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Carolyn Goodman Plampin http://home.netcom.com/~cplampin
Series-Subjects Relevant to an Informed Opinion about Christian Women in Ministry
EARLY CHURCH
First created in January, 1996, Revised January 10, 2007
Baptist Women in Ministry http://www.bwim.info/index.php/welcome
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Carolyn Goodman Plampin
Coordinator Subjects Relevant to an Informed Opinion
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(408) 734-5141
Master of Teaching, Universidade Federal do Paraná, Brazil, March 20, 1968
Master of Divinity, Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary, June 2, 1978
Missionary to Brazil of the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention, 1957-1988
Academic dean (without title) and professor, Instituto Biblico Batista, A.B. Deter and
Seminário Teológico Batista do Paraná, Curitiba, 1959-1979
Academic dean and professor, Seminário de Educacao Crista, Recife, 1980-1986
e-mail: cplampin@ix.netcom.com
CONTENTS
WOMEN PASTORS (ELDERS) CALLED WIDOWS DEMOTED TO DEACONESSES AND THEN ELIMINATED
AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, A.D. 354-430
Women Pastors (Elders) Called Widows Demoted to Deaconesses and then Eliminated
Start by reading Mckenna. The church until the sixth century thought that women of the pastoral (elder) category called widows, and also deaconesses, and virgins, under the authority of Jesus Christ and not of a husband, were equal to men and could occupy positions of leadership in the church. Martyrdom contributed to this high regard for women leaders. They used as their biblical basis the passages concerning these very women in Romans 16, I Corinthians 7, I Timothy 3 and 5 and Titus 2. Today it is common to see these very passages which gave the qualifications and duties of women in ministry used against them.
However, the fight against the ancient Goddess religion and the breaking of the religious authority of women is reflected in one of the early church manuals written around the 300s.
For this is one of the ignorant practices of the Gentile atheism, to ordain women priests to the female deities, not one of the constitutions of Christ ( p. 429).
In the same document we see how women pastors (elders) called widows were being demoted and the deaconesses promoted, as these were formally the duties of the women pastors.
"Ordain also a deaconess ... for we stand in need of a woman, a deaconess, for many necessities; and first in the baptism of women, a deacon shall anoint only their forehead with the holy oil, and after him the deaconess shall anoint them" (p. 431).This document has my favorite passage on deaconesses in the early church:
"And let the deaconess be diligent in taking care of the women; but both of them (the deacon and the deaconess) ready to carry messages, to travel about, to minister, and to serve ... Let them not be ashamed to minister to those that are in want ... and not to scruple it, if they should be obliged to lay down their life for a brother" (p. 432).This breaking of the religious power of women gave the early church its cover-up to deviate from the New Testament, the real reason being because the bishop was trying to wrest the money and power from the women of the pastoral (elder) category called widows. Therefore, widows were demoted to deaconesses and then eliminated during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries by vote of the bishops in church councils. These decisions of church councils became Roman law.
("The Constitutions of the Holy Apostles," and Donaldson, ANTE-NICENE FATHERS, Vol. VII)
Council of Laodiceia, A.D. 343-381
Canon 11: "Presbytides, as they are called, or female presidents, are not to be ordained in the church."Canon 44: "Women may not go to the altar."
An explanation was given by Zonaras as to why women could not go to the altar:
" ... much more are women forbidden (to enter the Sanctuary) who are unwilling indeed, but yet truly, polluted by the monthly flux of blood."
Council of Laodiceia, A.D. 343-381, Schaff and Wace, NICENE AND POST-NICENE FATHERS, 2nd Series, Vol. XIV, pp. 129, 153.)
Synod at Orange, A.D. 441
Canon 26: "Deaconesses shall no longer be ordained, and (in divine service) they shall receive the benediction only in common with the laity (not among those holding clerical offices.)
Canon 27:"The vow of widowhood must be made in the presence of the bishop, in the secretarium, and is to be indicated by the widow's dress which the bishop confers. If any one violates such widows, he shall be punished; and she herself, if she again leaves the condition of widow."
Canon 28: "If anyone breaks the vow of virginity, he is to suffer the ecclesiastical penalty."
(Hefele, HISTORY OF THE COUNCILS, Vol. III, Synod at Orange, A.D. 441, pp. 163-164.)
Synod of Epaon, A.D. 517
Canon 21: "We abrogate completely in the entire kingdom the consecration of widows who are named deaconesses. If they desire it, they may receive only the benediction which is given to penitents."
McKenna, WOMEN OF THE CHURCH, p. 131.)
II Council of Orleans, A.D. 533
Canon 17: "Women who, in spite of its interdiction by the canons, have before this time received the benediction of the diaconate must, if it is proven that they indulged again in marriage, be excluded from communion. But if, having been admonished by the bishop, they admit their fault and put an end to this kind of concubinage, after doing penance, they may recover the grace of communion,"
Canon 18: "Besides, it has been decided that, henceforth, no woman may any longer receive diaconal benediction due to the frailty of her sex."
(Gryson, THE MINISTRY OF WOMAN, p. 107.)
2. The Synod at Orange, A.D. 441 voted that women pastors (elders) called widows, who had already been demoted to deaconesses, could no longer be ordained as deaconesses but are COUNTED AMONG THE LAITY. The widowhood still existed, but they had to be named widows in the back room, not in a public and solemn meeting in the sanctuary. However, if they break their vows they received the same penalty as the male clergy.
3. The Synod of Epaon, A.D. 517 voted that there would be no ordination of women pastors (elders) called widows who have now been demoted to deaconesses. They now can receive the benediction given to SINNERS.
4. The II Council of Orleans, A.D. 533 voted that any women who had received the benediction of the diaconate, although it was no longer given, and had married again (which shows that they were women pastors (elders) called widows and not deaconesses) would be excluded from the Lord's Supper. It was reinforced that women could no longer receive the diaconal benediction. The reason given is "due to the FRAILTY OF HER SEX." At first I thought they referred to the idea that women were physically less strong than men, but after having read a great deal in this area I understand that they were referring to the fact that some women were frail due to the fact that they gave in to sex and remarried.
Bibliography on Women Pastors (Elders) Called Widows
CHRISTIAN HISTORY, Vol. VII, No. 1, Issue 17. An entire issue devoted to Women in the Early Church Davies, Stevan L. THE REVOLT OF THE WIDOWS, THE SOCIAL WORLD OF THE APOCRYPHAL ACTS. Carbondale and Edwardsville: Southern Illinois University Press, 1980. Fiorenza, Elisabeth Schussler. "Word, Spirit and Power: Women in Early Communities," in Ruether, Rosemary and Eleanor McLaughlin, eds. WOMEN OF SPIRIT, FEMALE LEADERSHIP IN THE JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1979, pp. 29-70. Gryson, Roger. THE MINISTRY OF WOMEN IN THE EARLY CHURCH. Collegeville, MI: The Liturgical Press, 1976. Horsley, Greg. "Early Evidence of Women Officers in the Church," PRISCILLA PAPERS, Vol. 1, No. 4, Fall 1987, pp. 3-4. Irvin, Dorothy. "The Ministry of Women in the Early Church: The Archaeological Evidence," DUKE DIVINITY SCHOOL REVIEW, Vol. 45, No. 2, 1980, pp. 76-86. MacHaffie, Barbara J. HERSTORY, WOMEN IN CHRISTIAN TRADITION. Philadelphia: Fortress Press, 1986. McKenna, Mary Lawrence. WOMEN OF THE CHURCH, ROLE AND RENEWAL. New York: P. J. Kenedy & Sons, 1967. (In my opinion this is the best book for understanding the ministry of women during early church history. It includes history, role and spirit of the church order of widows, deaconesses, and virgins.) McNamara, Jo Ann. "Wives and Widows in Early Christian Thought," INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF WOMEN'S STUDIES, Vol. 2, No. 6, 1979, pp. 488-Ruether, Rosemary and Eleanor McLaughlin, eds. WOMEN OF SPIRIT, FEMALE LEADERSHIP IN THE JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1979, pp. 15-28.
Thurston, Bonnie Bowman. THE WIDOWS, A WOMEN'S MINISTRY IN THE EARLY CHURCH. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989. Torjensen, Karen. WHEN WOMEN WERE PRIESTS: WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP IN THE EARLY CHURCH AND THE SCANDAL OF THEIR SURORDINATION IN THE RISE OF CHRISTIANITY. New York: HarperSanFrancisco, 1993.
ANCIENT JEWISH MYTHS
Prusak's chapter shows how ancient Jewish myths came over into Christianity.
"The Genesis stories and all the myths that apocalyptic literature developed from them were written in a period of patriarchal culture. Women had been excluded from any public role that men might assume and thereby retain dominance over civil and religious society. The religious writers of that time created myths that flowed from and buttressed their prejudices. Early Christianity's prejudice flowed from those same myths. Today the prejudices often exist apart from the myths. It is time to show that there is no foundation for the prejudice," so says Prusak, p. 106.
Bibliography on Ancient Jewish Myths
Prusak, Bernard P. "Woman: Seductive Siren and Source of Sin?" in Ruether, Rosemary Radford, ed. RELIGION AND SEXISM, IMAGES OF WOMAN IN THE JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS. Simon and Schuster, 1974, pp. 89-116.
ASCETICISM
Asceticism had a negative effect on attitudes toward sex and marriage. All women church leaders had to be unmarried, either widows or virgins. Celibacy for men church leaders finally was cruelly applied in the twelfth century. See Lea.
"In Paul's teaching on the excellence of virginity and continence the motives put forward are union with Christ and the end of the world. The imminent coming of Christ makes it necessary for each human being to direct their energies towards the kingdom of God. Continence favors this complete giving of oneself to Christ. Marriage, biased as it is towards temporal affairs, is good only as a concession to human weakness. "When the return of Christ did not come about, this scriptural passage received its interpretation from a Church which accommodated itself to the times. Under Greek influence it taught the absolute superiority of continence and considered marriage, for which the greater part of mankind was destined, as an inferior state. "Christian perfection demanded that the rational soul (anima rationalis) should control all the emotions and that continence should become the means of attaining the most perfect existence, equivalent to that of the angels. "On the other hand, marriage belongs to the order of creation, and as such has been willed by God for the propagation of the human race. It is good only in so far as it is directed towards this end," so says Borresen SUBORDINATION AND EQUIVALENCE, p. 2.
Bibliography on Asceticism
Borresen, Kari Elisabeth. SUBORDINATION AND EQUIVALENCE, THE NATURE AND RÔLE OF WOMAN IN AUGUSTINE (A.D. 354-430) AND THOMAS AQUINAS (A.D. 1225-1274).Campbell, Gerald J. "St. Jerome's Attitude toward Marriage and Women," AMERICAN ECCLESIASTICAL REVIEW, Vol. 143, 1960, pp. 310-320, 384-394.
Clark, Elizabeth A. "Ascetic Renunciation and Feminine Advancement: A Paradox of Late Ancient Christianity, " ANGLICAN THEOLOGICAL REVIEW, Vol. 63, No. 3, July 1981.
Clark, Elizabeth and Herbert Richardson. WOMEN AND RELIGION, A FEMINIST SOURCEBOOK OF CHRISTIAN THROUGHT. New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1977.
Chapter 5 - "Clement of Alexandria and the Gnostics: Women, Sexuality, and Marriage in Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy." Selections from Stromateis 3 and from The Gospel of Mary.
Chapter 6 - "Jerome: The Exaltation of Christian Virginity." Selections from Letter 22 (To Eustochium) and from Against Jovinian.
Chapter 7 - "Augustine: Sinfulness and Sexuality." Selections from On Marriage and Concupiscence.
Gage, Matilda Joslyn. "Celibacy," in WOMAN, CHURCH AND STATE, THE ORIGINAL EXPOSE OF MALE COLLABORATION AGAINST THE FEMALE SEX. Watertown, MA: Persephone Press, 1980. Reprint of 1893, pp. 24-49. Be advised that Gage is anti-church, however, her research on subjects generally avoided by men is very enlightening and as she says "a knowledge of facts like these is necessary in order to a just understanding of our present civilization," (p. 29).
Lea, Henry Charles. HISTORY OF SACERDOTAL CELIBACY IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. USA: University Books, 1966. (Very large, but very enlightening.) Ruether, Rosemary Radford. "Misogynism and Virginal Feminism in the Fathers of the Church," in Ruether, Rosemary Radford, ed. RELIGION AND SEXISM, IMAGES OF WOMAN IN THE JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1974, pp. 150-183.
Ruether, Rosemary. "Mothers of the Church: Ascetic Women in the Late Patristic Age," in Ruether, Rosemary and Eleanor McLaughlin, eds. WOMEN OF SPIRIT, FEMALE LEADERSHIP IN THE JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN TRADITIONS. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1979, pp. 71-98.
GNOSTICISM
Gnosticism is said to be a Christian "heresy." It takes a woman scholar such as Kraemer to call a spade a spade and say that it was considered a heresy because of the participation of women in ministry.
Bibliography on Gnosticism
Kraemer, Ross Shepard. "Heresy as Women's Religion: Women's Religion as Heresy," HER SHARE OF THE BLESSINGS, WOMEN'S RELIGIONS AMONG PAGANS, JEWS, AND CHRISTIANS IN THE GRECO-ROMAN WORLD. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992, pp.157-173.
AUGUSTINE OF HIPPO, A.D. 354-430
"After his conversion, Augustine, in his search for salvation, lived as a philosopher and a monk. He considered a life of continence as absolutely necessary for the acquisition of wisdom, and the practice of sexual asceticism as a means of attaining the contemplation of truth."The ideas about the relationship between the sexes, current in the Christian Church of the fourth century to which Augustine was converted, were based on a mixture of scriptural teaching and Greek philosophy. At his conversion, the teaching that most impressed him was that which stressed the excellence of continence as a means of promoting intellectual activity. Later in life, the teaching on concupiscence, regarded as a consequence of the first sin and the vehicle for transmitting original sin, hardened his rigorism in sexual matters," so says Borresen, p. 2-3.
Bibliography on Augustine of Hippo
Borresen, Kari Elisabeth. SUBORDINATION AND EQUIVALENCE, THE NATURE AND ROLE OF WOMAN IN AUGUSTINE AND THOMAS AQUINAS. Text and citations translated from the revised French original by Charles H. Talbot. Washington, D.C.: University Press of America, 1981.
