If Apostle Junia Wrote To Rome: Fictional Letters from a Real Christian Leader

Fathom Magazine just published my latest article on the early Christian leader and apostle Junia of Rome (Rom 16:7). I wrote (2) fictional letters from Junia to her Christian community in Rome, imagining a scenario where she is in prison and writing to her beloved family of faith.

If you want to read that article, click HERE. It is self-explanatory.

Here is some more explanation for why I wrote that piece.

Paul’s mention of Andronicus and Junia’s imprisonment for the gospel is a detail often missed when we read Romans 16:7. Roman incarceration was no joke – it was a harrowing situation for men, all the more for women (who were not separated from male prisoners). We have several letters from Paul during his imprisonments (Colossians, Ephesians, Philippians, Philemon). These letters are powerful, because Roman prisoners are certainly thinking about the possibility of their demise—through infection, torture, suffocation, or even suicide. Those prison letters give Paul’s thoughts out of the depths, his words of wisdom and encouragement from the dark valley. So—I wondered—did Junia write from prison too? We don’t have record of that in the NT or elsewhere, but it is interesting to ponder. Who would she write to? What would she say? I wrote this article, because if we can paint a realistic picture of her situation and its difficulties, and the ministry of an apostle to preach and live the gospel at all times, we can be inspired just by imagining her faith, hope, and love. Hope it inspires you as readers in the same it did for me as I researched and wrote it. Tip: I added lots of footnotes explaining why I added certain details of history or context, and providing verbal parallels in other biblical or ancient writings.

If you want more analytic backdrop on Junia as apostle and prisoner, check out my Christianity Article that was published March 23, 2023.