Cenchreae (Cenchrea)

Cenchrea was Corinth's eastern harbor on the Saronic Gulf, the port for ships sailing toward Asia and Syria. Before leaving Corinth at the end of his long stay there, Paul had his head shorn in Cenchrea because of a vow, and then sailed for Syria with Priscilla and Aquila. A church grew in the port town, and when Paul wrote to the Romans he commended 'Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea,' asking the believers in Rome to receive her and assist her, for she had been 'a succourer of many,' including Paul himself. Her mention is one of the clearest glimpses in the New Testament of a woman serving a local congregation and carrying the apostle's trust.