Who was the woman at the well?

This famous biblical story has long been misunderstood, says Dr Lucy Peppiatt 

I wonder what you think about the Samaritan woman who meets Jesus at the well. We’re not told her name in John 4 but, in the Eastern Orthodox Church, she’s well known as St Photina, an evangelist and martyr. 

Photina, they say, was either imprisoned and martyred in Carthage, North Africa or she went to Rome, where she was tortured and killed by Emperor Nero. Before she died, however, the impressive evangelist is said to have converted Nero’s daughter. This is a much more exciting story than simply leaving her as the nameless woman at the well!