1

!"#$% '% ()*'+,'-% .'+,"*/

0/ 1* 2-'3 0-33*
Women have been marglnallzed ln ChrlsLlanlLy as Lhey have been ln mosL culLures and socleLles of whlch
we are aware. When one secLlon of humanlLy has been glven no power ln ulLlmaLe declslon maklng or
allowed Lo parLlclpaLe ln Lhe mosL lmporLanL llLurglcal aspecLs of a rellglon or sysLem of bellef, whlch has
only male delLles, lL seems LhaL marglnallzaLlon ls beyond dlspuLe.
WhaL l lnLend Lo look aL ls Lhe exLenL Lo whlch Lhls marglnallzaLlon has occurred ln varlous eras so LhaL
we can perhaps glve an answer Lo Lhe quesLlon ''Can women really only be seen ln ChrlsLlan hlsLory as
subservlenL followers?"
We wlll look aL some of Lhe celebraLed women known Lo us, ofLen from lnadequaLe sources, remember-
lng LhaL Lhe lnformaLlon we have of Lhese women, cerLalnly before Lhe 19
Lh
cenLury, has been reLalned
because lL sulLed Lhe male rellglous vlew of Lhe Llme. lL musL also be kepL ln mlnd LhaL soclal class ls of
lmmense lmporLance ln any examlnaLlon of men or women's power ln a socleLy or rellglon.
1he marglnallzaLlon of women for much of Lhe 2,000 years of ChrlsLlanlLy seems Lo be a slLuaLlon LhaL
modern research shows Lo be aL odds wlLh Lhe Leachlngs and acLlons of !esus as reporLed ln Lhe gospels
and exLra canonlcal wrlLlngs.
Whlle lL ls currenLly seen by a ma[orlLy of blbllcal scholars LhaL Lhe gospels wenL Lhru a mulLl-layered
process by dlfferenL auLhors and Lhey are lnLended prlmarlly Lo proclalm a message of redempLlon and
noL necessarlly ob[ecLlve hlsLorlcal lnformaLlon abouL !esus, lL sLlll seems as lf !esus held a dlfferenL aLLl-
Lude Lo Lhe lnsularlLy of !udalc LhoughL and Lo Lhe marglnallzed ln LhaL socleLy whlch lncluded women.
An elaboraLe sysLem of purlLy regulaLlons had been esLabllshed ln Lhe organlzaLlon of Lhe !ewlsh 1emple
whlch applled Lo dally llfe, parLlcularly bodlly conLacL Lhru food and sex. robably Lhe ma[orlLy of !ews
only parLly observed Lhese regulaLlons buL LhaL only conflrmed Lhelr sLaLus ln Lhe mlnds of Lhe sLrlcL ob-
servers as members of Lhe lmpure, Lo be boLh avolded and condemned. llrsLly, Lhese regulaLlons mar-
glnallzed women as a cause of polluLlon on a regular basls Lhru Lhelr sexual funcLlons of mensLruaLlon
and chlld blrLh. lrom Lhe Mlshnah (supposedly handed down orally from Lhe Llme of Moses and Lhe ln-
sLlLuLlon of Lhe 1orah or Law) woman ls percelved as abnormal ln a world where men are seen as nor-
mal. Secondly, aparL from women Lhese laws also marglnallzed Lhe slck, Lhe lame, Lhe bllnd, Lhe de-
formed, lepers and persons wlLh varlous klnds of skln allmenLs and bodlly fluxes. Such persons were
seen Lo be ln a conLlnual sLaLe of lmpurlLy and Lhese allmenLs were seen as a punlshmenL for sln - Lhelr
own or Lhelr parenLs. llnally Lhe Law dlvlded !ews from genLlles and pagans - Lhe ulLlmaLe dlvlslon be-
Lween Lhe holy and Lhe unholy.
ln Lhe gospels many parables and sLorles afflrm Lhe poslLlve response of !esus Lo poor, marglnallzed
women over agalnsL varlous rellglous and soclal auLhorlLles. lor example hls assoclaLlon wlLh Lhe haem-
orrhaglc woman (Mk 3:23-34), Lhe woman caughL ln adulLery (!n 8:3-11), Lhe Syrophoenlclan Woman
(Mk 7:24-30, ML 13:22-28), Lhe SamarlLan woman (!n 4:7-30) and hls pronouncemenL agalnsL dlvorce
2
(Mk 10:3-12,ML 3:31-2, ML 19:3-9, Lk 16:8, !n 7:33- 8:11). lurLher Luke Lells us LhaL many of hls dlsclples
were women (Lk 8:1-4) who followed hlm durlng hls mlnlsLry - qulLe an unheard of slLuaLlon for women
ln LhaL Llme. llnally all of Lhe Cospels polnL ouL LhaL unllke mosL of hls male followers, Lhe women dlscl-
ples remalned falLhful Lo hlm even afLer hls deaLh aL Calvary (Mk 13:40-1, ML 27:33-6, Lk 23:49, !n
19:23). lurLher lL ls recorded LhaL Lhey were Lhe flrsL Lo learn of hls resurrecLlon and Lo see Lhe rlsen
ChrlsL (ML 28:9-10, Mk 16:9-10, Lk 24:10-11, !n 20:16). Women were also presenL aL enLecosL when Lhe
followers of !esus belleved Lhey had recelved Lhelr ldenLlLy and mlsslon ln Lhe world.
AlLhough wldely debaLed, Lhe auLhenLlc leLLers of aul agreed Lo by a large scholarly consensus are seen
Lo be 8omans, CalaLlans, 1 1hessalonlans, 1&2 CorlnLhlans, hllemon and perhaps hlllpplans. 1hey are
daLed from Lhe mlddle of Lhe flrsL cenLury and are Lhe earllesL wrlLlngs we possess of Lhe early !esus
MovemenL. lrom Lhese leLLers and Lhe laLer eplsLles and from AcLs lL ls apparenL LhaL women conLlnued
Lo play a promlnenL role ln Lhe MovemenL. As Lhe !esus MovemenL spread lnLo lmporLanL clLles ln Lhe
ulaspora, llke AnLloch and Alexandrla, women played lmporLanL roles as leaders of mlsslonary Leams,
local leaders of house churches, Leachers and propheLs (Chloe (1Cor 1:11), rlsca, !unla, !ulla and
nereus' slsLer (8om 16: 3,7,13), Mary and ersls (8om 16: 6,12), Luodla and SynLyche (hlllpplans 4:2-3),
Apphla (hll 2), rlsca (1Cor 16:19) Lydla of 1hyaLlra (AcLs 16:13) and nympha (Col 4:13), hoebe (8om
16:1) and women prophesylng ln 1 Cor 11). As well, women held offlces and played slgnlflcanL roles ln
group worshlp. lurLher aul spoke of Lhe lnsLlLuLlon of groups of Wldows and vlrglns Lo perform charl-
Lable works.
1o Lry and suggesL LhaL Lhe early MovemenL was egallLarlan however would be sLreLchlng Lhe LruLh. A
marglnal MovemenL, lL appeared Lo be happy Lo accepL anybody lL could geL and use Lhem ln ways LhaL
dld noL happen ln esLabllshed !udalsm. CerLalnly Lhe dlfferenLlaLlon of male and female roles ln Lhe early
days was far more fluld LhaL aL any oLher Llme ln ChrlsLlan hlsLory.
1he aLLlLude of aul Lo women appears Lo be conLradlcLory. Cn Lhe one hand we have hls famous sLaLe-
menL on Lhe equallLy of all peoples ln CalaLlans 3:27-28 whlch ls ln llne wlLh Lhe flrsL creaLlon sLory ln
Cenesls (1:26-27) ln whlch men and women are creaLed ln Cod's lmage.
CalaLlans: - 'As many of you who are bapLlzed lnLo ChrlsL have cloLhed yourselves ln ChrlsL. 1here ls no
longer !ew or Creek, Lhere ls no longer slave or free, Lhere ls no longer male or female, for all of you are
one ln ChrlsL !esus'.
Cn Lhe oLher hand, we have hls sLrlcL prohlblLlon on women's role ln speaklng ln 1 1lm 2:11-13 - 'LeL a
woman learn ln sllence and all submlsslveness. l permlL no woman Lo Leach or have auLhorlLy over men,
she ls Lo keep sllenL. lor Adam was formed flrsL Lhen Lve - and Adam was noL decelved buL Lhe woman
was decelved and became a Lransgressor' (Cen 3).
1hls passage lgnores Lhe flrsL creaLlon sLory ln Cenesls whlch sees male and female creaLed equally ln
Lhe lmage of Cod. 1he second Cenesls accounL has been used wlLh 1lmoLhy for Lhe besL parL of 2,000
years Lo supporL Lhe sub[ugaLlon, Lhe lnferlorlLy and Lhe greaLer slnfulness and llcenLlousness of women.
Powever, mosL maln sLream scholars now see Lhe asLorals (1lmoLhy 1& 2 and 1lLus) as havlng been
wrlLLen well afLer aul's deaLh. So perhaps aul has been Lhe sub[ecL of a bad press! neverLheless Lhe
3
passage from 1 Cor 11 3-13, a genulne leLLer of aul, afflrms Lhe male as Lhe lmage and glory of Cod and
women as Lhe glory of man, and Lhus women are Lo remaln velled when worshlpplng unllke men. 1hls
also seems Lo conLradlcL aul's CalaLlans sLaLemenL on equallLy. 8uL lL ls argued by scholars LhaL when
aul commenLs on women ln general and makes sLaLemenLs abouL Lhelr place ln congregaLlons, Lhe spe-
clal clrcumsLances he ls addresslng musL be Laken lnLo accounL and Lhere cerLalnly were speclal clrcum-
sLances ln CorlnLh. 1hey cannoL be seen as a proscrlpLlon for all women ln all places, for all Llme. Cverall
aul sLaLes LhaL men and women are equal ln sLaLus ln Lhe famlly and ln Lhe eyes of Cod. Whlle women
undoubLedly remalned subordlnaLe and lnferlor ln hls LhoughL Lhey were glven unheard of responslblll-
Lles ln comparlson Lo women ln !udalsm who unLll Lhls era had no funcLlon ln rellglon. Powever whaL
had been achleved ln a new role for women was soon rlpped aparL Lo such an exLenL LhaL women dlsap-
pear almosL enLlrely from Lhe leadershlp of Lhe Church. 1hls was ln llne wlLh Lhe dlsappearance of any
non - clerlcal power ln Lhe branch of ChrlsLlanlLy LhaL was Lo become CrLhodoxy- aullne ChrlsLlanlLy.
Pumans love Lo lnsLlLuLlonallze and when lL became apparenL LhaL !esus was noL golng Lo reLurn ln Lhe
near fuLure and wlLh Lhe spread of Lhe !esus MovemenL lnLo Lhe 8oman Lmplre and Lhe dlsLanclng from
lLs rooLs ln !udalsm, Lhe communlLles began organlzlng Lhemselves ln a more sLrucLured, hlerarchlcal
way. 1he resulL was Lhe lnLroducLlon of Lhe sysLem of blshops, deacons and presbyLers. lrom aul's Llme
women deacons were ordalned and played leadershlp roles ln whlch Lhey were responslble only Lo Lhe
blshop. AL Lhls sLage a greaL dlverslLy of LhoughL exlsLed ln Lhe church and leadershlp roles and church
sLrucLures dlffered from reglon Lo reglon and over Llme women deacons became permlLLed only Lo mln-
lsLer Lo women. 1hey conLlnued Lo be appolnLed lnLo Lhe Crder of Wldows and consecraLed lnLo Lhe Cr-
der of vlrglns. ln Lhe early 3
rd
cenLury ln Lhe Syrlan 8ook of procedure- Lhe uldlscalla AposLolorum or Lhe
1eachlng of Lhe AposLles, lL appears LhaL women deacons had parallel roles ln orLhodox mlnlsLry. 8lsh-
ops were seen as faLhers Lo be LreaLed llke Cod, male deacons sLood ln Lhe place of !esus and were su-
perlor Lo presbyLers, whlle female deacons sLood ln Lhe place of Lhe Poly SplrlL and presbyLers or prlesLs
represenLed Lhe AposLles. ln Lhe AposLollc 1radlLlon of PlppolyLus (170-233) Lhe ordlnaLlon of female
deacons was Lhe same as for males.
8y Lhe mlddle of Lhe 2
nd
cenLury ChrlsLlanlLy had emerged as a new and lndependenL enLlLy from !uda-
lsm. 1hls became Lhe greaL age of ChrlsLlan Lhlnkers Lrylng Lo deflne exacLly whaL ChrlsLlanlLy sLood for.
1hls was parLlcularly seen ln Lhe quesLlon of Lhe naLure of !esus and hls relaLlonshlp Lo Cod. 1he greaL
flghL ln Lhe flrsL Lhree cenLurles was wlLh oLher compeLlng docLrlnes parLlcularly Lhe varlous expresslons
of CnosLlc ChrlsLlanlLy whlch ln many areas, parLlcularly LgypL, was normaLlve ChrlsLlanlLy.
CnosLlclsm ls a mysLerlous phllosophlcal and rellglous movemenL whlch sLarLed ln pre-ChrlsLlan Llmes.
1he Lerm ls derlved from Lhe Creek word for knowledge - Cnosls. CnosLlcs clalm Lo have secreL knowl-
edge abouL Cod, humanlLy and Lhe resL of Lhe unlverse of whlch mosL people are unaware. lL ls based on
a radlcal duallsm and conslsLs of many syncreLlsLlc bellefs whlch comblne elemenLs Laken from Aslan,
8abylonlan, LgypLlan, Creek and Syrlan pagan rellglons as well as from AsLrology, !udalsm and ChrlsLlan-
lLy (lL ls also a parL of new "#$ rellglon Loday). ln lLs dlfferlng forms lL became one of Lhe ma[or ChrlsLlan
bellef sysLems from Lhe 1
sL
cenLury. A remarkable flnd of a llbrary of papyrus manuscrlpLs aL nag
Pammadl, LgypL, ln 1947 opened a whole new perspecLlve on CnosLlclsm because Lhe only knowledge
we really had of lL was llmlLed and from Lhe fulmlnaLlng of Lhe early laLhers agalnsL lL.
4
1he CnosLlc gospels unllke Lhose ln Lhe n1 are noL gospels of Lhe cross. 1hey see !esus flrsL and fore-
mosL as a source of wlsdom, noL Lhe cruclfled savlour. eople come Lo salvaLlon noL Lhru falLh buL Lhru
lnslghL, alLhough !esus ls sLlll seen as a dlvlne redeemer. 8uL Lhls ls Lhru gnosls whlch he lmparLs from
Lhe supremely good Cod so LhaL humans can remember LhaL Lhey are chlldren of Lhe ulvlne and have
Lhe llghL of Cod wlLhln - Lo know oneself ls Lo know Cod. 1he CnosLlcs belleved LhaL maLLer was evll and
LhaL humanlLy was an allen dweller ln an essenLlally evll world and Lhe maln alm for humans was Lo free
Lhe splrlL wlLhln, whlch ls essenLlally good, and resLore lL wlLh Cod.
1he flghL agalnsL heresy was led ln Lhe second and Lhlrd cenLurles by Church laLhers such as lrenaeus of
Lyon (d 202) who lald Lhe basls for Lhe n1 canon and worked ouL a rule of falLh LhaL was Lo become Lhe
one sLandard LhroughouL Lhe whole of ChrlsLlan CrLhodoxy. Pe and oLhers llke ClemenL of Alexandrla
(130-213), 1erLulllan (160-223) and Crlgen (183-234) foughL hard Lo wlpe ouL Lhese secLs many of whlch
gave leadershlp roles Lo women.
Several of Lhese proponenLs of orLhodoxy had a deflclenL vlew of sexuallLy coupled wlLh an exalLaLlon of
cellbacy and slngleness - an ouLlook whlch was Lo grow ln Lhe Church. Sexual lnLercourse became seen
as LalnLed lf noL fully slnful and so women became deflned by Lhelr sexuallLy and a source of sln for men.
1erLulllan for example had a very negaLlve vlew of women and sexuallLy. Pe held Lve responslble for
orlglnal sln and ldenLlfled all women wlLh her. Pe Lhen wenL on Lo blame women for Lhe cruclflxlon of
!esus because of Lhe need for Lhe redempLlon of humanlLy. aradoxlcally he was also a supporLer of
marrlage. Pe wroLe,
'?ou are Lhe uevll's gaLeway. ?ou are Lhe unsealer of Lhe forbldden frulL. ?ou are Lhe deserLer of Lhe dl-
vlne law. ?ou are she who persuaded hlm whom Lhe devll was noL vallanL enough Lo aLLack. ?ou de-
sLroyed so easlly Cod's lmage - man. Cn accounL of your deserL, LhaL ls deaLh, even Lhe Son of Cod had
Lo dle'.
uesplLe Lhls aLLlLude 1erLulllan [olned MonLanlsm, a non-CnosLlc hereLlcal secL, whlch was exLremely
asceLlc and was malnly composed of women who soughL marLyrdom and were glven clerlcal offlces -
Lhey were Leachers, healers, exorclse and bapLlzed. Llke Lhe early Syrlac ChrlsLlans Lhey held LhaL Lhe
Poly SplrlL was femlnlne. 1he mosL famous female marLyrs of Lhe laLe 2nd and 3rd cenLurles - 8landlna,
erpeLua and lellclLas whose Lerrlble sufferlng under Lhe 8oman persecuLlons has come down Lo us
were all probably MonLanlsLs. 1he efforL Lo conLrol MonLanlsm ls seen Lo play a concluslve role ln ban-
nlng Lhe mlnlsLry of women from CrLhodoxy.
4567 4521589:9
1here ls a rlch LradlLlon, whlch deplcLs Mary as a leadlng dlsclple and ln whlch legend greaLly embelllshes
her llfe. 8ecenLly Lhere has been a greaL reclalmlng of Mary as a paLron of women's preachlng and mln-
lsLry. Mary Magdalene appears ln Lhe n1 as one of Lhe close followers of !esus who has been cured of
seven demons, a concepL usually assoclaLed wlLh heallng from lllness noL [usL forglveness of sln. new
1esLamenL scholarshlp has shown LhaL Lhe popular lmage of Mary as Lhe repenLanL weeplng slnner wlp-
lng !esus' feeL wlLh her halr ls posslbly false. 1here are four sLorles of Lhe anolnLlng of !esus by a woman
ln Lhe n1, none ldenLlfled as Mary Magdalene. ln Lhe earllesL verslons Mark, followed by MaLLhew has
3
an unnamed woman anolnL !esus' head as a slgn of hls lmpendlng deaLh. !ohn names Lhe woman as
Mary of 8eLhany and has her anolnL !esus' feeL. ln Luke Lhe sLory ls changed and Lhe anolnLlng Lakes
place earller ln !esus' llfe, Lhe woman belng an unnamed repenLanL slnner who weeps and drles !esus'
feeL wlLh her halr and ls forglven. ln 391 ope Cregory Lhe CreaL ldenLlfled Mary as a repenLanL prosLl-
LuLe whose slnfulness he conLrasLed wlLh LhaL of Lhe vlrgln Mary. Whlle some conLemporary ChrlsLlan
women have assumed LhaL Lhe defamlng of Mary was an orLhodox aLLempL Lo counLeracL her hlgh pro-
flle ln CnosLlc ChrlsLlanlLy Lhere ls no evldence for Lhls. WhaL seems Lo have happened ls LhaL he con-
fused Lhe slnful woman of Lk 7 wlLh Mary Magdalene and once Lhls erroneous ldenLlflcaLlon was made
she could be assoclaLed wlLh every unnamed slnful woman ln Lhe gospels. 1hls mlsldenLlflcaLlon led Lo
her belng made Lhe paLron of prosLlLuLes and Lhe esLabllshmenL ln medleval Lurope of Magdalene
houses for Lhe reformaLlon of fallen women.
WheLher or noL she was a prosLlLuLe Mary became Lhe leader of a group of women dlsclples aL Lhe cross
and aL !esus' burlal. Mary sLands ln Lhe Cospels as Lhe flrsL wlLness of Lhe resurrecLlon, afLer Lhe male
followers of !esus have fled, and Lhe one who LesLlfles of Lhe rlsen lord Lo Lhe male dlsclples. (lnLeresL-
lngly Lhls ls noL aLLesLed Lo by aul ln hls leLLers). As a resulL of Lhe Cospel sLorles Mary was seen as a
leadlng dlsclple of !esus - Lhe 'aposLle Lo Lhe aposLles' - and laLer Lhe lmage of Lhe Church.
Several CnosLlc gospels found ln Lhe 19
Lh
cenLury and oLhers found aL nag Pammadl ln Lhe 20Lh cenLury
see Mary as a dlsclple who has a speclal relaLlonshlp wlLh !esus and a deeper undersLandlng of hls Leach-
lngs and Lhus a deeper splrlLual comprehenslon Lhan Lhe male dlsclples. 1hese LexLs are Lhe ulalogue of
Lhe Savlour, Lhe Sophla of !esus ChrlsL, Lhe Cospel of hlllp and Lhe lsLls Sophla and here she ls ofLen
porLrayed ln dlalogue wlLh !esus and hls dlsclples boLh before and afLer Lhe resurrecLlon.
She ls however mosL promlnenL ln Lhe early 2
nd
cenLury Cospel of Mary whlch more Lhan any oLher early
ChrlsLlan 1exL presenLs an unfllnchlngly favorable porLralL of Mary as a woman leader amongsL Lhe dls-
clples - lndeed she models Lhe ldeal dlsclple- she sLeps lnLo Lhe role of Lhe Savlour aL hls deparLure and
comforLs and lnsLrucLs Lhe oLher dlsclples. lurLher she lmparLs Lo Lhem secreL Leachlng she alone re-
celved from !esus. Whlle her Leachlngs do noL go unchallenged, ln Lhe end Lhe Cospel of Mary afflrms
Lhelr LruLh as well as her auLhorlLy Lo Leach Lhe male dlsclples. She ls porLrayed as a propheLlc vlslonary
and a leader among Lhe dlsclples.
1he Cospel of Mary argues LhaL leadershlp should be based on splrlLual maLurlLy regardless of gender.
1hls work glves us an alLernaLe volce Lo Lhe domlnanL one ln canonlzed works such as 1 1lm whlch Lrles
Lo sllence women and lnslsL Lhelr salvaLlon lles ln chlld bearlng. Whlle some of Lhe early Church laLhers
knew LhaL Lhe CnosLlcs clalmed Mary as a leader Lhls dld noL cause Lhem Lo dlsregard her. 8aLher Lhey
Loo shared Lhe ldea of Mary as a leadlng dlsclple. 1he 2
nd
cenLury church faLher PlppolyLus sees Mary
and Lhe oLher women dlsclples as symbollzlng Lhe new Lve, Lhe falLhful woman who reverses Lhe sln of
Lhe flrsL Lve. 1hey represenL her as Lhe 8rlde of ChrlsL, Lhe Church, a role glven by oLher Church faLhers
Lo Mary, Lhe moLher of !esus. 1hls hlgh regard conLlnued for Mary Magdalene ln Lhe 4
Lh
and 3
Lh
cenLurles
amongsL Lhe LaLln faLhers llke Ambrose and AugusLlne.
6
Many legends became assoclaLed wlLh Mary Lhru Lhe years. Cne from Lhe LasLern Church saw LhaL Mary
was a prosLlLuLe because of her frusLraLed love for !ohn Lhe Lheologlan. Accordlng Lo Lhls sLory she re-
formed when she came Lo love !esus as much as !ohn dld. AnoLher LasLern LradlLlon sees LhaL she [olned
!esus' moLher and !ohn ln Lphesus Lo become marLyrs or LhaL she reLlred Lo Lhe deserL and became a
role model for women's hermeLlc llfe.
WesLern ChrlsLlans glve Mary furLher advenLures - lrench medleval LradlLlon belleved LhaL Mary fled
from alesLlne Lo lrance wlLh her broLher Lazarus and slsLer MarLha (conflaLlng her wlLh Mary of 8eLh-
any) where Lazarus became Lhe flrsL blshop of Marsellles, MarLha overcame a dragon LhaL was ravaglng
Lhe area and Mary converLed Lhe klng and Cueen of SouLhern Caul and Lhereby became Lhe aposLle Lo
Lhe lranks. A wldespread culL of Mary arose ln medleval lrance and she was exalLed as a preacher
whose evangellzlng career was foundaLlonal Lo Lhe falLh of Lhe WesLern Church. ln Lhe lasL Lwo hundred
years and parLlcularly slnce Lhe CnosLlc gospels were dlscovered Lhere have been conslsLenL clalms ln
numerous works whlch see LhaL Mary Magdalene was Lhe wlfe of !esus who dld noL dle on Lhe cross and
wlLh whom she had several chlldren.
8y Lhe 3
rd
cenLury ChrlsLlanlLy was one of Lhe ma[or rellglons of Lhe 8oman Lmplre - Lhe maln ChrlsLlan
cenLres were Lhe LaLln speaklng cenLres of 8ome and CarLhage and Lhe Creek speaklng cenLres of Alex-
and Lphesus. 8ome conLlnued Lo remaln comparaLlvely obscure buL wlLhln 100 years lL aLLalned Lhe
domlnance LhaL characLerlzed lL for cenLurles.
1he role of women remalned dlverse from place Lo place, buL Lhe opLlons of Leachlng, preachlng, and
llLurglcal roles slowly began Lo be removed. lrom Lhe Llme of aul Lhere had been Crders of vlrglns and
Wldows and women had been deacons. A gradual removal of sLaLus for women deacons Lo deaconesses
occurred so LhaL Lhey were glven a far less lmporLanL role wlLh Lhe evenLual removal of clerlcal sLaLus.
ueaconesses could mlnlsLer only Lo women and were allowed only Lo glve lnsLrucLlon Lo adolescenLs and
chlldren as opposes Lo Lhe offlclal Lask of Leachlng and bapLlsm Lhey had once performed - Lhey were
relegaLed only Lo asslsLlng Lhe male clergy ln bapLlsm. 1he Crder of vlrglns could engage ln some ln-
sLrucLlon wlLhln Lhelr own communlLles buL by Lhe 4
Lh
cenLury Lhls order had merged wlLh Lhe Crder of
Wldows ln slmllar communal lnsLlLuLlons LhaL had been lnsLlLuLed for monks. ln Llme Lhe deaconesses
also merged lnLo Lhe monasLlc communlLles, whlch ofLen Lhey led. 1hls evenLually relnforced Lhe aes-
LheLlc emphasls whlch grew LhaL cellbacy was Lhe ldeal sLaLe and Lhe vlrgln Mary, deslgnaLed as Lhe
MoLher of Cod, as Lhe ldeal woman. 8y Lhe 11
Lh
cenLury deaconesses had dlsappeared from Lhe WesLern
Church.
We flrsL learnL of Lhe Crder of Wldows ln 1 1lm and Lhey obvlously wenL abouL Lhelr work ln Lhe Chrls-
Llan communlLles buL from Lhe exLenL of Lhe LexLs abouL whaL Lhey were noL allowed Lo do Lhey were
probably usurplng Lhe role Lhe male leaders felL was Lhelr own. 1he mosL frequenL admonlLlon Lo Lhe
wldows was Lo sLay aL home, pray aL home and acL llke Lhe alLar of Cod. WhaL Wldows seemed Lo wanL
Lo do more Lhan anyLhlng else was Lo Leach. 1he Church laLher Crlgen glves one of Lhe clearesL denun-
claLlons of Lhls role:-
7
'lL ls lmproper for a woman Lo speak ln Lhe assembly no maLLer whaL she says, even lf she says admlra-
ble Lhlngs LhaL ls of llLLle consequence slnce Lhey come from Lhe mouLh of a woman'.
As Lhe rlghLs and duLles of Lhe male clergy became more clearly elaboraLed lL ls clear LhaL no encroach-
menL on Lhese rlghLs was Lo be LoleraLed. 1he removal of Lhe lasL offlclal Leachlng role ln Lhe Church saw
Leachlng now Lake on Lhe form of dogma couched ln allegorlcal blbllcal language and ln Lhe Lheologlcal
language formulaLed by 1erLulllan, ClemenL and Crlgen.
lL needs Lo be emphaslzed LhaL Lhe ellmlnaLlon of women from offlclal roles of lnsLlLuLlonal leadershlp
dld noL ellmlnaLe women's presence and lmporLance Lo ChrlsLlanlLy alLhough lL cerLalnly serlously dam-
aged Lhelr capaclLy Lo fully conLrlbuLe. lrom here on Lhe volces of half of ChrlsLlanlLy are sllenL. AlmosL
everyLhlng we hear abouL Lhe volces of women ls negaLlve. 1he equaLlon of women wlLh Lve and Lhere-
fore wlLh sln ls parLlally responslble for Lhls. 8uL also Lhe growlng evldence of hosLlllLy Lo Lhe body serves
Lo equaLe women wlLh carnallLy. 1hls aLLlLude can be concealed Lo a polnL behlnd Lhe Church's Leachlng
of Lhe splrlLual equallLy of Lhe sexes buL Lhere was no aLLempL Lo LranslaLe Lhls equallLy lnLo any klnd of
sLrucLural form. ln facL Lhe opposlLe happened and Lhe roles and sLaLus of women seen ln Lhe n1 llLera-
Lure was forgoLLen. 1herefore whaL began as a movemenL LhaL aL leasL offered dlgnlLy and a role for
women ended up as an organlzaLlon LhaL was almosL LoLally male-orlenLaLed.
Pence laLer Lheologlans llke AugusLlne of Plppo and 1homas Aqulnas could wonder why Cod had cre-
aLed women aL all. AugusLlne has been overwhelmlngly lnfluenLlal ln ChrlsLlanlLy, perhaps Lhe mosL ln-
fluenLlal Lheologlan afLer aul. AparL from hls Lheologlcal pronouncemenLs lL was formulaLlon of Lhe
concepL of Lhe !usL War and hls model of LorLure as a mlllLanL blshop and persecuLor of hereLlcs LhaL
was laLer copled. AugusLlne saw all sexual lnLercourse as slnful and responslble for Lhe Lransmlsslon of
orlglnal sln. Pls bellef was LhaL lusL was Lhe ma[or sln and enemy of men and Lhls aLLlLude came Lo
domlnaLe WesLern ChrlsLlanlLy, even Lhough Lhere were oLher Lheologlans who saw LhaL oLher and more
dangerous slns were prlde, anger, greed and resenLmenL.
So wlLh Lhe conLlnual emphasls on cellbacy from Lhe 4
Lh
cenLury Lhe only women Lo play any lnfluenLlal
parL ln malnsLream ChrlsLlanlLy unLll Lhe 19
Lh
cenLury were vlrglns and cellbaLes. ln opLlng for cellbacy
women dld sLand a chance Lo organlze Lhelr own rellglous llves buL Lhls accenL on asceLlclsm condemned
all oLher women Lo an lgnomlnlous second cholce ln marrlage. neverLheless women dld noL leave Lhe
Church and lndeed as we have seen ln our own Llme were responslble for mosL of Lhe charlLable work
LhaL ChrlsLlanlLy exLended Lo lLs followers and oLhers ln dlsLress. ChrlsLlans ran a mlnlaLure welfare sLaLe
ln Lhe Lmplre. 1he Lmperor !ullan commenLed on Lhe ChrlsLlan women who were workers ln charlLable
endeavours. 1hese unsung, unknown Lhousands of women quleLly conLlnued Lo llve Lhe ChrlsLlan llfe,
brlnglng up Lhelr chlldren Lo do llkewlse. 1he problem ls LhaL hlsLory unLll recenLly has never seen Lhese
acLlvlLles as worLhy of much aLLenLlon.
Larly ln Lhe 4
Lh
cenLury Lhe Lmperor ConsLanLlne ln Lhe LdlcL of Mllan, made ChrlsLlanlLy a leglLlmaLe
rellglon of Lhe 8oman Lmplre, by Lhe Lurn of Lhe cenLury lL had become Lhe mandaLed rellglon. As one of
Lhe mosL declslve evenLs ln world hlsLory, Lhls apparenLly amazlng phenomenon came abouL because of
Lhe evenLs aL Lhe Mllvlan 8rldge when ConsLanLlne had a vlslon LhaL he assoclaLed wlLh ChrlsLlanlLy and
8
whlch he belleved led Lo Lhe defeaL of Lhe usurper MaxenLlus. no slngle evenL slnce Lhe cruclflxlon of
!esus was as lnfluenLlal for ChrlsLlanlLy as Lhe apparenL converslon of ConsLanLlne. 1he Lrlumph of Chrls-
LlanlLy ls a remarkable phenomenon - ln Lhree cenLurles a group LhaL orlglnaLed ln Lhe backwaLers of
Lhe 8oman Lmplre Look over Lhe Lmplre as Lhe offlclal rellglon - ln facL Lhe only rellglon LoleraLed by Lhe
end of Lhe 4
Lh
cenLury. !esus Lhe leader of Lhls group, who was cruclfled as a publlc crlmlnal by Lhe 8o-
mans wound up as Lhe Cod of Lhe new ChrlsLlan 8oman Lmplre. ConsLanLlne became Lhe embodlmenL
of Lhe rlghLeous klng. Cnce he consolldaLed hls poslLlon by conquerlng noL only Lhe WesL buL Lhe LasL as
well - where Lhere were more ChrlsLlans, he was ln a poslLlon of havlng a Lheology of governmenL he
could use Lo consolldaLe hls own power. Cne of Lhe flrsL Lhlngs ConsLanLlne dld was Lo sLarL persecuLlng
oLher non - orLhodox ChrlsLlans and !ews. As Lhe source of auLhorlLy ConsLanLlne lnlLlaLed Lhe counclls
LhaL declded whaL a Lrue ChrlsLlan belleved ln ChrlsLology, 1rlnlLarlan Lheology and church organlzaLlon.
Pe lnsLlLuLed a new LasLern caplLol of ConsLanLlnople, Lhe paLrlarch of whlch became one of Lhe flve
paLrlarchaLes ln ChrlsLlanlLy and whlch became Lhe caplLol of Lhe 8yzanLlne Lmplre of Lhe LasLern Chrls-
Llans.
ln 323 ConsLanLlne called a councll of Lhe church Lo meeL aL nlcaea Lo speclflcally LargeL Lhe non-
orLhodox Leachlngs of Arlus. 1he basls of Arlanlsm was LhaL Lhere was a Llme when ChrlsL dld noL exlsL.
1haL ls, he was noL equal Lo Lhe laLher. Cne of Lhe greaL problems wlLh Lhe ChrlsLologlcal and 1rlnlLarlan
conLroversles, whlch arose, came from Lhe movlng from Creek Lo LaLln and vlce versa. 1he Creeks fur-
Lher consldered Lhe LaLlns as amaLeurs ln Lheology and ln general as barbarous and lll-educaLed people.
8y Lhe mlddle of Lhe 4
Lh
cenLury mosL of Lhe LasLern church was Arlan ln ouLlook and Lhe resoluLlon of
Lhe naLure of ChrlsL aL Lhe Councll of Chalcedon ln 431 was supposed Lo end Lhe conLroversy - lnsLead lL
enormously sLrengLhened Lhe conLroversy beLween LasL and WesL and furLher helped Lhe converslon of
many, many ChrlsLlans conquered by lslam several hundred years laLer, Lo whom Lhe slmple monoLhe-
lsm of Mohammed appealed.
As ChrlsLlanlLy became Lhe unlversal rellglon, lnerLla and laxlLy seemed Lo Lake hold of many as power
and wealLh peneLraLed Lhe ChrlsLlan world. lrom Lhe laLe 3
rd
cenLury, men and women had been flock-
lng Lo Lhe deserLs ln an unprecedenLed reLreaL from Lhe world Lo llve an asceLlc llfe of splrlLual freedom.
1he monasLlc LradlLlon came Lo domlnaLe Lhe 4
Lh
cenLury boLh ln lLs rural and urban expresslons. Monas-
Llclsm was parLly a conLlnuaLlon of gospel LradlLlons buL was also a proLesL aL Lhe corrupLlon of Lhe
Leachlngs of !esus and Lhe rlse of clerlcallsm - all of whlch was exacerbaLed by Lhe Lheocracy whlch now
emerged ln Lhe 8oman Lmplre.
1he early order of vlrglns we have already meL and Lhese were composed of women who llved quleLly
and modesLly ln Lhelr own homes and meL ln groups leadlng a llfe of prayer buL under no speclal rule
and noL ln communlLy. 1he flrsL communlLles for women ln Lhe WesLern church appeared ln 8ome and
Mllan Lowards Lhe end of Lhe 4
Lh
cenLury. 1hls seems Lo have happened sponLaneously wlLh groups of
women gaLherlng around several exLremely wealLhy noble wldows Lhe flrsL of whom were 4-*;$33- and
<-=3- from 340 forward. 1hese wealLhy women dlsposed of Lhelr wealLh and freed Lhelr slaves. 1hey
were relaLed and aula and her group learnL from Marcella Lhe prlnclples of Lhe asceLlc llfe. 1he evl-
dence of Lhese flrsL women asceLlcs comes from Lhe pens of Ambrose and !erome. uesplLe Lhe eml-
nence, lnLelllgence and hollness of Lhese women we have no word of Lhelrs. 1herefore cauLlon ls neces-
9
sary ln undersLandlng Lhe sLorles of Lhese Lwo male wrlLers who boLh had an agenda Lo exLol Lhe asceLlc
llfe and who wlLh AugusLlne a llLLle laLer on saw lL as Lhe eccleslasLlcal soluLlon Lo Lhe problem of
women.
aula meL !erome who was one of Lhe foremosL scholars of Lhe Pebrew 8lble whlch he LranslaLed lnLo
LaLln and he LaughL her nuns Lo slng ln Pebrew. Pe and aula were lnsLrumenLal ln seLLlng up double
monasLerles of monks and nuns ln !erusalem. 1hese were Laken over by her daughLers when she dled.
Per enormous wealLh had made Lhese lnsLlLuLlons posslble and of course lL alded !erome ln hls blbllcal
work and LranslaLlon. Marcella on Lhe oLher hand engaged ln Lhe greaL Lheologlcal argumenLs of Lhe day
and even Lhe ope consulLed her when he ran lnLo Lheologlcal dlfflculLles - of course lL has Lo be re-
membered LhaL many of Lhe men ln Lhe hlgh-ranklng clergy of Lhe Llme were lnlLlally chosen for Lhelr
wealLh and soclal sLaLus, noL for hollness of splrlLuallLy e.g. Ambrose had become a blshop before he
was even a ChrlsLlan, 8lshop necLarlus of ConsLanLlnople was also a layman when he became a blshop
as was lablan when he became ope.
ln Lhe LasLern Church Lhe Lwo mosL famous women Lo found monasLerles were >3/#?'-+ and 4-;*'%-@
Clymplas (b 368) founded a house for consecraLed vlrglns ln ConsLanLlnople when !ohn ChrysosLom was
paLrlarch. 1hls was Llme of greaL anLagonlsm beLween Lhe CrLhodox and Arlan ChrlsLlans and Clymplas
had many dlfflculLles as her convenL was even desLroyed by an Arlan blshop. She was enormously
wealLhy and lL has been esLlmaLed LhaL she conLrlbuLes Lhe equlvalenL of 900 mllllon Amerlcan dollars Lo
Lhe church ln ConsLanLlnople, whlch of course was exLremely helpful Lo Lhe church for lLs charlLable
works.
Macrlna who dled ln 379 foundered her own convenL wlLh her moLher. Agaln from a wealLhy famlly she
had been Lralned ln phllosophy. Macrlna was Lhe slsLer of 8asll Lhe CreaL and Cregory of nyssa whose
fame overshadowed her own achlevemenLs. WlLh Lhelr cousln Cregory of nazlanzen Lhey became
known as Lhe Cappadoclan laLhers and were responslble for plloLlng Lhe Leachlng on Lhe Poly SplrlL Lhru
Lhe Councll of ConsLanLlnople ln 381. Per broLhers acknowledged Lhelr debL Lo Macrlna and apparenLly
she bullled 8asll lnLo Lhe rellglous llfe. Pls famous rule whlch has been Lhe basls for mosL LasLern monas-
Llclsm was probably based on hers wlLh lLs emphasls on sLrong leadershlp, close communlLy and concern
for Lhe workers, Lhe poor and Lhe slck. 8y Lhe 8Lh cenLury Lhere were 100,000 monks llvlng under Lhe
rule of SL 8asll.
1he ConsLanLlnlan revlval dld noL lasL for very long. 1he creaLlon of Lwo caplLals made Lhe Lmplre more
fragmenLed pollLlcally and mlllLarlly. 1he sacklng of 8ome occurred ln 410 by Lhe so-called barbarlans led
by Alarlc. 1hese barbarlans were CoLhs and vandals who were ln Lhe maln ChrlsLlan Arlans. 1hey were
really afLer food and land more Lhan booLy. Pence Lhe envlronmenL Lhe church now found lLself ln Lhe
WesL was noL on Lhe whole hosLlle. 1he Arlans dld noL as a rule persecuLe and Lhey were LoleranL of Cr-
Lhodox ChrlsLlans and !ews. 1he CoLhs lndeed respecLed many aspecLs of 8oman clvlllzaLlon. 1he dam-
age Lo Lhe sLrucLure of 8ome lLself dld noL occur unLll Lhe 6
Lh
cenLury when lL was repeaLedly besleged
and plundered. 1hls occurred as Lhe Lmperor !usLlnlan Lrled Lo reunlLe 8ome wlLh Lhe LasL as lLs caplLal
of ConsLanLlnople was unLouched by Lhe problems ln Lhe WesL. 1he desLrucLlon of classlcal 8ome was
Lhe acLlon of Lhe 8yzanLlnes noL Lhe barbarlans. 1he ruln of 8ome was compleLed by ConsLans ll who
10
sLrlpped lL of all lLs meLal Lo be melLed down for armamenLs. Powever Lhls desLrucLlon was delayed long
enough for 8ome Lo survlve lnLo Lhe new era of Lhe uark Ages and esLabllsh lLself as Lhe leadlng cenLre
of WesLern ChrlsLlanlLy. 1he domlnaLlng ldea ln Lhe survlval and rebulldlng of Lhe WesL, whlch Look cen-
Lurles Lo accompllsh, was Lhe auLhorlLy of Lhe ope.
AL lLs wldesL Lhe Mlddle Ages or Medleval perlod ls deflnes from Lhe 4
Lh
Lo Lhe 18
Lh
cenLurles. AfLer Lhe
flnal desLrucLlon of Lhe WesLern 8oman Lmplre ln Lhe 6
Lh
cenLury Lhe LasLern Lmplre developed lnLo a
very advanced clvlllzaLlon, Lhe 8yzanLlne Lmplre. ChrlsLlanlLy ln Lhe LasL exLended lLs sway Lo many ar-
eas where Lhe churches grew lnLo dlsLlncL naLlonallsLlc sLrucLures. 1hls dlfference wlLh Lhe WesL where
Lhe church was unlversal played a greaL parL ln Lhe flnal schlsm beLween LasL and WesL when lL flnally
occurred ln Lhe 11
Lh
cenLury.
1he early Mlddle Ages or Lhe uark Ages saw conLlnual warfare and Lhe number of ChrlsLlans decllned Lo
Lhe mlddle of Lhe 10
Lh
cenLury. 1hls was due ln parL Lo Lhe rlse and conquesLs of lslam from Lhe 7
Lh
cen-
Lury. 1he WesL was Lhlnly populaLed because of war, famlne, plague and commerclal aLrophy - lL was all
very prlmlLlve wlLh Lhe largesL Lowns only havlng a few Lhousand people. ln Lhls perlod mosL prlesLs, llke
Lhe lalLy, were undereducaLed and barely llLeraLe. 1he lndlvldual was of llLLle accounL and mosL people
experlenced ChrlsLlanlLy Lhrough mlraculous slgns, rellcs of salnLs and rlLual ceremonles. Powever Lhe
growLh of 8enedlcLlne monasLlclsm creaLed cenLres of sLablllLy and learnlng ln Lhe war-ravaged lands
and Lhe perlod ln Lhe WesL before Lhe 12
Lh
cenLury can be seen as Lhe 8enedlcLlne Age.
ln Lhese uark Ages Lhere were women who played ma[or roles ln ChrlsLlanlLy. 1hese ChrlsLlan women
were rlch, powerful and arlsLocraLlc and Lhrough marrlage Lo powerful rulers converLed Lhelr husbands
and by exLenslon ln Lhose Llmes, Lhe populaLlon ln each klngdom. Some of Lhese women were (3",)'3A$
who marrled Clovls, Lhe klng of Lhe lranks (6
Lh
cenLury), 0$*,)- who marrled klng LLhelberL of kenL (7Lh
cenLury), and 30 years laLer Lhelr daughLer 9,)$3B$*C- converLed her husband, Ldwln of norLhumbrla.
ChrlsLlanlLy ln Lhe 8rlLlsh lsles had been lnLroduced early on by Lhe 8omans probably ln Lhe 2
nd
cenLury.
1hls Church survlved unLll Lhe 3
Lh
cenLury when lL was cuL off from Lhe resL of ChrlsLlanlLy by Lhe lcLs
and Lhe lrlsh. lL had developed along dlfferenL paLhs Lo Lhe 8oman verslon and monasLlclsm was lLs cor-
nersLone and blshops were consecraLed Lo be holy men noL auLhorlLy flgures. WhaL we know of Lhese
Llmes ls malnly from Lhe pen of Lhe venerable 8ede wlLh some help from Lhe Anglo-Saxon Chronlcles.
alladlus was senL by 8ome Lo lreland ln 431 as flrsL blshop and abouL Lhe same Llme aLrlck, an Lng-
llshman arrlved and converLed many ln Lhe norLh of lreland. ln Lhe mlddle of Lhe 300's Lhe lrlshman
Columba founded monasLerles ln lreland and Lhen ln ScoLland aL lona- Lhls became Lhe greaL cenLre of
lrlsh ChrlsLlanlLy and moved on Lo Llndlsfarne ln norLhumbrla and Lhen LasL Anglla. AnoLher lrlsh monk
Columbanus esLabllshed monasLerles ln Caul, SwlLzerland and AusLrla.
CelLlc monasLlcs had Lhen gone Lo Lurope and formed chalns of monasLerles, parLlcularly ln Cermany.
1he conLrlbuLlon of women monasLlcs ln Lhese converslon processes was lnvaluable. Abbesses such as
!-3B=*C- and 8$"B- were Lralned wlLh many oLher nuns as mlsslonarles ln 8rlLaln for Lhe converslon of
Lhe Saxons ln Cermany. Many of Lhe converLed Cerman prlnces lnsLlLuLed double monasLerles of men
and women ln whlch Lhey lnsLalled Lhelr female relaLlves as abbesses who ruled boLh men and women.
11
1hese abbesses ofLen dressed as blshops wlLh mlLre, rlng and crozler and as Lhey were noL sLrangers Lo
power Lhey assumed auLhorlLy easlly. neverLheless every monasLery of women was dependenL on
males for sacramenLal and llLurglcal mlnlsLry and Lhere are endless sLorles of exLremely hosLlle relaLlon-
shlps beLween Lhe men and women monasLlcs.
ln Lhe 8rlLlsh lsles and ln Cermany Lhe years 600-900 were years of unmaLched female lnfluence con-
ducLed Lhrough Lhe monasLlc sysLem and alded by Lhe much beLLer LreaLmenL of women by Lhe CelLs
and Cermans Lhan Lhelr MedlLerranean counLerparLs. As long as Lhe monasLlc sysLem held sway over
Lhe eplscopacy Lhe role of women was promoLed. lL has Lo be emphaslzed LhaL, wlLh Lhe ChrlsLlan
queens who converLed Lhelr husbands, Lhe lnfluenLlal women ln monasLlc llfe were also rlch, powerful
and arlsLocraLlc. 1hls ls Lhe only reason we have any evldence of Lhelr llves
1he monasLlc lnsLlLuLlon served splrlLual, educaLlonal and heallng needs as well as acLlng as a safe house
and provldlng general soclal work servlces. Women enLered Lhese lnsLlLuLlons for a varleLy of reasons.
Some enLered aL Lhe age of consenL - 12, laLer 13 years. Some chlldren were offered Lo monasLerles as a
LlLhe. unmarrled daughLers of Lhe noblllLy were ofLen senL Lo monasLerles for safeLy as well as economy.
Some of course enLered because of a call from Cod. A dowry was requlred Lo enLer and Lhe soclal hler-
archy ouLslde Lhe convenL was repeaLed lnslde.
1he Lype of ChrlsLlanlLy whlch exlsLed before Lhe advenL of AugusLlne, Lhe flrsL blshop of CanLerbury, ln
Lhe 6
Lh
cenLury was LhaL of Lhe early Church laLhers before Lhe rlse of 8enedlcLlnlsm and Lhe cenLrallzed
role of 8ome whlch had developed. 1he classlcal mlnd/body spllL whlch has dogged ChrlsLlanlLy was less
pronounced amongsL Lhe CelLs e.g. Lhe vlews of elaglus (360-430) flourlshed amongsL Lhe CelLlc monas-
Llcs whose lnsLlLuLlons had been lnfluenced by Lhe powerful asceLlclsm of Lhe deserL and LasLern monks.
elaglus was laLer denounced as a hereLlc afLer hls confronLaLlon wlLh AugusLlne of Plppo. unllke
AugusLlne, elaglus belleved LhaL all creaLlon was good and Lhere was no such Lhlng as orlglnal sln
LransmlLLed Lhru sexual lnLercourse- furLher he belleved LhaL unbapLlzed lnfanLs were noL damned.
CelLlc ChrlsLlanlLy of Lhe early mlddle Ages was characLerlzed by a sLrong lncarnaLlonal 1heology and
naLure appears as a Lheme Lo an unusual degree. Puman creaLlvlLy ls seen ln lrlsh arL, llke Lhe 8ook of
kels, and Welsh poeLry boLh of whlch sLress Lhe role of Lhe lmaglnaLlon. 1here are poslLlve and empow-
erlng lmages of women and lndeed ln Lhe old CelLlc culLure Lhere was a hlgh degree of equallLy for
women for Lhe Llme. ChrlsLlanlLy was syncreLlsLlc ln comblnlng aspecLs of Lhe old CelLlc rellglon wlLh Lhe
new rellglon. 1he role of place llke mounLalns and sLreams and blrds and anlmals may reflecL Lhe old
rellglous ldeas as well.
ln abouL 637 .'3A-D Lhe greaL nlece of klng Ldwln of kenL, had become Lhe abbess of a double monasLery
aL !)',B/. As we have seen Lhese double monasLerles were someLlmes ruled by an abboL buL usually by
an abbess. 1he local blshop was sub[ecL Lo Lhe ruler of Lhese monasLerles. Pllda dldn'L enLer Lhe rellg-
lous llfe unLll she was abouL 3o years old and before movlng Lo WhlLby she had been Lhe abbess of a
small monasLery aL ParLlepool where she had galned a wldespread repuLaLlon for her charlLy, meekness
and humlllLy, as well as for her exLraordlnary knowledge. When she moved Lo WhlLby lL was no surprlse
LhaL lL became a greaL cenLre of learnlng, one of Lhe greaLesL ln WesLern Lurope. And as a ma[or cenLre
12
of CelLlc ChrlsLlanlLy aL leasL flve blshops and endless numbers of scholars and Lheologlans saw Lhe mon-
asLery as Lhelr alma maLer. 1he course of ChrlsLlanlLy had noL run smooLhly slnce Ldwln's converslon
and lL was a momenLous Llme ln Lhe ChrlsLlanlzaLlon of 8rlLaln. 1here was unllmlLed scope for a woman
of Pllda's LalenLs and background, such as laLer ChrlsLlan women have noL en[oyed. 8ede ln descrlblng
her ablllLy and hollness wroLe, '1he splendour of her llghL llL up all of 8rlLaln'. Pllda and her houses fol-
lowed Lhe CelLlc llLurgy and rule buL many oLher monasLerles had been pressured lnLo accepLlng Lhe
8enedlcLlne rule. Pllda's zeal for learnlng led Lo Lhe consLrucLlon of a greaL llbrary and she ls credlLed
wlLh encouraglng Lhe flrsL Lngllsh poeL, Caedmon.
lL was aL WhlLby LhaL Lhe lnevlLable confronLaLlon beLween Lhe 8oman and CelLlc churches occurred.
Pllda called a conference ln 664 Lo help seLLle on a slngle monasLlc rule. klngs, queens, blshops, abboLs
and scholars aLLended. Pllda was a champlon of Lhe CelLlc cause. MosL conLroversy occurred around Lhe
daLlng of LasLer and Lhe Lonsure of monks - seemlngly relaLlvely mlnor problems. 1he underlylng debaLe
was really abouL Lhe power of 8ome and Lhe evenLual 8omanlzlng of Lhe whole of 8rlLlsh ChrlsLlanlLy.
1he roman slde won and much blLLerness resulLed as Lhe CelLlc Church gradually began Lo dle ouL. 1he
monasLery was flnally desLroyed by Penry vlll durlng Lhe monasLlc dlssoluLlon of Lhe 16
Lh
cenLury.
AnoLher Lngllsh Abbess of enormous power was E*'A$+F'A$ (710-99) who was responslble for Lhe orlgln
of academlc llfe aL Cxford. Whlle oLhers llke 8$"B- -%A !-3B=*C-D as menLloned, helped evangellse
Cermany Lhrough double monasLerles seL up where furLher mlsslonarles were Lralned. lndeed Lhe ex-
LenL of Lhese enLerprlses run by women has noL been seen agaln ln Luropean hlsLory unLll our own Llme.
Powever Lhe varlous edlcLs lnsplred by Lhe Carollnglan reforms, Lhe 8enedlcLlne monasLery aL Cluny and
Leo lx and Cregory vll ln Lhe 10
Lh
and 11
Lh
cenLurles lnsured Lhe end of Lhese powerful women's enLer-
prlses. 1he Clunlac reforms soughL Lo reesLabllsh Lhe orlglnal ldeals of 8enedlcL whlch ln many cases had
become corrupL. 1hese reforms domlnaLed Lhe church for Lwo cenLurles. 1he norman lnvaslon of Lng-
land from 1066 colnclded wlLh Lhe enforcemenL of Lhe Clunlac reforms and lL ls s belleved by many hls-
Lorlans LhaL Lhls comblnaLlon was responslble for Lhe loss of many rlghLs Lngllsh women had en[oyed ln
Lhe prevlous cenLurles
Whlle aLLempLlng Lo force Lhe clergy lnLo cellbacy Lhere was an lnslsLence on sLrlcL enclosure for women
who were now forbldden Lo Leach. 1hls was done ln con[uncLlon wlLh a wldespread denlgraLlon of
women ln rellglous llfe where Lhey losL Lhelr power Lo choose Lhelr abbess and even Lhelr properLy was
Laken from Lhem and someLlmes handed over Lo male monasLlcs. As well Lhey could no longer Lake parL
ln any llLurglcal acLlvlLy and were conflned Lo Lhe convenL - Lhus belng deprlved of any form of lncome
whlch Lhen resulLed ln Lhem belng blamed for Lhelr burdensome exlsLence
Larly ln Lhe 11
Lh
cenLury Lhe ouLlook ln Lurope as regards economlc condlLlons, rellglous ldeals and
forms of governmenL began Lo change dramaLlcally from prevlous cenLurles. 1he pope assumed a new
power of lnLervenLlon and lL Lhen became naLural Lo speak of Lhe clerlcal hlerarchy as Lhe Church and
Lhus Lhe lalLy became demoLed. 1he 8enedlcLlne 8ule losL lLs monopoly ln Lhe rellglous llfe and an en-
Llrely new ouLlook was belng Laken ln law and Lheology and several lmporLanL sLeps had been Laken Lo-
wards undersLandlng Lhe physlcal world. robably Lhe mosL lmporLanL facLor was Lhe expanslon ln eco-
13
nomlc growLh ln Lhe laLe 11
Lh
and 12
Lh
cenLury. 1hls expanslon saw populaLlon growLh and new vlllages
sprlng up and for Lhe flrsL Llme ln lLs hlsLory, Lurope had a surplus populaLlon and surplus producLlon
and lL rapldly developed a self-confldenL ouLlook - an ouLlook LhaL dld more Lhan anyLhlng Lo break
down Lhe soclal and rellglous harmonles of Lhe pasL age. 1he expanslon of Lurope had begun buL we do
noL undersLand Lhe causes of masslve changes on Lhls scale.
1hese facLors help explaln Lhe developmenL of Lhe WesLern Luropean push, spearheaded by ope urban
ll ln 1096, Lo free Lhe Poly Land from Lhe lnfldel. Whlle Lhls has always been seen as Lhe ma[or reason
for Lhe campalgns Lhere were oLher facLors lnvolved. 1he mosL lmporLanL belng Lhe acqulslLlon of land
for Lhe burgeonlng Luropean populaLlon and ln laLer campalgns Lhe desLrucLlon of hereLlcal movemenLs.
1he sLress ln Lhe WesL on vlolence was parLlcularly sLrong, whereas Lhe LasL Lended Lo Lhe Leachlngs of
8asll Lhe CreaL who saw war as abhorrenL - as of course dld Lhe early ChrlsLlans who preferred deaLh Lo
reslsLance. 1hls changed wlLh AugusLlne of Plppo who as we have seen colned Lhe ldea of a [usLlfled and
holy war ordalned by Cod - and lncldenLally dlscredlLed Lhe paclflsL. AugusLlne relaLed Lhe concepL of
Lhe [usL war Lo Lhe desLrucLlon of Lhe hereLlc, so LhaL vlolence was noL only [usLlfled lL was merlLorlous,
1here were seven offlclal crusades alLogeLher Lo Lhe Poly land wlLh several unofflclal aLLempLs llke Lhe
easanL's crusade, Lhe Chlldren's Crusade and Lhe Shepherd's crusade whlch were all compleLe dlsas-
Lers. 1he Crusade MovemenL had wlde reachlng ramlflcaLlons for many cenLurles as Lhey were far more
wldespread Lhan orlglnally lnLended. LvenLually every counLry ln Lurope was lnvolved aL some sLage and
every faceL of llfe was Louched. Whlle Lhe chlef fleld of acLlvlLy was ln Lhe LasL agalnsL lslam Lhere was
an endurlng effecL on Lhe WesLern lslamlc world and Lhe 8alLlc.
We have seen over Lhe cenLurles LhaL even Lhough women may be equal ln hollness and ulLlmaLely ln
heaven and be so learned LhaL prlesLs seek Lhelr guldance, women were forbldden Lo Leach publlcly as
Lhelr words of councll and lnsplraLlon were Lo remaln prlvaLe. 1hey were excluded from Lhe publlc
Leachlng of Lhe church. Powever much Lhelr memory and even Lhelr rellcs were veneraLed as salnLs,
Lhelr wrlLlngs were noL preserved as offlclal LradlLlon. 1he slLuaLlon of women's lack of publlc Leachlng ln
Lhe church conLlnued LhroughouL Lhe Mlddle Ages and was renewed ln Lhe 8eformaLlon. lndeed lL has
only begun Lo be overcome ln our own Llme.
neverLheless from Lhe 10
Lh
cenLury and becomlng a huge sLream from Lhe 12
Lh
Lo Lhe 13
Lh
cenLurles we
flnd more and more women's wrlLlngs. 1hls was ln a varleLy of flelds, noL [usL leLLers and salnLs llves, buL
plays, Lheologlcal LreaLlses, guldes Lo Lhe splrlLual llfe and above all ln Lhe laLer Mlddle Ages accounLs of
mysLlcal experlences. More and more women began Lo commlL Lhelr LhoughL Lo paper or had Lhls done
by a male scrlbe. 1he reasons can be found ln Lhe lnsLlLuLlons of female rellglous llfe where women
learnL elemenLs of LaLln and Lhelr own language. 1hey had llbrarles and scrlpLorla, Lhelr palnLlngs and
Lhelr LhoughLs were wrlLLen down and copled and dlsLrlbuLed Lo oLhers. AlLhough women could noL offl-
clally be preachers Lhey could be propheLs as Lhls was seen as revelaLory experlence. 1hese experlences
had Lo be valldaLed by male rellglous auLhorlLy, Lhe hlgher Lhe rank Lhe beLLer. When male auLhorlLles
were dlvlded on Lhe auLhenLlclLy of a woman's propheLlc experlence, Lhe wlnner deLermlned wheLher
Lhe wrlLlngs were clrculaLed, suppressed or even burnL aL Lhe sLake along wlLh her body. 1he quesLlon
14
was where dld Lhe revelaLory experlence come from, Cod or Lhe uevll? And as ln Lhe case of !oan of Arc,
whlch men had Lhe power Lo make Lhe cruclal declslon?
1he mosL powerful woman ln Lhe Church ln Lhe 12
Lh
cenLury was .'3A$C-*A$ "G 0'%C$% who ls one of
only Lhree women ever Lo become a uocLor of Lhe CaLhollc Church (Lhe oLher Lwo are CaLherlne of Sl-
enna and 1eresa of Llsceaux). She recelved Lhe hlghesL valldaLlon posslble from Lhe pope and Lhus was
able Lo use her exLraordlnary LalenLs as a propheL and abbess Lo whose sermons greaL prelaLes llsLened
and from whom Lhey begged advlce. Pllda was Lhe 11
Lh
chlld ln a noble famlly and was glven as a LlLhe Lo
Lhe Church aL Lhe age of elghL and was cared for aL Lhe 8enedlcLlne monasLery of SL ulslbod. AlLhough
she galned a Lhorough groundlng ln LaLln she was malnly self-LaughL ln developlng her undersLandlng of
ChrlsLlanlLy, muslc and language. She regarded her LhoughLs and spoken words as revelaLory and also
developed a secreL language based on LaLln whlch was used as a mysLlcal form of communlcaLlon when
she became Lhe abbess of her own convenL.
lrom early chlldhood Plldegarde had vlslons whlch occurred when she was consclous and began when
she was a small chlld ln con[uncLlon wlLh deblllLaLlng llfe-LhreaLenlng lllnesses. She kepL Lhem secreL for
40 years unLll she was persuaded Lo wrlLe Lhem down. 1hese vlslons were recorded ln books and cov-
ered Lhe whole of salvaLlon hlsLory from Lhe beglnnlng of creaLlon Lo Lhe end ln heaven. 1o accompany
Lhe books she commlssloned Lhe palnLlng of each vlslon aL her dlrecLlon. Modern lnLerpreLers of Pllde-
garde have been sLruck by Lhe way she always afflrmed LhaL her vlslons were a glfL from Cod whlle dls-
counLlng herself as a poor llLLle female flgure"- physlcally weak, unlearned wlLhouL sLaLus as fallen Lve.
1hls however was Lhe only way a woman aL Lhe Llme could galn a volce l.e. by golng along wlLh Lhe sub-
[ugaLlon of women because of Lhelr lnherenL lnferlorlLy and prlmary role ln Lhe lall. As a propheL,
auLhorlLy was noL seen Lo be ln her name buL she was Lhe mouLh plece used by Cod, desplLe her weak-
ness. Cnce valldaLed as a propheL by ope Lugenle lll Plldegarde could and dld speak wlLh a Lhunderous
volce Lo Lhe greaLesL men of her day, alLhough Lhere was some opposlLlon. Many soughL her ouL humbly
however Lo ask for her prayers and lnslghLs abouL Lhe fuLure.
AparL from her vlslons, Plldegarde was exLremely glfLed ln muslc, language, and sclence, as well she had
enormous wlll power Lo conLend wlLh Lhe many baLLles agalnsL powerful eccleslasLlcs. When Cod spoke
Lo her he addressed her as a human person noL as a male or female, buL neverLheless Plldegarde's con-
cepL of gender ln creaLlon and Lhe fall ls dlfflculL Lo work ouL. lL seems as lf she subscrlbed Lo Lhe subser-
vlence of women ln marrlage as Lhey were physlcally weaker and ln need of proLecLlon. Also as Lhe male
was seen Lo be Lhe sower of Lhe seed ln concepLlon and woman only a nurLurer, Lhls dlcLaLed an hlerar-
chlcal soclal order so wlves musL obey Lhelr husbands. 1hls dlfference conLlnued ln Lhe Church and
women were Lhus excluded from Lhe prlesLhood. neverLheless on a cosmlc level she saw LhaL boLh men
and women were equal. lnLeresLlngly she held LhaL class hlerarchy ln socleLy was qulLe accepLable. lur-
Lher she held LhaL Lhose who marrled, alLhough capable of redempLlon, were of a lower order and
would llve ln a lower parL of heaven Lhan Lhe cellbaLes. noL surprlslngly she sLrongly encouraged ope
Cregory's reform LhaL Lrled Lo lmpose cellbacy on Lhe prlesLhood.
Per Lheology of Lhe femlnlne was seen Lhrough her use of Lhe unlversal church as female Lhe dlvlne flg-
ures of wlsdom and charlLy. 1hls gave her nuns a rellglous ldeal whlch dld away wlLh female lnferlorlLy
13
whlle noL offendlng Lhe orLhodox vlew. 8eLween 1138 and 1170 when ln her slxLles and sevenLles she
conducLed four preachlng Lours LhroughouL Cermany malnly denounclng clerlcal corrupLlon and calllng
for reform. So Lhrough uslng Lhe model of Lhe weak woman who propheslzed she was able Lo Leach,
preach and wrlLe wlLhouL offendlng male domlnance.
1he 12
Lh
and 13
Lh
cenLurles were Llmes of rellglous revlval characLerlzed by Lhe deslre of many Lo llve
close Lo Lhe aposLollc ldeals of poverLy, chasLlLy and servlce Lo oLhers. As we have seen Lhe cellbacy and
worLhlness of prlesLs had been emphaslzed by ope Cregory vll ln hls reforms of Lhe prevlous cenLury.
new rellglous orders for men arose ln response Lo Lhese ldeals buL Lhe opporLunlLles for women had
become llmlLed. ConvenLs aLLached Lo Lhe new orders grudglngly begun Lo accommodaLe Lhe large
numbers of women clamourlng Lo enLer Lhe rellglous llfe buL by Lhe end of Lhe cenLury lL was ordered
LhaL no new convenLs were Lo be opened for women. A long campalgn Lo dlsclpllne nuns was under-
Laken and a reglme of sLrlcL enclosure was enforced. noneLheless Lhe alm Lo resLrlcL Lhe lnsLlLuLlon of
new communlLles falled and by Lhe end of Lhe Mlddle Ages Lhere were nearly as many women as men
rellglous on Lhe conLlnenL.
lrom Lhe 12
Lh
cenLury Lhe secular rulers had been burnlng Lhose who refused Lo acknowledge CaLholl-
clsm. Alarmed by Lhe heresles sprlnglng up ln Lhe Church, parLlcularly Lhe Waldenslans and Lhe CaLhars,
Lhe auLhorlLles abandoned lLs opposlLlon Lo caplLal punlshmenL. As a resulL Lhe permanenL Lrlbunal of
Lhe lnqulslLlon was esLabllshed and Lhls came Lo be run by Lhe uomlnlcans. Whlle many counLrles would
noL admlL Lhe lnqulslLlon, lL became almosL a naLlonal lnsLlLuLlon ln Spaln where lL was conLrolled by
royalLy.
ln Lhe 13
Lh
cenLury Lhe lranclscans and Lhe uomlnlcan lrlars were lnsLlLuLed and domlnaLed Lheologlcal
LhoughL. 8oLh Lhe lranclscans and uomlnlcans played a large parL ln Lhe unlverslLles of arls, 8ologna,
and Cxford. 1hls shlfL of scholarshlp from monasLery Lo unlverslLy excluded women and broughL a de-
cllne ln Lhe educaLlonal sLandard of nuns.
1he LhoughL of SL lrancls of Asslsl (1182-1226) was malnly occupled wlLh Lhe broLherhood of all crea-
Llon. lurLher he held Lo a concepL of Lhe lndlvldual worLh of all humans, an ldea ln lLs lnfancy aL Lhe
Llme. Many of hls followers Lended Lo see hls vlslon of freedom ln poverLy as a new rellglon and conse-
quenLly Lhe church was very keen Lo absorb and conLrol hls LhoughL. lurLher lL was seen Lo be a counLer
Lo Lhe hereLlcal Waldenslan MovemenL whlch held Lo Lhe same concepL of poverLy and humlllLy. Pls dls-
clple, H, (3-*$ (1194-1233) appears Lo have caughL hls splrlL more Lhan anyone else. SL lrancls Lurned Lo
her for advlce on more Lhan one occaslon and she was one of Lhe few people he spoke Lo concernlng
Lhe sLlgmaLa he had recelved. Clare began a rellglous communlLy uslng a 8ule of Llfe she drew up follow-
lng lrancls' concepL of absoluLe poverLy whlch afLer much anlmoslLy was flnally accepLed by Lhe pope.
Per rule ls seen as a unlque documenL and an expresslon of lndlvldual freedom.
1he Lwo maln heresles from Lhe 11Lh cenLury ln Lurope, Lhe Waldenslans and Lhe CaLhars or Alblgen-
slans allowed women a far greaLer role and sLaLus Lhan dld Lhe CaLhollc Church. 1hls slLuaLlon ls of
course remlnlscenL of earller heresles parLlcularly Lhose of CnosLlclsm. Llke Lhe CnosLlcs Lhe lnformaLlon
we have of Lhese secLs ls malnly found ln Lhe polemlc agalnsL Lhem as Lhelr wrlLlngs were burnL wlLh
16
Lhelr followers whenever posslble. 1he Waldenslans began ln 1173 and were followers of eLer valdes
who advocaLed Lhe aposLollc llfe of volunLary poverLy and preachlng Lhe gospel. AL flrsL Lhls group were
sancLloned by 8ome buL were cauLloned noL Lo preach as LhaL was a prlesLly prerogaLlve. Powever Lhey
belleved LhaL Lhe gospels could be preached by everybody and Lhe prollferaLlon of llLeraLure from abouL
Lhls Llme repeaLedly condemned Lhe Waldenslans for Lhe unauLhorlzed preachlng Lhey advocaLed for all
bellevers. An unauLhorlzed layperson who preached was labeled a hereLlc and should be LreaLed as Lhe
anLl-ChrlsL. An unauLhorlzed woman who preached was all Lhls and more - a LhreaL Lo Lhe soclal order of
Lhe sLaLe and church. MosL of Lhe Waldenslans were wlped ouL by Lhe lnqulslLlon.
CaLharlsm was Lhe maln rellglous dlssenL of Lhe Mlddle Ages and was wldespread LhroughouL ChrlsLen-
dom. Crlglnally LhoughL Lo have orlglnaLed ln unchrlsLlan bellefs, lL ls recognlzed Loday as a CnosLlc
ChrlsLlan secL wlLh ChrlsLlan rlLes and orlglns. lL consldered lLself Lo be Lhe Lrue church ln opposlLlon Lo
Lhe CaLhollc church of false propheLs, mlnlsLers of evll and Lhe AnLl-ChrlsL - all famlllar Lhemes we hear
several hundred years laLer ln Lhe 8eformaLlon. 1he Lerm CaLhar was flrsL applled ln norLhern Lurope ln
abouL 1160 and lL wenL under oLher names ln dlfferenL reglons. Around Albl Lhey were called Alblgen-
slans. 1he CaLhars held Lo doceLlsm l.e. ChrlsL was noL Lruly human, deflance of Lhe papacy, a refusal Lo
veneraLe Lhe cross and holy plcLures, a re[ecLlon of all CaLhollc sacramenLs, a slmple blesslng of bread
lnsLead of Lhe LucharlsL, and Lhe pracLlce of a slngle sacramenL - bapLlsm ln Lhe Poly SplrlL by Lhe laylng
on of hands. Women parLlclpaLed ln Lhe rellglous llfe and were allowed Lo preach Lo oLher women. 1he
CaLhars belleved LhaL women had recelved from ChrlsL Lhe ablllLy, [usL as men had done, Lo absolve sln-
ners by performlng bapLlsm ln Lhe Poly SplrlL. MosL CaLhars led lawful and lndusLrlous llves and were
known as 8ellevers or Lhe LlecL. 1here was an organlzed group of ordalned nuns and monks called Cood
Women and Cood Men who boLh performed bapLlsm - buL Lhe women only lf a Cood Man was absenL.
1he concepL of an hlerarchlcal clergy was reLalned over men and women who llved ln rellglous commu-
nlLles and Look Lhe usual vows of poverLy, chasLlLy and absLlnence. unllke CaLhollc nuns Lhe women
were free Lo come and go as Lhey llked, so Lhey had a pasLoral mlsslon Lo Lhe poor and slck and usually
offered accommodaLlon and meals. Some communlLy houses were run as hosplces and almshouses.
1he CaLhars were belng burned ln many areas ln lrance, Polland and Lhe Cermany of Loday. 1he maln
CaLhar area was LhaL of Lanquedoc where Lhe LerrlLorlal prlnces LoleraLed Lhem and Lhelr mlnlsLry.
Pence lL vlrLually became Lhe esLabllshed church ln Lhls area. 1hls changed ln Lhe soclal and pollLlcal up-
heaval LhaL followed Lhe Alblgenslan Crusades Lo wlpe ouL Lhe CaLhars (1209-29), Lhe ensulng conquesL
of Lhe lrench and Lhe arrlval of Lhe lnqulslLlon afLer 1233. 1he Alblgenslan Crusades were conducLed
wlLh unbellevable cruelLy by dlsrepuLable soldlers who were glven a plenary lndulgence for forLy days
servlce, plus a moraLorlum on Lhelr debLs, wlLh Lhe posslblllLy of Lhe redlsLrlbuLlon of Lhe hereLlc's lands
among Lhe crusaders. 1he MovemenL flnally dlsappeared ln Lhe 14
Lh
cenLury.
ln Lhe 1230's loopholes were closed ln canon law by whlch abbesses had exerclsed elemenLs of pasLoral
offlce and Lhus greaL power as we have seen. Women were sLrlcLly forbldden from publlc Leachlng and
preachlng, Louchlng sacred vessels, censlng Lhe alLar or Laklng communlon Lo Lhe slck. 1he male lalLy
were also banned from preachlng ln 1234, whlle Lhe reasons glven for Lhe ban on women was seL ouL ln
a manual ln 1277: - (1) Women are lacklng ln sense (2) Lhey are lnferlor and sub[ecL Lo men (3) lf Lhey
17
preach Lhey promoLe lusL (4) Lhey are forbldden Lo preach ln memory of Lve who flrsL preached and
caused Lhe downfall of Lhe whole world.
1hese reasons alLhough noL new had been promulgaLed by Lhe mosL famous and lnfluenLlal uomlnlcan
of hls Llme, 1homas Aqulnas (1223-1274) whose Lheology has been of greaL lmporLance ln CaLhollclsm
ever slnce. Aqulnas vlewed women as more swayed by passlons and more prone Lo lusL Lhan men. 1hls
vlew affecLs Aqulnas' ChrlsLology and vlew of Lhe prlesLhood l.e. ChrlsL had Lo be male Lo represenL Lhe
headshlp of Lhe new Adam because only Lhe male possesses compleLe humanness of soul and body. Pe
furLher used Lhe recenLly redlscovered phllosophy of ArlsLoLle ln hls Lheology. 1he Creek Lhlnker had an
exLremely derogaLory aLLlLude Lo women whom he consldered Lo be noL only deformed males buL lnfe-
rlor ln soul, mlnd and wlll as well and as a consequence he quesLloned Lhe reason for Lhelr exlsLence.
AdmlLLedly whlle lncorporaLlng ArlsLoLle's ldeas, 1homas malnLalned AugusLlne's dlsLlncLlon beLween
women's equallLy as lmage of Cod ln her lnner naLure and her sub[ecLed sLaLus as woman ln her pro-
creaLlve role.
So lL can be seen LhaL acLlvlLles of a woman llke Plldegarde ln Lhe prevlous cenLury, even Lhough ac-
knowledged as a propheL, becomes hard Lo lmaglne 100 years laLe. ln Lhe mld 14
Lh
cenLury, CaLherlne of
Slenna dld lnLervene Lo end Lhe lrench Avlgnon capLlvlLy of Lhe pope buL she dld so ln a prlvaLe maLLer
by audlences and leLLers.
uesplLe Lhe resLrlcLlons placed on Lhe foundaLlon of new rellglous orders aL Lhe LaLeran Councll of 1213,
Lhere remalned lncreaslng numbers of women seeklng Lo llve a rellglous llfe of aposLollc poverLy and
servlce ln Lhe clLles. I)$ 0$C='%$ 4"J$#$%, appeared ln Lhe Low CounLrles wlLh dlspensaLlon obLalned
by Lhe pope early ln Lhe 13
Lh
cenLury and were able Lo spread as far souLh as Cologne and SLrasbourg
and also Lo Lhe Cerman-speaklng easL. 1hese women were noL enclosed buL adopLed poverLy and chas-
LlLy whlle performlng works of charlLy and were parLlcularly assoclaLed wlLh Leper hosplLals and schools.
1he 8egulnes dld noL follow any esLabllshed rule and Lhe llfe Lhey led, llvlng from Lhe work of Lhelr
hands, was halled by Lhe Lheologlans of Lhe Llme as Lhe perfecL form of Lhe ChrlsLlan llfe. 1he develop-
menL of Lhls movemenL was parL of a deslre Lo democraLlze rellglon, a reallzaLlon LhaL ChrlsLlanlLy was
properly a way of llfe accesslble Lo all.
1he MovemenL gradually dled ouL afLer much male opposlLlon and suppresslon. Powever because of Lhe
lnconslsLenL pollcles of Lhe popes some communlLles conLlnued ln Lhe Low CounLrles and Lhe 8hlneland
unLll qulLe recenLly. 1he llfe-sLyle of Lhese women led ln general Lo Lhe developmenL of a splrlLuallLy LhaL
was of Lhe world and Lhey all wroLe ln Lhelr everyday language. Many of Lhe early 8egulne wrlLers' splrl-
Lual orlenLaLlon was Lo mysLlclsm and so mosL of Lhe early wrlLlngs of Lhese 8egulnes were mysLlcal
LexLs LhaL showed a greaLer splrlLual lnwardness Lhan allowed by Lhe church. ln Lhls mysLlcal llLeraLure,
Cod could be elLher male or female.
1he concepL of mysLlclsm ls Lo flnd Cod wlLhln oneself Lhrough a process of self-empLylng or self-
abnegaLlon and conLemplaLlon. MysLlcs had Lo be very careful wlLh Lhelr descrlpLlons however as even
MelsLer LckharL, one of Lhe mosL famous scholars of hls day, was denounced afLer hls deaLh. 1he prob-
lem from a clerlcal vlewpolnL ls LhaL mysLlclsm really cuLs ouL Lhe necesslLy for any clerlcal lnLermedlary
18
beLween Lhe human and Cod. As a unlon wlLh Cod was open Lo all lL was seen as subverslve as lL freed
rellglon from lnsLlLuLlons and gave lL a cenLer ln Lhe lndlvldual.
All Lhe mysLlcs from Lhe 8hlneland were lnfluenced by Lhe LhoughL of AugusLlne of Plppo and LasLern
negaLlve Lheology, whlle Lhe laLer 8egulnes llke MechLlld of Magdaburg were furLher lnfluenced by Lhe
romanLlclsm of 8ernard of Clalrvaux (1091-1133) a ClsLerclan and Lhe mosL famous and lnfluenLlal monk
of hls day. Whlle Lhe 8egulne works are enLlrely unsysLemaLlc and no new Lheologlcal LhoughL ls ex-
pressed, Lhey all use language Lo show LhaL all speech abouL Cod has Lo be meLaphorlcal. 1hey arLlculaLe
whaL many have felL, a sense of awe aL Lhe gulf whlch separaLes Cod from humans and Lhe wonder of
Cod's love. When lmages are used Lo speak of Cod Lhere can be no preLense of absoluLe accuracy and
no lmage should be regarded as a sLaLemenL of facL. 1he problems many ChrlsLlans have wlLh Lhe de-
scrlpLlon of Cod as laLher, flxlng on lL as lmplylng Lhe maleness of Lhe ulvlnlLy, may be eased lf LhaL lm-
age ls [usL one among many. lndeed many mysLlcs, boLh men and women, speak of Cod as MoLher or
arenL.
lrom Lhe 12
Lh
cenLury Lhere was a growlng lnLeresL ln purgaLory. 1hls caughL Lhe lmaglnaLlon of plous
women who found a mlnlsLry Lo Lhe sufferlng dead. 1hls fulfllled Lhelr LradlLlonal role as mourners and
Lhey could offer Lhelr prayers, Lears, lllnesses and asceLlc feaLs for Lhe salvaLlon of Lhelr loved ones.
LaLer Lhey could buy lndulgences Lo Lhls end. urgaLory was LradlLlonally a place of sufferlng as punlsh-
menL and forglveness enLered by Lhe elecL before Lhey enLered heaven. 1he marLyrs ln Lhe early church,
llke erpeLua and lellclLas, were seen as Lhe flrsL wlLnesses Lo purgaLory and Lhe marLyred by Lhelr
prayers have a speclal rlghL Lo dellver Lhe helpless dead from LormenL.
Plldegarde wroLe a whole book devoLed Lo purgaLory and Lhe 8egulne movemenL became very lnvolved.
1helr 13
Lh
llLeraLure emphaslzed prayer for Lhose ln purgaLory as a cenLral obllgaLlon. MechLlld of
Magdaburg, who we wlll look aL nexL, saw LhaL Lhe glfLed soul should work for slnners and Lhose ln pur-
gaLory as well as Lhe needs of all Lhe llvlng and Lhe dead. Mass was seen as Lhe mosL effecLlve weapon
for Lhose ln purgaLory whlch of course only male clerlcs could perform. 8uylng masses as lndulgences
came Lo be an enormous source of lncome for monasLerles. 1he Crusades were also seen as a form of
lndulgences, even for Lhose ln hell noL [usL ln purgaLory.
4$;),'3A "G 4-CA-B=*C was born abouL 1208 lnLo a noble famlly ln Saxony. She made Lhe polnL more
Lhan once ln her wrlLlngs LhaL she was unlearned. 1hls meanL LhaL she knew llLLle LaLln and had no Lraln-
lng ln Lheology, whlch mlghL lnvesL her word wlLh rellglous auLhorlLy. AL Lhe age of 12 she belleved she
was greeLed by Lhe Poly SplrlL whlch was her expresslon for Lhe ouLpourlng of dlvlne favour and whlch
conLlnued dally for abouL Lhree decades. AbouL 1230 ln her early 20's she wenL Lo Magdaburg Lo be-
come a 8egulne. ln her 40's she obeyed Cod's command Lo wrlLe down her vlslons buL we know llLLle of
her llfe as a 8egulne alLhough Lhere ls some evldence LhaL for a Llme she was Lhe superlor of her com-
munlLy. As she sufferlng Lhrough perlods of slckness, she reacLed sLrongly Lo crlLlclsm and LhreaLs
agalnsL her book. All Lhese Lrlals she saw as an lmlLaLlon of ChrlsL Lhe brldegroom's redempLlve suffer-
lng.
19
MechLlld noL only reslsLed Lhose who challenged her vlslons buL developed a general vlew of Lhe sLaLe
of ChrlsLlanlLy of Lhe day as corrupLed by slnful clerlcs and rellglous whlch dldn'L endear her Lo Lhem.
She shared wlLh Plldegarde and Lhe orLhodox ChrlsLlanlLy of her day Lhe general assumpLlon abouL sal-
vaLlon hlsLory. 8uL where Plldegard's vlslons survey Lhe enLlre sweep of Lhese evenLs, MechLlld's mysLl-
clsm saw her concenLraLe on Lhe lnLense lnLlmaLe drama of Lhe soul ln lLs ecsLaLlc fllghL Lo and unlon
wlLh Cod Lhe beloved lnLernally. 1o descrlbe Lhls love drama beLween Lhe soul and Cod she used Lhe
mysLlcal readlngs of Lhe Song of Songs and Lhe poeLry of courLly love of Lhe Llme. ln Lhe salvaLlon drama
of creaLlon, Lhe fall and redempLlon, MechLlld does noL belleve LhaL women are ln any way lnferlor Lo
men ln Lhelr splrlLual naLure. Powever llke her conLemporarles she accepLs women's marglnallzed place
ln socleLy as a glven, buL relaLes lL noL Lo dlvlne punlshmenL buL Lo dlvlne favour because women are
less LempLed by worldly power and far more llkely Lo share ChrlsL's sufferlng.
WlLh K=3'-% "G :"*F';) we move Lo Lhe 14
Lh
cenLury Lhrlvlng clLy of norwlch, Lngland. We also encoun-
Ler a Lhlrd form of Lhe rellglous llfe, LhaL of Lhe anchoress. We do noL know !ullan's real name and hardly
anyLhlng of her llfe ouLslde Lhls enclosure. Per name was Laken from Lhe name of Lhe church of SL !ullan
Lo whlch her anchor hold was aLLached. She was born abouL 1342, probably Lo a prosperous famlly of
norwlch. She musL have developed a serlous devoLlonal llfe when young, as she Lells us abouL Lhree glfLs
LhaL she prayed for - Lo see ChrlsL's passlon as lf she were really presenL, a slckness Lo Lhe polnL of
deaLh, and Lhree wounds, conLrlLlon, compasslon, and a full-hearLed longlng for Cod. 8eglnnlng on May
8 1373 when !ullan Lells us she was LhlrLy and a half years old she experlenced an answer Lo her prayers.
lor seven days she was crlLlcally lll and Lhen she experlenced Lhe beglnnlng of whaL she descrlbed as 16
'shewlngs' of ChrlsL's dylng on Lhe cross, as well as Cod's relaLlon Lo and love for us.
AfLer havlng seen ChrlsL's sufferlng ln vlvld deLall unLll hls deaLh and resurrecLlon !ullan was Lransformed
Lo healLh. ShorLly afLer Lhls experlence she wroLe down whaL she had seen and experlenced as well as
Lhe lnLerpreLaLlons LhaL had been glven Lo her and her reflecLlons upon Lhem. She spenL Lhe nexL 23
years ponderlng on her vlslons and wrlLlng a much-expanded LexL. lL ls noL known when she enLered Lhe
anchorage buL lL was probably afLer Lhe vlslons, as Lhe sollLude of Lhe llfe would have enabled her Lo
concenLraLe on her analysls of Lhese profound evenLs. As an anchoress, !ullan was enclosed ln a room
aLLached Lo Lhe church for Lhe resL of her llfe, never Lo emerge unLll she dled. 8uL lL was noL an lsolaLed
or mlserable llfe. A wlndow lnLo Lhe church enabled her Lo parLlclpaLe ln Lhe llLurgy and anoLher wlndow
lnLo an aLLached parlour allowed her Lo counsel many who came seeklng her advlce and prayers, one of
whom was Margery kempe anoLher famous mysLlc. 1he local rellglous auLhorlLles provlded her wlLh
slmple buL adequaLe food and cloLhlng. So !ullan's maln Lask was Lo consLrucL her own self-dlsclpllned
llfe of prayer and medlLaLlon.
Llke Plldegarde and MechLlld, !ullan felL Lhe need Lo [usLlfy her exLraordlnary vlslons and her wrlLlng as a
woman normally excluded from hlgher Lheologlcal educaLlon and publlc Leachlng auLhorlLy. Llke her ear-
ller compaLrloLs she dld so by denlgraLlng herself as an lgnoranL, feeble and frall woman who neverLhe-
less has been commanded by Cod Lo wrlLe of her experlences for Lhe beneflL of Lhe whole ChrlsLlan
people, ln oLher words Lhese women descrlbed Lhemselves as propheLs, Lhe only accepLable way of
preachlng for women. ?eL !ullan does dlsLlngulsh beLween whaL has been revealed from Cod and her
own volce ln whlch she ponders on quesLlons Lo whlch she has recelved as yeL lncompleLe answers.
20
!ullan asks llke so many before and slnce, 'how can an all powerful and all-lovlng Cod have allowed evll
Lo exlsL'? !ullan sees LhaL Lhe 1rlnlLarlan Cod she comes Lo name as MoLher, laLher and Lord had cre-
aLed Lhe world and everyLhlng ln lL and all LhaL ls exlsLs ls good because of Cod's naLure. ?eL evll sLlll ex-
lsLs! Pow can Lhls be reconclled wlLh dlvlne goodness whlch ls ln all creaLlon? !ullan dlfferenLlaLes hu-
mans lnLo whaL we mlghL call essence and exlsLence. As essence Lhe human ls compleLely good and
unlLed Lo Cod buL ln exlsLence and glven free wlll, humans fall lnLo allenaLlon from Cod and from Lhem-
selves. 1hls fall lnLo allenaLlon ls woundedness for Lhe human who assumes Cod ls very angry for Lhls
fallure. !ullan lnslsLs Lhls ls noL so and Cod does noL blame us for our fall and never sLops lovlng us. We
are never really allenaLed from Cod or from our Lrue naLure. 1he condlLlon for our resLoraLlon wlLh Cod
and our own Lrue selves ls Lhrough Lhe sufferlng of ChrlsL. 1o aLLaln our full splrlLual maLurlLy lL ls neces-
sary Lo experlence Lhls allenaLlon from and resLoraLlon Lo Cod.
uesplLe her opLlmlsm Lhe dllemma of evll remalns for !ullan. Pow can lL be LhaL all wlll be well when evll
and sufferlng are everywhere? She has only Lo look around - ln her Llme Lhe 8lack ueaLh kllled perhaps
Lwo-Lhlrds of Lhe populaLlon of Lurope and one-Lhlrd of LhaL of norwlch, Lhere ls a war beLween Lngland
and lrance LhaL wlll lasL for 100 years, papal schlsm, Lhe moral collapse of Lhe frlars ls occurrlng and Lhe
monasLerles degeneraLlng as Lhey became Lhe greaLesL landholders ln Lngland. lurLher Lhere were Lhe
flrsL Lngllsh hereLlcs, !ohn Wycllffe and Lhe Lollards. Per soluLlon ls a Lyplcal one among Lhe falLhful l.e.
Lry and forgeL Lhe problem of evll and LrusL ln Cod who ls ln conLrol of everyLhlng and has a purpose.
Cod wlll do a greaL deal and everyLhlng wlll be alrlghL.
!ullan LreaLs ChrlsL as MoLher and ln Lhls she was supporLed by Lheologlans such as 8ernard of Clalrvaux,
Anselm, Aqulnas, ClemenL of Alexandrla and oLher mysLlcs llke Margery kempe and 8lchard 8olle. 1hls
ldenLlflcaLlon of ChrlsL as MoLher came from her ldenLlflcaLlon of Lhe 2
nd
person ln Lhe 1rlnlLy as Lhe
femlnlne Wlsdom, and her undersLandlng of Lhe Church as MoLher Church, Lhe body of ChrlsL - ChrlsL ls
Lhe Church, Lhe Church ls Lhe moLher, ChrlsL ls wlsdom, and wlsdom ls Lhe femlnlne. Cod ls Lherefore
MoLher and laLher. 1herefore cenLral Lo her vlews ls LhaL dlvlne love ls lncapable of real re[ecLlon and
wlll never cease and so she can safely say LhaL 'all wlll be well'.
As one of Lhe mosL famous Lngllsh mysLlcs, !ullan was very senslble and unllke many conLlnenLal mysLlcs
noL glven Lo lncredlble feaLs of asceLlclsm. none of Lhe oLher Lngllsh mysLlcs were elLher and perhaps
Lhls had someLhlng Lo do wlLh Lhelr naLlonallLy! ln her books, Lhe flrsL wrlLLen by a woman ln Lngllsh, she
glves no prellmlnary exerclses for mysLlcal unlon wlLh Cod ln Lhe soul nor does she descrlbe Lhe ulLlmaLe
ecsLasy of Lhls unlon as many oLhers have done. erhaps Lhls was because she was only concerned wlLh
Lelllng Cod's revelaLlon whlch when lL was gone lefL no slgn or Loken. All LhaL she descrlbes ls falLh LhaL
leads by prayer lnLo Lhe acLual experlence of oneness wlLh Cod.
Cver Lhe lasL cenLurles of Lhe medleval world Lhere was a change LhaL has earned Lhe name of Lhe fem-
lnlzaLlon of ChrlsLlanlLy. 1hls was a movemenL more of hearL and soul Lhan of rellglous lnsLlLuLlons, al-
Lhough Lhese Loo were lnvolved. lL emerged mosL deeply noL only from Lhe mysLlcs buL as well from Lhe
palnLers and poeLs of Lhe 8enalssance. 1hls move dld noL abrogaLe Lhe male-cenLredness values of
ChrlsLlanlLy buL lL dld compllcaLe Lhem. uesplLe Lhe papal bulls, Lhe burnlngs and persecuLlons, laLe me-
dleval ChrlsLlanlLy heard an unprecedenLed range of female volces. 1hls was noL because Lhese women
21
were on some sorL of a femlnlsL push, buL because Lhey were devouL ChrlsLlans. 1hls movemenL dlsap-
peared ln Lhe 8eformaLlon and CounLer-8eformaLlon.
neverLheless Lhere ls undoubLedly an undercurrenL Lhrough Lhe ages, of women and men's deslre for a
femlnlne verslon of Cod. 1hls led Lo Lhe veneraLlon ln some secLs of Lhe vlrgln Mary as a goddess, Lhe
Poly SplrlL as female and aLLempLs Lo have a dlvlne moLher ln Lhe 1rlnlLy. lL has ofLen been argued LhaL
when Lhe concepL of Lhe Poly SplrlL as femlnlne fell away as we saw ln Lhe very early days, Lhe culL of
Lhe vlrgln replaced lL and Mary became Lhe Lhlrd dlvlne person as 1heoLokos or MoLher of Cod. A new
devoLlon Lo Lhe vlrgln came abouL ln Lhe 13
Lh
and 14
Lh
cenLurles ln con[uncLlon wlLh an emphasls on Lhe
lnfanL !esus and ChrlsL's humanlLy. 1he ChrlsLlan devoLlonal llfe became more cenLred on Lhe LucharlsL,
and Lhls has ofLen been seen as lnsplred by women mysLlcs. We have seen Lhe concepL used by !ullan of
norwlch of !esus as MoLher and male rellglous auLhorlLles also uslng maLernal lmagery. 1he one who
used Lhls lmagery more Lhan any oLher was Lhe 12
Lh
cenLury flgure, 8ernard of Clalrvaux. Pe used
MoLher Lo descrlbe !esus, Moses, eLer, aul, blshops and abboLs. ChrlsL who saves Lhrough hls blood
was llkened Lo a moLher who feeds a chlld Lhrough mllk.
So lL can be seen LhaL lL was noL women who orlglnaLed female lmages of Cod, nor women wrlLers.
1herefore Lhere ls no need Lo asserL LhaL Lhe femlnlzaLlon of Cod ls a femlnlne lnslghL. Moreover lL ls noL
clear LhaL women are parLlcularly drawn Lo femlnlne lmagery, alLhough Lhls ls usually assumed. ln facL
women may have been less aLLracLed Lhan men Lo devoLlon Lo Lhe vlrgln as lL does seem LhaL monks
were more aLLracLed Lo female lmagery Lhan nuns who preferred symbols of Lhe baby !esus and adoles-
cenL ChrlsL.
A correlaLlon has been aLLempLed aL Llmes beLween Lhe abundance of female lmages and real opporLu-
nlLles for women and lL has been argued LhaL here a real dlsLlncLlon ls losL. 1haL ls LhaL Lhe female
(woman) and Lhe femlnlne are noL Lhe same. 1he former ls a person of one gender, Lhe laLLer may be an
aspecL of a person of elLher gender.
<-*, L
lrom Lhe early 14
Lh
cenLury greaL opposlLlon and complalnLs abouL Lhe church and Lhe papacy began
wlLh demands for Lhelr reform. ln Lngland Lhls saw Lhe emergence of !ohn Wycllffe (1320-1384) who
belleved LhaL Lhe secular ruler was superlor Lo Lhe pope. 1hls naLurally pleased Lhe Lngllsh rulers aL Lhe
Llme and galned hlm Lhelr supporL. Pe promoLed Lhese and oLher vlews whlch anLlclpaLed many of Lhe
key-docLrlnes argued agalnsL ln Lhe 8eformaLlon e.g. LransubsLanLlaLlon, clerlcal cellbacy, consecraLlon
of rellcs, prayers for Lhe dead, pllgrlmages, lmages, warfare and confesslon Lo a prlesL. 1he Lwo chlef
Leachlngs of Wycllffe were Lhe emphasls of preachlng over Lhe sacramenLs and LhaL Lhe 8lble should be
ln Lhe hands of everyone ln Lhelr own language. ConsequenLly he organlzed a LranslaLlon of Lhe 8lble
lnLo Lngllsh for Lhe flrsL Llme.
As he gaLhered followers Lo hls cause he began sendlng ouL lay and clerlcal preachers, Lhe Lollards, Lo
promoLe hls vlews. 1hese supporLers wlLh Lhelr leader were blamed for Lhe easanL's 8evolL of 1381.
AlLhough Wycllffe remalned unLouched, many of Lhe Lollards were burned as was hls exhumed body
several years afLer hls deaLh. Whlle many women [olned Lhls MovemenL and helped dlsLrlbuLe llLeraLure
22
Lhere ls also evldence of a female neLwork Leachlng Lollardy Lo famlly members and nelghbours. Women
Lhus helped Wycllffe's vlews Lo survlve and 100 years laLer hls concepL agalnsL Lhe subordlnaLlon of Lhe
Lngllsh Church Lo 8ome sLarLed Lo blend wlLh Lhose of Lhe conLlnenLal reformers.
!an Puss (1369-1413), Lhe 8avarlan, was almosL excluslvely lnfluenced by Wycllffe desplLe Lhe presence
of earller 8avarlan reformers. Pe became Lhe spokesman for Lhe Czech people agalnsL Lhe predoml-
nance ln Lhe governmenL of Cermans. Pe Lherefore became lnvolved ln confllcL wlLh Lhe church as well
as Lhe sLaLe. Pus spoke agalnsL lndulgences dlrecLly uslng Wycllffe's LhoughL LhaL humans obLaln for-
glveness of slns noL by lndulgences buL by real repenLance. LxcommunlcaLed and persecuLed by Lhe
Church, Pus and hls followers Lrled very hard for reconclllaLlon buL ln 1414 he was Lrlcked lnLo aLLendlng
Lhe Councll of ConsLance where he was condemned and burned Lo deaLh. Among hls lasL words are al-
leged Lo have been 'ln 100 years Cod wlll ralse up a man whose calls for reform cannoL be suppressed'.
Pls deaLh lnlLlaLed Lhe PusslLe wars from 1419-36, whlch Lhe PusslLes only losL because of dlsunlLy
among Lhem. 1hls led Lo rellglous lnsLablllLy ln Lhls reglon so LhaL lL was here LhaL Lhe 30 years war over
Lhe 8eformaLlon laLer began ln 1618.
All Lhe problems Lhe Church was havlng wlLh dlssenLers led Lo Lhe concluslon ln Lhe mlnds of many by
Lhe 14
Lh
cenLury LhaL someLhlng new and dreadful had appeared - dlabollcal sorcery, Lhe slngle greaLesL
LhreaL Lo ChrlsLlanlLy. lL was belleved LhaL Lhe uevll wlLh hls evll angels resldlng ln Lhe earLh's aLmos-
phere caused all manner of sLrlfe - famlnes, wars and plagues - and wlLches were hls handmaldens. 1he
early organlzed hereLlcs llke Lhe CaLhars were seen as devll worshlppers. 1he burnlng of wlLches was an
appalllng ouLcome of Lhe Church's bld for conLrol. CaLhollclsm was noL alone ln Lhls regard as Lhe roLes-
LanLs laLer also burnL Lhelr falr share. 1he numbers of wlLches burned or execuLed over several cenLurles
ls dlfflculL Lo ascerLaln buL perhaps beLween 40,000 and 100,000, malnly women. 1hey were almosL cer-
Lalnly lnnocenL people who were LorLured, confessed and burned usually havlng been Lurned ln by Lhelr
supersLlLlous or vengeful nelghbours. lL has been suggesLed by 20
Lh
cenLury femlnlsLs LhaL wlLch burnlng
was also an expresslon of mlsogyny and a way Lo keep women under conLrol- buL on Lhe oLher hand,
wlLches were usually denounced by oLher women.
1he close of Lhe Mlddle Ages was a Llme of lnLense rellglous llfe when people were desperaLely looklng
for Lhe assurance of salvaLlon. Worshlp servlces lncreased enormously, asLrology was unlversally popu-
lar from Lhe pope and klngs down, Lhere was greaL demand for rellglous llLeraLure and for works of com-
forL ln Lhe face of lllness and deaLh, Lhe veneraLlon of Lhe vlrgln and Lhe SalnLs lncreased. - Mary was
deplcLed as parL of everyday llfe and close Lo people, an lncrease ln pllgrlmages also Look place Lo 8ome
and alesLlne lf posslble and oLherwlse Lo Lhe places where rellcs reslded and local mlracles had oc-
curred. Cverrldlng all Lhese endeavours was Lhe lndulgence, Lhe declslve way of securlng salvaLlon - and
lndlvlduals and famllles boughL and gaLhered as many as posslble.
neverLheless Lhe need for reform was wldespread amongsL Lhe upper clergy and educaLed laymen. ln
Lhe 13
Lh
cenLury aLLempLs were made Lo reform Lhe papacy. 1hls was underLaken by counclls of blshops
LhaL belleved Lhey were superlor Lo Lhe papacy. 1here was even a brlef reconclllaLlon wlLh Lhe Creek
CrLhodox Church, whlch broke down very qulckly. 1he ouLcome was LhaL Lhe papacy Lrlumphed over Lhe
counclls and Lhe ldea of power sharlng Lhey had promoLed was defeaLed.
23
A movemenL of lmmense lmporLance of Lhe 8enalssance aL Lhls Llme was LhaL of Pumanlsm. 1hls Chrls-
Llan Pumanlsm was concerned wlLh scholarshlp, Lhe dlgnlLy of humans and Lhe lmporLance of Lhe lndl-
vldual. 1hls was ln compleLe conLrasL Lo Lhe concepL whlch had prevalled for mlllennla of Lhe prlmacy of
Lhe communlLy. 1hls movemenL developed ln Lhe norLhern lLaly clLles and lLs spread was greaLly asslsLed
by Lhe lnvenLlon of Lhe prlnLlng press. lL was parLlcularly lnfluenced by Lhe redlscovery of Lhe greaL
Lhlnkers of Lhe anclenL world, llke laLo, Pomer and ArlsLoLle whose work had been proLecLed by Lhe
8yzanLlne and lslamlc clvlllzaLlons. WlLh Lhe arrlval of Lhese anclenL Creek works came Lhe new 1esLa-
menL ln lLs orlglnal Creek and many mlsLakes were dlscovered ln Lhe old LaLln LranslaLlons. 1hls so-called
new Learnlng held LhaL Lhrough greaLer knowledge a purer splrlLual LruLh would be found. 1he un-
crowned klng of Lhe humanlsL movemenL was ueslderus Lrasmus of 8oLLerdam (1466-1336). lor nearly
four decades hls wrlLlngs covered a huge fleld embraclng Lhe ChrlsLlan llfe, educaLlon, Lhe meanlng of
scrlpLure, Lhe sLaLe of socleLy and Lhe church and Lhe need for reform. Pundreds of Lhousands of coples
of hls works were clrculaLed and he became probably Lhe world's flrsL besLseller. Pe was even offered a
cardlnal's haL by ope aul lll - a generaLlon laLer he was branded by aul lv as Lhe faLher of all hereLlcs.
lf Lrasmus could have foreseen Lhe ouLcome of Lhe reformers he may have Loned down hls condemna-
Llon somewhaL.
I.9 69E>645IM>:
1he 8eformaLlon blew aparL an enLlre world order and led Lo long Lerm changes and effecLs. lL ls seen Lo
have begun ln 1317 when MarLln LuLher nalled hls 93 Lheses calllng for reform Lo Lhe door of Lhe casLle
church ln WlLLenberg. Lven Lhough reform Look a long Llme Lo fllLer Lhrough Lo mosL people, Lhe chan-
ges whlch occurred ln Lhe ChrlsLlan Church were awesome. 8eally Lhere was more agreemenL beLween
CaLhollcs and roLesLanLs ln Lhelr ldeas of reform Lhan dlverslon and lL has ofLen been sLaLed LhaL lf Lhe
movemenL had begun even 20 years earller lL may have succeeded and Lhere would have been no
schlsm. An ouLcome of Lhe 8eformaLlon was LhaL from 1328-1648 war was endemlc wlLh one brlef res-
plLe ln Lhe flrsL Lwo decades of Lhe 17
Lh
cenLury. 1hese confllcLs were wlLhouL any redeemlng feaLures
and desLroyed much ChrlsLlan falLh, human llfe and maLerlal clvlllzaLlon.
Whlle Lhe causes of Lhe 8eformaLlon were mulLlple and dlverse, Lhe role of lndlvlduals ln Lhe process
was plvoLal. LuLher, Zwlngll, 8ucer, MelancLhon and Calvln, Lhe maln leaders of Lhe roLesLanL reforms
dlsagreed amongsL Lhemselves nearly as much as wlLh Lhe CaLhollc Church. 1he reformlng ldeas of all
Lhe leaders of Lhe 8eformaLlon, roLesLanL and CaLhollc were relaLed Lo an lnward rellglous experlence
LhaL changed Lhelr llves and gave Lhem lncenLlve Lo alLer Lhe llves of oLhers.
Cverall glven Lhe dlvergence of oplnlon ln Lhe roLesLanL ouLlook, perhaps Lhe ma[or Lheme ln lLs 8ef-
ormaLlon was Lhe rlse of Lhe concepL of Lhe freedom of Lhe lndlvldual whlch led Lo Lhe reasserLlon of Lhe
role of Lhe lalLy. Whereas for CaLhollclsm lL became Lhe obedlence Lo Lhe Church ln Lhe cenLrallzed doc-
Lrlnal auLhorlLy of Lhe pope, proposed by lgnaLlus Loyola. A mosL lmporLanL reform runnlng Lhru boLh
movemenLs was Lhe creaLlon of an educaLed clergy whlch led Lo Lhe educaLlon of Lhe people abouL Lhe
falLh.
24
Clerlcal cellbacy was probably Lhe blggesL slngle lssue of Lhe 8eformaLlon, as abouL half Lhe clergy llved
wlLh women as concublnes and Lhelr llleglLlmaLe offsprlng. CLhers lssues of Lhe 8eformers were deslre
Lo have Lhe 8lble as far as posslble ln Lhe language of Lhe people, lndulgences and reform of Lhe papacy.
Women were noL slmply passlve reclplenLs of Lhe 8eformaLlon and Lhe changes lL broughL buL re-
sponded Lo Lhem acLlvely. SwepL up by Lhe enLhuslasm of Lhe early years, slngle and marrled women
ofLen sLepped beyond whaL were consldered accepLable roles for women. 1aklng llLerally LuLher's re-
vlval of Lhe ldea of a prlesLhood of all bellevers, women as well as uneducaLed men began Lo preach and
challenge rellglous auLhorlLy. 1hese acLlvlLles were vlewed wlLh alarm by clvlc auLhorlLles who even ob-
[ecLed Lo women geLLlng LogeLher Lo dlscuss rellglon. ln Lhelr vlew women preachers clearly dlsobeyed
Lhe aullne ln[uncLlon agalnsL women speaklng ln Church and moved perllously close Lo clalmlng an offl-
clal rellglous role. no Cerman governmenL forbade women ouLrlghL Lo read Lhe 8lble, as Penry vlll dld ln
1343, buL Lhe auLhorlLles dld aLLempL Lo sLop Lhem dlscusslng lL.
Powever Lhe roLesLanLs dldn'L break wlLh LradlLlonal ldeas abouL women, lndeed Lhey agreed wlLh Lhe
concepL of women's maln role ln Lhe lall and consequenLly Lhe sub[ugaLlon of women was Lhus lnherenL
from creaLlon. LuLher for lnsLance saw LhaL Lhe devll only approached Lve because he knew LhaL Adam would
have sLomped on hls head and lgnored hlm. Marrlage was seen as deslrable for everyone agalnsL Lhe classl-
cal ChrlsLlan undersLandlng of Lhe superlor sLaLe of cellbacy. AL Llmes some 8eformers, parLlcularly
8ucer, modlfled Lhe hlerarchlcal poslLlon of Lhe husband and gave greaLer emphasls Lo Lhe companlon-
shlp of marrlage raLher Lhan procreaLlon as Lhe cenLral purpose of marrlage. As Lhe ldeal moved from
Lhe clerlcal hlerarchy Lo Lhe famlly as Lhe cenLer of falLh, Lhe sLaLus of women, glven Lhelr poslLlon as
moLher, musL necessarlly have lncreased Lhelr power. 1hese paLLerns crossed roLesLanL and CaLhollc
llnes, parLlcularly ln Lngland, where CaLhollclsm was suppressed and meanL Lhe necesslLy of secreL wor-
shlp for CaLhollcs ln Lhe home. So Lhe responses of ordlnary women Lo Lhe 8eformaLlon, boLh roLesLanL
and CaLhollc were slmllar and domesLlc - prayer, medlLaLlon, Leachlng chlldren and slnglng hymns.
lL ls noLorlously dlfflculL Lo generallze abouL Lhe changlng sLaLus of women ln any era, buL parLlcularly ln
Lhe complex Llmes beLween 1300 and 1700 ln WesLern Lurope and so Lhe quesLlon as Lo wheLher Lhe
8eformaLlon broughL poslLlve changes Lo Lhe sLaLus of women ls dlfflculL. AlLhough women conLlnued Lo
be regarded as lnferlor, boLh physlcally and menLally, ln roLesLanLlsm Lhe splrlLual equallLy on earLh of
Lhe sexes was emphaslzed and llLurglcally and ceremonlally cerLaln sLeps were Laken ln Lhls dlrecLlon.
lor example, Lhe CaLhollc llLurgy had dlfferlng bapLlsmal servlces for males and female bables and Lhls
was abandoned ln favour of one order of servlce. Slmllarly ln Lhe purlflcaLlon of women afLer chlldblrLh
ln 8oman CaLhollclsm women had Lo walL 40 days for a male chlld buL 80 days for a female. 1hls was
changed Lo Lhe same lengLh of Llme. 1radlLlonally ln 8C churches women and men were separaLed dur-
lng servlces, alLhough Lhls was noL always sLrlcLly adhered Lo, and Lhe move ln roLesLanLlsm was Lo seg-
regaLlon due Lo soclal sLaLus where men and women saL LogeLher buL Lhls Look over 100 years Lo lnsLl-
LuLe.
lL has been argued LhaL Lhe reformer's removal of Lhe role of Lhe vlrgln Mary and salnLs from popular
pleLy had a greaL effecL on women because suddenly Lhere was no role model for women ln male- orlen-
LaLed roLesLanLlsm. 1hls ls debaLable because by Lhe end of Lhe Mlddle Ages Lhe culLlc lmage of Mary
23
as almosL an equal redeemer wlLh her son began Lo be reduced as splrlLuallLy became more ChrlsLocen-
Lrlc - emphaslslng Lhe humanness and physlcal sufferlng of !esus on Lhe cross. 1he lmage of Lhls Llme
became Lhe leLa or Lhe grlevlng moLher holdlng Lhe body of her dead son. 1hls was LranslaLed lnLo LhaL
of Lhe grlevlng parenL of Lhe adulL son. lL has been argued LhaL Lhls lmage made Lhe LranslLlon from Ca-
Lhollclsm Lo roLesLanLlsm far easler as dld Lhe humanlzaLlon of Lhe salnLs LhaL was occurrlng aL abouL
Lhe same Llme.
Women's sLaLus ln Lhls era, as lndeed ln any Llme, needs Lo be seen ln Lhe conLexL of geographlcal re-
glon, soclal class and marlLal sLaLus. arLlcular changes such as Lhe abollLlon of cellbacy ln roLesLanL
areas, noL only affecLed men dlfferenLly from women buL also affecLed dlfferenL groups of women dlf-
ferenLly. Cuardlanshlp for adulL unmarrled women had dled ouL by Lhe laLer Mlddle Ages and conse-
quenLly slngle women or wldows could hold land ln Lhelr own names, make conLracLs and represenL
Lhemselves ln courL. 1hls changed wlLh Lhe 8enalssance revlval of 8oman law, whlch deflned women as
lncapable of legal responslblllLy due Lo Lhelr lmbeclllLy. Larly modern Luropean law codes sLrengLhened
Lhe sub[ugaLlon of women Lo a male guardlan, wheLher faLher, husband or oLher. neverLheless Lhe 16
Lh

cenLury sLlll saw a number of slgnlflcanL queens as helrs ln Lhelr own rlghL ln Spaln, Lngland and ScoLland
who deeply challenged a Luropean world LhaL was generally narrowlng women's pollLlcal sLaLus. Cf
course Lhls ls a good example of Lhe dlfference LhaL soclal sLaLus confers on women ln all Llmes and
places.
1he CounLer-8eformaLlon had begun wlLh Lhe Councll of 1renL ln 1343 ln order Lo defeaL roLesLanLlsm.
Many blshops would gladly have conceded mosL of Lhe 8eformer's complalnLs lf Lhe councll had been
held 23 years earller. Powever Lhere had been a move Lo Lhe rlghL [usL before Lhe councll began and Lhls
was noL Lo be. WhaL emerged from Lhe Councll were Lralnlng schools for clergy and new orders. 1he
drlvlng force behlnd much of Lhe reform was Lhe SocleLy of !esus begun by lgnaLlus Loyola. lL was lnLro-
duced early ln Lhe 16
Lh
cenLury and was mosL lnsLrumenLal ln savlng AusLrla, 8avarla, Lhe 8hlneland and
oland for Lhe CaLhollc Church. 1he !esulLs greaLesL Lrlumph was Lhelr mlsslonary work ln Lhe Amerlcas
whlch Lhen spread ln Lhe 19
Lh
cenLury Lo many oLher parLs of Lhe world.
Llke Lhe roLesLanLs Lhe CaLhollcs backed dlsclpllne and order. As a resulL llleglLlmaLe blrLhs were kepL
low, sLage plays, cruel sporLs, falrs, danclng, ballads, dlsorderly funerals, SabbaLh breaklng, swearlng and
gambllng were frowned upon by boLh sldes. 8oLh reglmes burnL dlssenLers on an unprecedenLed scale
and ln parLlcular female wlLches. WlLh Lhe excepLlon of Zwlngll all Lhe 8eformers were enLhuslasLlc wlLch
hunLers, parLlcularly Calvln. Wherever Lhe CalvlnlsLs wenL, ScoLland or Lhe Amerlcas for example, wlLch
hunLlng followed [usL as lL dld on Lhe CaLhollc slde, parLlcularly by Lhe !esulLs.
1he roLesLanL group who lnlLlally suffered mosL persecuLlon by boLh Lhe 8eformers and Lhe CaLhollcs
were Lhe AnabapLlsLs who belleved ln Lhe bapLlsm of adulLs as Lhe only sacramenL. ln [usL 10 years
30,000 of Lhem were execuLed. AnabapLlsm was aLLracLlve Lo many women and uuLch women were
publlc parLlclpanLs ln a number of eccenLrlc acLlvlLles. ln a famous ouLbursL aL AmsLerdam ln 1333, a
group of AnabapLlsLs - seven men and flve women - Lhrew Lhelr cloLhes lnLo Lhe flreplace and ran naked
Lhrough Lhe sLreeLs. As a near conLemporary reporLed, no more ghasLly a specLacle was posslble. When
26
arresLed Lhe AnabapLlsLs responded LhaL Lhe LruLh had Lo appear naked - Lhelr dedlcaLlon musL have
been very sLrong as lL was mld-wlnLer - Lhey were all execuLed.
AlLhough Lhe legal sLaLus of women decllned ln Lhe revlval of 8oman Law ln Lhe 8enalssance, and ro-
LesLanL women losL any opLlon of a rellglous vocaLlon dlsLlncL from marrlage, lL does appear LhaL educa-
Llonal opporLunlLles lncreased ln boLh roLesLanL and CaLhollc areas. ln Lngland for example ln 1300
only 1 of women could read buL by 1730, 40 were llLeraLe (Lhls ofLen meanL Lhey could read buL noL
wrlLe).CerLalnly Lhe Councll of 1renL had sLressed Lhe need for a general educaLlon of Lhe common peo-
ple as well as Lhe clergy and as a resulL rellglous orders of women arose, parLlcularly ln lrance for Leach-
lng and charlLable work. 1he problem was LhaL Lhe Councll had lnslsLed on enclosure for all nuns and
whaL evenLuaLed was Lhose noL wanLlng enclosure were noL Lo dress as nuns or Lake permanenL vows,
llke Lhe 8egulnes of an earller Llme. 1he emphasls shlfLed from Lhe enclosed conLemplaLlve Lo Lhe clols-
Lered nun who sLlll had an ouLreach Lo Lhe world. 1hls laLer evolved lnLo Lhe slmple vowed groups.
Cne forerunner of Lhese groups were Lhe ursullnes who formed early ln Lhe 8eformaLlon - Lhey dld noL
Lake permanenL vows and were noL enclosed. 1hese women Lrled Lo educaLe whole communlLles whlch
had llLLle rellglous educaLlon, buL by Lhe 17
Lh
cenLury Lhey were forced Lo accepL clolsLerlng and Leachlng
behlnd a grlll. 1he Lngllsh CaLhollc, 4-*/ !-*A (1383-1643), Lhe founder of Lhe lnsLlLuLe of Lhe 8lessed
vlrgln Mary or Lhe LoreLo Crder, who modeled her work on Lhe !esulLs, was anoLher who Lrled Lo geL
un-clolsLered communlLles of women recognlzed as nuns. 1hls was unachlevable ln her llfeLlme. lL Look
nearly Lhree cenLurles of efforLs for Lhls Lo occur and was baslcally due Lo Lhe dlsasLrous effecL of Lhe
lrench 8evoluLlon on Lhe rellglous orders ln 8oman CaLhollclsm - ln Lhe forLy years afLer Lhe revoluLlon
male orders decreased from 300,000 Lo 30,000. As a resulL Lhese losses Lo Lhe Luropean church made
rellglous lnsLrucLlon a hlgh prlorlLy and women were encouraged Lo form groups of rellglous congrega-
Llons wlLhouL enclosure or solemn vows.
1he pronouncemenL LhaL women should keep qulLe ln church (1 Cor 14:34 and 11lm 2:11-13) became
more accenLed ln malnsLream roLesLanLlsm because of Lhe lmporLance of preachlng. uurlng Lhe perlod
of Lhe Lngllsh Clvll War propheLlc preachlng and wrlLlng flourlshed amongsL men and women. 1here
were up Lo 40 well known women preachers acLlve aL Lhls Llme, usually assoclaLed wlLh Lhe 8apLlsLs and
oLher obscure secLs. 1he helrs of Lhls prophecy were Lhe Cuakers or Lhe SocleLy of lrlends begun by
Ceorge lox ln 1647. 1wenLy years laLer Lhe Cuakers spread rapldly Lo Polland, Amerlca, Lhe Carlbbean
and Lhe MedlLerranean. Accordlng Lo Ceorge lox (1624-91) Cod exlsLs ln everyone and we musL seek
Lhls llfe wlLhln ourselves and serve Cod Lhru our acLlons. lf Cod ls ln everyone Lhen all have Lo be LreaLed
accordlngly - so Lhere developed a Lheology wlLh a deep respecL for llfe and for Lhe equallLy of all peo-
ple who would all be saved by a graclous Cod. Pe saw Lhere was no need for prlesLs, llLurgy, sacramenLs,
sermons, prayers of hymns.
Ceorge was a mysLlc and experlenced a revelaLlon from Cod ln Lhe form of a volce speaklng Lo hlm and
from whlch hls concepL of Lhe lnner volce or llghL orlglnaLed. Pe reallzed LhaL Lhere was no need for hlm
Lo have a Lheologlcal educaLlon because he could recelve Lheologlcal LruLh dlrecL from wlLhln. So Cuak-
ers worshlpped ln sllence broken only when someone felL Lhe need Lo speak. Cuaker's dldn'L flghL,
27
swear oaLhs or pay LlLhes Lo Lhe Church. 1hey llved slmply wlLh no frlvollLles llke sporL, LheaLre, [ewelery,
eLc, lurLher Lhey dldn'L belleve ln Lhe deaLh penalLy and few belleved ln hell or eLernal punlshmenL.
lox gaLhered followers who spoke Lhe LruLh uncompromlslngly Lo everyone- Lhose ln power lncluded - a
loL wenL Lo [all lncludlng Ceorge, some dled ln prlson and oLhers wenL Lo Amerlca. lrom 1662-1688 Lhe
Cuakers experlenced severe persecuLlon. Whlle lmprlsoned Lhe Cuakers suffered severe beaLlngs, and
dreadful [all condlLlons - Lhe women suffered wlLh Lhe men and were ofLen sub[ecLed Lo sadlsLlc sav-
agery because of Lhelr calm falLh and deLermlnaLlon and many were also accused of belng wlLches. 1he
name Cuakers ls supposed Lo have orlglnaLed when lox suggesLed Lo one of Lhe many [udges who sen-
Lenced hlm Lo prlson LhaL he should Lremble aL Lhe name of Lhe Lord. 1he [udge sarcasLlcally referred Lo
lox as a Cuaker.
4-*C-*$, E$33 was converLed by lox and when her husband dled hls esLaLe became Lhe cenLer for
worldwlde Cuakerlsm. She and lox laLer marrled and ln Lhe splrlL of hls convlcLlons Ceorge renounced
all clalm Lo her properLy. Cuaker llfe encouraged llLeracy amongsL lLs members and Lhere was an acLlve
movemenL of women's mlnlsLry and Lhey neLworked wlLh one anoLher Lhrough leLLers, [ournals and
Lravel dlarles. As well Lhey wroLe LracLs defendlng Lhelr convlcLlons and MargareL lell wroLe many of
Lhese. Cuaker women were Lherefore preachers, mlsslonarles, wrlLers and leaders of women's meeL-
lngs. Cuakers saw LhaL aparL from splrlLual equallLy, men and women were equal ln creaLlon and re-
[ecLed Lhe noLlon of female subordlnaLlon. lnlLlally Lhe Cuakers were farmers, arLlsans, shop owners and
servanLs malnly from Lhe norLh of Lngland, who were loud ln worshlp, quaked and wepL and wenL lnLo
Lrances. A cenLury laLer Lhey had become a much more reserved group of lndusLrlous and relaLlvely
prosperous people. 1hey helped shape Lhe basls for a new benevolenL human acLlvlsm as crusaders for
soclal and pollLlcal [usLlce. 8y Lhe 19
Lh
cenLury Lhey were aL Lhe forefronL for women's suffrage, abollLlon
of slavery and paclflsm.
1he Moravlan MovemenL (descended from !an Pus and Lhe Waldenslans) under Lhe leadershlp of CounL
Zlnzendorf from 1722 was llke lLs forerunner, Lhe so-called leLlsL movemenL, a reacLlon agalnsL Lhe
churches emphasls on orLhodox docLrlne and more emphasls on llvlng Lhe ChrlsLlan llfe and prayer. 1hls
MovemenL, llke Lhe Cuakers, gave women an excepLlonal measure of equallLy ln whlch Lhey underLook
leadershlp roles, gave wrlLLen and oral LesLlmony and preached Lo oLher women. 1he Moravlans lnsLl-
LuLed mlnlsLerlal offlces of blshops, deacons and presbyLers and women were ordalned Lo all excepL Lhe
Lplscopal offlce. 1hls was desplLe Lhe facL LhaL Zlnzendorf shared Lhe common bellef LhaL women had
caused Lhe lall buL he argued LhaL Lhelr full worLh and dlgnlLy had been resLored by Lhe facL LhaL ChrlsL
had been born of a woman. Powever women were sLlll subordlnaLe Lo men ln Lemporal maLLers, par-
Llcularly marrled women. AfLer Lhe deaLh of Zlnzendorf ln 1760, women began Lo be resLrlcLed ln Lhe
speaklng roles Lhey underLook and losL much of Lhelr power, as also happened ln Lhe second sLages of
Cuakerlsm. 1he Moravlans [olned ln Lhe expandlng roLesLanL mlsslonary endeavours LhaL were emerg-
lng llke Lhe London mlsslonary SocleLy, SCk (romoLlon of ChrlsLlan knowledge) and SC-(ropagaLlon
of Lhe Cospels) whlch lncreased as Lhe 8rlLlsh expanded Lhelr emplre. 1he Moravlans wenL Lo Lhe WesL
lndles, Creenland, Afrlca and Amerlca.
28
ln 1384 Lhe flrsL Lngllsh colony had been founded ln norLh Amerlca - vlrglnla. 1he followlng cenLury saw
many rellglous groups movlng Lo Amerlca Lo escape persecuLlon ln Lurope. 1he llgrlm laLhers Lo Mas-
sachuseLLs ln 1620, Lhe 8oman CaLhollcs Lo Maryland ln 1634 and ln 1681 Wllllam enn, a Cuaker,
founded ennsylvanla as a colony where Lhere was compleLe rellglous freedom - an eLhos LhaL was Lo
become a parL of Lhe culLure of Lhe uS afLer lndependence. Women began Lo organlze along Lhe enLlre
ALlanLlc seaboard wlLh prayer meeLlngs, 8lble sLudles and charlLable endeavours.
8y Lhe flrsL half of Lhe 18
Lh
cenLury Cuakers, Cerman AnabapLlsLs, Swlss MennonlLes, ScoLLlsh resbyLe-
rlans, CalvlnlsL 8apLlsLs, Cerman LuLherans along wlLh Angllcans and urlLans flourlshed ln Lhe Amerlcan
Colonles where rellglous plurallsm prevalled. ln Lhese secLs Lhere was ofLen more scope for Lhe role of
women ln rellglon, buL only ln Cuakerlsm dld women preach. So ln Lhe Amerlcan colonles Lhe Cuakers
and Lhelr offsprlng Lhe Shakers (MoLher Lee) were secLs ln whlch women played lmporLanL roles. LaLer
Lhe early MeLhodlsLs Loo ofLen gave women funcLlons as preachers and leaders, whereas Lhe 8apLlsL
church was where Afrlcan Amerlcans found Lhelr splrlLual home. 0-*B-*- .$;N (1734-1804) ls seen as
Lhe MoLher of Amerlcan MeLhodlsm and she ls an early lnsLance of a woman affecLlng Lhe organlzaLlon
of an enLlre church, noL [usL worklng wlLh her own sex.
lrom Lhe 1730's Lhere was a surge of revlvallsm ln Lhe Amerlcan colonles known as Lhe CreaL Awaken-
lng. 1hls creaLed ChrlsLlanlLy separaLe from Lhe sLaLe, noL Laklng orders from Lurope, ln facL lndepend-
enL secLs wlLh democraLlc sysLems of church governmenL and lay leaders. 1he mosL lmporLanL expres-
slon of Lhe Awakenlng was Lhe role of Lhe lalLy and aL Llmes laywomen as well as men denounced de-
generaLe mlnlsLers and aL Llmes Look over Lhelr parlshes. uurlng Lhe Amerlcan War of lndependence
from 8rlLaln, women Look parL ln acLlvlLles organlzed by Lhe churches Lo supporL pollLlcal freedom and
[usLlce. 1hese efforLs were a symbol of Lhe proLesLs LhaL would become a ma[or parL of church women's
work ln Lhe fuLure.
lL has been argued LhaL roLesLanLlsm has had more lnfluence Lhan any oLher facLor on Lhe developmenL
of Lhe dlsLlncL culLure and ulLlmaLe democracy of Lhe uS. neverLheless Lhe much-lauded ueclaraLlon of
Puman 8lghLs, whlch saw all men were creaLed equal, really meanL all whlLe men, cerLalnly noL women,
lndlans or 8lacks. 1hls declaraLlon was a producL of Lhe LnllghLenmenL or Lhe Age of 8eason whlch pro-
duced Lhe bellef ln Lhe power of Lhe human mlnd agalnsL auLhorlLy- secular and rellglous. 8y Lhe end of
Lhe 18
Lh
cenLury all Lhe sLock argumenLs agalnsL rellglon had been produced excepL Lhe sclenLlflc LhaL
would emerge ln Lhe 19
Lh
cenLury. 1he concepL ln roLesLanLlsm of a reasonable rellglon had developed
wlLh Lhe evoluLlon of a famlly splrlLuallLy wlLh Lhe ldea of Lhe wlfe as Lhe husband's helpmaLe. As well
Lhe ldea arose LhaL mlddle-class women were more pure and chasLe Lhan men - a compleLe abouL face
from Lhe classlcal ldea LhaL women were Lhe more evll and lusLful.
8y Lhe early 19
Lh
cenLury women ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes were slowly galnlng more sLaLus and more of a
share ln church llfe. 1hls colnclded wlLh Lhe so-called Second CreaL Awakenlng ln Amerlcan rellglous llfe.
1he hollness Lheologlans ln Lhe uSA LaughL LhaL all men and women could achleve enLlre sancLlflcaLlon
on earLh and Lhls allowed for Lhe reconslderaLlon of Lhe long sLandlng ln[uncLlons agalnsL women's
auLhorlLy ln Lhe church, because lL dld noL regard orlglnal sln as Lhe permanenL sLaLe of humanlLy and
Lhereby lessened Lhe burden of Lve's sln. 1hey also relled heavlly on Lhe AcLs of Lhe AposLles ln whlch
29
women flgured promlnenLly. As a new cllmaLe began Lo emerge for Lhe greaLer parLlclpaLlon of women
ln socleLy ouLslde Lhe home Lhere also arose a Women's 8lghLs MovemenL whlch came from female ln-
volvemenL ln Lhe anLl-slavery sLruggle ln Lhe Lwo decades before Lhe Amerlcan clvll war of Lhe slxLles.
Among Lhe supporLers of Lhe abollLlon of slavery were Lhe flrsL female lecLurers ln Lhe uSA, 5%C$3'%-
-%A H-*-) 2*'#N$. ln Lhelr supporL for AbollLlon Lhey also broughL Lhe concepL of Lhe equallLy of Lhe
sexes Lo Lhe agenda ln Lhe 1830's.1hese Lwo women were mosL remarkable ln Lhelr era as Lhey had
been ralsed ln Lhe SouLh ln a prosperous slave-ownlng famlly buL had become lncreaslngly repelled by
Lhe LreaLmenL of slaves. 1hey moved Lo hlladelphla and [olned Lhe Cuakers who by Lhls sLage were
downgradlng Lhe sLaLus of women as Lhe movemenL became more esLabllshmenL". As well black mem-
bers were forced Lo slL on benches aL Lhe back of Lhe MeeLlngs. As a resulL of Lhese evenLs Lhe slsLers
lefL Lhe Cuakers buL conLlnued Lhelr efforLs noL [usL for Lhe overLhrow of slavery buL also of raclal pre[u-
dlce. 1hey flrmly belleved LhaL women and men should have equal and shared moral rlghLs ln all spheres
of socleLy, boLh domesLlc and publlc. 1hey argued LhaL when Lhe domlnaLlon of one group of people
over anoLher ls esLabllshed Lhen Lhe sLaLus of Lhe sub[ecLed group ls reduced Lo LhaL of properLy. lrom
Lhls Lhe slsLers launched Lhe 'woman quesLlon' amongsL Lhe abollLlonlsLs, a quesLlon Lo be Laken up by
Lhelr successors.
1he successors Lo Lhe Crlmke slsLers were Cuakers, 8=;*$,'- 4",,D 93'O-B$,) (-A/ H,-%,"% -%A H=+-% 0@
5%,)"%/ - Lhey are Lhe hlsLorlcal leaders of Lhe women's suffrage movemenL ln Lhe uSA. LucreLla MoLL
worked Llrelessly for Lhe cause whlch also became llnked Lo Lemperance and paclflclsm whlch made her
exLremely unpopular. 1he Lurnlng polnL for her aLLlLude Lo Women's 8lghLs came when she aLLended
Lhe World AnLl- Slavery Congress ln London as a delegaLe from Lhe uSA and wlLh several oLher women
delegaLes was refused enLry because of Lhelr sex -one of Lhese was LllzabeLh Cady SLanLon and Lhe Lwo
women resolved Lo form an organlzaLlon Lo promoLe women's rlghLs. 1hus Lhe llrsL Women's 8lghLs
ConvenLlon ln Seneca lalls was lnsLlLuLed ln 1848.
LllzabeLh Cady SLanLon came Lo shlfL her ChrlsLlan vlews Lo aLLack Lhe 8lble and ChrlsLlanlLy as Lhe prl-
mary Lools of female sub[ugaLlon and wroLe a crlLlque of Lhe 8lble Lo prove her polnL - Lhe Women's
8lble. 1hls was an exploslve work as lL clearly condemned Lhe 8lble as a man-made book whose prlmary
effecL had been Lo [usLlfy women's sub[ugaLlon- she saw LhaL Lhe greaLesL faulL ln ChrlsLlanlLy was ln
convlnclng women LhaL self-sacrlflce was Lhelr greaLesL duLy whereas lL should have been self-
developmenL. LaLer a whole new generaLlon of evangellcal femlnlsLs such as E*-%;$+ !'33-*A -%A 5%%-
."F-*A H)-F (Lhe flrsL woman ordalned ln Lhe MeLhodlsL Church) repudlaLed SLanLon's ldeas and ln-
sLead saw ChrlsLlanlLy as Lhe basls for women's equallLy and Lhelr baslc moral superlorlLy.
CLher ouLcomes from all Lhe new ldeas and movemenLs ln Lhe SLaLes saw AnLolneLLe 8rown of Lhe Con-
gregaLlonal church as Lhe flrsL woman ordalned ln Lhe uSA ln 1833, whlle ouLsLandlng women who were
lnsLrumenLal ln formlng new roLesLanL denomlnaLlons were 4-*/ 0-N$* 9AA/ and her movemenL of
ChrlsLlan Sclence and 933$% 2@ !)',$ of Lhe SevenLh day AdvenLlsL movemenL. 8oLh Lhese women were
born ln Lhe 1820's ln Lhe new Lngland area and as chlldren suffered deblllLaLlng dlseases LhaL curLalled
Lhelr educaLlon ,as young women Lhey also boLh suffered from unconLrollable spells LhaL lefL Lhem un-
consclous for long perlods and ln whlch Lhey saw vlslons. 1hey boLh soughL cures ln vegeLarlan dleLs and
30
oLher fads llke hydroLherapy whlch were exLremely popular ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes aL Lhe Llme. As well
Lhey boLh grappled wlLh Lhe meanlng of salvaLlon ln Lhls perlod of greaL rellglous revlval
Mary 8aker Lddy (1821-1910) founded ChrlsLlan Sclence or Lhe Church of ChrlsL SclenLlsL and was wldely
recognlzed ouLslde her church, alLhough she had many deLracLors who LhoughL her a plaglarlsL or sLupld,
a llar and an hysLerlc. 8uL as noel Coward wroLe afLer denlgraLlng her -'ln Lhe mlnds of mllllons she had
Lhe sLaLus of a delLy'. Mary also became lnLeresLed ln oLher fads llke splrlLuallsm and homeopaLhy. She
was also very lnfluenced for a whlle by Lhe LhoughL of hlneas Culmby who had a concepL of mlnd over
maLLer. As well as all her oLher lnLeresLs she was also aLLracLed Lo Lhe Women's MovemenL.
ln 1866 she was healed of a serlous ln[ury as she read Lhe accounL of one of !esus' heallngs ln Lhe n1.
1hls led her Lo dlscover whaL she came Lo undersLand as Lhe sclence of ChrlsLlanlLy - ChrlsLlan Sclence.
She became a healer and a mlnd-reader and ln 1873 wroLe Sclence and PealLh, Lhe LexLbook of ChrlsLlan
Sclence. 1hls has been LranslaLed lnLo 17 languages and sold 3,000,000 coples. Marrled ln 1877 she
gaLhered sLudenLs around her and Lhey called her MoLher. Whlle her LalenLed sLudenLs performed Lhe
heallngs she concenLraLed on Leachlng and Lheory and came Lo belleve LhaL all sufferlng was creaLed by
docLors and mlnlsLers of rellglon. unforLunaLely she chose Lo have morphlne when she had renal collc -
a dlfflculL evenL for her followers Lo explaln, buL Lhey managed.
1here was equallLy ln ChrlsLlan Sclence even Lhough Lhe organlzaLlon seemed Lo favour men ln powerful
admlnlsLraLlve poslLlons. lL was however a Church headed by a woman and mosL of lLs members and
healers were women. Mary had no problems wlLh male domlnance ln oLher areas because she belleved
LhaL Cod was everyLhlng - laLher and MoLher, Lhe creaLor of Lhe unlverse ln whose lmage humans were
formed.
Cne of her lasL and greaLesL achlevemenLs was foundlng Lhe ChrlsLlan Sclence MonlLor ln 1908 - her 88
Lh

year- Loday Lhls newspaper ls respecLed around Lhe world for lLs edlLorlal lnLegrlLy and news lnslghL. ln
1993 she was elecLed Lo Lhe naLlonal Women's Pall of lame for leavlng an lndellble mark on socleLy,
rellglon and [ournallsm.
Lllen Could WhlLe (1827-1913) and her husband !ames were Lhe followers of Wllllam Mlller, a 8apLlsL
preacher, who beLween 1831 and 1844, launched Lhe greaL Second AdvenL Awakenlng LhaL belleved
!esus would reLurn ln 1843 or 1844. When Lhls dld noL evenLuaLe Mlller's followers experlenced whaL
came Lo be called Lhe 'CreaL ulsappolnLmenL'. MosL who had [olned hls movemenL lefL buL a few reln-
LerpreLed Lhe blbllcal assessmenLs and flgured LhaL whaL had been predlcLed lnsLead was LhaL !esus
would begln a speclal mlsslon ln heaven for hls followers ln 1844.1hey sLlll expecLed !esus Lo reLurn
soon, [usL as SevenLh uay AdvenLlsLs do Loday. Among Lhe small group who refused Lo glve up afLer Lhe
ulsappolnLmenL were several leaders who rose Lo bulld Lhe foundaLlons of Lhe SevenLh uay AdvenLlsL
Church. AmongsL Lhese were !ames and Lllen WhlLe. Lllen grew lnLo a glfLed speaker, auLhor and admln-
lsLraLor who became and remalned Lhe splrlLual counselor of Lhe SevenLh uay AdvenLlsL Church for sev-
enLy years afLer Lhe Church came lnLo belng aL 8aLLle Creek, Mlchlgan ln 1863 - she was glven Lhe sLaLus
of a blbllcal propheL because of her vlslons whlch gave heavenly messages regardlng pasL and presenL
evenLs. ln 1863 she had a speclal vlslon on healLh ln whlch Lhere was Lo be no meaL consumed or sLlmu-
31
laLlng foods, alcohol, Lobacco or drugs. lurLher she became very lnLeresLed ln modlfylng women's dress
as she belleved LhaL sLrong corseLs were bad- Lhe dress code occupled much LhoughL over Lhe nexL Len
years afLer whlch Lllen gave up because of Lhe unpopularlLy of her vlews.
8y Lhe Lurn of Lhe cenLury vegeLarlanlsm had become Lhe excepLlon raLher Lhan Lhe rule. Lllen herself
resumed eaLlng meaL ln 1881 and for her lL dldn'L seem Lo be an lssue. Powever on a Lrlp Lo AusLralla ln
1884 ln an appeal agalnsL kllllng anlmals she reverLed Lo vegeLarlanlsm and lnLroduced an anLl-meaL
pledge. uue Lo progresslve revelaLlon dalry producLs became allowable.
lor Lhe flrsL Len years afLer Lhe foundlng of Lhe Church converslon was conflned Lo Lhe uSA buL afLer Lhe
ouLreach wenL worldwlde Lhe Church Loday ls esLabllshed ln 209 counLrles and Lhere are abouL
3,000,000 adherenLs.
AL Lhe Llme of Lllen's deaLh only one oLher woman had conLrlbuLed more Lo Lhe rellglous llfe ln Amerlca
- Mary 8aker Lddy. ?eL Lhe AdvenLlsL dled relaLlvely unknown ouLslde her own church havlng never
soughL or recelved Lhe worldly recognlLlon glven Lo Lhe founder of ChrlsLlan Sclence. lnLeresLlngly Lllen
had llLLle Llme for Mary whom she regarded as noLhlng beLLer Lhan a splrlLuallsL. As we have seen Lhe
Lwo women had much ln common ln Lhelr early llfe and Lhelr laLer search for cures of lllness, whlle boLh
succeeded ln esLabllshlng dlsLlncLlve churches. uesplLe Lhese slmllarlLles Lhey had baslcally dlfferenL
goals. Lllen WhlLe longed for a manslon ln heaven whlle Mary wanLed hers here on earLh. 1hus Mary
dled one of Lhe rlchesL and mosL powerful women ln Amerlca, whlle Mrs. WhlLe llved her lasL days ln
unpreLenLlous surroundlngs sLlll walLlng for Lhe Lord Lo come.
1he half cenLury from 1870 ln Lhe uSA Lo Lhe wlnnlng of suffrage ln 1921 saw some shlfLlng ln Lhe
ground for Lhe sLruggle for women's rlghLs. 1he focus became more an agenda Lo wln Lhe voLe raLher
Lhan a broad agenda of soclal LransformaLlon. 1he bellef ln clvll rlghLs for all was abandoned by some of
Lhe new suffrageLLe leaders. lnsLead Lhey argued LhaL women should have Lhe voLe because of Lhelr
moral superlorlLy, whlch would help upllfL socleLy. 1hls argumenL of course was raclsL and classlsL, as lL
supporLed Lhe dlsenfranchlsemenL of blacks and was hosLlle Lo lmmlgranLs. 1hus by Lhe end of Lhe 19
Lh

cenLury femlnlsm ln Lhe uSA presenLed a conLradlcLory range of argumenLs abouL gender and rellglon.
lor some, ChrlsLlanlLy was seen as Lhe basls of women's emanclpaLlon, whlle oLhers saw ChrlsLlan paLrl-
archy as beyond repalr whlch musL lead Lo Lhe re[ecLlon of Lhe rellglon. Some femlnlsLs clung Lo Lhe be-
llef ln Lhe essenLlal llkeness of men and women as Lhe basls for women's equallLy whlle oLhers comblned
clalms Lo equallLy wlLh a bellef ln female superlorlLy. All Lhese ouLlooks were Lo reappear ln Lhe reblrLh
of Lhe femlnlsL movemenL of Lhe 1960's.
ln Lngland, Lhe 19
Lh
cenLury LsLabllshed Church of Lngland was Lo see Lhe rlse of Lvangellcallsm and Lhe
CaLhollc-orlenLaLed Plgh Church, Cxford or 1racLarlanlsm MovemenL. 1hese Lwo apparenLly opposlLe
poles of Lhe rellglous specLrum were Lo profoundly lnfluence Lhe Lngllsh Church aL home as well as LhaL
esLabllshed ln Lhe ever-expandlng Lmplre. A ma[or broad movemenL of LhoughL ln Lurope ln Lhe early
parL of Lhe 19
Lh
cenLury was LhaL of 8omanLlclsm. lL was a reacLlon Lo Lhe raLlonallsm of Lhe LnllghLen-
menL and was greaLly lnfluenced by Lhen 18
Lh
cenLury phllosopher Lmmanuel kanL. So Lhe concepL of
8omanLlclsm, of men such as Schelllng and Schlelermacher, saw a world of LhoughL ln whlch feellngs
32
were uppermosL. lL greaLly lnfluenced Lhe Cxford MovemenL ln Lngland as well as auLhors llke
S.1.Colerldge and WalLer ScoLL. Powever as Lhe cenLury progressed Lhere was an lncreaslng lnfluence of
evoluLlonary LhoughL and sclenLlflc meLhod LhaL resulLed ln a vasLly dlfferenL world.
ln Lhe early parL of Lhe cenLury women's sLaLus slowly lncreased buL Lhe sphere of women's lnfluence
sLlll remalned Lhe famlly and few women worked ouLslde Lhe home excepL Lhe very poor - lndeed Lhere
were few openlngs for respecLable women's work. 1he pervaslve effecL of Lhe lndusLrlal revoluLlon ln
comblnaLlon wlLh Lhe evangellcal concern for soclal reform broughL abouL amazlng changes ln Lhe per-
cepLlon and acLual role of women ln socleLy.
ln Cermany Lhe role of ueaconess was revlved ln LuLheranlsm early ln Lhe cenLury, as lL was ln oLher
malnsLream roLesLanL denomlnaLlons ln Lngland and elsewhere. As well Lhere were calls for Lhe
equlvalenL nurslng and soclal work organlzaLlons of women Lo underLake Lhe sorL of work 8oman CaLho-
llc nuns had done for so long. 1hls saw Lhe creaLlon of Angllcan rellglous orders from 1843. All of Lhls
was parL of a broader phllanLhroplc movemenL whlch evenLually saw hundreds of Lhousands of women
become lnvolved ln charlLable endeavours. ln comblnaLlon wlLh a move Lo greaLer educaLlon for men
and women and emanclpaLlon for men, oLher areas also began Lo open up for women ln Lhe world ouL-
slde Lhe home. 1he ouLcome of Lhese evenLs saw reforms Lo women's rlghLs ln Lhe areas concernlng
Lhelr chlldren, properLy rlghLs and marrlage laws. As hlgher educaLlon began Lo open up for women so
dld enLry lnLo Lhe professlons - and Lhe serlous push for female emanclpaLlon began.
An example of Lhe charlLable and rellglous fervour whlch grlpped Lngland ln Lhls cenLury was ln Lhe work
of Lhe SalvaLlon Army LhaL lnvaded Lhe sLreeLs of London ln 1863, bombardlng Lhe worklng-class sLreeLs
of London wlLh flamboyanL preachers and brass bands. 1he Pallelu[ah lasses, as Lhe Army's women
preaches were known, exclLed Lhe mosL conLroversy. SalvaLlonlsL women preached and assumed posl-
Llons of leadershlp and auLhorlLy when few roLesLanL denomlnaLlons or oLher worklng-class organlza-
Llons permlLLed women Lo do so. 1hese women drew large crowds and helped Lransform Lhe SalvaLlon
Army from a small London mlsslon lnLo Lhe naLlonal and lnLernaLlonal denomlnaLlon wlLh Lhe sLrong so-
clal servlce wlng we know Loday.
1he dlsLlncLlve role of women had lLs orlgln ln Lhe work of (-,)$*'%$ 4=#G"*A 0"",) (1829-1890) who
founded Lhe Army wlLh her husband, Wllllam whom she marrled ln 1833 - boLh of Lhem were from a
MeLhodlsL background. She fervenLly argued for women's rlghL Lo preach Lhe gospel and became a re-
specLed lndependenL preacher. Per lnLerpreLaLlon of female mlnlsLry drew on MeLhodlsm and Amerlcan
Pollness Leachlngs as well as her own class poslLlon and famlly slLuaLlon. 1he Pallelu[ah Lasses followed
CaLherlne's example buL bullL on her work Lo Lransform Lhe pracLlce of female mlnlsLry.
MeLhodlsm, a denomlnaLlon whlch was an offshooL of Angllcanlsm was usually made up of laborlng
people. lL offered women unusual opporLunlLles LhaL lncluded female preachlng ln Lhe early years. Some
MeLhodlsL women preached Lo mlxed audlences wlLh greaL effecL ln Lhe laLe 18
Lh
and early 19
Lh
cenLu-
rles. 8uL as we have seen many Llmes, once a secL became more malnsLream women's conLrlbuLlons
were devalued and by Lhe mlddle of Lhe 19
Lh
cenLury few MeLhodlsL women preached.
33
ln Lhe new SalvaLlonlsL MovemenL lL was seen LhaL women and men could be equally called by Lhe SplrlL
Lo preach, lndeed, women possessed Lhe rlghL Lo preach. Women were also permlLLed Lo be leaders and
ellglble for any offlce ln Lhe Church, as well as belng able Lo speak and voLe aL all offlclal meeLlngs. Al-
Lhough CaLherlne never held any offlclal poslLlon or rank she was known as Lhe Army MoLher.
1he Army was a LlghLly dlsclpllned, hlerarchlcal order LhaL demanded compleLe obedlence from lLs
members. Cfflcers for example were ofLen moved wlLh no recourse and women's auLhorlLy has lLs llm-
lLs. 1hls was because Lhe Army, as dld CaLherlne, lnslsLed LhaL women musL obey Lhelr husbands, whlle
aL Lhe same Llme endorslng Lhelr publlc rellglous auLhorlLy. !olnlng Lhe Army enLalled learnlng Lo preach
ouLdoor, slng hymns publlcally, gulde penlLenLs, hlre halls and keep accounLs - such work was an enor-
mous change for Lhe worklng class women who [olned Lhe movemenL- many of whom had been lnsplred
by CaLherlne Lo [oln.
1he Pallelu[ah Lasses used Lhe culLure Lhey worked among, parLlcularly LhaL of Lhe Muslc halls and Lhe-
aLres LhaL surrounded Lhem on Lhe sLreeLs - Lhey Lrembled, shook, shouLed, rocked Lo and fro, clapped
and fell lnLo Lrances. 1hey Lhus horrlfled many observers ln a Llme when no respecLable woman wenL
ouLdoors wlLhouL wearlng a haL. ln facL Lhe vlew was wldespread LhaL Lhey were compleLely dlsrepuLa-
ble. ln 1883 Lhen blshops of Cxford and Pereford asserLed LhaL Army MeeLlngs encouraged lmmorallLy
whlch resulLed ln llleglLlmaLe blrLhs. Powever Lhe women were noL deLerred and wenL where oLhers
were afrald Lo go Lo rescue Lhe boLLom sLraLum of socleLy, parLlcularly prosLlLuLes who were seen Lo be
assoclaLed wlLh dlsease, puLrefacLlon and deaLh, buL who neverLheless performed a greaL soclal need ln
hypocrlLlcal 19
Lh
cenLury vlcLorlan socleLy.
When CaLherlne 8ooLh dled ln 1890, 30,000 people llned Lhe sLreeLs of LasL London Lo waLch her funeral
processlon. She was called Lhe mosL famous and lnfluenLlal ChrlsLlan woman of her generaLlon. Per own
preachlng and mlnlsLry persuaded people of Lhe value of women's roles. SalvaLlonlsL women were parL
of a long LradlLlon of non-ConformlsL radlcallsm LhaL challenged boLh church and sLaLe. 1he SalvaLlonlsLs
bullL on LhaL LradlLlon creaLlng an alLernaLlve Lo Lhe domlnanL models of female rellgloslLy of Lhe Llme ln
Lngland.
1he SuffrageLLe MovemenL began ln Lngland ln 1867 and was aL lLs helghL beLween 1903 and 1914. lL
almed Lo open opporLunlLles for women Lo exerclse Lhelr moral and splrlLual lnfluence ln publlc. Men
and women broadcasL Lhls message on Lhe sLreeLs of London glvlng speeches, wroLe ln newspapers and
were ofLen lnvolved ln bloody confronLaLlons wlLh pollce and male hecklers. 1he suffrageLLes led by
9##$3'%$ <-%N)=*+, and her daughLers, ()*'+,-B$3 -%A H/3J'- saw Lhe voLe noL as an end ln lLself buL as
Lhe means Lo a purer, sLronger and more godly naLlon. ln her memolrs Lmmellne dlrecLly acknowledged
Lhe use by Lhe MovemenL of Lhe revlvallsL meLhods of Lhe SalvaLlon Army and lLs phllosophy of sexual
equallLy and ChrlsLlan Soclallsm. Women over 30 aLLalned Lhe voLe ln 1918 and many suffrage workers
Lhen moved lnLo Lhe long flghL Lo allow women Lo preach and be ordalned ln Lhe Angllcan mlnlsLry. Lven
a few CaLhollcs of Lhe CaLhollc Women's Suffrage SocleLy argued LhaL women should be allowed lnLo Lhe
prlesLhood. 1hese women recognlzed LhaL Lhe auLhorlLy of preachlng from a pulplL gave Lhe opporLunlLy
noL only Lo promoLe soclal and pollLlcal reform buL Lo crlLlque and combaL Lhe deeply rooLed culLural
sources of women's subordlnaLlon.
34
1he lmprovemenL ln Lhe sLaLus of women ln Lngland and Lhe uS was mlrrored ln Lhose AusLrallan colo-
nles LhaL were well populaLed. LveryLhlng was necessarlly on a much smaller scale glven Lhe qulLe dlf-
ferenL naLure of Lhe Lwo socleLles, soclally and rellglously and Lhe prlorlLy of Lhe expanslon and devel-
opmenL of Lhe colonles. 1he rellglous mlx ln AusLralla was qulLe dlfferenL Lo LhaL of Lngland and al-
Lhough Lhe Church of Lngland clalmed Lhe largesL number of adherenLs, 8oman CaLhollcs made up 23
of Lhe populaLlon and Lhere were proporLlonally far more members of roLesLanL churches. As Lhe 19
Lh

cenLury had progressed many women became lnvolved ln charlLable works buL noLhlng on Lhe scale of
Lhe lnvolvemenL of women ln Lngland. Powever Lhls lnvolvemenL Lended Lo sLrengLhen women's lnLer-
esL ln pollLlcs and voLlng rlghLs and Lhe aLLalnmenL of female suffrage occurred wlLh far less sLruggle
Lhan ln oLher WesLern counLrles. 8eLween 1894 and 1902 all Lhe colonles and Lhe new CommonwealLh
granLed women Lhe rlghL Lo voLe, far sooner Lhan ln Lngland or Lhe uS. lL has been argued LhaL Lhe facL
women were granLed Lhe voLe wlLh so much less fuss was due Lo Lhe deslre of Lhe conservaLlve pollLl-
clans of Lhe Llme Lo sLop Lhe progress of Lhe newly formed Labor arLy - lL was belleved LhaL women
would noL voLe for Lhe Labor rabble.
LducaLlon had become a prlorlLy of Lhe developlng colonles and sLaLe ald was removed from Lhe rellg-
lous denomlnaLlons school sysLem and redlrecLed Lo Lhe publlc sysLem. 1he CaLhollc Church had losL
mosL by Lhe wlLhdrawal and as a resulL lL developed a unlque sysLem of educaLlon ln whlch vlrLually all
lLs schools were run by women and men ln rellglous orders. ln Lhe second half of Lhe cenLury Lhe arrlval
of nuns from Lurope, buL malnly from lreland became a flood. Many of Lhese rellglous congregaLlons
experlenced greaL dlfflculLy wlLh Lhe clerlcal hlerarchy - 4-*/ 4-;P'33"? for example was excommunl-
caLed for dlsobedlence for a Llme. 1he enormous conLrlbuLlon made by Lhese women Lo AusLrallan socl-
eLy and educaLlon has only been recognlzed ln Lhe lasL few decades as Lhey have begun Lo wlLhdraw
from so many of Lhelr lnsLlLuLlons.
Whlle women were a large ma[orlLy ln Lhe church congregaLlons and worked enLhuslasLlcally parLlcularly
ln ralslng money, Lhey had no role ln worshlp or governmenL. AlLhough many were lnvolved ln dedlcaLed
church work Lhls was always under Lhe conLrol of men. Cne area where women ofLen found an lnde-
pendenL place ln Lhe roLesLanL denomlnaLlons was ln Lhe overseas mlsslon flelds, where slngle women
ofLen found Lhemselves ln charge of mlsslon sLaLlons and assumed roles of conLrol ln rellglous maLLers.
AL home female lnfluence was wlelded Lhrough Lhe husbands as many women preferred Lhls llne of aL-
Lack and sLlll do.
1he changlng role of women ln Lhe churches colnclded and grew ln Lhe early years of Lhe suffrageLLe
movemenL and Lhen noL unLll afLer WW2 from Lhe second femlnlsL wave of Lhe 60's and 70's. As we
have seen ln Lhe uS Women were flrsL ordalned ln Lhe CongregaLlonal churches from Lhe 1860's. ln
1926, Wlnlfred klek was Lhe flrsL AusLrallan ordalned, also lnLo Lhe CongregaLlonal church. Cn Lhe oLher
hand resbyLerlan and Lplscopal churches, llke Lhe Church of Lngland followed more slowly. lncreaslng
secularlsm and dlsbellef ln Lhe WesL afLer WW1 had helped a move among roLesLanL denomlnaLlons Lo
ecumenlsm and Lhe evenLual creaLlon of Lhe World Councll of Churches ln 1948.
Powever lL was ln Lhe 60's LhaL ln a rellglous sense and parLlcularly a soclal sense a Lurnlng polnL was
reached. 1here was a new global perspecLlve, Lhe second wave of femlnlsm arrlved and Lhere was Lhe
33
Second vaLlcan councll from 1962-3. 1he laLLer has been a waLershed for Lhe whole of ChrlsLlanlLy. lor
Lhe CaLhollc Church Lhe emphasls seemed Lo move from prlvaLe devoLlon Lo concerns wlLh global [usLlce
almosL overnlghL. As well Lhere was a call for Lhe renewal of Lhe rellglous llfe and many baslc soclal lnsLl-
LuLlons were also puL under revue lncludlng Lhe church lLself, marrlage and Lhe famlly. 1he ecumenlcal
movemenL and Lhen force of Lhe growlng lnfluence of Lhe lalLy saw a much closer relaLlonshlp develop
beLween all branches of ChrlsLlanlLy.
1he femlnlsL movemenL of Lhe 60's relLeraLed a much louder call Lhan 19
Lh
cenLury femlnlsLs for women
Lo be consldered for mlnlsLry ln Lhe church parLlcularly Lhe ordalned mlnlsLry. 1hls colnclded ln Lhe 8o-
man CaLhollc Church wlLh a greaL decllne ln prlesLly vocaLlons and Lhe rellglous orders as well as Lhe
abandonmenL of Lhe mlnlsLry by many men. As well from Lhe 60's many women enLered Lheologlcal col-
leges and Lhru Lhelr sLudles reallzed Lhe amblvalence of ChrlsLlanlLy Lowards women. As a resulL women
from dlfferenL LradlLlons began sharlng Lhese new experlences.
A mllesLone for women seeklng greaLer freedom of mlnlsLry ln Lhe churches was Lhe lnsLlLuLlon of Lhe
Commlsslon on Lhe SLaLus of Women seL up by Lhe AusLrallan Councll of Churches ln 1973. unsurprls-
lngly lL emerged LhaL alLhough women made up Lhe greaL ma[orlLy of church- goers and were Lhe ones
malnly concerned wlLh fund ralslng, Lhey had llLLle say ln declslon-maklng bodles. lor example on Lhe
Sydney Angllcan Synod Lhere were Lhree women represenLaLlves ouL of a LoLal of 600 members. ln Lhe
MeLhodlsL Ceneral Conference of 1972 Lhere were 11 ouL of 89 lay represenLaLlves and ln Lhe resbyLe-
rlan Assembly ln 1973, elghL ouL of 226 elders were women. ln Lhe nexL 20 year Lhls changed enor-
mously so LhaL ln Lhe unlLlng Church ln 1988 Lhere were 92 females of 220 members of whom 37 were
ordalned mlnlsLers. ln Lhe Sydney Angllcan dlocese Lhe number of female synod represenLaLlves had
rlsen Lo 101 by 1988. 1he flrsL woman was ordalned ln Lhe resbyLerlan Church ln 1974 [usL before Lhe
formaLlon of Lhe unlLlng Church from Lhe MeLhodlsL, CongregaLlonal and parL of Lhe resbyLerlan
Church. ln 1991 Lhe conLlnulng resbyLerlan Church voLed Lo exclude women from fuLure enLry Lo Lhe
mlnlsLry, alLhough ln some areas Lhey can be elders. 1he role of 8oman CaLhollc lay woman also ex-
panded afLer WW2 and parLlcularly afLer vaLlcan2. ln 1986 Lhe CaLhollc 8ellglous orders ln AusLralla
formed a group Lo look aL female ordlnaLlon - Women ln Lhe AusLrallan Church - Lhls body amalgamaLed
wlLh overseas bodles ln 1993 as Lhe CrdlnaLlon of CaLhollc Women. Powever glven Lhe compleLe re[ec-
Llon by !ohn aul ll and Lhe presenL pope, of Lhe posslblllLy ever of female ordlnaLlon Lhlngs seem Lo
have reached a blL of an lmpasse. neverLheless Lhere ls a sLrong 8oman CaLhollc movemenL ln Lhe uSA -
Lhe Women's CrdlnaLlon Conference LhaL works for [usLlce and equallLy of women ln Lhe Church. 1hey
have been crlLlclzed as a whlLe femlnlsL movemenL of over-educaLed women who are very nuns. Cne
nun a former head of Lhe LoreLo order and a lecLurer aL a caLhollc Lheologlcal semlnary belleved LhaL lL
Lakes courage Lo be woman of lnLegrlLy and [usLlce and freedom ln Lhls church". Cne recenL survey done
ln Lhe 8oman CaLhollc Church ln uS shows a sLrong ma[orlLy supporLs Lhe ordlnaLlon of women Lo Lhe
prlesLhood.
1he road Lo emanclpaLlon for women ln Lhe AusLrallan Angllcan church has been far more acrlmonlous
Lhan Lhe process of obLalnlng Lhe voLe ln secular socleLy. 1he Church afLer all has lLs rouLlnes anchored
ln sysLems of LhoughL whlch come from whaL ls consldered eLernal and glven, whlch ls Lhe opposlLe of
36
modern LhoughL whlch sees LhaL change ls consLanL and acceleraLlng, even lf noL always for Lhe common
good.
1he movemenL for Lhe ordlnaLlon of women ln Lhe Angllcan Church can be Lraced lnlLlally Lo Lhe lnLroduc-
Llon of Lhe ueaconess MovemenL lnLo Lhe Lngllsh Church ln Lhe 1860's. 8uL Lhe role played by women ln
Lhe mlsslon flelds, glven Lhelr excluslon from leadershlp roles aL home, ls generally seen as Lhe ma[or force
LhaL led Lo Lhe push for ordlnaLlon. Powever lay women's parLlclpaLlon ln Lhe governmenL of Lhe Church
was essenLlal Lo any movemenL Lowards ordlnaLlon.
lrom falrly early ln Lhe 20
Lh
cenLury an argumenL erupLed over Lhe sLaLus of Lhe deaconess as a member of
Lhe Lhreefold mlnlsLry of Lhe Church. 1hls lnevlLably led Lo a powerful argumenL for full ordlnaLlon Lo Lhe
prlesLhood. Powever aL Lhe 1920 LambeLh 8lshop's Conference lL was afflrmed LhaL Lhe deaconess was noL
a member of Lhe dlaconaLe and LhaL ordlnaLlon Lo Lhe prlesLhood was ouL of Lhe quesLlon - a poslLlon belng
ralsed by some of Lhe newly enfranchlsed Lngllsh women. 1hls same conference afflrmed LhaL women
could hold any lay offlce ln Lhe Church. llfLy years laLer anoLher LambeLh conference acknowledged LhaL Lhe
Crder of ueaconesses was wlLhln Lhe dlaconaLe. uesplLe Lhelr welghL ln Lhe Angllcan Communlon ln Lhe
areas of falLh and morals, Lhe LambeLh conferences have no legal sLaLus. ln 1969, Lhe AusLrallan Ceneral
Synod re[ecLed Lhls proposal. A ma[or concern of Lhe clerlcal hlerarchy was LhaL Lhe admlsslon of women Lo
Lhe Lhreefold order of mlnlsLry would spell Lhe deaLh knoll" of Lhe appeal of Lhe Church Lo men.
An Lngllsh reporL ln 1972 LhaL Lhere were no Lheologlcal ob[ecLlons Lo Lhe ordlnaLlon of women led Lo Lhe
galvanlsaLlon of Lhose ln favour of women prlesLs. 1hls saw Lhe formaLlon of Lhe Sydney based, buL AusLra-
lla-wlde group, Lhe MovemenL for Lhe CrdlnaLlon of Women (MCW) ln 1983. lL ls of lnLeresL LhaL Lhose who
oppose Lhe ordlnaLlon of women perslsLenLly clalm LhaL Lhe movemenL Lo female ordlnaLlon comes exclu-
slvely from Lhe secular women's femlnlsL movemenL - a movemenL LhaL has been called demonlc by some
blshops and clergy.
AfLer much conLroversy, boLh Lheologlcal and consLlLuLlonal, Lhe flrsL women deacons were ordalned ln
AusLralla ln lebruary 1986 by Archblshop enman ln Melbourne. MosL of Lhese women were former dea-
conesses. 1hls move opened Lhe floodgaLes and slnce 1992 women have been prlesLed ln mosL AusLrallan
dloceses. 1oday Lhe dloceses whlch don'L prlesL women are Sydney, norLh-WesLern AusLralla, 8allaraL, Lhe
Murray and Armldale on a llmlLed basls. WangaraLLa permlLLed women prlesLs ln 2007 whlle Lhe Murray
and 8allaraL don'L ordaln women aL all. 8y 2007, ln Lhe AusLrallan Church Lhere were 179 female deacons
(43), 412 female prlesLs ln Lhe AusLrallan Church (12 of 3,430 prlesLs). ln 2010, 28 of Lhe 38 provlnces
ln Lhe Angllcan Communlon ordaln women as prlesLs whlle 17 have removed all barrlers Lo women blsh-
ops.
ln 2004 leglslaLlon was lnLroduced aL Lhe Angllcan Ceneral Synod for Lhe creaLlon of women blshops- Lhe
necessary Lwo-Lhlrds ma[orlLy was noL achleved. WhaL dld emerge however was supporL for Lhe ldea LhaL
parlshes LhaL dld noL supporL a parLlcular dlocesan blshop could be allowed Lo negoLlaLe Lo [oln a blshop
and synod ouLslde Lhelr geographlcal dlocese - AlLernaLlve Lplscopal CverslghL whlch had been mooLed
earller afLer women were flrsL prlesLed. 1hls conference changed Lhls concepL Lo ensure Lhe auLhorlLy of Lhe
ulocesan blshop Lo AlLernaLlve Lplscopal mlnlsLry.
37
Archblshop !enson belleved LhaL Lhe church was aL a preclplce and sLaLed LhaL Lhe 'no voLe' for women
blshops was noL mlsogyny buL submlsslon Lo Cod's word - whlch was LhaL women were equal Lo men buL
dlfferenL and Lhey should noL have headshlp over men. ln conLrasL Lo Lhls ouLlook Archblshop WaLson from
Melbourne, formerly a Sydney blshop, Lold Lhe Synod LhaL ln Melbourne Lhere was wlde-spread supporL for
women blshops wlLh whlch he Lhoroughly agreed.
uesplLe Lhls earller defeaL, ln 2008, Lhe Church's appellaLe Lrlbunal ruled LhaL Lhere was noLhlng ln Lhe
Church's consLlLuLlon agalnsL women blshops. Slnce Lhen Lwo have been consecraLed - P-/ 2"3A+F"*,)/
(erLh) and 0-*B-*- 1-*3'%C (Melbourne).1he oLher counLrles Lo consecraLe women blshops are new
Zealand and olynesla, Cuba, Lhe unlLed SLaLes and Canada. ln Lhe unlLed SLaLes 0'+)"? P-,)-*'%$ K$GG$*,+
H;)"*' was elecLed ln 2006 Lo be Lhe flrsL presldlng blshop ln Lhe hlsLory of Lhe Lplscopal Church and Lhere-
fore Lhe flrsL female prlmaLe ln Lhe Angllcan Communlon.
1he debaLe over women's ordlnaLlon has been blLLer and lL has been shown Lo concern Lhe very essence of
Lhe Church, namely Lhe naLure of Cod. 1he opponenLs of ordlnaLlon usually come from Lhe opposlLe poles
of Lhe Lheologlcal specLrum. 1he respecLlve argumenLs agalnsL ordlnaLlon revolve around Lwo poslLlons -
Lhe parLlcular lnLerpreLaLlon of selecL porLlons of scrlpLure, or Lhe naLure of LradlLlon ln Lhe Church. Some
Anglo-CaLhollcs are malnly concerned wlLh Lhe 2,000-year LradlLlon of an excluslvely male prlesLhood ln
whlch ls embedded Lhe concepL of Lhe maleness of Cod and Lhe lnferlorlLy of women - Lhls ouLlook we have
seen LhroughouL Lhe hlsLory we have been looklng aL. 1herefore only males can be represenLaLlves of Cod
and hls son ln Lhe LucharlsL. SuggesLlons LhaL Lhe percepLlon of Cod's maleness mlghL be due Lo Lhe lnflu-
ence of paLrlarchal culLure ln shaplng boLh Lheology and language have been dlsmlssed.
Cn Lhe oLher hand, fundamenLallsL roLesLanLs rely on selecLed passages of scrlpLure Lo afflrm Lhe headshlp
of males ln every sphere of llfe (e.g., 1 Cor 11:3, 1Cor 14:34-3, Lph 3:22-3, Col 3:18-19, 11lm 23: 11-13). Al-
Lhough Lhe push for ordlnaLlon has ofLen been rldlculed as an expresslon of WesLern radlcal femlnlsm, Lhe
whole debaLe ls noL [usL one beLween Lhe sexes. Men were Lhe maln advocaLes of female ordlnaLlon and
Lhls ls slmllar Lo Lhe parL Lhey played ln female educaLlon and Lhe suffrage movemenL ln Lhe 19
Lh
cenLury.
Conversely many women elLher agree wlLh Lhe proposed Lheologlcal ob[ecLlons or are happy ln Lhe role
Lhey had underLaken ln Lhe Church, wleldlng lnfluence Lhrough men. lurLher llke many men, noL all women
deslre Lo underLake leadershlp roles and ofLen dlsllke women who do.
1he quesLlon of Lhe way auLhorlLy ls exerclsed ln Lhe parlsh ls one of Lhe greaL concerns ln Lhe dlscusslon of
women leaders. 1he femlnlne proponenLs of ordlnaLlon had hoped LhaL women as clergy would move away
from Lhe hlerarchlcal sLrucLures LhaL exlsL ln Lhe varlous churches and move Lo a klnder, genLler church. 1hls
has noL been Lhe case and Lhere have been no radlcal changes ln worshlp or Lheology. AL Lhe presenL Llme
mosL congregaLlons seem Lo prefer a male buL conLacL wlLh women mlnlsLers Lends Lo lessen Lhls aLLlLude.
MosLly women leaders are found ln small sLruggllng parlshes where Lhey have Lo perform aL a hlgher level
Lhan would be expecLed of Lhelr male counLerparLs. Whlle older persons are usually more conservaLlve on
gender role aLLlLudes, oLhers see women as less rellable and less able Lo cope wlLh Lhe pressures of boLh
home and [ob. 1he beLLer-educaLed members of all congregaLlons were found Lo be more responslve Lo
female clergy. 1here are undoubLed dlfflculLles wlLh women leadlng congregaLlons and some flnd lL Loo
hard Lo persevere and cerLalnly for successful ouLcomes LradlLlonal sLrucLures have Lo change. Cbvlously
38
Lhe career paLh for ordalned women ls dlfflculL and women clergy are sLlll dlslllusloned abouL Lhelr fuLure. lL
ls a convoluLed way forward Lowards eradlcaLlng Lhe sexlsm, raclsm and homophobla LhaL conLlnues Lo
permeaLed Lhe church.
(>:(8QHM>:
ChrlsLlanlLy has always had a problem wlLh women and Lhe Church has conLlnually relnforced sexlsm ln
socleLy as well as ln Lhe Church, yeL age afLer age women have flocked Lo Lhe Church as fervenL followers.
lemale subordlnaLlon ls one of Lhe few unlversals Lo be observed ln human culLures and egallLarlan prac-
Llces barely survlved Lhe lmmedlaLe clrcle of !esus and hls frlends. uesplLe Lhe Leachlng of Lhe church LhaL
Lhrough !esus all people are equal (Cal 3:28), women have only ever been as equal as Lhe common ldeals of
Lhe broader socleLy allowed. 1herefore we have seen LhaL Lhrough Lhe hlsLory of Lhe church Lhe place and
role of women has been dlverse - from Lhe way ln whlch !esus LreaLed women Lhrough Lhelr gradual margl-
nallsaLlon as Lhe church became lnsLlLuLlonallsed. 1he vlew LhaL women were creaLed subordlnaLe by Cod
Look hold and lnLenslfled afLer Lhe pronouncemenLs of AugusLlne of Plppo desplLe Lhe emergence of some
powerful women ln Lhe uark Ages. 8y Lhe second mlllennlum medleval Lhlnkers and mysLlcs drew aL Llmes
on Lhe concepL of Wlsdom Lo speak of Lhe femlnlne aspecLs of Cod and Lhls was expressed fervenLly by
!ullan of norwlch. 1he 8eformaLlon however conLlnued AugusLlne's and 1homas Aqulnas' vlews on women.
1hls was parLlcularly seen ln Lhe Lheologles of LuLher and Calvln. lL was noL unLll Lhe 17Lh cenLury LhaL Lhe
Cuakers developed ma[or changes ln LhoughL whlch neverLheless had no real effecL on soclal LhoughL unLll
Lhe 19
Lh
and 20
Lh
cenLurles.
lL has been obvlous as we have looked aL Lhe hlsLory LhaL usually ln hereLlcal secLs and marglnallsed new
movemenLs as lndeed ln Lhe early Church, women had a greaLer role Lhan ln Lhe orLhodoxy of Lhe Llme - a
sLaLus whlch Lended Lo be dlsslpaLed as Lhese marglnal movemenLs, lf Lhey survlved, became more maln-
sLream.
ln Lhe case of women's speech Lhere has been a flxed seL of sLraLegles Lhrough Lhe cenLurles Lo sllence
Lhem. 1hls saw Lhe moral characLer of women aLLacked and cerLaln porLlons of scrlpLure used Lo show LhaL
women's subordlnaLe sLaLus was a parL of Lhe naLural order. Cn Lhe oLher hand, scrlpLure was clLed as well
Lo supporL Lhe leglLlmacy of women Leachlng and preachlng. 1hls was seen parLlcularly ln Lhe command of
!esus Lo Mary Magdalene (!n 20:17-18) whereby she became known as Lhe AposLle Lo Lhe AposLles, and ln
Lhe concepL LhaL Lhe Poly SplrlL would be poured ouL on women as well as men (AcLs 2:17-18). CLher pas-
sages seen as slgnlflcanL were Lhe assumpLlon ln aul's leLLers and AcLs LhaL women were prophesylng and
Leachlng. Appeals were also made Lo Lhe llfe of Cld 1esLamenL women llke ueborah and LsLher Above all
Lhls was Lhe bellef LhaL Lhe Poly SplrlL can aL any Llme overrlde any ln[uncLlons agalnsL women's speech as
parLlcular women, llke men, are called Lo preach and prophesy.
AlmosL all women preachers ln Lhelr day were able Lo challenge Lhe way women were seen aL LhaL Llme.
1hey lnLerpreLed Cenesls ln a way LhaL dldn'L see Lve and all women bore Lhe responslblllLy for Lhe fall of
humanlLy and Lhus Lhe necesslLy for Lhe cruclflxlon of !esus. 1hey Lended Lo creaLe communlLles where Lhe
emphasls was on Lhe quallLy of Lhe lnLernal splrlLual llfe raLher Lhan on exLernal sLrucLures even Lhough
Lhese lndlvlduals had wldely dlfferlng Lheologlcal ouLlooks.
39
So whlle Lhe equallLy of all people lnLroduced by aul saw no wldespread emanclpaLlon of women or slaves
for nearly 2,000 years, Lhe ldea lay dormanL unLll our own era. 1he overwhelmlng concluslon l belleve ls LhaL
desplLe marglnallsaLlon women have perslsLed ln enrlchlng, shaplng and susLalnlng ChrlsLlanlLy LhroughouL
lLs hlsLory.
*Dr Gail Ball is a parishioner at St James King St. She has degrees from Sydney University in Science and Theol-
ogy and her PhD concerns Anglican religious Orders in Australia. For the last eight years Gail has complied and
given courses on various topics for the University of the Third Age in different parts of Sydney."