As Jesus is the cornerstone upon which the Church is built, so are his teachings the unifying cornerstone of Christian doctrine.

Photina of Samaria

After her encounter with Jesus, the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:42) went on to become a famous evangelist. According to tradition, she was baptized by the apostles with the name Photina. She is also known variously as Saint Photina or Saint Svetlana. Some call her the church’s first evangelist. She and her five sisters along with her two sons were also baptized and became a family of evangelists. After Peter and Paul were martyred, she and her family moved to Carthage to preach the Gospel. She and her son Joses are reputed to have fearlessly preached the Gospel there. Photina’s elder son Victor had become a military commander and was taken to Rome to betray Christians. Instead his witness converted his jailer and his servants and along with his family he eventually died a martyr in 66.

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