Who is “she” who is in Babylon? (1 Peter 5:13)
In this article, I explain why “the co-elect” woman in 1 Peter 5:13 (AKA “she who is in Babylon”) is most likely a woman and not a church.
Read More
Tag: Women in the Early Church
Olympias of Constantinople: Deaconess and Chrysostom’s Friend
Olympias was a determined woman who renounced her aristocratic lifestyle in order to devote herself to the church. She was an ordained deaconess and she founded and led a monastery. Olympias and her friend Chrysostom supported each other through difficult times.
Read More
Marcella of Rome: Academic, Ascetic and Almsgiver
Marcella of Rome (325–410), a friend of Jerome, dedicated herself and her considerable talents and resources to serving the church and helping the poor. Here’s some information about this remarkable woman.
Read More
3 Legendary Ladies: Judith, Thecla, and Catherine of Alexandria
Judith, Thecla, and Catherine of Alexandria are three heroines whose stories of conviction and courage are part of our history and heritage.
Read More
Were there women elders in New Testament churches? (Part 2)
In this article I look at the NT verse which mentions women elders and compare it with other verses. I also look at elders, men and women, in early Judaism. My claim is that the “older women” in 1 Timothy 5:2 may well have been more than just “older women.”
Read More
The Roman woman who instructed her husband in the Faith
Here are a couple of lines from the Acts of Peter about Candida, a Roman woman who instructed her husband in the faith sometime in the first century AD.
Read More
The Church at Smyrna and her Women (Part 2)
This is the second part of a two-part series which looks at the women in the church at Smyrna in the post-apostolic period. This article focuses on Gavia.
Read More
The Church at Smyrna and her Women (Part 1)
In Christian writings known as the Apostolic Fathers (late 1st and early 2nd centuries) we discover that women were active in ministry in the church at Smyrna. Part 1 looks at Alke (or Alce) of Smyrna.
Read More
Theonoe and Myrte: Prophetesses in Corinth
Several ancient Christian documents show that women were prominent ministers in the second century church. Two of these documents show that Theonoe and Myrte were prophetesses in the church at Corinth.
Read More
4 Contexts of Women’s Leadership in Society & in the Church (40-200 AD)
The social world of the Roman Empire was patriarchal. Women were typically thought to be less capable than men, yet they were able to lead in certain contexts. This article describes four of these social contexts.
Read More
(4) Phoebe: Deacon of the Church in Cenchrea
In part 4 I look at the deacons in the Philippian church, and at the development of church offices in the apostolic and post-apostolic church.
Read More
(2) Phoebe: Deacon of the Church in Cenchrea
In Part 2, I look at what Romans 16:1-2 in the ancient Latin texts say about Phoebe. These indicate she was recognised as an official deacon (or deaconess.)
Read More