Bio

 

 We only hear of Junia mentioned once in the New Testament, in St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans, but we can know a good deal about her just from this one statement.

First, we know that Junia and a man named Adronicus have been in prison with Paul for their outspoken Christianity - therefore, Junia was considered enough of a threat to the Roman religion to have her imprisoned. Secondly, she and Andronicus are related to Paul. We aren’t sure how, and we aren’t sure if Andronicus and Junia were married, siblings, or cousins, etc. Next, we know that they have been doing great work - Paul commends them as “outstanding among the Apostles”. Paul’s use of the word “Apostle” had been debated recently as to what that means for Junia since it has been recognized Traditionally that only men held the positions of Jesus’ direct Apostles. At one point in history, scribes even tried to add an “S” to the end of her name to make it seem as if it was a man Paul was referring to, suggesting that they were indeed afraid that this one sentence could change our Traditional understanding. It is still debated today, but, regardless, Junia made an enormous, lasting impact on the foundation of the Church, and likely lost her life for it as a martyr, along with Andronicus.
 

Some identify Junia as the same person as a woman named “Joanna, the wife of Chuza”, who is mentioned in the Gospels as a woman who traveled with Jesus and the Apostles throughout his ministry. She was also possibly one of the myrrh-bearing women administering to Jesus’ tomb who discovered the Resurrection first.