Where The Action Is - Flavia Domitilla

CA. 65–100

Three generations of Roman women bore the name Flavia Domitilla. Domitilla the Older was married to Vespasian, a general who became emperor in AD 69 after a four-way struggle for control of Rome. She had two sons, Titus and Domitian (who both became emperors), and a daughter, Domitilla the Younger, who gave birth to our third Flavia Domitilla, who became a saint. For twenty-seven years, these women were wives, sisters, daughters, and nieces of the most powerful men in Rome. This was where the action was.

As you might have figured out, Saint Flavia Domitilla was a Christian. This was a problem once her uncle, Emperor Domitian (81–96), began aggressively promoting the classic worship of the god Jupiter. Still, legend has it, Flavia Domitilla used her estate to hide Christians, host worship services, and provide sacred burial.

As one story goes, Uncle Domitian hatched a plan to kill all Christians and Jews. He just needed a senate vote to confirm it. But Domitilla helped her husband, then serving as Rome’s consul, to make a courageous choice, giving up his office in order to delay that vote. It worked. The murderous plan was put on hold as the senate went about electing a new consul, but apparently both Domitilla and her husband were revealed as Christians—he was killed; she was exiled to a volcanic island.

Imagine growing up in the epicenter of imperial power, participating in political intrigue, and then suddenly being exiled. Was she grateful for the peace and quiet, or did she long to make more of a difference? Where do you find yourself these days—where the action is, or where it isn’t? Are you struggling to stay true to Christ amid tough challenges, or are you wondering if there are any challenges left for you?

About that same time, another Christian was exiled to another remote island. The apostle John used his downtime to listen to Jesus, and he wrote the book of Revelation to help believers deal with Domitian’s reign. That seemed to be the secret of Saint Flavia Domitilla: whether in excitement or exile, keep listening to Jesus.

[I am] your partner in suffering and in God’s Kingdom and in the patient endurance to which Jesus calls us. I was exiled . . . for preaching the word of God and for my testimony about Jesus.

Revelation 1:9