Paul wrote to pastor Timothy from a Roman prison and included these words: “Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers” (2 Timothy 4:21). There was a Christian senator in Rome by the name of Pudens; we have no way of determining whether the Pudens in this text and the senator of the same name were the same, but the likelihood, in my mind, certainly exists.
Pudens had two daughters, both of whom were believers in Christ: Prudenziana and Pressede. Two churches were built on the site of Senator Puden’s house, with the tradition that one of the churches is actually located in the house while the other was built adjacent to it.

The church of Santa Prudenziana dates from the fourth century and was built over parts of a bath house constructed by the emperor Hadrian and the remains of an earlier house. The church contains some of the finest mosaics in Rome. In the fourth century it was the residence of the bishop of Rome (the pope).
The church of Santa Prassede, or Praxides, her sister, was built on the site of a house belonging to her family, possibly the house of Pudens, himself. The appearance of the church suggests that it possibly was once a house. Both sisters were martyrs of the Christian faith. Santa Prassede also contains a beautiful altar mosaic. These churches stand as among the oldest in Rome and are tied to a real Biblical personality.
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