Priscilla and Aquila were a First Century Jewish Christian couple described in the New Testament. Of the seven times they are mentioned, five times Priscilla's name is mentioned first. They lived in Ephesus and became ministry partners and fellow tentmakers with the apostle Paul. The teaching ministry of Priscilla with her husband Aquila was well known in Ephesus. They were responsible for solidifying the faith of Apollos, a powerful preacher of the day.
Priscilla, also known as Prisca, was one of the earliest evangelists of Jesus Christ in Rome. Prisca is a Roman diminutive, or nickname, for Priscilla.
According to , Aquila and Priscilla were tentmakers, as Paul of Tarsus is said to have been. Priscilla and Aquila had been among the Jews expelled from Rome by the Roman Emperor Claudius in the year 49 as written by Suetonius. Prisca and Aquila ended up in Corinth (Greece). Paul lived with Prisca and Aquila for approximately 18 months. Then the couple started out to accompany Paul when he next went to Syria, but stopped at Ephesus (in modern Turkey).
Priscilla (Prisca) of Corinth is not the same Priscilla of the Roman Glabio family married to Quintus Cornelius Pudens who hosted St. Peter circa AD 42.
In , a powerful evangelist in Ephesus named Apollos is mentioned as one who "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." In other words, Priscilla, assisted by her husband, is the earliest known teacher of Christian theology after Paul.
In , Paul passes on the greetings of Priscilla and Aquila to their friends in Corinth, implying that the couple were in his company. Paul founded the church in Corinth around 51; this makes it clear that Priscilla and Aquila were two other of the church's founders. Since 1 Corinthians discusses a crisis deriving from a conflict between the followers of Apollos and the followers of Cephas (possibly the apostle Peter), it can be inferred that Apollos, a Jew from Alexandria, accompanied Priscilla and Aquila when they returned to Corinth. This happened before 54, when Claudius died and the expulsion was lifted.
In , thought to have been written in 56 or 57, Paul sends his greetings to Priscilla and Aquila and notes that both of them "risked their necks" to save Paul's life.
Priscilla is regarded as a saint by several Christian churches, including the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, which commemorations her on February 13 with Aquila and Apollos.
Aquila (Gk. Ἀκύλας Akúlas) is the name of a man in the New Testament. He was a Jew from Rome. During the reign of the emperor Claudius (41-54) all the Jews were banished from Rome. Saint Aquila and his wife Prisca or Priscilla were compelled to leave. They settled in Corinth, where Paul stayed with them (). They became Christians and fellow-workers with Paul, to whom they seem to have shown their devotion in some special way (). See also ; ; and .
After the death of the emperor Claudius, Jews were permitted to return to Italy, and Aquila and Priscilla then returned to Rome. The Apostle Paul in his Epistle to the Romans recollects about his faithful disciples: "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in Christ Jesus, who put forth their heads for my soul, whom I do not alone thank, but also all the Church of the Gentiles and the church of their household" ().
According to church tradition, Saint Aquila did not long dwell in Rome: the Apostle Paul made him a bishop in Asia. Saint Aquila zealously laboured at preaching the Gospel in Asia, Achaeia and Herakleia: he converted pagans to Christ, he confirmed in the faith newly-converted Christians, he established presbyters and destroyed idols. Saint Priscilla constantly assisted him in the apostolic work. Saint Aquila finished his life a martyr: pagans murdered him. Saint Priscilla was killed together with him.
He is regarded as a saint by several Christian churches, including the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod, which commemorates him, Priscilla, and Apollos on February 13.
Dates are approximate and according to Church tradition: