Porphirea

"Her heart can give but kindness." She is a "good and silent disciple, more active in her obedience than many others". Illustration created based on the descriptions of Maria Valtorta.

Porphirea is, in the work of Maria Valtorta, the wife of Simon Peter. The Gospel only mentions the Peter’s mother-in-law, but says nothing about his wife. No feast is attributed to her by the Church. Saint Paul alludes to the wife disciples who accompanied the apostles including Cephas (Peter), but does not name her.

What Maria Valtorta says about her

Porphirea is a Galilean native of Capernaum. It is there, in her family, that she returns when her husband Simon, nicknamed Peter, leaves to follow Jesus and does not want to leave her alone at the marital home of Bethsaida.

Her appearance

From her husband's own confession, she is not beautiful, but she is very loved by her husband: he praises her qualities to Jesus and recounts their romance when he is entrusted with the young orphan Marjiam:

"she is precious on account of her goodness. And I have been very fond of her because she is so peaceful, chaste and quiet. Three virtues… eh! not easily found! I eyed her carefully since she was a girl. When I came to Capernaum with fish I used to see her mending the nets, or at the fountain, or working silently in the kitchen garden and she wasn’t an absent-minded butterfly fluttering here and there, neither was she a thoughtless little hen looking around at every crow of a cock. She never raised her head when she heard the voice of a man, and when I, in love with her goodness and her wonderful plaits, her only beauties, and… well, also moved to pity because she was treated like a slave at home… when I began to say hello to her – she was then sixteen years old – she hardly replied to me, she pulled her veil over her face and remained more indoors. Eh! It took a very long time to find out whether she considered me an ogre or not and before I could send my bestman to her!… But I do not regret it. I could have travelled all over the world, but I would not have found another one like her."

At the request of the Peter’s mother-in-law, a possessive woman, the couple comes to live in Capernaum at her house, where Porphirea finds many sisters and some brothers-in-law. The difficult character of the mother-in-law makes cohabitation impossible: Porphirea returns to Bethsaida.

A sterile couple who adopts

The couple is sterile, but they adopt Marjiam, a young orphan, a prodigious disciple, which fulfills them.

"I never had any children of my own. But I have had many nephews and I know how to deal with children. I am the disciple who is not good at speaking, who is not so healthy as to be able to follow You, as the other women disciples do… oh! You know! I may also be cowardly, If You think so. But You know how I am tied up. Did I say: “tied up”? I am tied with two ropes each pulling me in opposite directions and I do not have the courage to cut off either one or the other… Let me be of some little service to You, by being the mother disciple of this boy. I will teach him what the others teach many other people… To love You…"

She surrounds the young orphan with all her motherly affection, particularly at the death of his grandfather, the only relative he had left:

"[...] Porphirea [...] ignoring the wavelets which beat upon the shore with merry and somewhat cheeky laps, as the lake is not yet completely calm, goes into the water, up to her knees, and she leans on the boat, in which Marjiam is, and kisses him saying: «I will love you also on his behalf. My dear son, I will love you on behalf of everybody!» and she is deeply moved when saying so. And as soon as the boat stops, and the people in it land, Porphirea embraces Marjiam, as she does not wish to cede to anybody the task of making the boy feel that he is deeply loved."

A discreet disciple, but highly appreciated

Her character complements the impetuous temperament of her husband. Her brother-in-law Andrew the Apostle says of Porphirea:

"She is very shy."

Jesus appreciates her a lot:

"«Her heart can give but kindness.», he comments. «the good and silent disciple, more active in her obedience than many others.»"

Knowing the torments of his coming Passion, Jesus comes to Bethsaida to give Porphirea the last instructions regarding Marjiam and asks that neither of them come to Jerusalem for Passover.

"You are a clever woman", he tells her as he leaves, "and a good disciple. I have been very fond of you since I met you and it was with great joy that I accepted you as a disciple and I entrusted the boy to you. I am aware that only few women are as wise and prudent as you. And I know that you can keep silent: a very rare virtue in women."

Her name

Porphirea comes from purple, a bright red coloring substance extracted from shells (porphyra in Greek), whose trade enriched her father. This name is not unique: a Saint Porphyry of Gaza and another philosopher of Tyre are known.

Where is she mentioned in the work?

GRM 50 GRM 51 GRM 60 GRM 95
GRM 133 GRM 153 GRM 179 GRM 180
GRM 214 GRM 228 GRM 239 GRM 240 GRM 281 GRM 296 GRM 299
GRM 310 GRM 312 GRM 313 GRM 314 GRM 338 GRM 347 GRM 348 GRM 350 GRM 365 GRM 366 GRM 367 GRM 370 GRM 371
GRM 426 GRM 440 GRM 443 GRM 446 GRM 447 GRM 465 GRM 497
GRM 566
GRM 634

Remarkable points

René Laurentin - François-Michel Debroise - Jean-François Lavère - Salvator 2011.

Excerpt from the Dictionary of Gospel Characters by Msgr. René Laurentin, François-Michel Debroise and Jean-François Lavère:

According to the Chronicle of Flavius Dexter, she followed Saint Peter to Jerusalem and Antioch after the Resurrection, then to Rome around 42 or 44. This is undoubtedly what Saint Paul alludes to when speaking of the "woman-wives" who accompany some apostles, including Peter. According to Eusebius of Caesarea, citing Saint Clement of Alexandria, Peter's wife was dead martyred before her husband. He assisted and encouraged her in the trial.