Aquila

Aquila was a Jewish man from Pontus on the Black Sea who had been living in Rome until the emperor Claudius expelled all Jews from the city around AD 49. He settled in Corinth with his wife Priscilla and continued his trade as a tentmaker. When Paul arrived in Corinth, he stayed with them and worked at the same trade for eighteen months while preaching in the synagogue. The household became a base for his Corinthian ministry.

Aquila traveled with Priscilla and Paul when Paul sailed east, remaining in Ephesus where they established another house church. Together with Priscilla he helped the gifted Alexandrian preacher Apollos understand the fullness of the faith, completing his knowledge of Christian baptism. Paul's letter to the Romans, written from Corinth, greets "Prisca and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their necks for my life" and mentions the church in their house. First Corinthians, written from Ephesus, also sends greetings from "Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house." The pattern across the New Testament is consistently of a couple working together, hosting community, and advancing the mission.