Saint Aquila was born in Pontus in Asia Minor (Turkey), and was a Jew. He lived with his wife Priscilla in Rome, but Emperor Claudius issued an order to expel the Jews from the city of Rome. Aquila and his wife went to the city of Corinth, where they met the Apostle Paul around 52 AD. Aquila and his wife believed in Christ through Paul, and they followed him. Aquila worked in tent-making, and the Apostle Paul stayed with him (Acts 18:1-3).
Saint Priscilla After the Apostle Paul had stayed in Corinth for two years, he traveled to Ephesus with Priscilla and Aquila. “And Paul remained there for many days, and then he took leave of the brethren, and sailed to Syria, and with him Priscilla and Aquila, having shaved his head in Cenchreae, for he had a vow. “And he came to Ephesus, and left them there” (Acts 18:18-19). In Ephesus, Aquila and his wife began to minister there and preach the word of God, and they attracted the philosopher Apollos of Alexandria to faith in the Lord Jesus. “Then a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by birth, an eloquent man and powerful in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus… When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of the Lord more accurately” (Acts 18:24-26).
Priscilla and Aquila suffered dangers for the sake of preaching the Gospel, as the Apostle Paul testifies about them in his letter to the Romans: “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who for my life risked their own necks, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles” (Romans 16:3-4).
We do not know when, where, or how they fell asleep in the Lord. The Church commemorates them on February 13, and Saint Aquila on July 14.
Troparia in the third tune
O holy apostles Aquila and Priscilla, intercede with the merciful God to grant forgiveness of sins to our souls.
Qandaq with the second tune
Let us praise with hymns, as befits, the ever-venerable Martinian, as a tested ascetic of good worship, an honored warrior in intention, and a steadfast dweller in the wilderness, for he has trampled on the serpent.
