Women in Ministry

Acts 16:11-15: Lydia

11 So, setting sail from Troas, we made a direct voyage to Samothrace, and the following day to Neapolis, 12 and from there to Philippi, which is a leading city of the district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. We remained in this city some days.

13 And on the Sabbath day we went outside the gate to the riverside, where we supposed there was a place of prayer, and we sat down and spoke to the women who had come together. 14 One who heard us was a woman named Lydia, from the city of Thyatira, a seller of purple goods, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. 15 And after she was baptized, and her household as well, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come to my house and stay.” And she prevailed upon us.

Article: Was Lydia a Leader of the Church in Philippi?

Author(s): Peter Foxwell (2020) Lydia, A Woman of Status

Link: https://www.regent.edu/journal/journal-of-biblical-perspectives-in-leadership/lydia-in-the-bible/

Lydia was from the city of Thyatira, located in Asia Minor in the region known as Lydia (Peterson, 2009). It was known for its “purple dye and textiles” (p. 460). Possibly Lydia sold cloth to wealthy clients in Philippi, and she should be considered a woman of status (Bock, 2007). Inscriptional evidence recovered from Philippi demonstrates that women undertook many leadership roles, such as offices in various religions (Calpino, 2012). They also paid for public works, such as statues on which they inscribed their names and status.

In the first-century Roman world, women owned and managed businesses, both large and small (Calpino, 2012). Mowczko (2018) notes that members of the senatorial (aristocratic) class were independently wealthy and did not engage in business, but members of the wealthy equestrian class did run businesses. Lydia sold a luxury item that would have required access to significant capital investment, which means she belonged to the equestrian class’s provincial equivalent, or she was “a relatively wealthy commoner” (p. 4). Lydia was very likely an independent business owner since women occupied “a prominent place in Macedonian life” (Fee, 1995, p. 27)

Lydia was the first baptized convert in Europe. She was a seller of purple goods from the city of Thyatira, which was known for their expensive royal purple dye. She was most likely a Gentile woman who previously converted to Judaism (a proselyte) gathering together with the Jewish women at the place of prayer by the river. Despite what some have suggested, Lydia was not working the day that Paul was preaching, as it was the Sabbath and she indeed was a genuine proselyte.

It seems as though Philippi did not have a synagogue, presumably because they did not meet the requirement of having at least ten Jewish men.

Lydia believed and was baptized, “and her household as well…” which is likely composed of her female servants and/or children. No husband is mentioned here and I would make the case that she was either single or widowed; with or without any children. The fact that she is a trader and not her husband and the fact that she had a large enough house to accommodate the traveling party and early church all point to the likelihood that she is single.