Editing Priscilla and Aquila (section)

== The couple ==
[[File:Sint-Paulus bij de heiligen Aquila en Priscilla, onbekend, schilderij, Museum Plantin-Moretus (Antwerpen) - MPM V IV 118.jpg|thumb|''Paul staying in the house of Saints Aquila and Priscilla'' by [[Jan van de Venne]], 17th century: [[Paul of Tarsus|Paul]] is at left, writing a [[Epistles of Paul|letter]]; Priscilla is at right, spinning, and her husband Aquila is in the background, working on the loom.<ref>{{Cite web |title=St. Paulus bij St. Aquila en St. Priscilla |url=https://search.museumplantinmoretus.be/Details/collect/209928 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250214215944/https://search.museumplantinmoretus.be/Details/collect/209928 |archive-date=2025-02-14 |access-date=2025-02-14 |website=[[Plantin–Moretus Museum]] |language=nl}}</ref>]]

Priscilla and Aquila were [[tentmakers]] as was Paul.<ref>{{Bibleref2|Acts|18:1–3}}; {{Bibleref2|Acts|20:33–35}}; {{Bibleref2|Philippians|4:14–16}}.</ref> Priscilla and Aquila had been among the [[Jew]]s expelled from Rome by the [[Roman Emperor]] [[Claudius]] in the year 49 as written by [[Suetonius]]. They ended up in [[Corinth]]. Paul lived with Priscilla and Aquila for approximately 18 months. Then the couple started out to accompany Paul when he proceeded to [[Syria]], but stopped at [[Ephesus]] in the [[Asia (Roman province)|Roman province of Asia]], now part of modern [[Turkey]].

In {{Bibleref2|1Cor|16:19||1 Corinthians 16:19}}, Paul passes on the greetings of Priscilla and Aquila to their friends in Corinth, indicating that the couple were in his company. Paul founded the church in Corinth.<ref>{{bibleverse|1Cor|4:15||1&nbsp;Cor.&nbsp;4:15}}</ref> His including them in his  greetings implies that Priscilla and Aquila were also involved in the founding of that church. Since 1&nbsp;Corinthians discusses a crisis deriving from a conflict between the followers of Apollos and the ''followers of Cephas'' (possibly the apostle [[Saint Peter|Peter]]), it can be inferred that Apollos accompanied Priscilla and Aquila when they returned to Corinth. This happened before 54, when Claudius died and the expulsion of the Jews from Rome was lifted.

In {{Bibleref2|Romans|16:3–4|}}, thought to have been written in 56 or 57,<ref>Bruce, F. F. (1983). ''The Epistle of Paul to the Romans: An Introduction and Commentary.'' [[Tyndale New Testament Commentaries]]. Leicester, England: Inter-Varsity Press.</ref> Paul sends his greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and proclaims that both of them "risked their necks" to save Paul's life.

Tradition reports that Aquila and Priscilla were [[martyr]]ed together.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20060712022100/http://www.catholicnewsagency.com/saint.php?n=531 "Sts. Aquila and Priscilla"]. Catholic News Agency (CNA)</ref><ref name=oca>[https://oca.org/saints/lives/2017/07/14/101950-apostle-aquila-of-the-seventy "Apostle Aquila of the Seventy"]. Orthodox Church in America</ref>

===Priscilla===
[[File:Harold Copping - Priscilla illustration from Women of the Bible published by - (MeisterDrucke-225035).jpg|thumb|Priscilla illustration from the Women of the Bible, [[Harold Copping]]]]
Priscilla was a woman of Jewish heritage and one of the earliest known Christian converts who lived in Rome. Her name is a Roman diminutive for ''Prisca'' which was her formal name. She is often thought to have been the first example of a female preacher or teacher in early church history. Coupled with her husband, she was a celebrated missionary, and a friend and co-worker of Paul.<ref name="Bilezikian">Bilezikian, Gilbert. ''Beyond Sex Roles.'' Baker, 1989. {{ISBN|0-8010-0885-9}}. pp.200–201</ref>

While the view is not widely held among scholars, some scholars have suggested that Priscilla was the author of the [[Book of Hebrews]]. Although acclaimed for its artistry, originality, and literary excellence, it is one of the few books in the [[New Testament]] with author anonymity.<ref name=Hoppin/> Hoppin and others suggest that Priscilla was the author, but that her name was omitted either to suppress its female authorship, or to protect the letter itself from suppression.<ref name=Hoppin/><ref name=von>Adolph von Harnack, "Probabilia uber die Addresse und den Verfasser des Habraerbriefes", ''Zeitschrift fur die Neutestamentliche Wissenschaft und die Kunde der aelteren Kirche'' (E. Preuschen, Berlin: Forschungen und Fortschritte, 1900), 1:16–41. English translation available in Lee Anna Starr, ''The Bible Status of Woman.'' Zarephath, New Jersey: Pillar of Fire, 1955, 392–415</ref>

She is the only Priscilla named in the [[New Testament]]. The fact that she is always mentioned with her husband, Aquila, disambiguates her from different women revered as saints in Catholicism, Orthodoxy and Lutheranism, such as (1)&nbsp;[[Priscilla]] of the Roman Glabrio family, the wife of [[Quintus Cornelius Pudens]], who according to some traditions hosted [[St. Peter]] circa AD 42, and (2)&nbsp;a third-century virgin martyr named [[Saint Prisca|Priscilla]] and also called Prisca.

===Aquila===

Aquila, husband of Priscilla, was originally from [[Pontus (region)|Pontus]]<ref name=maas>Maas, Anthony. [http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01661b.htm "Aquila and Priscilla"], ''The Catholic Encyclopedia''. Vol. 1. New York: Robert Appleton Company, 1907, accessed 23 December 2013</ref> {{Bibleref2|Acts|18:2||Acts 18:2}} and also was a [[Jewish Christian]]. According to church tradition, Aquila did not dwell long in Rome: the Apostle Paul is said to have made him a bishop in [[Early centers of Christianity#Anatolia|Asia Minor]]. The ''[[Apostolic Constitutions]]'' identify Aquila, along with Nicetas, as the first bishops of Asia Minor (7.46).