Scripture. Acts 18:26 says Priscilla and Aquila “explained to him the way of God more adequately.” In Ephesus, the couple established another church in their home, exemplifying the importance of hospitality in the growth of the infant church. Apollos believed John the Baptist’s prophecies but didn’t understand the death and resurrection of Jesus. ![]() They later left Corinth to plant another church with Paul in Ephesus, where they met a young preacher named Apollos. They met Paul in Corinth, where they established the Corinthian church-which eventually met in their home. Though the Bible doesn’t tell us much about Priscilla’s role in the church, it’s clear from Acts 18 she was a faithful minister for Christ alongside her husband, Aquila. To celebrate, we’re highlighting 20 Christian women in Church history who served God in both extraordinary and ordinary ways. It’s women’s history month-and March 8 was International Women’s Day. Facebook Twitter Reddit Pinterest Email LinkedIn
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