The Apostolic Age · AD 4–70
Lois
fl. c. 48 (death unrecorded) · Grandmother of Timothy · Believer of Lystra · Lystra, Lycaonia
The Apostolic Age
Who Lois was
The first named Christian grandmother: Paul recalls to Timothy “the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice.” A Jewish believer of Lystra, she stands at the head of the New Testament’s one three-generation chain of transmitted faith — the household catechesis (“from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures”) that formed Paul’s greatest delegate.
Common questions
When was Lois active?
Lois is dated fl. c. 48 (death unrecorded) in the archive, which places Lois in the Apostolic Age (AD 4–70). The dating is traditional and approximate; the archive marks it as uncertain rather than fixing a year the sources do not give.
Which early sources mention Lois?
Lois is named in 2 primary-source passages catalogued here, drawn from Paul and The Constitutions' compiler. Every passage is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
Where was Lois from?
The archive associates Lois with Lystra, Lycaonia. The sources record more than one location, so the places are listed in the order the record moves through them.
Who were Lois’ contemporaries?
The archive links Lois to 3 other figures, including Eunice, Timothy of Lystra and Paul of Tarsus. Each connection is drawn from a source that places them together, not from inference.
Scripture record
Primary-source mentions (2)
Every passage below is quoted from a named public-domain translation, earliest first.
2 Timothy 1:5
c. AD 55…the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.Paul · read ↗
Apostolic Constitutions VII.46 ('Strataeas the son of Lois', bishop of Smyrna)
c. AD 380Of Smyrna, Aristo the first; after whom Strataeas the son of Lois; and the third Aristo.The Constitutions' compiler · Apostolic Constitutions VII.46 · source text
Connected in the archive
People
Events in this lifetime
- AD 30 · Crucifixion, Resurrection and Pentecost, AD 30–33
- AD 44 · Persecution under Herod Agrippa I, AD 44
- AD 49 · The Council of Jerusalem, AD 49
- AD 57 · Paul writes Romans, AD 57
- AD 62 · James the Just stoned, AD 62
Place
Places served
The 2 places the sources put Lois, in the order the record moves through them. This is what the sources attest, not a reconstructed route.