Priscilla and Aquila a Couple Announces the Gospel

IntamsR 2 (1996)

Priscilla and Aquila A Couple announces the Gospel

Carla Ricci

Priscilla and Aquila are a married couple who had an active and important presence in the proclamation of the Gospel and in the birth of the first domestic churches in the beginning of the first Christian communities.1 The sources, the Acts of the Apostles and the writings of Paul, refer to Priscilla2, united with her husband Aquila, but the emphasis is on the central role of this woman.

The oldest evidence about Priscilla and her husband Aquila comes from the Acts of the Apostles which tells of Paul returning to Corinth after his discourse at the Areopagus in Athens, finding the couple from Rome already present in the city:

“After this Paul left Athens and went to Corinth. There he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, who had recently come from Italy with his wife Priscilla, because Claudius had ordered all Jews to leave Rome, Paul went to see them, and because he was of the same trade, he stayed with them, and they worked together – by trade, they were tentmakers.” (Acts 18,1-3)

Paul stayed in their house. Indirectly this passage emphasizes two points: the first point is that Paul does not have other acquaintances in this place and therefore no other important points of reference.

Second, one can deduce that Aquila and Priscilla already lived in Corinth for some time, considering that they were able to have a house, could welcome someone and were involved in a trade that presupposes a certain element of organization (instru- ments, material, competence and commercial relationships). What is the root of the bond which brings the Apostle to share daily life and work with this couple?

One path towards an answer is indicated in Acts 18,1-3. Aquila and Priscilla went to Corinth after having been forced to leave Rome because of the edict of Claudius.3

1 In contemporary terminology, the phrase “domestic church” is identified with the usual way of orga- nizing meetings in pre-constantianian Christianity. Cf. V. GROSSI / A. DI BERNARDINO: La chiesa antica: ecclesiologia e istituzioni, Roma: Borla, 1984.

2 The name is a diminutive of Prisca. Cf. 1Cor 16,19; Rm 16,3; and 1Tm 4,19.

3 R.E. BROWN / J.P. MEYER: Antioch and Rome, New York: Paulist Press, 1983 (Ital. tr.: Antiochia e Roma: Chiese madri della cattolicità antica, Assisi: Cittadella, 1987); P. SINISCALCO: Il cammino di

74 Priscilla and Aquila

Suetonius in his writings says that Claudius “expelled the Jews from Rome because of their continued disturbances inspired by a certain Chresto”.4 This text supports the hypothesis of the distancing of a group of Jews who were involved in a dispute born after the first proclamation of the Gospel of Christ in the Jewish Communities in the capital of the Empire.5

The fact that the edict of Claudius could not refer to all the Jews is supported by other evidence. It was unthinkable and unjustifiable that he could expell a popula- tion of about 50,000 people from Rome. Further, such a large scaled anti-Jewish event would surely have caused considerable reactions. For example, the noted Jewish historian Josephus Flavius would have had many motives and opportunities for writing about it in his works, where, instead, he does not even mention the event.

Claudius must have intervened to try to solve the problems and disorders born within the diverse Jewish communities of the capital which were caused by the first preachers who came to proclaim Christ. Those who were expelled must have disturbed the traditional religious traditions by introducing new ideas which provoked arguments. In this context, one can say that those who were expelled were, above all, those who were responsible for having been the first ones to raise these questions and who were the most active and influential persons. They were considered the most dangerous.

This then was the point of view of those who wanted to preserve the social order, the public peace and the religious tradition. From the point of view of nascent Chris- tianity, however, one comes to the conclusion that Priscilla and Aquila, to deserve to be expelled from Rome, had to be among those who were the first to bring the message of the Gospel there and that they, probably together with others, must have been very active and played a most significant and courageous role to provoke an edict from the Emperor. Priscilla and Aquila were probably not the first and only evangelizers of Rome but, in light of the sources available today, they are the earliest names mentioned.6

Cristo nell’Impero romano, Roma-Bari, 1983; P. LAMPE: Die stadtrömischen Christen in den ersten beiden Jahrhunderten, Tübingen, 1987; M. SIMONETTI: “Il cristianesimo in Italia dalle origini a Gregorio Magno”, in: Roma e l’Italia radices Imperii, Milano: Libri Schelwiller, 1990, 231-235; G. JOSSA: I cristiani e l’impero romano: Da Tiberio a Marco Aurelio, Napoli: M. D’Auria, 1991.

4 “propulsore Chresto”, Claud. 25,4.

5 R. PENNA: “Gli ebrei a Roma al Tempo dell’apostolo Paolo”, in: Lateranum 49 (1983), 213-246.

6 The role of the first evangelizers could be considered different from those of founders, where in the first case one deals with those that with whatever means and mode carry the first message of the Gospel and in the second case one deals with those who gave to this first proclamation the solidity of content and the consolidated structure of the first community-church. It is clear that according to the situations the two roles can be played by diverse or by the same people. For Rome, Peter and Paul would then be considered the founders (see IRENAEUS: Adv. haer., 3.3.3.) who here witnessed to the Gospel even to the point of martyrdom. Cf. C. RICCI: “Alle origini della comunità cristiana a Roma: la presenza femminile” (Conference given in Rome March 31, 1992 for L’Istituto Nazionale di Studi Romani, published in: Studi Romani 3-4 (1992), 245-254).

75 IntamsR 2 (1996)

The motive then that brought Paul to stay in the couple’s house is their shared belonging to Christ and the shared commitment to spread the Gospel. The passages tell us, moreover, that the couple was in Corinth before the arrival of Paul, therefore the initial phase of evangelization in this city, in light of what other evidence will show also, was most probably done by Priscilla and Aquila.

The strongest evidence that indicates the primary importance of Priscilla’s role in relation to her husband emerges when considering how their names are listed in various texts. When the couple appear for the first time in the account of the Acts of the Apostles, Aquila is mentioned first. In the citations which follow, however, Priscilla will appear first and then her husband. In the first passage (Acts 18,1-3) there is a type of “personal data” which gives us an outline of essential facts about the couple. First of all, their belonging to a race is made clear (Jewish), then the name of the man (Aquila), then the geographical place of origin (Pontus), the last geographical resi- dence (Italy) and finally it is said that together with this man his wife is present. Finally her name is given.

Here one is dealing with a type of “personal data” document and it is unthinkable that in the cultural context of that period this could have been composed in any other way. It would have been impossible not to begin with the man, given the basic centre of the institutional structure of race, clan, family. In light of this cultural situation, it is all the more reason to recognize the undeniable importance of the fact that Priscilla’s name always appears first in the following accounts.

After having mentioned that Paul stayed with the couple in Corinth for a year and a half, it says that “Paul said farewell to the brothers and sailed for Syria, accompa- nied by Priscilla and Aquila” (Acts 18,19-23). In this passage the couple is clearly in the second place and only Paul’s presence in the synagogue is mentioned.

At this point, while it could be expected that, in conformity with the development of the account, the activity of Paul in Galatia and Phrygia would be described, the attention is drawn again to Ephesus where Priscilla and Aquila are now living:

“Now there came to Ephesus a Jew named Apollos, a native of Alexandria. He was an eloquent man, well-versed in the scriptures. He had been instructed in the Way of the Lord; and he spoke with burning enthusiasm and 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. And when he wished to cross over to Achaia, the believers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him. On his arrival he greatly helped those who through grace had become believers, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the scriptures that the Messiah is Jesus.” (Acts 18,24-28)

An observation first emerges in seeing this passage in the context of the previous one. While in Acts 18,19-23 the reference to Paul alone in the synagogue could

76 Priscilla and Aquila make one believe that Priscilla and Aquila did not participate in evangelization, the passage that follows attests to a most valuable activity (namely that of preparing Apollo for his evangelical mission). In the second passage, Acts 18, 24-28, we can trace the activity of evangelization done by women and by couples in building up the first Christian communities. In a methodological hypothesis of what could be called an “exegesis of silence”7 we can come to the conclusion that they were present also when they are neither written nor spoken about.

This passage also proves useful for a broader consideration. If one makes for a moment the hypothesis that, like many other events which had happened and lie in a silence difficult to question8, this episode would not have been handed down.

From what is said in the text, one could only conclude that the couple had given hospitality to Paul and one could raise questions and try the hypothesis of why the woman, as an exception to custom, was mentioned first in Acts 18,18.

The absense of the couple in this context could have been deduced by the attention then of the presence of Paul in the synagogue, while nothing is said of Priscilla and Aquila. However, when the presence of women is not explicit, it is not legitimite to deduce their absence: it is possible only to affirm that the redactor of the text said nothing in this regard.9 The observations just expressed lead to a confirmation of this consideration.

The account regarding Apollo is significant not only because it attests to the evangelical activity of Priscilla and the preeminent importance she had in that as a woman her name was mentioned first, given in contrast to the practice that would not be explainable otherwise (this situation did not escape the attention of the fathers of the Church)10, but also because it makes clear that the intervention of this woman is of a particular quality. The preparation and the authority of Priscilla are such that her intervention is to be considered normal for Apollo and for his group of brothers11

7 Cf. C. RICCI: Mary Magdalene and many others: Women who followed Jesus, Kent: Burns and Oates, 1994 (“Hypothesis for an exegesis of the silence”, 19-28); originally: Maria di Magdala e le molte altre: Donne sul cammino di Gesù, Napoli: M. D’Auria, 1991 (“Ipotesi di un’esegesi del silenzio”, 19-29).

8 Cf. ibid. “Il silenzio delle donne”, 19-24.

9 Cf. ibid. 20-21.

10 The role played by Priscilla is particularly emphasized by JOHN CHRISOSTOM: “Pay attention and examine the reason why, in greeting Priscilla before her husband, in reality he does not say ‘Greet Aquila and Priscilla’, but ‘Priscilla and Aquila’. This did not happen without a reason, but it seems to me that the woman is gifted with a piety greater than that of her husband. That which has been said is not a conjecture, but one can find it in the Acts of the Apostles. Apollo was a man eloquent and versed in Scriptures and he knew only the baptism of John. She took him and instructed him in the way of the Lord, and made him into a perfect teacher.” (First homily on “Greeting Priscilla and Aquila”, 91- 92); cf. M. ADINOLFI: Il femminismo della Bibbia, Roma, 1981, 41.

11 See how “brothers” are mentioned in the same context of this episode, in verse 27 that follows Acts 18,26 where it speaks of the instruction of Apollo.

77 IntamsR 2 (1996) who were probably present, and also by the communitarian context during the time in which Acts was written.

Her activity is not at the level of a simple proclamation but on a sucessive and more elaborate level. She is able to perfectly prepare a Jewish man, educated, “versed in Scrip- ture” who “was taught in the ways of the Lord” and already “taught accurately the things concerning Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.” The fact that this could happen and then be written about reveals how great was the esteem and fame of Priscilla and how much it was shared and how the community which read the Acts knew the central role played by this woman. The fact that they found it normal that the woman was mentioned first, when this was not normal, is explained in the existing correspondence between the privilege conferred by the account and the real experience which the community had of the couple.

The fact that in the androcentric culture usually the man (in a couple) is mentioned before the woman can be seen in the account of Acts. When one makes a reference to couples or a sexually mixed group, in one case first the name of the husband appears and then the wife and often without an explicit mention of her name12, in other cases it speaks of “men and women”13. From reading the Acts and after considering all the other relevant passages, it is clear that Priscilla is the only exception to this rule of subordination in language also. If the subordination in the texts is an expression and a consequence of the concrete and historical situation, also the exception in language has its foundation and roots in a particular and concrete situation.14

To what measure the role of this couple was known in the community of Corinth, Ephesus and Rome is attested to in varying degrees in other writings as well.

This preparation before the departure of Apollo for his preaching mission is still more significant because he is preparing to leave for an evangelical mision in Achaia. In the Acts one reads: “the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples to welcome him.” (Acts 18,27). But to what disciples, in which community in Achaia, could they ask to welcome Apollo, if not that community born in Corinth thanks to the presence and action of Priscilla and Aquila who were eventually joined by Paul? And who in writing could have greater authority and greater audience than Priscilla and Aquila, who for a long time lived there and who, probably here as in Ephesus, had put their own house at the disposition of the brothers? And Paul himself affirms this in the end of his letter which he writes from Ephesus, to the community of Corinth: “The churches of Asia send greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, greet you warmly in the Lord” (1Cor 16,19-20).

12 Cf. Acts 5,1-15; 21,5; 24,24; 25,13; 23,30.

13 Cf. Acts 5,14; 8,3.12; 9,2; 17,4-12; 21,5; 22,4.

14 This is different in the case of the passage 16,1 (“...Timothy, son of a Jewish woman believer and of a greek father”) where in the first place Timothy appears and then the woman because she is his mother. Her privilege of order is because of her race and her faith.

78 Priscilla and Aquila

In considering the role and function that the woman had in running the house- hold, one can argue that when a family opened their doors to welcome the community, it presupposes a particular presence and activity of the woman in their midst. In the New Testament, there are other references to “the Churches in her house”15 (Acts 12,12; 16,13-15; 16:40; 1Cor 16,19; Rm 16,15; Col 4,15), where the woman is mentioned first16, and therefore attests to a special role, but also when it speaks of the domestic churches, citing men and their converted families, one can no less argue that it would be possible that a house became a place of encounter for the community only if there was the availability of a woman and her mediation. A house open to the brothers in the Lord presupposed a couple open to the Gospel and to putting it in practice (Rm 16,23). Such were Priscilla and Aquila.

An important understanding of the activity of Priscilla and Aquila is given by Paul, who writes to the community in Rome which has not yet been visited by him, send- ing a particular greeting to the couple. With this he gives the news of the return of this couple to the capital of the Empire from which they had been expelled after the first phase of evangelization, starting from the Jewish community present there.

The statements of Paul are so significant and they confirm what has been said on a broader scale: “Greet Prisca and Aquila, who work with me in Christ Jesus, and who risked their necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Greet also the church in their house” (Rm 16,3-5).

Of significance for getting an impression of the importance which Paul attributes to Priscilla and Aquila in the Roman community is to see how they are the first people that he greets directly. The first among those to whom the letter is directed: “To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints” (Rm 1,7) to whom Paul says: “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed throughout the world” (Rm 1,8), and to whom he writes bearing his own soul: “For I am longing to see you so that I may share with you some spiritual gift to strenghten you, or rather so that we may be mutually encouraged by each others faith, both yours and mine.” (Rm 1,11-12)

Paul, in first mentioning Priscilla in the couple, confirms what we have already seen in Acts regarding the prevalent role of the woman and attests that this preeminence was also the same in the Roman community. This is confirmed also by the diverse order in the same passage in which he places the name of other couples: Androni- cus and Junia (Rm 16,7) and Philologus and Julia (Rm 16,15). The importance of the functions of Priscilla and Aquila is emphasized by the news that also their house in Rome is a place of encounter for the community. The gratitude then that Paul manifests to the couple who have risked their life for him

15 E. SCHÜSSLER FIORENZA: In Memory of Her, New York, 1983 (Ital. tr.: In memoria di lei, Torino, 1990, 185-192).

16 In the letter to Philemon compare other than Philemon himself the “sister Apphia and Archippus” (1,2).

79 IntamsR 2 (1996) and whom he calls “my co-workers in Christ Jesus” is added to that of “all the Churches of the Gentiles” in which Priscilla and Aquila have proclaimed and practiced the Gospel.

Priscilla and Aquila, persons with rich and diverse characteristics (first proclaimers of the Gospel, active in building up domestic churches, protagonists in the perfect- ing of Apollo’s instruction, a brother sent on mission, “co-workers of Paul in Jesus Christ”) can be identified by another characteristic: the broadness of the geographical area which finds them present first in Rome, then in Corinth, then Ephesus and in “all the Churches of the Gentiles”: then again in the capital of the Empire, in the community which will be so important in Christian history. A fair and significant emphasis is given today to the active and fruitful role of this couple in the beginnings of Christianity and in the proclamation of the “Good News” that still today needs to be proclaimed. Today Aquila and Priscilla can represent a precious point of reference for couples who live and witness to the Gospel and who are available to journey with even greater openness so that they may proclaim the “true light” which has come into the world (Jn 1,9).

Carla Ricci was born in Ravenna in 1954. She holds a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Bologna, where she researches on women in the history of the Church, a subject on which she has published numerous articles. She is Italian Pres- ident and international Co-President of St Joan’s International Alliance.