Lydia of Thyatira was Paul’s first European convert. She was a Gentile woman living in Philippi who, like many others, was interested in the Jewish faith, but had not converted. As what the Jewish community called a “God-fearer” she was undoubtedly accorded some level of respect by the Jewish community, but would not have been treated as a full member of the Jewish community in Philippi.

Paul encountered her on a riverbank where she and a group…