Lydia - A Woman of Philippi: October 2008

"On the sabbath we went outside the city gate along the river where we thought there would be a place of prayer. We sat and spoke with the women who had gathered there. One of them, a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth, from the city of Thyatira, a worshiper of God, listened, and the Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what Paul was saying. After she and her household had been baptized, she offered us an invitation, 'If you consider me a believer in the Lord, come and stay at my home,' and she prevailed on us."
-Acts 16:13-15

" When they had come out of the prison, they went to Lydia's house where they saw and encouraged the brothers, and then they left."
-Acts 16:40

Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Elusive Baptism Site

Photo Credit: www.paulandgreece.com

Shortly after I began this page, I discovered to my delight that there is a place traditionally held to be the site of St. Lydia's baptism. The spot itself is preserved near a shrine to St. Peter. Not too far from the spot is a church dedicated to St. Lydia. Unfortunately, I can find very little on this place. The only mentions of it so far are on travel sites. My goal then, is to find out about the site and about the Greek Orthodox church in St. Lydia's honor. I am including in this post the best picture I have found of the spot so far.

Hopefully there is some more info out there somewhere. Perhaps I will have to go and visit the site myself to fully find out what is available.

Friday, October 24, 2008

A Beginning to a Study

Ever since I was a little girl, I've wanted to know as much as I could about my biblical namesake. As I grew older, I discovered that the woman who was Paul's first convert in Asia Minor was also revered as a saint in the Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox churches. Despite this great honor, there is little known about her it would seem. In my quest to know more, I discovered that the little facts I can find are scattered in many places, with no central database of any sort. With this page, I hope to remedy that. Other saints of equal magnitude often have whole websites devoted to them. Is it not fitting that St. Lydia at least have a humble blog?

As I learn more, I plan to add more to this page as I can. Time will tell, but perhaps one day I can give this first christian a fitting tribute.