Lydia of Thyatira ( el, Λυδία) is a woman mentioned in the
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
who is regarded as the first documented convert to
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
in
Europe
Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...
. Several Christian denominations have designated her a
saint
In religious belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of Q-D-Š, holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and Christian denomination, denominat ...
.
Lydia
The name, "Lydia", meaning "the Lydian woman", by which she was known indicates that she was from
Lydia
Lydia (Lydian language, Lydian: 𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age Monarchy, kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the mod ...
in Asia Minor. Though she is commonly known as "St. Lydia" or even more simply "The Woman of Purple," Lydia is given other titles: "of
Thyatira
Thyateira (also Thyatira) ( grc, Θυάτειρα) was the name of an ancient Greek city in Asia Minor, now the modern Turkish city of Akhisar ("white castle"). The name is probably Lydian. It lies in the far west of Turkey, south of Istanbu ...
," "Purpuraria," and "of Philippi ('Philippisia' in Greek)." "
ydia'sname is an ethnicon, deriving from her place of origin".
The first refers to her place of birth, which is a city in the Greek region of Lydia. The second comes from the Latin word for purple and relates to her connection with purple dye. Philippi was the city in which Lydia was living when she met St. Paul and his companions. All these titles expound upon this woman's background.
New Testament narrative
Acts 16
Acts 16 is the sixteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. It records the second missionary journey of Paul, together with Silas and Timothy. The book containing this chapter is anonymous but early ...
describes Lydia as follows:
Wayne Grudem
Wayne A. Grudem (born 1948) is a New Testament scholar turned theologian, seminary professor, and author. He co-founded the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and served as the general editor of the ''ESV Study Bible''.
Life
Grudem was bo ...
sees the story of Lydia as being an example of
effectual calling Effectual calling (or effective calling) in Calvinist Christian soteriology is a stage in the ''ordo salutis'' in which God calls a person to himself. It is connected with, but different from ''external calling'', in which a person hears the gospel ...
.
Background
Lydia was most likely from
Greek
Greek may refer to:
Greece
Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe:
*Greeks, an ethnic group.
*Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family.
**Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...
background, since originating from Asia Minor, but probably
romanized one, while she lived in a Roman settlement.
She was evidently a well-to-do agent of a
purple-dye firm in Thyatira, a city southeast of Pergamum and approximately inland, across the Aegean Sea from Athens. Lydia insisted on giving hospitality to
Apostle Paul and his companions in
Philippi. They stayed with her until their departure, through
Amphipolis
Amphipolis ( ell, Αμφίπολη, translit=Amfipoli; grc, Ἀμφίπολις, translit=Amphipolis) is a municipality in the Serres (regional unit), Serres regional unit, Macedonia (Greece), Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is ...
and
Apollonia, to
Thessalonica
Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...
(Acts 16:40–17:1).
Paul
Paul may refer to:
*Paul (given name), a given name (includes a list of people with that name)
* Paul (surname), a list of people
People
Christianity
*Paul the Apostle (AD c.5–c.64/65), also known as Saul of Tarsus or Saint Paul, early Chri ...
,
Silas
Silas or Silvanus (; Greek: Σίλας/Σιλουανός; fl. 1st century AD) was a leading member of the Early Christian community, who according to the New Testament accompanied Paul the Apostle on his second missionary journey.
Name and ...
and
Timothy were traveling through the region of Philippi when they encounter "a reputable businesswoman and possibly a widow...
howas a righteous Gentile or 'God-fearer' attracted to Judaism".
"
e was one of a large group
onsidered.. sympathizers with Judaism, believers in the one God, but who had not yet become 'proselytes' or taken the final step to conversion to Judaism".
Because these encounters and events take place "in what is now Europe," Lydia is considered "the first 'European' Christian convert".
Profession
"Thyatira in the province of Lydia (located in what is now western Turkey) was famous for the red
ariety of purpledye".
Lydia of Thyatira is most known as a "seller" or merchant of purple cloth, which is the likely reason for the Catholic Church naming her "patroness of dyers." It is unclear as to if Lydia simply dealt in the trade of purple dye or whether her business included textiles as well, though all known icons of the saint depict her with some form of purple cloth. Most portray this holy woman wearing a purple shawl or veil, which allows many historians and theologians to believe that she was a merchant of specifically purple cloth.
Social status
There is some speculation regarding Lydia's social status. Theologians disagree as to whether Lydia was a free woman or servant. "There is no direct evidence that Lydia had once been a slave, but the fact that her name is her place of origin rather than a personal name suggests this as at least a possibility".
Ascough cites other examples of noble women named Lydia from the first or second centuries, so it is unlikely that she was actually a slave or servant. Furthermore, the book of Acts records, "''When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. "If you consider me a believer in the Lord," she said, "come and stay at my house." And she persuaded us.''" This implies that Lydia was in charge of the household, as she was able to persuade the household to be baptised, and had authority in the home to invite Paul and his companions to stay in her house – both things that a servant would be far less able to do.
Marital status
Because women did not possess the same equality rights as modern women, it appears unusual that Lydia would be capable of inviting a group of foreign men to her house without a man's consent. "The fact that there is no mention of a man has been used to deduce that she was a widow, but this has been challenged as a patriarchal interpretation".
Lydia's evident social power exemplified by her control of a household and ownership of a house (which she offered to St. Paul and his companions) indicates that she was most likely a free woman and possibly a widow.
Feast day
Many Christian denominations recognize Lydia of Thyatira as a saint, though her feast day varies greatly. In the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, her feast day is August 3.
The Episcopal Church honors St. Lydia along in its
liturgical calendar
The liturgical year, also called the church year, Christian year or kalendar, consists of the cycle of liturgical seasons in Christian churches that determines when feast days, including celebrations of saints, are to be observed, and whi ...
on May 21.
Eastern Orthodox Churches remember Lydia on various days, with some jurisdictions remembering her twice during a liturgical year. Many Eastern Orthodox churches, including the Self-Ruled Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America, remember St. Lydia on
May 20
Events Pre-1600
* 325 – The First Council of Nicaea is formally opened, starting the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church.
* 491 – Empress Ariadne marries Anastasius I. The widowed '' Augusta'' is able to choose her ...
. However, some divisions of the
Russian Orthodox Church
, native_name_lang = ru
, image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg
, imagewidth =
, alt =
, caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia
, abbreviation = ROC
, type ...
(other than the
Orthodox Church in America
The Orthodox Church in America (OCA) is an Eastern Orthodox Christian denomination, Christian church based in North America. The OCA is partly recognized as Autocephaly, autocephalous and consists of more than 700 parishes, missions, commun ...
) observe both June 25 and March 27 as her feast days.
The Lutheran community is also divided. The
ELCA commemorates Sts. Lydia, Dorcas and Phoebe on January 27, while the
LCMS celebrates the three women on October 25.
Devotion
Devotion to St. Lydia is greater in the Orthodox Church than in the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church, and this is evident by the myriad of icons depicting this woman. The Orthodox Churches have given her the title of "Equal to the Apostles," which signifies her importance and level of holiness. There is a church located in Philippi, which many consider to be built in St. Lydia's honor. A modern baptistry is located on the traditional site in Krynides where Lydia was baptized by St. Paul near Philippi as well.
See also
*
Deborah
According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', "bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars ...
*
Feminist theology
Feminist theology is a movement found in several religions, including Buddhism, Hinduism, Sikhism, Neopaganism, Baháʼí Faith, Judaism, Islam and New Thought, to reconsider the traditions, practices, scriptures, and theologies of those reli ...
*
Junia (New Testament person)
Junia or Junias ( grc-x-biblical, Ἰουνία/, /) was a Christian in the first century known from Paul the Apostle's letter to the Romans.
There has been dispute surrounding both Junia's gender and apostolic status, although she has been viewe ...
*
Phoebe
References
External links
SantiEBeati.it: Lydia of Thyatira
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lydia Of Thyatira
1st-century Christian female saints
Ancient Philippi
Saints from Roman Anatolia
Converts to Christianity from pagan religions
People in Acts of the Apostles
Women in the New Testament
Lydians
Ancient businesswomen
Christian saints from the New Testament
1st-century Romans
1st-century Roman women
Ancient Roman businesspeople
Anglican saints