Lydia of Thyatira
Saint Lydia of Thyatira was the first recorded convert to Christianity in Europe.
The Acts of the Apostles describes her as follows:
A certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, one who worshiped God, heard us; whose heart the Lord opened to listen to the things which were spoken by Paul. When she and her household were baptized, she begged us, saying, "If you have judged me to be faithful to the Lord, come into my house, and stay." So she persuaded us.—Acts 16:14-15 World English Bible
The name, "Lydia", meaning "the Lydian woman", by which she was known indicates that she was from Lydia in Asia Minor. She was evidently a well-to-do agent of a purple-dye firm of Thyatira, a city southeast of Pergamum and approximately 40 miles inland, across the Aegean Sea from Athens. Lydia insisted on giving hospitality to Saint Paul and his companions in Philippi. They stayed with her until their departure, through Amphipolis and Apollonia, to Thessalonica (Acts 16:40-17:1). In the liturgical calendar of saints of the Latin Rite Catholic Church in Greece she is called "Lydia of Philippi". Her feast is on August 3. She is also commemorated with Dorcas and Phoebe on January 27 in the Calendar of Saints of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and on October 25 in the Lutheran Church - Missouri Synod.
Lydia, along with Dorcas and Phoebe is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America on January 27.
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