Holy Apostle Aquila

Life

One of the Seventy Apostles. As a Jew he lived first in Italy with his wife Priscilla. When Emperor Claudius ordered that all Jews be expelled from Rome and Italy, Aquila moved to Corinth, where the Apostle Paul first met him, and remained in his house for a year and a half, and baptized him and his wife. Burning with zeal for the Faith of Christ, Aquila and Priscilla accompanied Paul to Ephesus and helped him in his apostolic work. From Ephesus Paul wrote his first Epistle to the Corinthians, in which at the end he says: Aquila and Priscilla salute you much in the Lord, with the church that is in their house (16:9). After the death of Emperor Claudius, the Jews were permitted to return to Italy, and Aquila with Priscilla returned to Rome. Writing thereafter the Epistle to the Romans from Corinth, the Apostle greeted his old friends and co-workers: Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles. Likewise greet the church that is in their house (16:3-4). Later we again see Aquila in Ephesus, where he labored together with Saint Timothy. Bound in chains in Rome, Paul wrote to Timothy in Ephesus: Salute Prisca and Aquila (II Timothy 4:19). As a bishop, Aquila baptized and enlightened many in the faith, destroyed idols, built churches, ordained priests, and spread among people the glory of the incarnate Son of God. At last he was slain by embittered pagans and departed to the Kingdom of Christ.

From the Hymn of Praise

A torch of light that descended from heavenFirst entered the hearts of the Apostles;The Apostles enlightened the people with it,And with it strengthened their successors.