Phoebe the Deaconess
St. Phoebe, about whom little concrete is known, may have delivered St. Paul's letter to the church in Rome. She is thought to have been a matron whose wealth enabled her to travel to Rome on her own business. She belonged to the church at Cenchreæ, a port of Corinth on the Saronic Gulf. Many consider her Paul's spiritual sister. He calls her both prostasis (coach, usually used in reference to an Olympic trainer) and diakanon (literally, servant, by extension, deacon or deaconess). Phoebe is thought to have been the first deaconess, and Paul notes that she aided many in addition to helping him. That she was his wife has been discounted, and stories of her martyrdom at Rome are considered doubtful.
Karen Rae Keck
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