The First European Christian was a Woman

Acts 16: 9-15

These verses from the Book of Acts record Paul’s call from God to leave the Middle East and travel to the city of Philippi in Macedonia, a northern part of ancient Greece that lies between modern day Albania and Bulgaria.  This marks the first time that a Christian apostle travelled to what is now Europe.  Up to this point, all the apostles, and all the new Christians, were in Israel and the surrounding Middle Eastern countries, which are considered part of Asia.

Here is what happens then,

“On the sabbath day we went outside the gate by the river, where we supposed there was a place of prayer; and we sat down and spoke to the women who had gathered there.  A certain woman named Lydia, a worshiper of God, was listening to us; she was from the city of Thyatira and a dealer in purple cloth. The Lord opened her heart to listen eagerly to what was said by Paul.  When she and her household were baptized, she urged us, saying, “If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come and stay at my home.” And she prevailed upon us.”

We don’t know much about Lydia, but what we do know this.  She was a businesswoman, she was successful, and she was well-off.  She traveled on business and had a substantial household of employees and servants who traveled with her.  She became a Christian and immediately opened her home to Paul and his companions. 

In a culture that was profoundly patriarchal, it is significant that Paul sought out and talked to a group of women, that his first convert in Europe was a woman, that she was an independent woman of substantial means, and that she immediately began to offer leadership by welcoming Paul into her home.  In the earliest church, women were often leaders, and respected as such.  We should always remember this, because we still live in a patriarchal culture that devalues the gifts and abilities of women, and tries to limit their contributions to society.