Priscilla and Aquila
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Priscilla and Aquila were a First Century Jewish Christian couple described in the New Testament. Of the seven times they are mentioned, five times Priscilla's name is mentioned first. They lived in Ephesus and became ministry partners and fellow tentmakers with the apostle Paul. The teaching ministry of Priscilla with her husband Aquila was well known in Ephesus. They were responsible for solidifying the faith of Apollos, a powerful preacher of the day.
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[edit] The seven biblical references to Priscilla and Aquila
- Acts 18:2-3: There he (Paul) met a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all the Jews to leave Rome. Paul went to see them, and because he was a tentmaker as they were, he stayed and worked with them.
- Acts 18:18: Paul stayed on in Corinth for some time. Then he left the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila.
- Acts 18:19: They arrived at Ephesus, where Paul left Priscilla and Aquila.
- Acts 18:26: He (Apollos) began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they invited him to their home and explained to him the way of God more adequately.
- Romans 16:3-4: Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
- 1Corinthians 16:19: The churches in the province of Asia send you greetings. Aquila and Priscilla greet you warmly in the Lord, and so does the church that meets at their house.
- 2Timothy 4:19: Greet Priscilla and Aquila and the household of Onesiphorus.
[edit] Priscilla
Priscilla, also known as Prisca, was one of the earliest evangelists of Jesus Christ in Rome. Priscilla is a Roman diminutive, or nickname, for Prisca.
According to Acts 18:2-3, Aquila and Priscilla were tentmakers, as Paul of Tarsus is said to have been. Priscilla and Aquila had been among the Jews expelled from Rome by the Roman Emperor Claudius in the year 49 as written by Suetonius. Prisca and Aquila ended up in Corinth (Greece). Paul lived with Prisca and Aquila for approximately 18 months. Then the couple started out to accompany Paul when he next went to Syria, but stopped at Ephesus (in modern Turkey).
Priscilla (Prisca) of Corinth is not the same Priscilla of the Roman Glabio family married to Quintus Cornelius Pudens who hosted St. Peter circa AD 42.
In Acts 18:24-28, a powerful evangelist in Ephesus named Apollos is mentioned as one who "taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John. He began to speak boldly in the synagogue; but when Priscilla and Aquila heard him, they took him aside and explained the Way of God to him more accurately." In other words, Priscilla, assisted by her husband, is the earliest known teacher of Christian theology after Paul.
In 1Corinthians 16:19, Paul passes on the greetings of Priscilla and Aquila to their friends in Corinth, implying that the couple were in his company. Paul founded the church in Corinth around 51; this makes it clear that Priscilla and Aquila were two other of the church's founders. Since 1 Corinthians discusses a crisis deriving from a conflict between the followers of Apollos and the followers of Cephas (possibly the apostle Peter), it can be inferred that Apollos, a Jew from Alexandria, accompanied Priscilla and Aquila when they returned to Corinth. This presumably happened before 54, when Claudius died and the expulsion was lifted.
In Romans 16:3-4, thought to have been written in 56 or 57, Paul sends his greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and notes that both of them "risked their necks" to save Paul's life.
Priscilla is regarded as a saint by several Christian churches, including the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, which commemorations her on February 13 with Aquila and Apollos.
[edit] Aquila
Aquila (Gk. Ἀκύλας Akúlas) is the name of a man in the New Testament. He was a Jew from Rome. During the reign of the emperor Claudius (41-54) all the Jews were banished from Rome. Saint Aquila and his wife Prisca or Priscilla were compelled to leave. They settled in Corinth, where Paul stayed with them (Acts 18:2-3). They became Christians and fellow-workers with Paul, to whom they seem to have shown their devotion in some special way (Romans 16:3-5). See also Acts 18:18-19; 1Corinthians 16:19; and 2Timothy 4:19.
After the death of the emperor Claudius, Jews were permitted to return to Italy, and Aquila and Priscilla then returned to Rome. The Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans recollects about his faithful disciples: "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus, who put forth their heads for my soul, whom I do not alone thank, but also all the Church of the Gentiles and the church of their household" (Romans 16:3-4).
According to church tradition, Saint Aquila did not long dwell in Rome: the Apostle Paul made him a bishop in Asia. Saint Aquila zealously laboured at preaching the Gospel in Asia, Achaeia and Herakleia: he converted pagans to Christ, he confirmed in the faith newly-converted Christians, he established presbyters and destroyed idols. Saint Priscilla constantly assisted him in the apostolic work. Saint Aquila finished his life a martyr: pagans murdered him. Saint Priscilla was killed together with him.
He is regarded as a saint by several Christian churches, including the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, which commemorates him, Priscilla, and Apollos on February 13.
[edit] Timeline
Dates are approximate and according to Church tradition:
- AD 49 Claudius expels Jews from Rome due to uprisings. Priscilla of Corinth and Aquila of Pontus leave Rome.
- AD 50 Council of Jerusalem
- AD 51 Foundation of Corinthian Church by Paul with Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18)
- AD 52 Gallio in Corinth judges that the Jews’ problems with Paul are not a matter of Roman law for him to ajudicate
- AD 54 Priscilla and Aquila meet Apollos in Ephesus (Acts 18:24-28}
- AD 56 Priscilla and Aquila in Rome are sent greetings by Paul who is in Corinth (Romans 16)
- AD 57 Priscilla and Aquila send greetings to Corinthians along with Paul from Ephesus (1 Corinthians)
