Feast of Sts. Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos (February 13)

Above:  Sts. Aquila and Priscilla

Image in the Public Domain

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SAINTS AQUILA, PRISCILLA, AND APOLLOS

Coworkers of the Apostle Paul

Aquila and Priscilla (a.k.a. Prisca) were husband and wife.  Aquila was from Pontus.  He and Priscilla moved from Rome when the Emperor Claudius I ordered all Jews to leave the city.  So Aquila and Priscilla settled in Corinth, where they supported themselves by making tents.  When Paul came to Corinth, Aquila and Priscilla hosted him in their home for 18 months.

The Pauline Epistles reveal that Paul held the couple in high regard.  In Romans 16:3 (New Revised Standard Version) he wrote:

Greek 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.

Also, consider 1 Corinthians 16:19 (New Revised Standard Version):

Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, great you warmly in the Lord.

When Paul left Corinth for Syria, Priscilla and Aquila accompanied him as far as Ephesus.  There they encountered Apollos, a Jewish Christian from Alexandria, Egypt.  Apollos, who was preaching at Ephesus, had not heard of the Holy Spirit until Priscilla and Aquila informed him thereof.  Acts 18:24 provides an account of this.  By Acts 19:1 Apollos, Priscilla,and Aquila were in Corinth.

The name Apollos appears in Pauline Epistles.  In 1 Corinthians, for example, Paul mentions that a faction of the congregation in Corinth claims loyalty to Apollos.  There was no mention of what Apollos thought of this, although one may presume safely that he did not approve of this faction.)  And, in 1 Corinthians 16:12, Paul writes that Apollos is not in Corinth, and will return to that city “when he has the opportunity.”

Reading the Pauline Epistles and the Acts of the Apostles for clues to who certain people were can yield only sketchy information.  This is a problem with which historians of the ancient world are well acquainted, for their documentation can be scarce, too.  It is just that we modern Christians revere the work of Paul.  This is especially true if we are Gentiles.  Yet Paul did not work alone.  Let us honor his coworkers, also.

KRT

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God of grace and might, we praise you for your servants Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos, to whom you gave gifts to make the good news known.  Raise up, we pray, in every country, evangelists and heralds of your kingdom, so that the world may know the immeasurable riches of our Savior, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever.  Amen.

Acts 18:1-4 and 18-28

Psalm 67

Matthew 12:15-21

–Adapted from Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006)

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