Over the past decade or so, I’ve spent considerable time looking at the role of women in early Christianity and reading various books on this topic. I’ve bought many for myself, but I’m grateful for the books and papers that are freely available online. In this blog post, I provide links to some of these free resources.
Most of the following books are on Internet Archive, a resource I use almost every day. You need to set up a free account to access them. The availability of books on Internet Archive changes, so I’ll update this page from time to time. There are even more titles available for people with print disabilities.
If you like any of these books, please consider buying them or borrowing them from your library.
I’ve found the following resources helpful, but this doesn’t mean I hold to the same views as all the authors. These books and papers are not given in any particular order.
Ute E. Eisen
Women Officeholders in Early Christianity: Epigraphical and Literary Studies (Liturgical Press, 2000) (Internet Archive)
This is one of the books I used for my series on Women Elders in Ancient Christian Texts.
Christine Schenk
Crispina and Her Sisters: Women and Authority in Early Christianity (Fortress Press, 2017) (Internet Archive)
This book explores visual imagery found on burial artefacts of prominent early Christian women.
Patricia Cox Miller (editor)
Women in Early Christianity: Translations from Greek Texts (Catholic University of America Press, 2005) (Internet Archive)
Elizabeth A. Clark
Women in the Early Church. Message of the Fathers of the Church 13 (Liturgical Press, 1983) (Internet Archive) Contains excerpts from early church fathers where they speak about women. A more recent edition is available for purchase.
Lynn H. Cohick
Women in the World of the Earliest Christians: Illuminating Ancient Ways of Life (Baker Academic, 2009)
A considerable chunk of this book can be read on Google Books. I own this impressive book and also the 2017 book coauthored by Lynn Cohick and Amy Brown Hughes, Christian Women in the Patristic World.
Ruth A. Tucker and Walter Liefeld
Daughters of the Church (Zondervan: 1987) (The first 140 pages are available on Google Books.)
This book contains short paragraphs on various women in the early church and beyond. I own this book and I really like it. Even though it was written in the 80s, it hasn’t dated much.
Ally Kateusz
Mary and Early Christian Women: Hidden Leadership (Palgrave Macmillan, 2019)
Dr Kateusz’s book is open access and can be downloaded for free from several websites including Springer.com, OAPEN, Amazon Kindle, Google Books, and Academia.edu.
Mary Lawrence McKennan
Women of the Church: Role and Renewal (P.J. Kennedy and Sons, 1967) (Internet Archive)
With a focus on the early church, this book contains chapters on the church orders of widows, deaconesses, and virgins.
Bonnie Bowman Thurston
The Widows: A Women’s Ministry in the Early Church (Fortress Press, 1989) (Internet Archive)
Yurong Zhao
Early Christian Widows: A Study in Their Social-economic Situation, Support, and Contribution to the Church (Doctoral thesis, Durham University, 2024) (Click on the PDF icon here.)
Kevin Madigan and Carolyn Osiek
Ordained Women in the Early Church: A Documentary History (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005) (Internet Archive)
I own a copy of this book and have found it very useful.
Paul. F. Bradshaw
Ordination Rites of the Ancient Churches of East and West (Pueblo, 1990) (Internet Archive)
Includes ancient ordination rituals of men and women.
Peter Brown
The Body and Society: Men, Women, and Sexual Renunciation in Early Christianity (Columbia University Press, 1988) (Internet Archive)
This is one of my favourite books on early Christianity!
Ben Witherington III
Women in the Earliest Churches (Cambridge University Press, 1988) (Internet Archive)
Roger Vigneron and Jean-François Gerkens
“The Emancipation of Women in Ancient Rome,” Revue Internationale des Droits de l’Antiquité, Vol. 47 (2000): 107-121. (Université de Liège website)
There are still more worthwhile books on early Christian women on Internet Archive here.
Explore more
Freebies for Students of Early Christianity
Freebies for Students of the New Testament
Freebies for Students of New Testament Greek
An Overview of Women Ministers in the Early Church
Women Elders in Ancient Christian Texts
I have more articles on Early Church Women, as well as articles on Early Christian Letters and Early Syrian Christianity.
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9 thoughts on “Freebies for Students of Early Christian Women”
Thanks! This will be a wonderful resource!
Really appreciate your work and this information. It is very helpful when assisting myself and other woman in their callings.
Thank you for compiling this great resource!
Thanks so much. This will be extremely helpful. I appreciate all of your posts.
So much to think about. Some familiar and some completely new. Thank you
Thank you for making this list! I have a feeling I’m going to be revisiting this page often
Thanks, Hashim. I’ll be visiting this page often also. I visit my Greek and Early Christianity “freebies” pages quite a lot too.
I love how God directs our steps! I’ve been wanting to take a deep dive into this subject and I would like to teach on it one day at my church. I just didn’t know where to start. This is a so valuable to me!
That’s great to hear, Briana!