And no, I don’t mean queen of the desert. Priscilla was a companion of Paul and a missionary. She, along with her husband, are believed to be among the seventy disciples sent out two by two to make known Jesus Christ.
Priscilla and Aquila are described in the New Testament as providing a presence that strengthened the early Christian churches. Paul was generous in his recognition and acknowledgement of his indebtedness to them. Together, they are credited with instructing Apollos, a major evangelist of the first century, and “[explaining] to him the way of God more accurately”
This makes Priscilla a very interesting character, not just for her ability to promulgate the gospel, but also because it is clear that in the early church women were leaders, preachers and teachers.
Scholars have also been debating for many years the authorship of the Letter to the Hebrews. Recently there has been much work done towards isolating the author. Many scholars have put forward that Priscilla is the author of the letter, but to ensure that it would be preserved the authorship was left anonymous versus having a woman as the author.
Priscilla will be the focal point for our nest discussion, the place of women in the church and what she contributed to the church.