Were there female ministers in the early Church? Why do some people claim that they were, and if so, what happened to them?

1. Priestesses, and Deaconesses,
& Virgins– Oh My!
O Sister, Where Art Thou?
Part Four

2. Were there Female Leaders in the
Early Church?

3. Phoebe: Deacon, Patroness, Trusted Messenger

4. Phoebe: Deacon, Patroness, Trusted Messenger
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in
Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of
his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she
has been the benefactor of many people, including me.”
(Romans 16)

5. Phoebe: Deacon, Patroness, Trusted Messenger
1. “Phoebe carried under
the folds of her robe the
whole future of Christian
theology.”

6. Phoebe: Deacon, Patroness, Trusted Messenger
2. “Deacon”
διάκονος
“a servant, minister”
A waiter, servant; any one who performs any service, an
administrator.

7. Phoebe: Deacon, Patroness, Trusted Messenger
I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant … (KJV)
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant… (ESV)
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess... (RSV)
I have good things to say about Phoebe, who is a leader… (CEV)
I commend to you Phoebe, our sister, who is minister… (DARBY)
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon... (NIV)

8. Phoebe: Deacon, Patroness, Trusted Messenger
3. “Benefactor”
προστάτις
A female guardian, protector, patroness.
A woman set over others, a protectress, a patroness.

9. Phoebe: Deacon, Patroness, Trusted Messenger
...she hath been a succourer of many… (KJV)
...she has been a patron of many… (ESV)
...she has been a helper of many... (RSV)
...she has proved to be a respected leader for many others… (CEV)
...she also has been a helper of many… (DARBY)
...she has been the benefactor of many people... (NIV)

10. Phoebe: Deacon, Patroness, Trusted Messenger
3. “Benefactor”
προστάτις
προΐστημι

11. Phoebe: Deacon, Patroness, Trusted Messenger
“I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in
Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of
his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she
has been the benefactor of many people, including me.”
(Romans 16)

12. Junia (Junias)
The Transgender Apostle

13. Junia (Junias)
The Transgender Apostle
“Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in
prison with me. They are outstanding among* the apostles, and they
were in Christ before I was.” (Romans 16)
* or “esteemed by”

14. Junia (Junias)
The Transgender Apostle
1. Is it Junia or Junias?

15. Junia (Junias)
The Transgender Apostle
1. Is it Junia or Junias?
Ιουνιαν
᾿Ιουνιᾶν (boy)
᾿Ιουνίαν (girl)

16. Junia (Junias)
The Transgender Apostle
1. Is it Junia or Junias?
1. The early Church Fathers understood Junia as female.
2. Junia as a common female name, Junias (male) was not.
3. Not until the 12th century was Junia interpreted as male.

17. Junia (Junias)
The Transgender Apostle
1. Is it Junia or Junias?
2. What was her
relationship with the
Apostles?
Was she one of the Apostles?
OR
Well thought of by the Apostles?

18. Junia (Junias)
The Transgender Apostle
1. Is it Junia or Junias?
2. What was her
relationship with the
Apostles?
1. The Twelve
2. Paul, as one who was commissioned by Christ.
3. Barnabas is also called an apostle.
4. Hebrews 3, Jesus is called an apostle.
5. General category of messengers, people that are sent

19. Junia (Junias)
The Transgender Apostle
“Greet Andronicus and Junia, my fellow Jews who have been in
prison with me. They are outstanding among* the apostles, and they
were in Christ before I was.” (Romans 16)
* or “esteemed by”

20. Junia (Junias)
The Transgender Apostle
Donald Wallace
“We must conclude that Andronicus and Junia
were not apostles, but were known to the
apostles. To be sure, our conclusion is
tentative.”
Linda Belleville
Concludes that Junia was a woman and one of
the apostles.

21. “’Salute Andronicus and Junia my kinsmen…
‘Who are of note among the Apostles.’
Oh! How great is the devotion of this woman,
that she should be even counted worthy of the
appellation of apostle!”
What would Johnny C. say?

22. “Salutate Andronicum, et Iuniam cognatos, et concaptivos meos:
qui sunt nobiles in Apostolis, qui et ante me fuerunt in Christo.”
Jerome understood it as...
“Salute Andronicus and Iunia my relatives
and fellow-captives, who are well known
among the Apostles, who before me were in
Christ.”

23. To the Elect Lady
Who?
“The elder,
“To the lady chosen by God and to her children, whom I love in the
truth—and not I only, but also all who know the truth...
... The children of
your sister, who is
chosen by God, send
their greetings.”
2 John

24. Thecla
The Acts of Paul and Thecla (written 160 – 190)

25. Thecla
I. Iconium
Thecla hears Paul from her window, and rejects her fiancé.
She visits Paul in prison
The trial, Paul banished, Thecla to be burned.
The miracle that saved her.

26. Thecla
I. Iconium
II. Antioch
She cuts her hair.
Alexander attempts to buy, then take Thecla.
She is condemned to the arena.
The lioness protects her.
Her self baptism in the arena
The rope breaks that bound her to the bulls.
Her release.

27. Thecla
I. Iconium
II. Antioch
III. Myra of Lycia
Wearing a man’s cloak.
Paul tells her to “Go and teach the word of God”.

28. Thecla
I. Iconium
II. Antioch
III. Myra of Lycia
IV. Back at Iconium
Her former fiancé is dead.
Her mother converts.

29. Thecla
I. Iconium
II. Antioch
III. Myra of Lycia
IV. Back at Iconium
V. The Cave in Seleucia
72 years living in a cave (ascetic) teaching others (convent).

30. Thecla
I. Iconium
II. Antioch
III. Myra of Lycia
IV. Back at Iconium
V. The Cave in Seleucia
VI. Death, Two possible (similar endings).
Men from town attempt an attack and she escapes.
Arrival in Rome.
Death at 90 years of age on September 24.

31. Thecla
1. A “Pious Fiction”?
Tertullian’s quote:
“But if certain Acts of Paul, which are falsely so named, claim the
example of Thecla for allowing women to teach and to baptize, let
men know that in Asia the presbyter who compiled that document,
thinking to add of his own to Paul’s reputation, was found out,
and though he professed he had done it for love of Paul, was
deposed from his position. How could we believe that Paul should
give a female power to teach and to baptize, when he did not
allow a woman even to learn by her own right? Let them keep
silence, he says, and ask their husbands at home.'” (Homily on
Baptism)

32. Thecla
1. A “Pious Fiction”?
2. True History?
Jerome
Gregory of Nyssa
Gregory of Nazianzus
Macrina the Younger

33. Thecla
1. A “Pious Fiction”?
2. True History?
3. Embellishment?

34. Thecla
1. A “Pious Fiction”?
2. True History?
3. Embellishment?
Summary
If nothing else, then it does demonstrate a strong communal desire
in the second century for a strong female leader (hero).

35. (From Apostles to Bishops)

36. (From Apostles to Bishops)
“From the end of the first century, the institutionalisation and
hierarchisation processes seem to take a leap: they accelerated.
After the Apostles passed away authority needed to recognized,
established, and defined.

37. (From Apostles to Bishops)
1. Canonization of Scripture.
2. Rise of the Bishops.
3. Formalization of Liturgy.
4. Rules of Faith.
5. Formalization of Roles and Functions.

38. (From Apostles to Bishops)
1. The Oral teaching of the Apostles
2. The New Testament
3. The Didache (65-80)
4. The Apostolic Didascalia (230)
5. Constitutions of the Apostles (375-380)
The path formalizing Church practice, roles, and authorities.

39. Where does the Idea of Female Leaders in
the Ancient Church Come From?

40. Where does the Idea of Female Leaders in
the Ancient Church Come From?
Problems
1. There is overlapping in meanings: deaconess, widow, priestess...
2. Evidence is lacking.
3. The ancients differed in their views.
4. Historians have agendas too.

41. Where does the Idea of Female Leaders in
the Ancient Church Come From?
First, the Bible
Pricilla, Phoebe, & Junia.
Galatians 3: 29
“...nor is there male
and female”

42. Where does the Idea of Female Leaders in
the Ancient Church Come From? Archeology

44. A Roman marble inscription from Terni reads...
“If you wish to know, traveller, who lies here, the venerable lady,
bishop (name obscured) rests in peace. Olibrio.”

46. Acts 6
In the early Church the deacon’s first role was that described as
distributing food to the poor, leaving the apostles free to devote
themselves “to prayer and to the ministry of the word”.
The Trail of the Deaconess

47. 1 Timothy 3: 11
“In the same way, the women* are to be worthy of respect, not
malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything.”
*Possibly deacons’ wives or women who are deacons

48. 1 Timothy 5: 11-12
“As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when
their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want
to marry. Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they
have broken their first pledge.”
The role of widow would be taken over by the deaconesses.

49. Pliny the Younger (61-113)
“I have found it necessary to extort
information from two serving women
who are said to be deaconesses.”
Other Sources

50. Origen of Alexandria (185-254)
When Origen wrote about Phoebe he
understood her to be officially ordained
for the ministry of the church.

51. The Apostolic Didascalia (230)
The functions of female deacons are summarized as:
1. Assisting at the baptism of women,
2. Going into the houses of the heathen where there are believing
women, and to visit those who are sick,
3. To minister to them in the area of their need, and to bathe those
who have begun to recover from sickness.

52. Council of Nicaea (325)
Deaconesses are mentioned, as is reference to ordination.
“…The same must be done with respect to the deaconesses…”

53. Epiphanius of Salamis (310-403)
“Courage, servants of God, let us invest
ourselves with all the qualities of men and
put to flight this feminine madness. These
women repeat Eve’s weakness and take
appearance for reality. But let us get to
the heart of the subject. Never anywhere
has any woman acted as priest for God, not
even Eve; even after her Fall she was never
so audacious as to put her hand to an
undertaking as impious as this….”
“I have never ordained deaconesses… nor done anything to
split the church.”

54. The Council of Laodicea (363-364)
Canon 11: On Women Ministers
“The appointment of the so-called female elders (presbytides) or
presidents (prokathemenai) shall not take place in the church.”

55. Constitutions of the Apostles (375-380)
Bishop: The bishop is next after God,
Deacon: Minister as Christ does to His Father,
Deaconess: Be honored as in the place of the Holy Spirit,
Presbyters: To represent the apostles,
Widows & Orphans: Representing the altar of burnt-offering,
Virgins: Representing the altar of incense, and the incense itself.

56. First Council of Nimes (394)
“It has been suggested by some people that women somewhere or
other seem to have assumed for themselves the ministry of levites.
This is against apostolic discipline and has been unheard of until
this time.
The practice is highly questionable and not allowed by
ecclesiastical discipline. Any such ordination that has taken place
is against all reason and is to be destroyed. All care is to be taken
that no one presume in this way again.”

57. The Council of Orange (441)
Deaconesses (diaconae) are on no account to be ordained.
The title will still be used but not as an ordained position.

58. Council of Chalcedon (451)
“No woman shall be ordained a deaconess before she is forty years
old and then after careful trial.
If however, after she has received ordination and has been for some
time in the service, she marries, disparaging the grace of God, then
she shall be anathematized, together with him who has united
himself with her.”
Note the similarity with 1 Timothy 5: 11-12.

59. Council in Gaul, Orléans (533)
“To no woman must henceforth the benedictio diaeonalis be given
because of the weakness of the sex.”

60. Sixth Council of Epaon (517)
This council ruled that deaconesses are to be cut off from the
church, with nothing provided for them except the opportunity for
repentance.
No more deaconesses in the West!

61. The Council of Tours, (567)
Granted the the title of ‘diaconissa’ to the wives of deacons.

62. What about the East?

63. What about the East?
1. Female deacons were ordained and counted among the major
orders of clergy in the Byzantine church (for over 1000 years).
2. Deaconesses died out in the medieval/Byzantine period for a
variety of reasons.
3. The 19th and 20th centuries saw, in various Orthodox churches,
discussion, and in a few cases a restored female diaconate.

64. What about the East?
Why did the Deaconess Fall into Disuse in the East?
1. Fall in the number of adult female converts
2. Shift of the female diaconate from parishes to monasteries
3. Influence of Islam − greater seclusion of women
4. Rise of Levitical Ritual Law in the Byzantine Church

65. What about the East?
1. On Ritual Impurity the Apostolic Constitutions (375-380) says,
“For neither the lawful mixture [intercourse], nor childbearing, nor
the menstrual purgation, nor nocturnal pollution can defile the
nature of a [person], or separate the Holy Spirit from him…
...but only impiety towards God, transgression, and injustice
towards one’s neighbor…”
2. Also, the Protestant emphasis on the Priesthood of the Believer.

66. What about Other “Christian” Groups?

67. What about Other “Christian” Groups?
Gnostics, Manicheans, and Montanists
Some have argued that many heretical groups were more
compelling to women than the catholic churches.
This may have led many Church leaders to reject women leaders
and view them as susceptible to heresies.

68. What about Other “Christian” Groups?
Gnostics, Manicheans, and Montanists
1. The roles of women among these groups is being debated, as is
the attitude of the Church Fathers on this topic.
Was Irenarus opposed to the women participating in
Marcus’ rituals, or was he only opposed to the rituals?
2. Gnosticism, though it used female imagery (Sophia) and had
some female leaders, appears in general, to have been strongly
hierarchical and male dominated.

69. What about Other “Christian” Groups?
The Gospel of Thomas
“Simon Peter said to them, ‘Let Mary leave us, for women are not
worthy of life.’
Jesus said, ‘I myself shall lead her in order to make her male, so
that she too may become a living spirit resembling you males. For
every woman who will make herself male will enter the kingdom
of heaven.’”

70. Early Christian Female Ministers

71. Early Christian Female Ministers
1. They generally ministered to women and were women’s
advocates in the early Church.
2. It is likely that in some cases their ministries went further, i.e.
leading house churches, teaching, ministering the sacraments....
3. As the Church became more centralized and institutionalized
women were pushed to the outskirts.