Troparion in Tone 3
Enlightened by grace
And taught the Faith by the chosen vessel of Christ,
You were found worthy of the diaconate;
And you carried Paul’s words to Rome.
O Deaconess Phoebe, pray to Christ God
that his Spirit may enlighten our souls!

Saint Phoebe the Deaconess is mentioned by the holy Apostle Paul (Romans 16:1-2).

1I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea:

 2That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also.

Phoebe was one of the forerunners of a vast array of woman believers throughout the years who have rendered loyal service to Christ and His Church.

At the Church of Cenchreae, which is a seaport harbor, 6 miles from Corinth, in Greece, Phoebe was in a ministry position as a deaconess and may have been the first deaconess in The Body of Christ.

Phoebe, a deaconess (Greek word diakonos), was a devout Christian and greatly served The Lord Jesus Christ. She was a friend of Paul, the Apostle, and she delivered a most important letter for him to the believers in Rome at the heart of The Roman Empire, A.D. 57.

This letter, one of the most important letters written to the Christian Church, explain to all in Rome, the justification with God through faith in The Lord Jesus Christ and explains how Christ died for both Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews), to receive Salvation, the forgiveness of sins through His Death and Resurrection.

Paul highly commended her to the believers in Rome, which consisted of more Jews than non- Jews, and the saints there were asked to do all to assist her in whatever matter she had need of.

She was very close to Paul in serving The Body of Christ, and had a very high standing in the early Church. Paul speaks of her high status and the importance of her work. He addresses her with a term of equality in the Spiritual Family of God.

She also ministered to her new converts and Paul thought of her as a very reliable disciple. He also mentions how Phoebe was a great help to many people, including himself. His work had finished in The Mediterranean, and he desired to visit the Roman saints, so he wanted the letter to be personally given to those at the Church in Rome to prepare his way.

Phoebe would have been a wealthy woman, but was regarded for her work.

In The letter Phoebe carried to Rome, Paul mentions nine women who were servants of God, including Junias, whom Paul calls her a female Apostle and was so before Paul himself was a believer of Christ. Junias was a serving apostle in ministry and she was a missionary which she and her husband both shared the vision to reach others, who had not heard before of Christ's Life, Death and Resurrection, and being reconciled to God through Christ.

This letter to the church of Rome provides evidence of women in the ministry.