CLAUDIA

 

Claudia was descended from British royalty. Her father was Caradoc, better known to history by the named the Romans gave him of Caracatacus. Before his defeat and capture at the hands of the Romans, he had been King of the Welsh Silures and the Pendragon of the British armies. He was also first cousin to King Arviragus, who welcomed Joseph of Arimathea and his Bethany band to Glastonbury. Once captured, Caractacus so impressed the Roman senate he was given his freedom, provided he stayed in Rome for seven years. The Roman Emperor, Claudius, was so charmed by the young Claudia, he adopted her as his daughter. It was at this point that she changed her name from Gladys (meaning "princess") the Younger, to Claudia. At the age of seventeen, Claudia married Pudens, A Roman senator. The Pudens home was the gathering place for many of the Apostles, most especially St. Paul, who was the half-brother of Claudia's husband. The Pudens offered spiritual and often physical refuge for many Christians during that early period of persecution. As a result, Claudia’s brother, husband and all of her four children were eventually martyred.

 

We think of St. Paul as a "woman-hater", but here he is seen as being in support of kinsmen and kinswomen within the Christian movement. This in a household-church in which women played an equal if not more influential role than their male counterparts. He may have been opposed to women as priests and bishops in the Church for fear that this would cause even more oppression of the Christian Church, due to the Patriarchy of the age; but it would seem that this opposition did not extend to women as spiritual beings equal to men, and most capable of upholding Christian charity and faith in the world in an active and prominent way.

As an aside, when moving into the space of connecting to the Pudens family in order to work on this temple site, I 'saw' a room with beautifully carved walls of rich, dark wood, in one of the buildings in  the Puden's  wealthy estate, Palatium Britannicum. In one of these walls was a secret paneled door that when pressed in a certain manner, swung open. This entrance led to a branch of the Roman catacombs, which hid many Christians on their way to safety to and from the Sanctuary of Christ. My vision inspired the background to this page, although it is a poor representation. No crosses were in the actual wall carvings, as the Cross had not yet become a symbol of Christ--and certainly no "symbol of Christ" would be openly displayed in the Puden's home.

Call upon the noble women in service to the Christos who graced the Sanctuary with their dedication, compassion and courage. These were most specifically: Claudia, her daughters, Pudentiana and Praxedes; Claudia's mother, the Welsh Queen; her aunt Pomponia; and sister Eurgain. Ask them to lead you into the small chapel room of carved wooden walls, where the passage to the catacombs is concealed. There, before a simple and yet finely set altar, kneel there with them in prayer. What is your service? Not in form, but in essence. What essence of the Christos lives and breathes in your life? Through this Living Breath, what acts might you accomplish in the name of the Holy One who dwells within you? Ask to receive this gnosis each day, as you move out into your world to interact with the larger one. You can be of certainty that the Women of the Sanctuary of Christ lived their lives in this thought and prayer. Ask them to prayer with you now, as you surrender your mind, heart and soul to the greater service of LOVE in the world. For this is the foremost message of the Christ Yeshua: 

"Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind...and your neighbor as yourself."  -- Matthew 22-37 (NIV)

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