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| | # [[Priscilla]] | | # [[Priscilla]] |
| | # [[St. Thekla, the Martyr]] | | # [[St. Thekla, the Martyr]] |
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| − | === Phoebe ===
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| − | === Priscilla ===
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| − | She and his husband Aquila were the perfect example of the true Christian marriage as St. John
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| − | the Chrysostom said. They lived in Rome and left to Corinth when the emperor Claudius exiled all
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| − | Jews from Rome and there St. Paul met them in his second trip of ministry (Acts 18:2). They hosted St.
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| − | Paul in their house for one and a half years. They were like St. Paul tents makers. They followed St.
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| − | Paul to Ephesus where they stayed there and their house became a Church. St. Paul met them again in
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| − | Ephesus during his 3rd trip and so he wrote “Aquila and Priscilla greet you heartily in the Lord with
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| − | the church in their house (1 Corinthians 16:19).”
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| − | They returned to Rome and continued their ministry and so St. Paul sent his greetings to them
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| − | in his Holy Epistle to Romans “Greet Priscilla and Aquila my fellow workers in Christ Jesus who
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| − | risked their own necks for my life to whom not only I give thanks but also all churches of the gentiles”
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| − | (Romans 16:3-5).
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| − | Again they left Rome returning back to Asia Minor especially Ephesus to continue their
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| − | ministry and so St. Paul wrote to Timothy “Greet Priscilla and Aquila” (2 Timothy 4:19). It is clear
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| − | that St. Priscilla and her husband were highly educated in addition to their righteousness as the Holy
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| − | Book of Acts mentioned that they taught Apollos from Alexandria the Orthodox faith in the Lord
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| − | although Apollos was fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord though he
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| − | knew the baptism of John (Acts 18:24-26). She is a role model for the Christian married woman.
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| − | === St. Thekla, the Martyr ===
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| − | She was a virgin and a disciple of St. Paul from Iconium. She was rich, beautiful and engaged
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| − | to one of the well-to-do men in Iconium (Acts 13:51). When St. Paul arrived at Iconium in his first
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| − | ministry’s trip she believed in his ministry and so vowed to be a virgin for the Lord. When her mother
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| − | discovered her faith she went and betrayed her to the governor of Iconium who persecuted her with
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| − | different sufferings and pains. He threw her in fire but the Lord sent heavy rain which extinguished
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| − | the flames and so she was saved. She followed St. Paul to Antioch and ministered to pagan women
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| − | there. In Antioch, the governor also persecuted her and threw her to the wild animals naked three times
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| − | for three days but the Lord saved her. After that he threw her in a pit filled with snakes but the Lord
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| − | saved her. She went after that to her home land in Iconium and ministered there, then went to Syria
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| − | where she lived the hermitic life and the Lord granted her the gift of healing sickness. She departed at the age of 90 years and was buried in Solicaia of Syria. Because of her great sufferings and pains, the
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| − | church called her martyr.
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