Patterns of Women's Leadership in Early Christianity

Abstract

This authoritative volume brings together the latest thinking on women’s leadership in early Christianity. Featuring contributors from key scholars in the fields of Christian history, the volume considers the evidence for ways in which women exercised leadership in churches from the first to the ninth centuries CE. This rich and diverse collection breaks new ground in the study of women in early Christianity. This is not about working with one method, based on one type of feminist theory, but overall there is nevertheless a feminist or egalitarian agenda in considering the full equality of women with men in religious spheres a positive goal, with the assumption that this full equality has yet to be attained. The chapters revisit both older studies and offer new and unpublished research, exploring the many ways in which ancient Christian women’s leadership could function.