Introduction
Some Christians think the idea that women were leaders in New Testament churches is new. They think this idea has come about from a faulty reading of scripture influenced by modern western culture and by political correctness. These same Christians usually believe that the evidence from church tradition is unanimous: no respected church leader or Christian theologian of the past understood that some New Testament women functioned as leading ministers or pastors in their churches.
John Chrysostom was the archbishop of Constantinople between the years 398 and 405. He was an eloquent speaker and the pastor of one of the largest churches in his day. Chrysostom was not influenced by an egalitarian society. Rather, he seems to have been influenced by the prevailing patriarchal culture.[1] Nevertheless, he saw that the apostle Paul identified a few women as leading ministers in their churches. Chrysostom further recognised that these women had endured hardships and had even risked their lives for the sake of the gospel. Their ministry was not lightweight.
In this article, I quote from a few of Chrysostom’s surviving homilies (sermons) where he praises Priscilla, Phoebe, Euodia, Syntyche, and Junia and acknowledges that these five women were leading ministers. His praise of Priscilla is especially effusive.
Priscilla: Teacher and House Church Leader
Say hello to Prisca and Aquila, my coworkers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life. I’m not the only one who thanks God for them, but all the churches of the Gentiles do the same. Also say hello to the church that meets in their house. Romans 16:3–5a CEB
Priscilla, or Prisca, is mentioned by name six times in the Greek New Testament. Four of these times, her name is listed before her husband’s. In Homily 40 on Acts, Chrysostom speaks about the ministry of Priscilla and Aquila in Ephesus, including their ministry to Apollos when the couple taught him “the way of God more accurately” (Acts 18:19, 24–26).
Take note, a woman [Priscilla] is also equal to men in her actions and teaching.[2] But [Paul] left [Priscilla and Aquila] at Ephesus. With good reason, namely, that they should teach. For having been with [Paul] so long time, they were learning many things … (English: Homily 40 on Acts; Greek: Patrologia Graeca (PG) 60, column 281)
It was not for nothing that [Paul] left them at Ephesus, but for Apollos’ sake, the Spirit so ordered it, that [Apollos] might come with greater force to the attack upon Corinth. (Homily 40 on Acts; PG 60, 282)
In his list of twenty-eight Christians in Rome, which begins at verse 3 of Romans 16, Paul puts Prisca’s name at the very top of the list. Prisca was a prominent minister and Chrysostom recognised this. In his Homilies 30 and 31 on Romans, he emphasises Priscilla as the person who received Apollos and instructed him. And he credits Priscilla, more so than Aquila, in making their home a church (Rom. 16:3–5a; 1 Cor. 16:19).
For she had been so estimable as even to make their house a Church, both by making all in it believers, and because they opened it to all strangers. For [Paul] was not in the habit of calling any houses “churches,” save where there was much piety, and much fear of God deeply rooted in them. (Homily 30 on Romans; PG 60, 664)
This thing too is no small excellency, that they had made their very house a Church. (Homily 44 on 1 Corinthians; PG 61, 374)
In his tenth homily on 2 Timothy, Chrysostom says this about Priscilla and Aquila (regarding 2 Tim. 4:19).
These are they of whom he makes continual mention, with whom too he had lodged, and who had taken Apollos to them. He names the woman first, as being I suppose more zealous, and more faithful, for she had then received Apollos; or it might be done indifferently. And it was to them no slight consolation to be thus saluted. It conveyed a demonstration of esteem and love, and a participation in much grace. (Homily 10 on 2 Timothy; PG 62, 658)
Chrysostom mentions Priscilla and Aquila in several surviving homilies, including two sermons just on the couple.[3] In Homily 30 on Romans, Chrysostom spends some time waxing lyrical about Priscilla’s fame. At the end of sermon 31 on Romans, he summarises Paul words regarding the Christians mentioned in Romans 16:1–16 and notes that Priscilla and Aquila are praised “more than all.”
More about Priscilla here.
Phoebe: Deacon (diakonos)
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church at Cenchreae, so that you may welcome her in the Lord as is fitting for the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a benefactor of many and of myself as well. Romans 16:1–2 NIV
Before greeting Prisca and the twenty-seven other Romans, Paul begins Romans 16 by commending Phoebe to the Roman Christians. Phoebe had travelled from Cenchrea (a port in Corinth) to Rome and had brought Paul’s letter to the church there. Chrysostom mentions her a few times in his sermons and he usually makes the remark that she was an official deacon or minister (diakonos).
Paul calls Phoebe a diakonos, a word the apostle typically used for “an agent with a sacred commission.” Paul used the word for himself, Timothy, Epaphras, Tychicus, and Apollos. He also used it for ministers, deacons, in Philippi (Phil. 1:1) and in Ephesus (1 Tim. 3:8–13). Phoebe’s ministry as deacon and as benefactor in the church at Cenchrea may have had some similarities with that of powerful deaconesses in Chrysostom’s time. (Chrysostom had a deep admiration and profound love for his friend Olympias who was a deaconess.)
In his 30th homily on Romans, Chrysostom refers to Paul’s praise of Phoebe.
See how many ways he takes to give her dignity. For he has both mentioned her before all the rest, and called her sister. And it is no slight thing to be called the sister of Paul. Moreover he has added her rank, by mentioning her being diakonos (deacon). (PG 60, 663)
Later in his 31st homily on Romans, Chrysostom refers back to Phoebe and writes that Paul addressed her “by her title, for he does not call her diakonos of the church in an undefined way … but … as having the office of diakonos (deacon).” (PG 60, 672)
Chrysostom mentions Phoebe again when discussing Euodia and Syntyche, two women in the church at Philippi.
More about Phoebe here.
Euodia and Syntyche: “The Chief of the Church”
I urge Euodia and I urge Syntyche to be of the same mind in the Lord. Yes, and I ask you also, my loyal companion, help these women, for they have struggled beside me in the work of the gospel, together with Clement and the rest of my co-workers, whose names are in the book of life. Philippians 4:2–3 NRSV
Chrysostom has more than a few words to say about Euodia and Syntyche. Unlike later commentators, Chrysostom says nothing about a quarrel between the two women but only speaks of their virtue. Moreover, he regarded them as “the chief” of the church, the principal or leading members of the church.[4]
These women seem to me to be the chief (to kephalaion) of the church which was there, and [Paul] commends them to some notable man whom he calls his “yokefellow,” to whom perchance he was wont to commend them, as to a fellow-worker, and fellow-soldier, and brother, and companion, as he does in the Epistle to the Romans, when he says, “I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is diakonos (deacon) of the church that is at Cenchrea.” (Homily 13 on Philippians; PG 62, 279–280)[5]
He writes further about Euodia and Syntyche and their work with Paul, and urges that such people be honoured.
Although many were they who wrought together with [Paul], yet these women also acted with him among the many. The churches then were no little edified, for many good ends are gained where they who are approved, be they men, or be they women, enjoy from the rest such honor. (Homily 13 on Philippians; PG 62, 280)
More about Euodia and Syntyche here.
Junia: Apostle (apostolos)
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 16:7 NIV
The identity of Junia as a woman and as an apostolos (apostle or missionary) has been debated in recent decades. But for Chrysostom, who was a native Greek speaker, as well as a highly educated Greek speaker, there seems to have been no argument. He makes it plain that he regarded Junia as a female apostle of note.
Indeed, even to be apostles is great, but more so to be notable [or, outstanding] among them. Understand how great this accolade is! Now, they were notable because of their deeds—because of their successes. Wow! What is the extent of the philosophy [or, accomplishment][6] of this woman as to also be worthy of the title “of the apostles”? And [Paul] doesn’t stop there. Rather he adds still another accolade, saying “And they were in Christ before me.”
(Homily 31 on Romans, my translation; PG 60, 669–670)
When commenting on Mary of Rome, a woman mentioned in Romans 16:6, Chrysostom remarks that many women in his own time are “carrying on the race the apostles and evangelists ran.” (Homily 31 on Romans; PG 60, 669)
I have several articles on Junia here.
Chrysostom on Women and Teaching
Chrysostom thought that wise women should teach. He acknowledges several times that Priscilla taught Apollos. And he assumes that the ministry labours of Mary of Rome included ministering “the word” (tou logou)”[7] He also believed wives could teach their husbands: “When she is the wiser (sophōtera), then [Paul] does not forbid her teaching and improving him.” (Homily 31 on Romans; PG 60, 669)
Even though Chrysostom understood that women were leaders in some New Testament churches, he also understood 1 Corinthians 14:34 (“women should be silent in the churches”) and 1 Timothy 2:12 (“I do not permit a woman to teach”) as prohibiting women from public teaching.[8] This is despite the fact that 1 Corinthians 14:34 is not about teaching and 1 Timothy 2:12 may not be about public ministry. There is little joy for women with the calling and gift of teaching in Chrysostom’s comments on 1 Timothy 2:11–15 in Homily 9 on 1 Timothy. (PG 62, 544)
Like most of us today, Chrysostom did not fully understand the setting and the dynamics of church gatherings in Rome, Philippi, Corinth, and elsewhere in the first-century Greco-Roman world. The base for Chrysostom’s church was a cathedral. The bases for churches in the mid-first century were usually homes, and homes are not public settings. Though in larger homes, the public and domestic spheres merged.
Ministry in First-Century House Churches
From ancient legal documents and census returns, it is estimated that as many as one-fifth of households in the Roman world were owned and/or overseen by a woman, usually widowed or divorced, a woman like Lydia, Phoebe, John Mark’s mother, Chloe, and Nympha.
Margaret Y. MacDonald comments on gatherings in Roman homes, including church meetings.
In the Roman world, it was normal procedure for the person in whose house a group met to preside, select the meal, and organize the entertainment to follow, which could include a visiting philosopher or wisdom figure. It is reasonable to conclude that women such as Lydia in Philippi and Phoebe in Cenchreae were presiding in their homes as they entertained Paul and his fellow workers.[9]
I have little doubt that women like Priscilla, Phoebe, Euodia, Syntyche and Junia spoke and taught in house churches and other settings. Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 14:26–40, which includes verses 34–35, are about silencing unruly and unedifying speech, and not just from women. (More on 1 Cor. 14:34–35 here.) 1 Timothy 2:11–15 is about a woman who needed to learn and not teach, and who needed to stop domineering a man, probably her husband. (More on 1 Tim. 2:12 here.) Paul was correcting bad behaviour in these passages. He was not prohibiting gifted and edifying speech.
Elsewhere in his letters, Paul encourages the use of speaking gifts in church gatherings (1 Cor. 14:26; Col. 3:16), and he gives no hint that some ministries, including leading and teaching, are off-limits to women (Rom. 12:6–8; 1 Cor. 12:1–31; Eph. 4:11). Furthermore, Paul uses his favourite ministry terms―coworker, brother or sister, minister (diakonos), apostle, labourer―for his male and female colleagues alike.[10] (More about Paul’s theology of ministry here.)
Conclusion
Chrysostom didn’t get everything right. He had some misgivings about women in certain ministry contexts, contexts that did not readily apply to the mid-first-century church, but he did recognise that some New Testament women were active in leading ministries in churches. And no one can suggest he was being influenced by modern egalitarian culture or was trying to be politically correct. Despite his limited understanding of first-century church life and his caveat about public teaching, Chrysostom speaks warmly about the female ministers mentioned in Paul’s letters.
For the women of those days were more spirited than lions, sharing with the apostles their labours for the gospel’s sake. In this way they went travelling with them, and also performed all other ministries. (Homily 31 on Romans; PG 60, 669)
In this article, I’ve given short excerpts of Chrysostom’s words about these women. I encourage you to read them in their context in English translations of his homilies that are freely available online.
Footnotes
[1] Several scholars see in Chrysostom’s letters and in his hundreds of sermons a growing sympathy towards women. See, for example, Wendy Mayer, “John Chrysostom and Women Revisited” in Men and Women in the Early Christian Centuries, Early Christian Studies 18, Wendy Mayer and Ian J. Elmer (eds) (Strathfield, NSW: St Pauls Publications, 2014), 211–225.
[2] This sentence is my translation of “Idou kai gunē to ison andrasi poiousa kai didaskousa.” (PG 60, 281.)
[3] The original Greek of these two sermons are here (PG 51, 187–205). An English translation of the first of the two sermons is here.
Priscilla is also mentioned in passing in Chrysostom’s Homily 73 (3–4) on Matthew’s Gospel: “Hear the women, who went about with the apostles, having taken unto themselves manly courage, Priscilla, Persis, and the rest; … For then indeed even travelling into far countries women brought not on themselves evil report …”
All up, Chrysostom mentions Priscilla in Homily 73 on Matthew’s Gospel, Homily 40 on Acts, Homily 44 on First Corinthians, Homilies 30 and 31 on Romans, Homily 10 on Second Timothy, and two sermons that are commonly given the Latin titles Salutate Priscillam et Aquilam I and Salutate Priscillam et Aquilam II.
[4] Chrysostom uses the Greek to kephalaion which is a singular neuter adjective with the article, and which functions as a collective noun. If he had used grammatically feminine words, it could be argued that Euodia and Syntyche were the leading or principal women and not “the chief” overall of the church at Philippi. So it is interesting and significant that Chrysostom used the neuter to kephalaion.
[5] The English translation I have quoted has the word “servant” as a translation of diakonos. I have replaced the word “servant” with diakonos. Chrysostom’s word is diakonon (the accusative form of diakonos), the exact word used by Paul in Romans 16:1. Chrysostom is clear that he understands diakonon in Romans 16:1 as referring to an official ministry title; he did not think Paul was calling Phoebe a “servant.”
[6] Chrysostom also uses a similar word philosophon to describe Lydia which is translated as “elevated mind” in this translation of his Homily 35 on Acts.
Tatian (AD 120–c. 180) uses the word “philosophy” when standing up for Christianity and in particular for Christian women who were being slandered. He says that there are women “among us who pursue philosophy (philosophia)” and “among us there are wise women.” This seems to mean that these women pursued high levels of education. Tatian, Address to the Greeks (Oratio ad Graecos), 33.
[7] Chrysostom describes Mary of Rome’s ministry in Homily 31 on Romans: “… along with the word/ discourse (tou logou) she performs other ministries besides, those in the way of dangers, in the way of money, in the way of travels.” (PG 60, 669). A few sentences earlier, Chrysostom allowed “the word/ discourse of teaching” (tou logou tēs didaskalias) from women, but he disallowed them from teaching publicly from a “chair” (thronos) on a “podium” (bēma). (See footnote below.)
[8] For example: “Besides, when [Paul] said ‘I do not allow a woman to teach’ he was speaking about teaching in the pulpit [or on a podium] (bēma), about a public discourse, and reviling the clergy. [Paul] does not forbid exhorting and counselling in private. If it were forbidden, he would not have praised [Prisca] for doing so.” From Chrysostom’s First Homily on the Greeting to Priscilla and Aquila. (Source: CBE International)
However, there were no pulpits or podiums in house churches; there was not a clear distinction between public and private in homes; there was no clergy as Chrysostom understood it. Churches in the mid-first century were usually small communities. They mostly met in homes and were cared for by the householder(s). Paul encouraged participation in ministry, including vocal ministries such as teaching, in such gatherings (1 Cor. 14:26; Col. 3:16).
[9] Margaret Y. MacDonald, “The Religious Lives of Women in the Early Christianity,” Women’s Bible Commentary, Third Edition, Carol A. Newsom, Sharon H. Ringe, Jacqueline E. Lapsley (eds) (Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2012), 640–647, 642.
[10] Even though there were pastors, overseers/ bishops, and elders in New Testament churches, Paul does not identify any individual, male or female, with any of these ministry titles.
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Mosaic of John Chrysostom in the Hagia Sophia in Constantinople (modern Istanbul). (Wikimedia)
Explore more
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More about Chrysostom on the Christianity Today website here, and on the Encyclopedia Britannica website here. More detailed information on Chrysostom is in a chapter by Wendy Mayer on the Academia.edu website here.
9 thoughts on “Chrysostom on 5 Women Church Leaders in the NT”
Hello ,
This is slightly off topic but does concern the Patristic era. I did Church History as part of my diploma and recall a comment that one of the Church Fathers on his marriage declined marital relations due to the fear that, since the Parousia was imminent, the wife could be in a perpetual state of pregnancy in the New Kingdom. I suspect this was Tertullian due to his Montanist affiliations , or possibly Irenaeus, but can find no reference to a quote from either. It goes hand in hand with both and their reported attitude to women in church. I wondered if you had any reference to this?
Hi Janice,
I’d love to know who that church father was. It might have been Tertullian.
I’ve read several ancient documents that forbid marital sex once a man becomes a deacon or presbyter—and it seems only celibate women, virgins or widows, could be deaconesses, etc—but I’ve not seen a mention of the parousia. Rather, there is an understanding that being celibate (or being a virgin) was a state of devotion and piety.
I think the following quotation from Tertullian helps to explain the two main reasons for celibacy and virginity: (1) devotion: “wedded to God” and (2) practising the resurrection life: “dedicated themselves as sons of that (future) age.”
“How many men, therefore, and how many women, in Ecclesiastical Orders, owe their position to continence, who have preferred to be wedded to God; who have restored the honour of their flesh, and who have already dedicated themselves as sons of that (future) age, by slaying in themselves the concupiscence of lust, and that whole (propensity) which could not be admitted within Paradise!”
An exhortation to chastity (De exhortatione castitatis) 13.4
This quotation is from a long letter Tertullian wrote sometime between 204-212. He wrote it to a widower, strongly advising him against remarriage (digamy). At the end of chapter 9 of this letter, Tertullian refers to the horrors of being a breast-feeding woman in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple (Matt 24:19-21).
He elaborates on this further in chapter 5 of his first letter “To his wife” (Ad uxorem), and he tells her, “For why should we be eager to bear children, whom, when we have them, we desire to send before us (to glory) (in respect, I mean, of the distresses that are now imminent) …”
So Tertullian and his wife may have had a sexless marriage. I can’t find reliable evidence that Irenaeus was married.
Also in the first of two letters “To his wife,” Tertullian explains why remarriage is, according to him, wrong and inadvisable. (I’ve written about these letters here.)
Many of the renowned early church women I have studied were wealthy widows who had vowed not to remarry in order to devote themselves to Jesus Christ and the Church (e.g., Marcella of Rome; Olympias of Constantinople). Virginity, however, was held up as the ideal state and linked to salvation. I’ve written about virginity and salvation here.
Hi Marg,
I just came across your blog today and wanted to say how exciting it is to find information like this–not only the information itself, which is encouraging to me as a young woman, but the way that it’s presented. The messages in your posts are clear and firm yet respectful, which are qualities disappointingly difficult to come by online nowadays. And these are especially needed in the world of biblical analysis, where disagreements can very easily turn, with feelings of superiority and “holier-than-thou” on both sides, quite vicious.
In the midst of this conversation, I am reminded of an incident in Acts when Paul and Barnabas had a “disagreement…so sharp that they separated.” (Acts 15:39, NLT) Rather than being harmful, it instead resulted in further spreading of the Gospel. And Paul says in Romans, “Who are you to condemn someone else’s servants? Their own master will judge whether they stand or fall. And with the Lord’s help, they will stand and receive his approval.” (Romans 14:4) I don’t mean for these to be parallels, really–more so reassurances that Christians of equal maturity and respect and goodwill can disagree on issues not fundamentally tied to salvation, so long as they truly love one another. I have known several complementarians and, while I am quickly coming to disagree with them, I have never felt disrespected by them and believe that many of them are following God’s Word the way that they genuinely believe it should be read. I know not all of them have good intentions, but I think many do. I also know it is difficult to get away from beliefs that one has grown up with, especially when questioning those beliefs is as likely as not to be called “thinking from the devil.” 🙁
Thank you for creating this safe space to talk about this issue!
Hi Katelyn, I’ve often thought about Romans 14:4. And I think most Christians have good intentions: they want to obey and honour God. (It is disturbing, though, when some people who identify as Christians say nasty things or mock others.)
I think there are many ways of “doing church.” The New Testament shows that there is not one pattern of ecclesiology. But I also think some ways of “doing church” are not the healthiest.
I like how you take one thing from Chrysostum’s writing and then apply it to the rest. Unfortunately, I find a logical inconsistency with your assertion that women were presbyters, as Chrysostum himself says in ‘on the priesthood’ that women and most men were banned from the presbytery by Divine Law. Although I do have sympathy with some of your arguments on this page for women’s ministry, I find the stretching of evidence, to undermine the actual purpose of what you are doing.
Yes women historically were deaconesses, such as Olympias, but they were never presbyters. How do I know this? Because I read patristics and the Bible extensively. Any lay person can just read these things online. Chrysostum definitely was empathetic towards women, and very much held them in ‘spiritual equality’ with himself. But the rest of his writings show that he also made it very clear that there were roles and responsibilities in the church for men, and roles and responsibilities in the church for women.
https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1922.htm
Tim, I’ve been careful and fair with how I’ve presented Chrysostom’s views. I have not stretched the evidence and I have made no assertion in this article that women were presbyters. Why bring in the term “presbyter”?
I suggest reading what I have actually written rather than reading my words through the lens of your own concerns and your vocabulary.
You are incorrect that women were never called presbyters. But you are quite right that anyone can read patristic writings online. (I’ve provided more than a few links to such sources in this article.) Some other early church documents that are freely available online include the Apostolic Constitutions, the Didascalia Apostolorum, and the Testament of our Lord. (I’ve read these in English and some parts in Greek.) These writings indicate that some women were called presbyters (in the Syrian church for example) even if ordained women weren’t called this in Constantinople. I’ve posted information about the ancient evidence for women presbyters elsewhere on my website.
However, I’m not especially interested in church orders of later centuries that often have little correspondence with ministry in the mid-first century. (Note the adjective “biblical” in the subtitle of my website.)
My focus is on ministry in the apostolic age, and so my article is on what Chrysostom said about women mentioned in the New Testament, namely Priscilla, Phoebe, Euodia, Syntyche, Junia, and to a lesser extent Mary of Rome. (I’ve been clear about the parameters of this article.) Neither Paul nor Chrysostom call these women “presbyters.”
Paul doesn’t identify any Christian minister as a “presbyter” and he doesn’t call any Christian minister a “priest.” His favourite terms for fellow ministers were coworker, diakonos, apostolos, labour/ labourer words, or simply brother/ sister. And he used these terms for men and women.
If you want to disagree with what I actually say, that’s fair enough. But you seem to be disagreeing with, and pushing back on, things I don’t say. And this wastes both our time.
[…] John Chrysostom (d. 407), in his Homily 30 on Romans, says that Paul stayed with the couple for two years (cf. Acts 19:10). He highlights Priscilla as the person who received Apollos and instructed him in the way of the Lord. And he credits Priscilla, more so than Aquila, in making their home a church. Chrysostom waxes lyrical about Priscilla’s fame. He mentions the couple in at least five of his surviving sermons. More on this, here. […]
[…] [7] While Chrysostom believed 1 Corinthians 14:34–35 was intended to silence idle chatter, he maintained that these verses also prohibited women from speaking about spiritual things. However, Chrysostom acknowledged that some women in the New Testament were ministers and even church leaders. (I’ve written about Chrysostom’s praises of Priscilla, Phoebe, Euodia, Syntyche, Junia, and Mary of Rome, here.) […]
[…] Chrysostom on 5 Women Church Leaders in the New Testament […]