Fellow Laborers in the Faith
We first meet Aquila and Priscilla (Prisca) in the Acts of the Apostles. Their story begins after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension—now the gospel is reaching the ends of the earth through the continued work of the apostles.
Aquila and Priscilla, a Jewish husband-and-wife pair, hail from Rome but land in Corinth and carry out their work as tentmakers while sharing the Gospel. Fleeing persecution, they likely arrived in Corinth around the same time as St. Paul, whom they met and welcomed into their home. There, St. Paul joins them in a familiar trade and preaches in the synagogue on the Sabbath.
The pair accompanied Paul to Ephesus, where they met Apollos who was preaching there one day. Apollos was also of Jewish descent, a native of Alexandria, a skilled orator, and one who proclaimed the message as he had received it from John. But when they heard him, Aquila and Priscilla quickly recognized that he lacked fullness of understanding. They quietly pulled Apollos aside to instruct him, and Apollos took the catechesis readily to heart.
From there, Apollos continued on to Achaia, and Aquila and Priscilla joined up once again with Paul, which we find recorded in the close of Paul’s letter to the Corinthian church. Along with him, the couple sent their greetings from the church in Asia, where they continued to extend their hospitality to others and share their love for the sake of the Gospel.
While we don’t know much more about these figures or the reason for their placement in the Scriptures, their inclusion in Paul’s writings is significant nonetheless and (similar to what we learn about his other friends and colleagues such as St. Dorcas, St. Lydia, St. Timothy, St. Titus, and St. Silas) demonstrates the great impact that many of these faithful Christians had on the early Church.
A Brief History
The efforts of Aquila and Priscila are worth remembering, which is why the Church has continued to remember their lives, even centuries after their time on this earth. As partners with Paul and laborers for the sake of the Gospel, they preached and traveled their way throughout Greece and Asia Minor, paving the way for the Christianity to grow in the years following Christ’s earthly ministry.
While the three are currently remembered on February 13th, it has not always been this way. Aquila and Priscilla have long been commemorated July 8th, the date when they are supposed to have entered into rest in AD 52. As for Apollos, his day has long been found in December, also on the 8th of the month, which the Eastern Orthodox church preserves as his commemoration. Their newer February occasion seems intended to connect this commemoration to the February 10th date for St. Silas, another companion of Paul.
When we look back on their story, the thing that stands out is these saints’ willingness to instruct and correct one another for the sake of teaching and preaching the gospel. Their relationship with one another was built on gentle guidance and desire for true declaration of God’s Word. We, of course, can learn from such an example, and their day on the Christian calendar helps us saints today remember their influence and Christian disposition, something to model in our own living.
Collect
O Almighty God, who hast knit together Thine elect in one communion and fellowship in the mystical body of Thy Son Jesus Christ, our Lord: grant us grace so to follow Thy blessed saints in all virtuous and godly living, that we may come to the unspeakable joys which Thou hast prepared for those who unfeignedly love Thee; through the same, Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost: ever one God, world without end. Amen.
Resources
Issues, Etc. interview with the Rev. Dr. Mark Birkholz on Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos, Fellow Workers of the Apostle Paul
Issues, Etc. interview with the Rev. Dr. Michael Middendorf on Aquila, Priscilla, and Apollos
Propers found in Daily Divine Service Book: A Lutheran Daily Missal, edited by the Rev. Heath Curtis
References:
1. Weedon, William. Celebrating the Saints. Concordia Publishing House. 2016.
2. Treasury of Daily Prayer. Concordia Publishing House. 2008.
Images:
1. Saint Aquila and Saint Priscilla from The Calendar of Saints, Jacques Callot, France, ca. 1600.
2. St. Paul staying in the house of Aquila and his wife Pris, Jan Sadeler, Belgium, ca. 1580-1600.
3. The Apostle Paul with Saints Aquila and Priscilla, Unknown, Unknown, Unknown.
