Melania the Elder was a powerful, wealthy, educated woman who influenced and shaped Christianity until her death in 410.
Women have always played important roles in the mission of the church and they are a part of our history. I highlight some of these women here.
In this post, I quote a story from Theodoret of Cyrrhus’s Church History about Publia, a daring deaconess who lived in Antioch in the 360s, and her brave choir.
In Theodoret of Cyrrhus’s Church History there is an interesting story of a brave woman who was a teacher and deacon in Antioch in the early 360s.
Theosebia was the biological and spiritual sister of Gregory of Nyssa. Surviving sources show that she was deeply loved and admired.
Rachel Speght responded to a misogynist in the early 1600s by writing a witty piece that encourages respect for women. It still entertains.
The Reformation is “a story of loss rather than a story of gain, of increased subordination rather than of liberation.”
Olympias renounced her aristocratic lifestyle to serve the church. She was an ordained deaconess and Chrysostom’s dear friend.
Here’s some information about Marcella of Rome (325–410), friend of Jerome, who dedicated her considerable talents and resources to serving the church and helping the poor.
Judith, Thecla, and Catherine of Alexandria are three heroines whose stories of conviction and courage are part of our history and heritage.
Aemilia Lanyer was an English author and professing Christian who advocated for equality for women in a poem published in 1611.
Selina Hastings, the Countess of Huntingdon, was a tireless leader and an influential benefactor of the Methodist movement in Britain in the 1700s.
In this article Rob Dixon writes about the egalitarian views of Count Zinzendorf (b.1700) who once stated “If we put women in the corner we will lose a jewel.”
Female martyrs in the early church, such as Blandina and Perpetua, “conformed themselves to Christ, even in death.”
Most modern translations of the New Testament rely on the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament. One of the editors of recent editions of this Greek New Testament is scholar Barbara Aland. This article provides a brief history of the Nestle-Aland text and a brief biography of Barbara Aland.
Nino brought Christianity to Iberia (Georgia) back in the 300s and is regarded as “Equal to the Apostles” by the Orthodox Church.
Phoebe Palmer was the most influential woman in the American Methodist Church at a time when it was the largest Christian denomination in America. Her adult life was full of astonishing achievements in ministry.
Catherine of Siena ministered to souls blighted by poverty, injustice, and disease. Her influence also reached the highest echelons of both civil and church politics in late medieval Italy.
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© 2022 Marg Mowczko