More Spirited Than Lions: Women in the Early Church

Marie Manthey, Patty Brennan and Martha Sheppard welcome guests to the 2008 SJA women's event

According to Dorothy Irvin, theologian and archaeological researcher, our guest speaker for the SJA Women’s Event, the word “church” did not originally mean a dwelling where people worshiped. It originally meant community. So, it is befitting that we gathered in community in the basement of a dwelling that we now call a church.

We gathered together not just to socialize and meet different women of the larger community, but to celebrate. We celebrated our ancestors (foremothers) and each other and our roles in the church (community).

Participant Mary Havstad started the program with a reading from Ecclesiaticus (sic) 6:23. “If you love listening you will learn. If you lend an ear, wisdom will be yours.” Truth be told we were there to listen and learn, and I believe wisdom was ours to take with us on our journeys wherever we are on them. The next reading was “My Heart Knows Its True Name,” from Blessings: Prayers and Declarations for a Heartfelt Life by Julia Cameron.

Divinity is my true nature. I am a soul among souls. I intersect those people whom I am meant to meet. Our paths cross by divine providence, not by chance or misdirection. We are blessed in our connection….Resting in that security; I meet all souls with recognition of their godhood, their divine spark, their dignity. Extending myself in compassion and companionship, I journey through the world with a tender and welcoming heart. I bless this world and it blesses me in return.

Gathered together am I

From a history-held-mystery

A bundle of memories am I.

Caught from smiles and heartaches

Of faces and places past cherished,

Given in love from the heart of life.

From kisses and love making,

From caring and growing,

From vibrancy and vitality,

The gathered memories

Of my own named person

Has been gifted into existence

A birthed bundle surprised into life,

Light filling the center of a new spirit;

The blessing of eternity passed on:

Urgency always to seek the face of God,

First gatherer of all good memories.

In speaking to us about women in the early church, Dorothy Irvin(right) explained that archaeological artifacts discovered over the past 150 years have proven that women held integral roles in the early Christian faith and church. We are not just talking about sitting in the church pews. Not that there is anything wrong with that. But we are talking about deacons, priests, bishops. We are talking about apostles and disciples. We are talking about women as leaders and dedicated followers of Christ.

When we look at where we sprung from Judaism, we find examples of women as leaders. In the Old Testament they are called prophets (1st Chronicles 25:1-8, 1 Samuel 1:2, Judges 11:40). St Thelca of Iconium was called an apostle when she co-worked with St Paul.

It helps to look at some definitions that Dorothy Irvin gave us. A bishop in the early church was an “overseer, manager, and owner of a house.” Their homes were shelters for the poor, home for the virgins, and a place to meet. St Paul mentions more women as house holders than men. Therefore more women were bishops than men in the early church. Bishops are known for having sheep in their catacomb paintings. Artifacts found in the last 150 years include catacombs paintings depicting women with their sheep. Bitalia and Theodora are a couple of the early church leaders, A.K.A Bishops.

A deacon is a “servant”- in the sense of a social worker, not a slave. In their catacombs you see depictions of them with their arms outstretched upward praying to our heavenly Father/Mother. So, how do we know that some of these deacons were women? Physical features such as hair act as clues. Their names provide more certainty. How many male deacons do you know that are named Priscilla or Sofia?

Dorothy Irvin was asked why women ceased to fill these leadership roles over time. She said it was through prohibitions. The inferiority of women was not Jesus’ idea. She said Greek men would not even talk to their wives and the Romans were not much better. Some prohibitions were that women could only minister to women and men only to men, giving evidence that women were performing some leadership roles but in a more restrictive manner than previously. As time went on, more prohibitions were levied against women in leadership roles. In a clear challenge to women as leaders, female bishops were told they could no longer send a Letteri Paxi (Peace Letter), a letter sent only from Bishop to Bishop, unless it also addressed to her husband. The church ran with this suppression of women.

Artifacts can NOT be altered; text can.

Female leaders also disappeared from history through simple manuscript manipulations. You can erase lines on parchment paper and write over them. When special lighting is used, some manuscripts reveal “hidden text” underneath these manipulations. That is how the original text of Pope Joan was uncovered. Yes, there was even a female Pope.

Women ordained in the early Catholic Church performed many roles: they anointed the sick, preached the gospel, served the Eucharist, performed Baptisms, worked for charity, did administration work, and taught doctrine. Once more they were Deacons, Priests, Bishops, and even a Pope in the early Church. “Archaeology says yes,” states Dorothy Irvin.

and

Theresa Dolata has been a member of SJA since 2002. She is a writer, a stand-up comic, photographer and massage therapist. Theresa currently resides in South Minneapolis and is a member of Vail Place, a support program for people with mental illness, and a member of St. Joan's Mental Illness Ministry.

We ended the evening with this question: Why is it so important to maintain a link between the early mothers and ourselves? One St Joan of Arc woman said, “The early Mothers give us roots and the current ones give us wings.” Both are needed for our journeys, wherever we are on them.