Here are some photos of archaeological sites from three cities associated with St. Paul, along with quotes to remind us that his circle included women in leadership roles.
Philippi
Phil 4:2-3: “I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life.”
Corinth
I Cor 1:11: “For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there are quarrels among you, my brothers and sisters.”
I Cor 16:19: “The churches of Asia send greetings. Aquila and Prisca, together with the church in their house, greet you warmly in the Lord.”
Rom 16:1: “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae.”
Rome
Rom 16:7: “Greet Andronicus and Junia, my relatives who were in prison with me; they are prominent among the apostles, and they were in Christ before I was.”
Rom 16:12: “Greet those workers in the Lord, Tryphaena and Tryphosa. Greet the beloved Persis, who has worked hard in the Lord.”
Resources
Abrahamsen, Valerie A. Women and Worship at Philippi: Diana/Artemis and Other Cults in the Early Christian Era. Portland, ME: Astarte Shell Press, 1995.
Kraemer, Ross Shepard and Mary Rose D’Angelo, eds. Women and Christian Origins. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1999.
Meyers, Carol, Toni Craven and Ross S. Kraemer, eds. Women in Scripture: A Dictionary of Named and Unnamed Women in the Hebrew Bible, the Apocryphal/Deuterocanonical Books, and the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI, and Cambridge, England: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 2000.
Schüssler Fiorenza, Elisabeth. In Memory of Her. New York: Crossroad Publishing Co., 1983.