9. 0 One Male God over Women
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Monotheism was a liberating and uniting force in most of the western world. This section explores Judaism and Christianity and what they said about women, as well as explores the lives of the founders and the women who are all over those origin stories. As we are focusing on the impact of these faiths on women's status, this section can seem a bit critical, but remember the social experiences of women in faith are different from their spiritual ones, and despite some of the ways women may have been discriminated against, women from all walks of life flocked toward monotheism.
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The Goddess Ishtar of Mesopotamia, Public Domain
In the ancient world many religions included prominent goddess traditions, attributing to goddesses the creation of the world and the ongoing survival of it. Many polytheistic faiths such as Hinduism presented a belief in the idea of a Divine Feminine, that God, or the Ultimate Being, was either completely without gender or had an equal feminine dimension. This view of a feminine God or goddesses was challenged, however, by the rise of the monotheistic and patriarchal Abrahamaic religions of Judaism, Christianity and Islam, all born in the Middle East.
And while the idea of divine feminine takes a back seat, it’s important not to understate how patriarchal pagan societies were– pagan life was certainly not a golden age for women.
The Holy Scriptures of these faiths, the Torah, the remaining books of the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Quran, consistently referred to the divine with masculine pronouns and are awash with male titles and images of God such as Lord, Father, or King, Brah. They lead to the equation of God with not just the male gender, but also with traditional concepts of masculinity and male power. In this episode we will explore the complex place of women within monotheistic traditions and how their spiritual and social equality has been both enhanced and hampered by their faith. Welcome back, Sisterhood.
And while the idea of divine feminine takes a back seat, it’s important not to understate how patriarchal pagan societies were– pagan life was certainly not a golden age for women.
The Holy Scriptures of these faiths, the Torah, the remaining books of the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Quran, consistently referred to the divine with masculine pronouns and are awash with male titles and images of God such as Lord, Father, or King, Brah. They lead to the equation of God with not just the male gender, but also with traditional concepts of masculinity and male power. In this episode we will explore the complex place of women within monotheistic traditions and how their spiritual and social equality has been both enhanced and hampered by their faith. Welcome back, Sisterhood.
"The Fall of Man" by Peter Paul Rubens, Public Domain
One Male God: From around the 5th century BCE to the 7th century CE, the view of a singular male god was solidified in western culture through a thousand years of monotheistic tradition in which all the major prophets whose works we know were men. These faiths share many views on women, such as the impurity of menstruation–eww!, the need for some degree of male control over women (and in particular female sexuality), and a seeming condoning of economic and social reliance on men even where the genders may be considered spiritual equals. These constraints all relate to the perceived purpose of women–to bear and raise children. It was all about the continuation of the male family line.
Judaism wasn't always so patriarchal. From the 10th century BC to 585 BCE, Jews actually believed in multiple gods. Yahweh, who became THE God in Judaism, was occasionally mentioned alongside Asherah. Asherah had various relationships with Yahweh, being referred to as a consort, a wife, the Queen of Heaven, a rival, and more. The presence of Asherah is notable in the Books of Kings: Solomon and in inscriptions discovered on relics throughout the Sinai desert. One inscription reads, "Yahweh of Samaria and his Asherah."
While the inclusion of Asherah in Jewish texts may be limited, there are many ancient temples that house multiple masseboths, relics indicating the presence of a deity. It is possible that one of these deities was Asherah. Furthermore, modern excavations in ancient Israel have unearthed numerous female figurines, further supporting the idea that ancient Jews believed in a female god who had some connection to Yahweh. However, after the exile of Jews from their homeland, the "Queen of Heaven" Asherah was eventually erased.
Original Sin: The Hebrew Bible is an early Abrahamic account of world events. Many stories within the Hebrew Bible are corroborated by other texts from those eras like the Epic of Gilgamesh, which discusses a great flood similar to that of Noah’s story, making it hard to ignore as both a religious and historical text. Two books of the Hebrew Bible, Ruth and Esther, tell women’s stories and have women’s names. Although many women are featured in the Hebrew Bible, none of the confirmed authors are known to be women. (Though, there are theories that some of them were.)
It begins with the story of Creation, where the idea of a strictly male monotheism is evident. God creates a garden and then the world’s first man, Adam or literally, “Man.” The scriptures say he is made in God’s own image, solidifying the view of God as a male (despite assertions elsewhere that God is beyond human concepts such as gender). From Adam’s rib, Eve, the first woman, is created. God tells them not to eat from the tree of knowledge in the Garden, but Eve is corrupted by a snake and eats from the tree, subsequently convincing Adam to do so too. They become “knowledgeable,” the meaning of which has been debated for milenia, and see their nakedness. God is furious. In the later Christian interpretation, Eve is deemed singularly responsible for the fall of humankind and humans’ expulsion from the Garden because she was tempted by the devil to eat the forbidden fruit. In the 400s, this story was interpreted by Augustine of Hippo who introduced the Christian concept of Original Sin, some interpret it to mean that women were uniquely vulnerable to the temptation of sin.
When later Christians compiled the books of the Bible, they destroyed as blasphemy a collection of books, today known as the Gnostic Gospels. Today, the Gnostic Gospels are regarded as an alternative, rather than a blasphemous, set of books that reveal the story of creation and early humans. They show the diversity of early Christian thinking. These works had a different rendition of the story of Adam and Eve: the snake is not evil, but represents divine wisdom. The snake “convinces Adam and Eve to partake of knowledge while ‘the Lord’ threatens them with death, trying jealously to prevent them from attaining knowledge, and expelling them from Paradise when they achieve it.” In another Gnostic text, Thunder, Perfect Mind,” a feminine voice, often used to represent complex ideas, states in a poem:
For I am the first and the last.
I am the honored one and the scorned one.
I am the whore and the holy one.
I am the wife and the virgin....
I am the barren one, and many are her sons....
I am the silence that is incomprehensible....
I am the utterance of my name.
None of these scholars were likely women.
Judaism wasn't always so patriarchal. From the 10th century BC to 585 BCE, Jews actually believed in multiple gods. Yahweh, who became THE God in Judaism, was occasionally mentioned alongside Asherah. Asherah had various relationships with Yahweh, being referred to as a consort, a wife, the Queen of Heaven, a rival, and more. The presence of Asherah is notable in the Books of Kings: Solomon and in inscriptions discovered on relics throughout the Sinai desert. One inscription reads, "Yahweh of Samaria and his Asherah."
While the inclusion of Asherah in Jewish texts may be limited, there are many ancient temples that house multiple masseboths, relics indicating the presence of a deity. It is possible that one of these deities was Asherah. Furthermore, modern excavations in ancient Israel have unearthed numerous female figurines, further supporting the idea that ancient Jews believed in a female god who had some connection to Yahweh. However, after the exile of Jews from their homeland, the "Queen of Heaven" Asherah was eventually erased.
Original Sin: The Hebrew Bible is an early Abrahamic account of world events. Many stories within the Hebrew Bible are corroborated by other texts from those eras like the Epic of Gilgamesh, which discusses a great flood similar to that of Noah’s story, making it hard to ignore as both a religious and historical text. Two books of the Hebrew Bible, Ruth and Esther, tell women’s stories and have women’s names. Although many women are featured in the Hebrew Bible, none of the confirmed authors are known to be women. (Though, there are theories that some of them were.)
It begins with the story of Creation, where the idea of a strictly male monotheism is evident. God creates a garden and then the world’s first man, Adam or literally, “Man.” The scriptures say he is made in God’s own image, solidifying the view of God as a male (despite assertions elsewhere that God is beyond human concepts such as gender). From Adam’s rib, Eve, the first woman, is created. God tells them not to eat from the tree of knowledge in the Garden, but Eve is corrupted by a snake and eats from the tree, subsequently convincing Adam to do so too. They become “knowledgeable,” the meaning of which has been debated for milenia, and see their nakedness. God is furious. In the later Christian interpretation, Eve is deemed singularly responsible for the fall of humankind and humans’ expulsion from the Garden because she was tempted by the devil to eat the forbidden fruit. In the 400s, this story was interpreted by Augustine of Hippo who introduced the Christian concept of Original Sin, some interpret it to mean that women were uniquely vulnerable to the temptation of sin.
When later Christians compiled the books of the Bible, they destroyed as blasphemy a collection of books, today known as the Gnostic Gospels. Today, the Gnostic Gospels are regarded as an alternative, rather than a blasphemous, set of books that reveal the story of creation and early humans. They show the diversity of early Christian thinking. These works had a different rendition of the story of Adam and Eve: the snake is not evil, but represents divine wisdom. The snake “convinces Adam and Eve to partake of knowledge while ‘the Lord’ threatens them with death, trying jealously to prevent them from attaining knowledge, and expelling them from Paradise when they achieve it.” In another Gnostic text, Thunder, Perfect Mind,” a feminine voice, often used to represent complex ideas, states in a poem:
For I am the first and the last.
I am the honored one and the scorned one.
I am the whore and the holy one.
I am the wife and the virgin....
I am the barren one, and many are her sons....
I am the silence that is incomprehensible....
I am the utterance of my name.
None of these scholars were likely women.
"Abraham, Sarah, and the Angel" by Jan Provoost, Wikimedia Commons
Judaism: Gender differences found in Hebrew literature suggest women were subordinate to men in ancient Jewish tradition. In fact the first book, Genesis, is often called “God’s curse to womenkind.” One example of women’s subservience to men is evident in the story of Judaism’s founder, Abraham, a man from Ur who accepts that there is only one true God. As in most patriarchal cultures, his wife Sarah follows him on his spiritual journey.
It was essential for the patriarch to have an heir, so it was very common in ancient cultures of the Fertile Crescent for men to take on concubines, or secondary wives, even at the request of the primary wife. The stability of the family relied upon a new generation. Sarah was super worried Abraham would have no heir with her so she gave him an enslaved woman named Hagar, in order to produce a male heir. In the story, God hadn’t intended this– he wanted Abraham to have a child with his wife by correcting their behavior. Because of her selflessness, Sarah becomes the first person in the Bible to have a healing– God allows her to become pregnant and produce a male child, Isaac.
Things did not remain all hunky dory. In the Book of Genesis we learn that Abraham betrays his wife to save his own skin. Hebrew stories tend to portray their male protagonists with flaws, so it is worth noting that the men’s stories were sometimes examples of what NOT to do. In this instance, a famine causes the couple to be refugees and Abraham worried that his beautiful wife would be a prize Egyptians would like. He begs her to pretend to be his sister so they won’t kill him to get her. The Pharaoh finds her desirable and she becomes his concubine, rewarding her “brother” with wealth. Hey, great plan, Abe. Abraham saved his own skin at the expense of his wife. Abraham pulls the same trick with their next host, the king Abemelek of Gerar. God spoke to the king and told him to return Sarah to her husband, and until he did so no woman of Abemelek’s court would conceive. Despite Abraham being responsible for the lies, only Sarah is blamed for the misfortune of all these women: “For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the house… because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.” Abraham threw Sarah under the chariot.
It was essential for the patriarch to have an heir, so it was very common in ancient cultures of the Fertile Crescent for men to take on concubines, or secondary wives, even at the request of the primary wife. The stability of the family relied upon a new generation. Sarah was super worried Abraham would have no heir with her so she gave him an enslaved woman named Hagar, in order to produce a male heir. In the story, God hadn’t intended this– he wanted Abraham to have a child with his wife by correcting their behavior. Because of her selflessness, Sarah becomes the first person in the Bible to have a healing– God allows her to become pregnant and produce a male child, Isaac.
Things did not remain all hunky dory. In the Book of Genesis we learn that Abraham betrays his wife to save his own skin. Hebrew stories tend to portray their male protagonists with flaws, so it is worth noting that the men’s stories were sometimes examples of what NOT to do. In this instance, a famine causes the couple to be refugees and Abraham worried that his beautiful wife would be a prize Egyptians would like. He begs her to pretend to be his sister so they won’t kill him to get her. The Pharaoh finds her desirable and she becomes his concubine, rewarding her “brother” with wealth. Hey, great plan, Abe. Abraham saved his own skin at the expense of his wife. Abraham pulls the same trick with their next host, the king Abemelek of Gerar. God spoke to the king and told him to return Sarah to her husband, and until he did so no woman of Abemelek’s court would conceive. Despite Abraham being responsible for the lies, only Sarah is blamed for the misfortune of all these women: “For the Lord had closed fast all the wombs of the house… because of Sarah, Abraham’s wife.” Abraham threw Sarah under the chariot.
Rahab featured in James Tissot's The Harlot of Jericho and the Two Spies, Wikimedia Commons
Women featured in the Hebrew Bible seem to have power and autonomy, although they were socially unequal. Rahab, for example, was a prostitute who sheltered Hebrew spies during the invasion of Canaan. Deborah, is the only female judge in a male-dominated culture, and Esther, the influential Persian Queen saves the Jewish people by foiling a plot to murder them by the evil minister, Haman.
Some women are derided in the Old Testament. Jezebel, persecuted the prophets and clung to idolatrous religion and thus earned such a reputation for wickedness that even today her name is used to describe a deceitful woman. Her story shows that she had her own beliefs and had some agency to act upon them.
Jezebel wasn’t the only woman with agency in Hebrew stories. The Queen of Sheba for instance is written about extensively in the Abrahamic faiths, although some consider her a mythological character. She is a wise and respected queen from Arabia who finds clever ways to protect and mother her people including marrying an enemy to save her people from war, only to kill him on the night of their wedding. Following this unbelievable event, the Jewish King Solomon hears of her power, but he is really panting after her spectacular throne, and demands she come submit to him. After an exchange, she eventually comes with an entourage, only to find Solomon had stolen her throne and was sitting on it. In some versions of the story, she accepts defeat and submits to him to save her people. Humbling herself before a powerful male king, she crossed a glass floor to approach him and, thinking it was water, lifted her skirts to reveal her hairy legs. Boy, that Solomon was a charmer.
Modern female scholars, across Abrahamic faiths, read her story differently. She was a wise queen who put her people before her pride. And accepted humiliation to avoid war. Scholars can draw wildly different conclusions.
Some women are derided in the Old Testament. Jezebel, persecuted the prophets and clung to idolatrous religion and thus earned such a reputation for wickedness that even today her name is used to describe a deceitful woman. Her story shows that she had her own beliefs and had some agency to act upon them.
Jezebel wasn’t the only woman with agency in Hebrew stories. The Queen of Sheba for instance is written about extensively in the Abrahamic faiths, although some consider her a mythological character. She is a wise and respected queen from Arabia who finds clever ways to protect and mother her people including marrying an enemy to save her people from war, only to kill him on the night of their wedding. Following this unbelievable event, the Jewish King Solomon hears of her power, but he is really panting after her spectacular throne, and demands she come submit to him. After an exchange, she eventually comes with an entourage, only to find Solomon had stolen her throne and was sitting on it. In some versions of the story, she accepts defeat and submits to him to save her people. Humbling herself before a powerful male king, she crossed a glass floor to approach him and, thinking it was water, lifted her skirts to reveal her hairy legs. Boy, that Solomon was a charmer.
Modern female scholars, across Abrahamic faiths, read her story differently. She was a wise queen who put her people before her pride. And accepted humiliation to avoid war. Scholars can draw wildly different conclusions.
Virgin Mary, Public Domain
Jesus: These stories were well known when Jesus Christ, a Jew born under Roman rule, preached the story of a loving God who absolved sin and forgave. Women, including his mother, Mary, became immediate followers. His teaching was recorded in the four gospels and other books in the New Testament in which women were portrayed on the extremes: either so pure as to be unattainable, or whores.
Mary, or the Virgin Mary, has always been central to the story of Christianity and fits into the unattainable category. In the New Testament, God sends an angel to Mary to tell her that she will bear the son of God: Jesus. Mary's epic and pregnant journey to Bethlehem has been told and reenacted in churches around the world for millennia. But Mary's virginity, central to the story, has no basis in history. Mary would have been very young at the age she was betrothed to Joseph, perhaps 12. A year after their betrothal, she would've been sent to live with Joseph and his family. Had she become pregnant out of wedlock in that time, she would have been terrified, as the consequences were severe, including the possibility of being sold into slavery or stoned to death. Yet the New Testament tells us that Joseph was visited by an angel and told to marry her anyway. Some haters tried to slander Mary’s story by claiming she was raped by a Roman soldier, and even provided a name of one, but this story was likely concocted to discredit Jesus.
In the Greek and Roman tradition, virgin births were common. Dionysos was the son of a virgin. Jason was the son of the virgin Persephone. Plato’s mother, Perictione, was a virgin. Attis a Phrygo-Roman god was born to the virgin Nana, on December 25 no less. Even Emperor Augustus, traced his lineage back to Romulus and Remus, who were born by a god to a virgin priestess.
One of the Gnostic authors, uncopied for almost two millennia, was named after, and maybe authored by another Mary: Mary Magdalene. In the Bible, this Mary traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurrection.
Mary, or the Virgin Mary, has always been central to the story of Christianity and fits into the unattainable category. In the New Testament, God sends an angel to Mary to tell her that she will bear the son of God: Jesus. Mary's epic and pregnant journey to Bethlehem has been told and reenacted in churches around the world for millennia. But Mary's virginity, central to the story, has no basis in history. Mary would have been very young at the age she was betrothed to Joseph, perhaps 12. A year after their betrothal, she would've been sent to live with Joseph and his family. Had she become pregnant out of wedlock in that time, she would have been terrified, as the consequences were severe, including the possibility of being sold into slavery or stoned to death. Yet the New Testament tells us that Joseph was visited by an angel and told to marry her anyway. Some haters tried to slander Mary’s story by claiming she was raped by a Roman soldier, and even provided a name of one, but this story was likely concocted to discredit Jesus.
In the Greek and Roman tradition, virgin births were common. Dionysos was the son of a virgin. Jason was the son of the virgin Persephone. Plato’s mother, Perictione, was a virgin. Attis a Phrygo-Roman god was born to the virgin Nana, on December 25 no less. Even Emperor Augustus, traced his lineage back to Romulus and Remus, who were born by a god to a virgin priestess.
One of the Gnostic authors, uncopied for almost two millennia, was named after, and maybe authored by another Mary: Mary Magdalene. In the Bible, this Mary traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to his crucifixion and resurrection.
Section of the Gnostic Gospel, Public Domain
Mary Magdalene and Jesus, Public Domain
The Gnostic gospels made Mary Magdalene a controversial figure because they show a much more involved, and spiritual version of Mary. These gospels were condemned as heresy by the young Christian empire. What has been uncovered from the Gospel of Mary is still missing large portions. Her account makes her central in the aftermath of Jesus’ passing. In Chapter 5, the grieving disciples turned to Mary to hear the words of Christ. She said, “What is hidden from you I will proclaim to you.”
Things get tense by Chapter 9, however, when Peter asks, “Did He really speak privately with a woman and not openly to us? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did He prefer her to us?” Mary weeps at his doubt only to be defended by Levi, who says, “Peter you have always been hot tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well.”
These and other parts of the text suggest that Mary was closer to Jesus than the other disciples.
A translation by the historian Elaine Pagels reads, “the companion of the [Savior is] Mary Magdalene. [But Christ loved] her more than [all] the disciples, and used to kiss her [often] on her [mouth]. The rest of [the disciples were offended] . . . They said to him, ‘Why do you love her more than all of us?’ The Savior answered and said to them, ‘Why do I not love you as (I love) her?’”
Was the idea of a female partner to Jesus too much? Or was Mary’s gospel and those of her supporters repressed because of the jealousy of the other disciples? Did Jesus truly love her more?
Christian thinkers of the period created a landscape where obedience, self-abnegation, and perpetual remorse were the only acceptable attitudes for women. Why? This comes back to the function of women–to have children.
Early Christian leaders certainly did seem to hold some contempt for women. Saint Paul, who spread the faith in the first century, wrote the most quoted line to silence and subordinate women in 1 Corinthians 14:34: “Women should keep silent in the churches, for they are not allowed to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. But if they want to learn anything, they should ask their husbands at home. For it is improper for a woman to speak in the church.”
Interpreting this line politically, Paul was writing his letters to Christians in Rome and Corinth, with advice on how to avoid being slaughtered by the pagan-Roman majority. Roman’s were very patriarchal compared to the early Christians. So in other words, he’s saying women should keep quiet in church in order to help the Christian minority stay “under the radar,” and keep them safe.
For sure, this line is difficult to interpret because he may even be quoting a Roman law. But regardless, the effect was that a lot of people interpreted it to mean that Paul wanted women to shut up.
Things get tense by Chapter 9, however, when Peter asks, “Did He really speak privately with a woman and not openly to us? Are we to turn about and all listen to her? Did He prefer her to us?” Mary weeps at his doubt only to be defended by Levi, who says, “Peter you have always been hot tempered. Now I see you contending against the woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject her? Surely the Savior knows her very well.”
These and other parts of the text suggest that Mary was closer to Jesus than the other disciples.
A translation by the historian Elaine Pagels reads, “the companion of the [Savior is] Mary Magdalene. [But Christ loved] her more than [all] the disciples, and used to kiss her [often] on her [mouth]. The rest of [the disciples were offended] . . . They said to him, ‘Why do you love her more than all of us?’ The Savior answered and said to them, ‘Why do I not love you as (I love) her?’”
Was the idea of a female partner to Jesus too much? Or was Mary’s gospel and those of her supporters repressed because of the jealousy of the other disciples? Did Jesus truly love her more?
Christian thinkers of the period created a landscape where obedience, self-abnegation, and perpetual remorse were the only acceptable attitudes for women. Why? This comes back to the function of women–to have children.
Early Christian leaders certainly did seem to hold some contempt for women. Saint Paul, who spread the faith in the first century, wrote the most quoted line to silence and subordinate women in 1 Corinthians 14:34: “Women should keep silent in the churches, for they are not allowed to speak, but should be subordinate, as even the law says. But if they want to learn anything, they should ask their husbands at home. For it is improper for a woman to speak in the church.”
Interpreting this line politically, Paul was writing his letters to Christians in Rome and Corinth, with advice on how to avoid being slaughtered by the pagan-Roman majority. Roman’s were very patriarchal compared to the early Christians. So in other words, he’s saying women should keep quiet in church in order to help the Christian minority stay “under the radar,” and keep them safe.
For sure, this line is difficult to interpret because he may even be quoting a Roman law. But regardless, the effect was that a lot of people interpreted it to mean that Paul wanted women to shut up.
Mary Magdalene proclaiming “The First Easter Homily" by Margaret Beaudette, Public Domain
Another prominent Christian thinker, Tertullian, said: “The sentence of God on this sex of yours lives on even in our times so it is necessary that the guilt should live on also. You are the one who opened the door to evil, you are the one who plucked the fruit of the forbidden tree, you are the one who deserted the divine law; you are the one who persuaded himwhom the devil was not strong enough to attack. All too easily you destroyed the image of God, man. Because of your deception, that is, death, even the son of God had to die.” Well, doesn’t that just clear everything up?
Tertullian's philosophy and obsession with women’s subjugation became common by the Medieval era. Popular literature portrayed women as subversive, tending to connect women with the wild forces of nature. Men became suspicious of women’s sexuality and fought to suppress it. Once again, sex for women was not supposed to be at al about sex, but just about reproduction.
The myth of Adam and Eve as justification for female subordination, led historian Rosalind Miles to assert that it was “the single most effective piece of enemy propaganda… Eve did not fall, she was pushed.” And certainly its repetition among early modern writers and the continued denial of women’s education supports this.
The two Marys with central roles in the New Testament were stripped of their substance and became known not for their spirituality and guidance of Jesus, but for their sexuality: Mary the impossibly virgin mother and Mary the whore. Were these stories repressed because they did not fit the church's vision of womanhood? This is a tricky question because that vision of women’s role in society was evolving in the early Christian period.
The fact that information was withheld or forcibly repressed reveals the greatest error in traditional history: we disproportionately attribute achievement to men because of a lack of sources about and by women. Women were generally not taught to read and write so they could not leave source documents; also women were confined to households so they did not contribute to public discourse as often. This suggests that it was impossible for women to create sources by women, not that women’s writings were repressed. It’s a subtle difference but it’s an important one.
Tertullian's philosophy and obsession with women’s subjugation became common by the Medieval era. Popular literature portrayed women as subversive, tending to connect women with the wild forces of nature. Men became suspicious of women’s sexuality and fought to suppress it. Once again, sex for women was not supposed to be at al about sex, but just about reproduction.
The myth of Adam and Eve as justification for female subordination, led historian Rosalind Miles to assert that it was “the single most effective piece of enemy propaganda… Eve did not fall, she was pushed.” And certainly its repetition among early modern writers and the continued denial of women’s education supports this.
The two Marys with central roles in the New Testament were stripped of their substance and became known not for their spirituality and guidance of Jesus, but for their sexuality: Mary the impossibly virgin mother and Mary the whore. Were these stories repressed because they did not fit the church's vision of womanhood? This is a tricky question because that vision of women’s role in society was evolving in the early Christian period.
The fact that information was withheld or forcibly repressed reveals the greatest error in traditional history: we disproportionately attribute achievement to men because of a lack of sources about and by women. Women were generally not taught to read and write so they could not leave source documents; also women were confined to households so they did not contribute to public discourse as often. This suggests that it was impossible for women to create sources by women, not that women’s writings were repressed. It’s a subtle difference but it’s an important one.
The martyrdom of Perpetua, Felicitas, Revocatus, Saturninus and Secundulus, from the Menologion of Basil II, 1000 CE, Wikimedia Commons
Spreading Christianity: Despite the way the Mary's were portrayed and the attacks on women’s contributions to the faith, women were dedicated to spreading Christianity as in so many ways Christian women were treated better than than non Christians.
Jesus died by crucifixion for the faith and thus early Christians willingly martyred themselves after his example– women too. Two centuries after the death of Jesus, Perpetua was a 22 year old noblewoman and nursing mother. Her slave Felicity was pregnant when both were arrested for being having converted to Christianity in Carthage in north Africa. In prison she wrote an account that is generally recognized as historical, making it the earliest surviving text written by a Christian woman. Perpetua described the anxiety she felt being separated from her unweaned child, how her Pagan father begged her repeatedly to renounce her faith, and how she was eventually reunited with her child and was again able to breastfeed. She said, "Straightway I became well… suddenly the prison was made a palace for me." But her love for her child did not weaken her resolve. She, Felicity, and several male converts held to their faith and were sentenced to death by being attacked by wild animals– a common punishment in Ancient Rome. Felicitas gave birth two days before the execution to a daughter adopted by other Christians, something she considered a miracle. She had been worried her pregnancy would prevent her from joining her friends in martyrdom since Roman law forbade the execution of a pregnant woman. Even in the arena, however, the women were separated from the men so that a female beast, “an enraged heifer”, could kill the women.
Jesus died by crucifixion for the faith and thus early Christians willingly martyred themselves after his example– women too. Two centuries after the death of Jesus, Perpetua was a 22 year old noblewoman and nursing mother. Her slave Felicity was pregnant when both were arrested for being having converted to Christianity in Carthage in north Africa. In prison she wrote an account that is generally recognized as historical, making it the earliest surviving text written by a Christian woman. Perpetua described the anxiety she felt being separated from her unweaned child, how her Pagan father begged her repeatedly to renounce her faith, and how she was eventually reunited with her child and was again able to breastfeed. She said, "Straightway I became well… suddenly the prison was made a palace for me." But her love for her child did not weaken her resolve. She, Felicity, and several male converts held to their faith and were sentenced to death by being attacked by wild animals– a common punishment in Ancient Rome. Felicitas gave birth two days before the execution to a daughter adopted by other Christians, something she considered a miracle. She had been worried her pregnancy would prevent her from joining her friends in martyrdom since Roman law forbade the execution of a pregnant woman. Even in the arena, however, the women were separated from the men so that a female beast, “an enraged heifer”, could kill the women.
Nuns, Public Domain
Convents: Monasteries were common across Europe and as far back as the 300s, and women served in them performing similar duties to their male counterparts, although usually with male supervisors after the seventh century. Inside convents, women became scholars after vowing to be chaste, served the needy, and renounced their earthly possessions. By dedicating their lives to God, women were allowed a choice other than motherhood and domestic servitude. Outside the church, the only option for most women was marriage and that carried risks. Nuns of the early convent period often lived between two and four times longer than their married counterparts. This was largely due to the fact that childbirth was a leading cause of death for premodern women
Convents did not upend the patriarchy, they just provided refuge from it for centuries to come. But there was a limit to their academic and spiritual power. Nuns who forgot or defied the patriarchal power structure might be punished, especially by the Reformation era in Europe. In the 1600s in England for example, one nun who tried to build a school to educate young girls was imprisoned in a windowless cell. Two other nuns began preaching in the streets. When asked who their husband was, the women replied, “They had no husband but Jesus Christ.” The mayor dubbed them whores and instructed the constable to whip them in the public square until blood ran down their backs.
Convents did not upend the patriarchy, they just provided refuge from it for centuries to come. But there was a limit to their academic and spiritual power. Nuns who forgot or defied the patriarchal power structure might be punished, especially by the Reformation era in Europe. In the 1600s in England for example, one nun who tried to build a school to educate young girls was imprisoned in a windowless cell. Two other nuns began preaching in the streets. When asked who their husband was, the women replied, “They had no husband but Jesus Christ.” The mayor dubbed them whores and instructed the constable to whip them in the public square until blood ran down their backs.
Eastern and Western Empire, Wikimedia Commons
Constantine and Hypatia: Eventually the Roman empire split into the West and East. In Rome, Christianity gradually took root in the context of a warring, bankrupt, and tumultuous political landscape. The Eastern emperor Constantine the first, or the Great, demanded religious toleration for all faiths, and he returned sacked Christian churches to the faithful.
He became the first Roman emperor to not really convert, but accept Christianity, his mother Helena’s religion. Roman traditionalists were horrified at his conversion and growing tyrannical rule. He used terror to force conversions and secure his power, which briefly reunited the fracturing empire. Importantly, Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea which determined the fate of the Mary's by locking down the canon of texts to be included in the Bible and destroying all others as heresy.
Pagan writings and beliefs ultimately met the same fate. A group called the “parabalani” operated throughout the empire as essentially Christian terrorists, persecuting non-believers. After a brief reprise following Constantine’s death, Theodisius I became emperor, declaring Christianity the state religion and empowering the parabalani and bishops to destroy Jewish and pagan temples and idols.
Ancient Egypt had a long tradition of polytheism and a caste of female-priestesses under the goddess of the alphabet and library. Egyptians in the early centuries saw notable women scholars emerge such as Hypatia and Maria of Alexandria.
Maria for example founded theoretical and experimental alchemy and invented tools used by modern chemists. Little is known about her because none of her original philosophical writings exist. Scholars who wrote about her put her in so many different places and times scholars believe she may be more than one woman. It is possible there were multiple Marias or that women assumed her name for her notability.
He became the first Roman emperor to not really convert, but accept Christianity, his mother Helena’s religion. Roman traditionalists were horrified at his conversion and growing tyrannical rule. He used terror to force conversions and secure his power, which briefly reunited the fracturing empire. Importantly, Constantine convened the Council of Nicaea which determined the fate of the Mary's by locking down the canon of texts to be included in the Bible and destroying all others as heresy.
Pagan writings and beliefs ultimately met the same fate. A group called the “parabalani” operated throughout the empire as essentially Christian terrorists, persecuting non-believers. After a brief reprise following Constantine’s death, Theodisius I became emperor, declaring Christianity the state religion and empowering the parabalani and bishops to destroy Jewish and pagan temples and idols.
Ancient Egypt had a long tradition of polytheism and a caste of female-priestesses under the goddess of the alphabet and library. Egyptians in the early centuries saw notable women scholars emerge such as Hypatia and Maria of Alexandria.
Maria for example founded theoretical and experimental alchemy and invented tools used by modern chemists. Little is known about her because none of her original philosophical writings exist. Scholars who wrote about her put her in so many different places and times scholars believe she may be more than one woman. It is possible there were multiple Marias or that women assumed her name for her notability.
Death of Hypatia, Wikimedia Commons
In Hypatia’s case, her accomplishments are well documented by primary sources. Her resistance to the dominant culture and her defiance of growing Christianity led to her demise. She was brilliant and noted by her contemporaries for her intellectualism. She was the only woman to hold a position as an academic at Alexandria’s University and did so wearing the same robes as the male scholars. One primary account described her, saying: “On account of her self-possession and ease of manner, which she had acquired in consequence of the cultivation of her mind, she not infrequently appeared in public in the presence of the magistrates. Neither did she feel abashed in coming to an assembly of men. For all men on account of her extraordinary dignity and virtue admired her the more.”
Hypatia’s high profile proved to be problematic. Hypatia stood between reason and the newly-formed Christian church. Historian Joshua Mark, explained that her “charisma, charm, and excellence in making difficult mathematical and philosophical concepts understandable to her students… contradicted the teachings of the relatively new church.” Hypatia’s world became the center of a religious conflict that disrupted the religious syncretism of the Roman Empire and ultimately cost her life.
Alexandria became a hotbed for the conflict when Cyril became the Christian bishop there and a more moderate Christian, Orestes,was appointed the lesser title of Prefect. Cyril expelled the Jewish population and destroyed pagan temples, their gods and goddesses, and documents, an act that infuriated Orestes. He wrote to the bishop of his opposition, which resulted in a multiple-year political confrontation. Overtime, Cyril fueled Christians fear by turning on Hypatia, one of Orestes greatest supporters, using her pagan beliefs and unnatural position as a famous woman scholar to condemn her. A sympathetic Socrates Scholasticus wrote: “Yet even she fell a victim to the political jealousy which at that time prevailed. For as she had frequent interviews with Orestes, it was calumniously reported among the Christian populace, that it was she who prevented Orestes from being reconciled to the bishop. Some of them therefore, hurried away by a fierce and bigoted zeal… and dragging her from her carriage… stripped her, and then murdered her with tiles. After tearing her body in pieces, they took her mangled limbs… and there burnt them… surely nothing can be farther from the spirit of Christianity than the allowance of massacres, fights, and transactions of that sort.”
Other accounts say that the parabalani pulled her from her carriage and murdered her with oyster shells. The ancient historian, Damascus, told a much different version of the story. He said that the Christian bishop was so shocked when he arrived in Alexandria by the throngs of people coming to listen to a woman that he immediately began to plan her murder. He said: “This information gave his heart such a prick… So next time, when following her usual custom, she appeared on the street, a mob of brutal men at once rushed at her—truly wicked men ‘fearing neither the revenge of the gods nor the judgment of men’ – and killed the philosopher… while she was still feebly twitching, they beat her eyes out… and as a result they laid upon the city the heaviest blood-guilt.”
Much later the story was dramatized by John of Naikiu to emphasize her witch-likeness : “She was devoted at all times to magic, astrolabes and instruments of music, and she beguiled many people through her satanic wiles. And the governor of the city [Orestes] honored her exceedingly for she had beguiled him through her magic.”
Whatever the detail of her horrible demise, Hypatia’s crime was being an educated woman allied with Orestes in opposition to the fanatic Christians in Alexandria.
None of the opponents who faced death for their pagan or Jewish beliefs died in such a way. Orestes himself, the person actually standing in Cyril’s path, disappeared. Had he been a woman would he have met the same gruesome fate? Intellectual life in Alexandria ceased to exist following Hypatia’s murder; the school closed, Hypatia’s writings were destroyed as heresy. Cyril was elevated to sainthood and Hypatia was forgotten until the Renaissance re-interested Europe in the bygone knowledge. Spoiler alert: the Renaissance wasn’t much of one for women.
Importantly, we must ask, was it her womanhood or her pagan-ness that cost her life? Is it possible to segregate the two?
Hypatia’s high profile proved to be problematic. Hypatia stood between reason and the newly-formed Christian church. Historian Joshua Mark, explained that her “charisma, charm, and excellence in making difficult mathematical and philosophical concepts understandable to her students… contradicted the teachings of the relatively new church.” Hypatia’s world became the center of a religious conflict that disrupted the religious syncretism of the Roman Empire and ultimately cost her life.
Alexandria became a hotbed for the conflict when Cyril became the Christian bishop there and a more moderate Christian, Orestes,was appointed the lesser title of Prefect. Cyril expelled the Jewish population and destroyed pagan temples, their gods and goddesses, and documents, an act that infuriated Orestes. He wrote to the bishop of his opposition, which resulted in a multiple-year political confrontation. Overtime, Cyril fueled Christians fear by turning on Hypatia, one of Orestes greatest supporters, using her pagan beliefs and unnatural position as a famous woman scholar to condemn her. A sympathetic Socrates Scholasticus wrote: “Yet even she fell a victim to the political jealousy which at that time prevailed. For as she had frequent interviews with Orestes, it was calumniously reported among the Christian populace, that it was she who prevented Orestes from being reconciled to the bishop. Some of them therefore, hurried away by a fierce and bigoted zeal… and dragging her from her carriage… stripped her, and then murdered her with tiles. After tearing her body in pieces, they took her mangled limbs… and there burnt them… surely nothing can be farther from the spirit of Christianity than the allowance of massacres, fights, and transactions of that sort.”
Other accounts say that the parabalani pulled her from her carriage and murdered her with oyster shells. The ancient historian, Damascus, told a much different version of the story. He said that the Christian bishop was so shocked when he arrived in Alexandria by the throngs of people coming to listen to a woman that he immediately began to plan her murder. He said: “This information gave his heart such a prick… So next time, when following her usual custom, she appeared on the street, a mob of brutal men at once rushed at her—truly wicked men ‘fearing neither the revenge of the gods nor the judgment of men’ – and killed the philosopher… while she was still feebly twitching, they beat her eyes out… and as a result they laid upon the city the heaviest blood-guilt.”
Much later the story was dramatized by John of Naikiu to emphasize her witch-likeness : “She was devoted at all times to magic, astrolabes and instruments of music, and she beguiled many people through her satanic wiles. And the governor of the city [Orestes] honored her exceedingly for she had beguiled him through her magic.”
Whatever the detail of her horrible demise, Hypatia’s crime was being an educated woman allied with Orestes in opposition to the fanatic Christians in Alexandria.
None of the opponents who faced death for their pagan or Jewish beliefs died in such a way. Orestes himself, the person actually standing in Cyril’s path, disappeared. Had he been a woman would he have met the same gruesome fate? Intellectual life in Alexandria ceased to exist following Hypatia’s murder; the school closed, Hypatia’s writings were destroyed as heresy. Cyril was elevated to sainthood and Hypatia was forgotten until the Renaissance re-interested Europe in the bygone knowledge. Spoiler alert: the Renaissance wasn’t much of one for women.
Importantly, we must ask, was it her womanhood or her pagan-ness that cost her life? Is it possible to segregate the two?
Hildegard of Bingen, Wikimedia Commons
Islam: Judaism and Christianity continued to spread, morph, and adapt throughout the world. In the 7th century, the battle for monotheism spread to the Arabian peninsula. This religion, whose tenets were revealed through the Prophet Muhammad, came to be known as Islam. It began as a monotheistic tradition intended to replace Paganism and perfect belief in the One True God as a culmination of the Jewish and Christian traditions. Like Christianity before it, Islam adopted all of the male prophets and stories of the Old and New Testaments. It also followed the Jewish tradition of referring to God, or Allah, a being beyond human categorizations such as gender, with masculine pronouns leading many to imagine God as male. Learn more about women in Islam.
Conclusion: All around the world, religions played a critical role in creating the cultural and belief structures that defined women’s lives. Some feminists go so far as to suggest, “Religions are one of the oldest and the most persistent obstacles on the way of women’s equality and freedom. Indeed, religion is women’s enemy and it is the nature of all religions… to look backwards to past ancient times and antiquated values.”
Even in the Americas, where societies were developing without the benefits of Afro-Eurasian cultural diffusion, many of the Mesoamerican gods that had been gender-less or dual gender were superseded by an all powerful male, sun god, reflecting the military society they lived in.
To this day, the role of women in the monotheistic traditions is a hotly contested topic. We encourage you to revisit these faiths and find the women whose stories have been downplayed or even erased for centuries.
What role did women play in the early days of these traditions, and how have they shaped them in the centuries since? How did women find agency despite official doctrine? How did these faiths affect the day to day realities of female followers of the faiths? And if we look at the evidence, is the monotheistic God really as masculine as patriarchal tradition would have us believe? And those nunneries– what role would they play in pushing back against the male leadership?
Conclusion: All around the world, religions played a critical role in creating the cultural and belief structures that defined women’s lives. Some feminists go so far as to suggest, “Religions are one of the oldest and the most persistent obstacles on the way of women’s equality and freedom. Indeed, religion is women’s enemy and it is the nature of all religions… to look backwards to past ancient times and antiquated values.”
Even in the Americas, where societies were developing without the benefits of Afro-Eurasian cultural diffusion, many of the Mesoamerican gods that had been gender-less or dual gender were superseded by an all powerful male, sun god, reflecting the military society they lived in.
To this day, the role of women in the monotheistic traditions is a hotly contested topic. We encourage you to revisit these faiths and find the women whose stories have been downplayed or even erased for centuries.
What role did women play in the early days of these traditions, and how have they shaped them in the centuries since? How did women find agency despite official doctrine? How did these faiths affect the day to day realities of female followers of the faiths? And if we look at the evidence, is the monotheistic God really as masculine as patriarchal tradition would have us believe? And those nunneries– what role would they play in pushing back against the male leadership?
Draw your own conclusions
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Why would someone give their life for their beliefs?
Rome persecuted Jews and Christians, preferring Polytheism. But over time this perspective changed. Increasing hostilities between believers led to violent executions and martyrdoms. Pragmatically, Romans opted for a policy of religious toleration, but this path was unsuccessful. Jews were expelled from cities, Christian's crucified in parts of the empire. When Constantine adopted Christianity as the official faith, it gave Christians an opportunity at revenge. This inquiry examines the lives of Perpetua and Felicity, two Christian martyrs and Hypatia, a pagan scholar butchered in the street by a Christian mob. This lesson would be well paired with the Stanford History Education Group's lesson Rome and Christianity. 
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Was early Christianity misogynistic?
In this inquiry, students explore the Christian writings about women recorded in the canonized books of the Bible. All of the authors are men. Women's lives across Christendom were impacted by these short lines of text for millennia.
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Was Mary a Virgin?
The “Virgin Mary,” the mother of Jesus Christ has a fascinating story, but one that has changed over time. Her story is important to women’s history because it has defined the way that women in Christendom were seen throughout time. Mary’s status as a virgin, the mother of a human son, or the son of God, or both matters because it reveals the extent of God‘s power and sets a really high bar for women to attain spirituality. To be godly, Mary had to be a virgin. If not a virgin, then she becomes human, and saintly. But she also becomes attainable for other women and cultural and religious dialogue about Women’s virginity and saintliness disappear. To examine the sink worry, students will explore early Christian primary documents and consider the reliability and contradictory nature of those documents. Students will better understand the story of sick Mary and will better understand the historiography of the Bible and other religious texts. In this inquiry, students will examine primary and secondary sources to answer the inquiry question. Students should read the documents and respond to the questions, keeping in mind the big question for analysis and debate.
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St. Mary of Egypt and Moral Progress, Wikimedia Commons
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How did Byzantines portray Mary of Egypt?
Saint Mary of Egypt's story as portrayed in the Byzantine texts and art is interesting for its portrayal of gender and sexuality and gives insights to Byzantine values. In this inquiry, students will examine Byzantine primary sources to more deeply understand cultural values.
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Nuns, Wikimedia Commons
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How did nunneries expand and limit women's opportunities in the Middle Ages?
In this inquiry, students explore primary and secondary material about women inside Medieval convents to determine if these were oppressive institutions, or freeing from the patriarchal burdens.
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Lesson Plans from Other Organizations
- This website, Women in World History has primary source based lesson plans on women's history in a whole range of topics. Some are free while others have a cost.
- The Roy Rosenzweig Center for History and New Media has produced recommendations for teaching women's history with primary sources and provided a collection of sources for world history. Check them out!
- The Stanford History Education Group has a number of lesson plans about women in World History.
The Passion of Saints: Perpetua & Felicity : Part i Part ii
The Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity is the text through which these two martyrs became remembered. The text is largely autobiographical from the perspective of Perpetua with a preface and conclusion by another author. Therefore, the text is a rare example of a first-person historical narrative written by a woman. The source details the imprisonment of Perpetua and her fellow martyrs until their death. Below is part I-II of the Passion of Saints, introducing Perpetua and her fellow martyrs.
If the old examples of the faith, which testify to the grace of God and lead to the edification of men, were written down so that by reading them God should be honored and man comforted—as if through a reexamination of those deeds—should we not set down new acts that serve each purpose equally? For these too will some day also be venerable and compelling for future generations, even if at the present time they are judged to be of lesser importance, due to the respect naturally afforded the past. But let those who would restrict the singular power of the one spirit to certain times understand this: that newer events are necessarily greater because they are more recent, because of the overflow of grace promised for the end of time.
In the last days, says the Lord, “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and their sons and daughters shall prophesy; and I will pour out my Spirit on my servants and handmaidens; and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams.”
And we, who also acknowledge and honor the new prophecies and new visions as well, according to the promise, and regard the other virtues of the Holy Spirit as intended for the instruction of the church (to which church the same spirit was sent distributing all gift s to all, just as the Lord grants to each one); therefore, out of necessity we both proclaim and celebrate them in reading for the glory of God, lest any person who is weak or despairing in their faith should think that only the ancients received divine grace (either in the favor of martyrdom or of revelations), since God always grants what he has promised, as a proof to the unbelievers and as a kindness to believers. And so we also announce to you, our brothers and little sons, that which we have heard and touched, so that you who were present may be reminded of the glory of the Lord, and that you who know it now through hearing may have a sharing with the holy martyrs, and through them with our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and honor for ever and ever. Amen.
Some young catechumens were arrested: Revocatus and Felicity, his fellow slave; Saturninus; and Secundulus. And among these was also Vibia Perpetua—a woman well born, liberally educated, and honorably married, who had a father, mother, and two brothers, one of whom was also a catechumen. She had an infant son still at the breast and was about twenty-two years of age. From this point there follows a complete account of her martyrdom, as she left it, written in her own hand and in accordance with her own understanding.
Heffernan. T (2012) The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Questions:
If the old examples of the faith, which testify to the grace of God and lead to the edification of men, were written down so that by reading them God should be honored and man comforted—as if through a reexamination of those deeds—should we not set down new acts that serve each purpose equally? For these too will some day also be venerable and compelling for future generations, even if at the present time they are judged to be of lesser importance, due to the respect naturally afforded the past. But let those who would restrict the singular power of the one spirit to certain times understand this: that newer events are necessarily greater because they are more recent, because of the overflow of grace promised for the end of time.
In the last days, says the Lord, “I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh; and their sons and daughters shall prophesy; and I will pour out my Spirit on my servants and handmaidens; and your young men shall see visions and your old men shall dream dreams.”
And we, who also acknowledge and honor the new prophecies and new visions as well, according to the promise, and regard the other virtues of the Holy Spirit as intended for the instruction of the church (to which church the same spirit was sent distributing all gift s to all, just as the Lord grants to each one); therefore, out of necessity we both proclaim and celebrate them in reading for the glory of God, lest any person who is weak or despairing in their faith should think that only the ancients received divine grace (either in the favor of martyrdom or of revelations), since God always grants what he has promised, as a proof to the unbelievers and as a kindness to believers. And so we also announce to you, our brothers and little sons, that which we have heard and touched, so that you who were present may be reminded of the glory of the Lord, and that you who know it now through hearing may have a sharing with the holy martyrs, and through them with our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be glory and honor for ever and ever. Amen.
Some young catechumens were arrested: Revocatus and Felicity, his fellow slave; Saturninus; and Secundulus. And among these was also Vibia Perpetua—a woman well born, liberally educated, and honorably married, who had a father, mother, and two brothers, one of whom was also a catechumen. She had an infant son still at the breast and was about twenty-two years of age. From this point there follows a complete account of her martyrdom, as she left it, written in her own hand and in accordance with her own understanding.
Heffernan. T (2012) The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Questions:
- What are Perpetua and Felicity's beliefs?
THE PASSION OF SAINTS: PERPETUA & FELICITY : PART iii
In this extract from the Passion of Saints, Perpetua explains her faith as her father begs her to denounce it.
“While,” she said, “we were still with the prosecutors, my father, because of his love for me, wanted to change my mind and shake my resolve. ‘Father,’ I said, ‘do you see this vase lying here, for example, this small water pitcher or whatever?’ ‘I see it,’ he said. And I said to him: ‘Can it be called by another name other than what it is?’ And he said: ‘No.’ ‘In the same way, I am unable to call myself other than what I am, a Christian.’ Then my father, angered by this name, threw himself at me, in order to gouge out my eyes. But he only alarmed me and he left defeated, along with the arguments of the devil. Then for a few days, freed from my father, I gave thanks to the Lord and was refreshed by my father’s absence. In the space of a few days we were baptized.
Heffernan. T (2012) The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Questions:
“While,” she said, “we were still with the prosecutors, my father, because of his love for me, wanted to change my mind and shake my resolve. ‘Father,’ I said, ‘do you see this vase lying here, for example, this small water pitcher or whatever?’ ‘I see it,’ he said. And I said to him: ‘Can it be called by another name other than what it is?’ And he said: ‘No.’ ‘In the same way, I am unable to call myself other than what I am, a Christian.’ Then my father, angered by this name, threw himself at me, in order to gouge out my eyes. But he only alarmed me and he left defeated, along with the arguments of the devil. Then for a few days, freed from my father, I gave thanks to the Lord and was refreshed by my father’s absence. In the space of a few days we were baptized.
Heffernan. T (2012) The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Questions:
- What are Perpetua and Felicity's beliefs?
THE PASSION OF SAINTS: PERPETUA & FELICITY : PART xx
This final extract from the Passion of Saints describes the death of Perpetua and Felicity in the arena.
For the young women, however, the devil prepared a wild cow—not a traditional practice—matching their sex with that of the beast. And so stripped naked and covered only with nets, they were brought out again. The crowd shuddered, seeing that one was a delicate young girl and that the other had recently given birth, as her breasts were still dripping with milk. So they were called back and dressed in unbelted robes. Perpetua was thrown down first and fell on her loins. Then sitting up, she noticed that her tunic was ripped on the side, and so she drew it up to cover her thigh, more mindful of her modesty than her suffering. Then she requested a pin and she tied up her tousled hair; for it was not right for a martyr to suffer with disheveled hair, since it might appear that she was grieving in her moment of glory.
Then she got up; and when she saw Felicity crushed to the ground, she went over to her, gave her her hand and helped her up. And the two stood side by side. The cruelty of the crowd now being sated, they were called back to the Gate of Life. There Perpetua was received by a certain Rusticus, also a catechumen, who clung to her side. She awakened, as if from a sleep—she was so deep in the spirit and in ecstasy—and looked about her, and said, to the amazement of all: “When are we to be thrown to the mad cow, or whatever it is?” And when she heard that it had already happened, she refused at first to believe it until she noticed certain marks of physical violence on her body and her clothing.
Then after calling her brother and the catechumen, she spoke to them, saying: “Stand fast in faith and love one another, and do not lose heart because of our sufferings.”
Heffernan. T (2012) The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Questions:
For the young women, however, the devil prepared a wild cow—not a traditional practice—matching their sex with that of the beast. And so stripped naked and covered only with nets, they were brought out again. The crowd shuddered, seeing that one was a delicate young girl and that the other had recently given birth, as her breasts were still dripping with milk. So they were called back and dressed in unbelted robes. Perpetua was thrown down first and fell on her loins. Then sitting up, she noticed that her tunic was ripped on the side, and so she drew it up to cover her thigh, more mindful of her modesty than her suffering. Then she requested a pin and she tied up her tousled hair; for it was not right for a martyr to suffer with disheveled hair, since it might appear that she was grieving in her moment of glory.
Then she got up; and when she saw Felicity crushed to the ground, she went over to her, gave her her hand and helped her up. And the two stood side by side. The cruelty of the crowd now being sated, they were called back to the Gate of Life. There Perpetua was received by a certain Rusticus, also a catechumen, who clung to her side. She awakened, as if from a sleep—she was so deep in the spirit and in ecstasy—and looked about her, and said, to the amazement of all: “When are we to be thrown to the mad cow, or whatever it is?” And when she heard that it had already happened, she refused at first to believe it until she noticed certain marks of physical violence on her body and her clothing.
Then after calling her brother and the catechumen, she spoke to them, saying: “Stand fast in faith and love one another, and do not lose heart because of our sufferings.”
Heffernan. T (2012) The Passion of Perpetua and Felicity. Oxford: Oxford University Press
Questions:
- Why did they give their life for their beliefs?
the New Testament: John 8:1-11
The following is an encounter reported by the Bible in which religious leaders demand a woman caught committing adultery should be stoned to death. Jesus challenges the hypocrisy of the demands and simply urges the woman to change. One thing important to note in this passage is the absence of the man also involved in the adultery.
Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
“No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
John 8-21 - New Living Translation. Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8-21&version=NLT.
Questions:
Jesus returned to the Mount of Olives, but early the next morning he was back again at the Temple. A crowd soon gathered, and he sat down and taught them. As he was speaking, the teachers of religious law and the Pharisees brought a woman who had been caught in the act of adultery. They put her in front of the crowd.
“Teacher,” they said to Jesus, “this woman was caught in the act of adultery. The law of Moses says to stone her. What do you say?”
They were trying to trap him into saying something they could use against him, but Jesus stooped down and wrote in the dust with his finger. They kept demanding an answer, so he stood up again and said, “All right, but let the one who has never sinned throw the first stone!” Then he stooped down again and wrote in the dust.
When the accusers heard this, they slipped away one by one, beginning with the oldest, until only Jesus was left in the middle of the crowd with the woman. Then Jesus stood up again and said to the woman, “Where are your accusers? Didn’t even one of them condemn you?”
“No, Lord,” she said.
And Jesus said, “Neither do I. Go and sin no more.”
John 8-21 - New Living Translation. Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=John+8-21&version=NLT.
Questions:
- What does this text say about how Jesus was described to perceive women? What about the male adulterer?
The New Testament: Galatians 3:26-29
The Epistle to the Galatians is a book by Paul the Apostle. In Chapter three, Paul teaches readers that believers are justified by their faith in Jesus alone.
Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise
Galatians 3:26-29. English Standard Version. Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+3%3A26-29&version=ESV.
Questions:
Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's offspring, heirs according to promise
Galatians 3:26-29. English Standard Version. Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Galatians+3%3A26-29&version=ESV.
Questions:
- Why doesn’t this excerpt mention women directly?
- What can this text tell us about women's role in the church?
The New Testament: Timothy i 2:8-15
In the following extract, Paul is explaining to Timothy how to lead his church. In the passage, he focuses on the expectations of women in worship.
I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
1 Timothy 2. New International Version. Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+2&version=NIV.
I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or disputing. I also want the women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, adorning themselves, not with elaborate hairstyles or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God.
A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.
1 Timothy 2. New International Version. Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+Timothy+2&version=NIV.
The New Testament: i Corinthians 14:34-35
The First Epistle to the Corinthians is one of Paul’s epistles in the New Testament of the Christian Bible. In section 14, Paul discusses Christian worship practices. The extract below concerns women in the church. There's debate over the meaning of this passage. Apparently the language is very similar to texts from pagan culture prohibiting women from speaking in civic assemblies in the Roman Empire. Some scholars argue that Paul is quoting someone else here in order to reject it, but the ancient Greeks didn't use quotation marks, so it’s difficult to know if these are his ideas, or if he is quoting others. Still, through most of historical Christian tradition, the verse was interpreted to mean women should not speak in church.
Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
1 Corinthians 14.34-35. New International Version. Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%2BCor%2B14.34-35&version=NIV.
Questions:
Women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
1 Corinthians 14.34-35. New International Version. Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=I%2BCor%2B14.34-35&version=NIV.
Questions:
- Some scholars argue that Paul was trying to adhere to the harsh Roman laws and was telling women to adhere to them to avoid drawing attention to the church. If that were the case, how would that change your view of women’s status in the church?
The Old Testament: Deuteronomy 22:20-24
Trigger Warning: this extract will discuss rape. Please keep this in mind before reading this source and feel free to omit this document from your final conclusion. The extract from Deuteronomy, the fifth book of the Old Testament. The extract discusses archaic virginity tests, punishments for ‘promiscuity’ and rape.
If a man takes a wife and, after sleeping with her, dislikes her and slanders her and gives her a bad name, saying, “I married this woman, but when I approached her, I did not find proof of her virginity,” then the young woman’s father and mother shall bring to the town elders at the gate proof that she was a virgin. Her father will say to the elders, “I gave my daughter in marriage to this man, but he dislikes her. Now he has slandered her and said, ‘I did not find your daughter to be a virgin.’ But here is the proof of my daughter’s virginity.” Then her parents shall display the cloth before the elders of the town, and the elders shall take the man and punish him. They shall fine him a hundred shekels of silver and give them to the young woman’s father, because this man has given an Israelite virgin a bad name. She shall continue to be his wife; he must not divorce her as long as he lives.
If, however, the charge is true and no proof of the young woman’s virginity can be found, she shall be brought to the door of her father’s house and there the men of her town shall stone her to death. She has done an outrageous thing in Israel by being promiscuous while still in her father’s house. You must purge the evil from among you.
If a man is found sleeping with another man’s wife, both the man who slept with her and the woman must die. You must purge the evil from Israel. If a man happens to meet in a town a virgin pledged to be married and he sleeps with her, you shall take both of them to the gate of that town and stone them to death—the young woman because she was in a town and did not scream for help, and the man because he violated another man’s wife. You must purge the evil from among you.
Deuteronomy 22:20-24 - New International Version. Bible Gateway. https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Deuteronomy+22%3A20-21&version=NIV.
Questions:
- What are the different punishments for man and women in this text?
- Is virginity idolized in the text?
- Are female rape victims blamed in any way by the text?
The New Testament: Matthew 1:1-24
Scholars hypothesize the Gospel of Matthew was written about 15 years after the Gospel of Mark in 85CE. The first 17 lines of the first chapter refer to and attempt to establish Jesus’ parentage and direct connection to King David, a descendant from Abraham. The English translation uses the term “begat” which means fathered or brought into existence, usually through the male line.
1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;
8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;
9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;
10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.
The Bible: King James Version, Matthew 1:1-25.
Questions:
1 The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham.
2 Abraham begat Isaac; and Isaac begat Jacob; and Jacob begat Judas and his brethren;
3 And Judas begat Phares and Zara of Thamar; and Phares begat Esrom; and Esrom begat Aram;
4 And Aram begat Aminadab; and Aminadab begat Naasson; and Naasson begat Salmon;
5 And Salmon begat Booz of Rachab; and Booz begat Obed of Ruth; and Obed begat Jesse;
6 And Jesse begat David the king; and David the king begat Solomon of her that had been the wife of Urias;
7 And Solomon begat Roboam; and Roboam begat Abia; and Abia begat Asa;
8 And Asa begat Josaphat; and Josaphat begat Joram; and Joram begat Ozias;
9 And Ozias begat Joatham; and Joatham begat Achaz; and Achaz begat Ezekias;
10 And Ezekias begat Manasses; and Manasses begat Amon; and Amon begat Josias;
11 And Josias begat Jechonias and his brethren, about the time they were carried away to Babylon:
12 And after they were brought to Babylon, Jechonias begat Salathiel; and Salathiel begat Zorobabel;
13 And Zorobabel begat Abiud; and Abiud begat Eliakim; and Eliakim begat Azor;
14 And Azor begat Sadoc; and Sadoc begat Achim; and Achim begat Eliud;
15 And Eliud begat Eleazar; and Eleazar begat Matthan; and Matthan begat Jacob;
16 And Jacob begat Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ.
17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; and from David until the carrying away into Babylon are fourteen generations; and from the carrying away into Babylon unto Christ are fourteen generations.
18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost.
19 Then Joseph her husband, being a just man, and not willing to make her a public example, was minded to put her away privily.
20 But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost.
21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins.
22 Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying,
23 Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us.
24 Then Joseph being raised from sleep did as the angel of the Lord had bidden him, and took unto him his wife:
25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name Jesus.
The Bible: King James Version, Matthew 1:1-25.
Questions:
- How does this text describe the pregnancy of Mary and the birth of Jesus?
The New Testament: Matthew 2:1-21
1 Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem,
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
The Bible: King James Version, Matthew 2:1-21.
Questions:
2 Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.
3 When Herod the king had heard these things, he was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
4 And when he had gathered all the chief priests and scribes of the people together, he demanded of them where Christ should be born.
5 And they said unto him, In Bethlehem of Judaea: for thus it is written by the prophet,
6 And thou Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art not the least among the princes of Juda: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.
7 Then Herod, when he had privily called the wise men, enquired of them diligently what time the star appeared.
8 And he sent them to Bethlehem, and said, Go and search diligently for the young child; and when ye have found him, bring me word again, that I may come and worship him also.
9 When they had heard the king, they departed; and, lo, the star, which they saw in the east, went before them, till it came and stood over where the young child was.
10 When they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11 And when they were come into the house, they saw the young child with Mary his mother, and fell down, and worshipped him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh.
12 And being warned of God in a dream that they should not return to Herod, they departed into their own country another way.
13 And when they were departed, behold, the angel of the Lord appeareth to Joseph in a dream, saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and be thou there until I bring thee word: for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.
14 When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night, and departed into Egypt:
15 And was there until the death of Herod: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt have I called my son.
16 Then Herod, when he saw that he was mocked of the wise men, was exceeding wroth, and sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem, and in all the coasts thereof, from two years old and under, according to the time which he had diligently inquired of the wise men.
17 Then was fulfilled that which was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying,
18 In Rama was there a voice heard, lamentation, and weeping, and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children, and would not be comforted, because they are not.
19 But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeareth in a dream to Joseph in Egypt,
20 Saying, Arise, and take the young child and his mother, and go into the land of Israel: for they are dead which sought the young child's life.
21 And he arose, and took the young child and his mother, and came into the land of Israel.
The Bible: King James Version, Matthew 2:1-21.
Questions:
- How does this text describe the pregnancy of Mary and the birth of Jesus?
The New Testament: Luke 1:26-80
Scholars hypothesize that the Gospel of Luke was written in 85CE. Luke’s account differs from Matthews in important ways.
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
57 Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.
64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
66 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
The Bible: King James Version. Luke 1:26-80.
Questions:
26 And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth,
27 To a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.
28 And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.
29 And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.
30 And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.
31 And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.
32 He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
33 And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.
34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
36 And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived a son in her old age: and this is the sixth month with her, who was called barren.
37 For with God nothing shall be impossible.
38 And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word. And the angel departed from her.
39 And Mary arose in those days, and went into the hill country with haste, into a city of Juda;
40 And entered into the house of Zacharias, and saluted Elisabeth.
41 And it came to pass, that, when Elisabeth heard the salutation of Mary, the babe leaped in her womb; and Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Ghost:
42 And she spake out with a loud voice, and said, Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb.
43 And whence is this to me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?
44 For, lo, as soon as the voice of thy salutation sounded in mine ears, the babe leaped in my womb for joy.
45 And blessed is she that believed: for there shall be a performance of those things which were told her from the Lord.
46 And Mary said, My soul doth magnify the Lord,
47 And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
48 For he hath regarded the low estate of his handmaiden: for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed.
49 For he that is mighty hath done to me great things; and holy is his name.
50 And his mercy is on them that fear him from generation to generation.
51 He hath shewed strength with his arm; he hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts.
52 He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
53 He hath filled the hungry with good things; and the rich he hath sent empty away.
54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy;
55 As he spake to our fathers, to Abraham, and to his seed for ever.
56 And Mary abode with her about three months, and returned to her own house.
57 Now Elisabeth's full time came that she should be delivered; and she brought forth a son.
58 And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced with her.
59 And it came to pass, that on the eighth day they came to circumcise the child; and they called him Zacharias, after the name of his father.
60 And his mother answered and said, Not so; but he shall be called John.
61 And they said unto her, There is none of thy kindred that is called by this name.
62 And they made signs to his father, how he would have him called.
63 And he asked for a writing table, and wrote, saying, His name is John. And they marvelled all.
64 And his mouth was opened immediately, and his tongue loosed, and he spake, and praised God.
65 And fear came on all that dwelt round about them: and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judaea.
66 And all they that heard them laid them up in their hearts, saying, What manner of child shall this be! And the hand of the Lord was with him.
67 And his father Zacharias was filled with the Holy Ghost, and prophesied, saying,
68 Blessed be the Lord God of Israel; for he hath visited and redeemed his people,
69 And hath raised up an horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David;
70 As he spake by the mouth of his holy prophets, which have been since the world began:
71 That we should be saved from our enemies, and from the hand of all that hate us;
72 To perform the mercy promised to our fathers, and to remember his holy covenant;
73 The oath which he sware to our father Abraham,
74 That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear,
75 In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life.
76 And thou, child, shalt be called the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways;
77 To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins,
78 Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us,
79 To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.
80 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his shewing unto Israel.
The Bible: King James Version. Luke 1:26-80.
Questions:
- What mystical things happen during and after conception and birth?
- How does this text describe the pregnancy of Mary and the birth of Jesus?
Saint Sophronius: On Mary of Egypt
Mary of Egypt is an honored Coptic and Orthodox saint who abandoned her life of prostitution for a virtuous life. She fled to the desert where she almost starved, by some accounts to protect men from her lust. She likely lived between 344 and 421 CE in Egypt and Palestine.
Zosima… went far, far into the desert with a secret hope of finding some father who might be living there and who might be able to satisfy his thirst and longing. And he wandered on tireless, as if hurrying on to some definite place… he suddenly saw… the semblance of a human body. At first he was confused thinking he beheld a vision of the devil, and even started with fear… It was naked, the skin dark as if burned up by the heat of the sun; the hair on its head was white as a fleece, and not long, falling just below its neck. Zosima was so overjoyed at beholding a human form that he ran after it in pursuit, but the form fled from him. He followed. At length, when he was near enough to be heard, he shouted: "Why do you run from an old man and a sinner?... "Forgive me for God's sake, but I cannot turn towards you and show you my face, Abba Zosima. For I am a woman and naked as you see with the uncovered shame of my body. But if you would like to fulfil one wish of a sinful woman, throw me your cloak so that I can cover my body and can turn to you and ask for your blessing." Here terror seized Zosima, for he heard that she called him by name. But he realized that she could not have done so without knowing anything of him if she had not had the power of spiritual insight. He at once did as he was asked. He took off his old, tattered cloak and threw it to her, turning away as he did so. she picked it up and was able to cover at least a part of her body.
Then she turned to Zosima and said: "Why did you wish, Abba Zosima, to see a sinful woman? … Know, holy father, that I am only a sinful woman, though I am guarded by Holy baptism. And I am no spirit but earth and ashes, and flesh alone." And with these words she guarded herself with the sign of the Cross on her forehead, eyes, mouth and breast…
[T]he elder fell to the ground and, embracing her feet, he said with tears: "I beg you, by the Name of Christ our God… Tell me all, I implore you…
"I am ashamed, Abba, to speak to you of my disgraceful life, forgive me for God's sake! But as you have already seen my naked body I shall likewise lay bare before you my work, so that you may know with what shame and obscenity my soul is filled…
"My native land, holy father, was Egypt. Already during the lifetime of my parents, when I was twelve years old, I renounced their love and went to Alexandria. I am ashamed to recall how there I at first ruined my maidenhood and then unrestrainedly and insatiably gave myself up to sensuality… And it was not for the sake of gain -- here I speak the pure truth. Often when they wished to pay me, I refused the money. I acted in this way so as to make as many men as possible to try to obtain me, doing free of charge what gave me pleasure… Then one summer I saw a large crowd… running towards the sea… I was suddenly filled with a desire to go, Abba, to have more lovers who could satisfy my passion. I told you, Abba Zosima, not to force me to tell you of my disgrace. God is my witness, I am afraid of defiling you and the very air with my words."
Zosima, weeping, replied to her: "Speak on for God's sake, mother, speak and do not break the thread of such an edifying tale."
And, resuming her story, she went on: "…Shamelessly, as usual, I mixed with the crowd, saying, `Take me with you to the place you are going to; you will not find me superfluous.'… At daybreak I saw that everyone was hurrying to the church, so I ran with the rest. When the hour for the holy elevation approached, I was trying to make my way in with the crowd which was struggling to get through the church doors.
"I had at last squeezed through with great difficulty almost to the entrance of the temple… But when I trod on the doorstep which everyone passed, I was stopped by some force which prevented by entering… Thinking that this had happened because of my woman's weakness, I again began to work my way into the crowd, trying to elbow myself forward. But in vain I struggled. Again my feet trod on the doorstep over which others were entering the church without encountering any obstacle. I alone seemed to remain unaccepted by the church. It was as if there was a detachment of soldiers standing there to oppose my entrance… The word of salvation gently touched the eyes of my heart and revealed to me that it was my unclean life which barred the entrance to me. I began to weep and lament and beat my breast, and to sigh from the depths of my heart.
"And so I stood weeping when I saw above me the ikon of the most holy Mother of God. Not taking my eyes off her, I said, `O Lady, Mother of God, who gave birth in the flesh to God the Word, I know, O how well I know, that it is no honour or praise to thee when one so impure and depraved as I look up to thy icon, O ever-virgin, who didst keep thy body and soul in purity…
"As I was leaving the church a stranger glanced at me and gave me three coins, saying: `Sister, take these.' And, taking the money, I bought three loaves and took them with me on my journey, as a blessed gift… I lay down and passed the night on the ground. In the morning I found a small boat and crossed to the opposite bank. I again prayed to Our Lady to lead me whither she wished. Then I found myself in this desert and since then up to this very day I am estranged from all, keeping away from people and running away from everyone. And I live here clinging to my God Who saves all who turn to Him from faintheartedness and storms."
Zosima asked her: "How many years have gone by since you began to live in this desert?" She replied: "Forty-seven years have already gone by, I think, since I left the holy city."
Zosima asked: "Can it be that you did not need food and clothing?" She answered: "After finishing the loaves I had… I have fed on herbs and all that can be found in the desert. The clothes I had when I crossed the Jordan became torn and worn out. I suffered greatly from the cold and greatly from the extreme heat…
Thus concluding her tale she bowed down before him… For the whole year he kept silent, not daring to tell anyone of what he had seen… And when another year had passed, he again went into the desert he reached the same spot but could see no sign of anyone… Then on the opposite bank of the river, her face turned towards the rising sun, he saw the saint lying dead. Her hands were crossed according to custom and her face was turned to the East. Running up he shed tears over the saint's feet and kissed them, not daring to touch anything else. For a long time he wept. Then reciting the appointed psalms, he said the burial prayers and thought to himself: "Must I bury the body of a saint? Or will this be contrary to her wishes?" And then he saw words traced on the ground by her head: "Abba Zosima, bury on this spot the body of humble Mary. Return to dust that which is dust and pray to the Lord for me, who departed in the month of Fermoutin of Egypt, called April by the Romans, on the first day, on the very night of our Lord's Passion, after having partaken of the Divine Mysteries." Reading this the elder was glad to know the saint's name.
The Life of the Venerable Mary of Egypt. St. Mary of Egypt. N.D. https://stmaryofegypt.org/files/library/life.htm.
Questions:
Zosima… went far, far into the desert with a secret hope of finding some father who might be living there and who might be able to satisfy his thirst and longing. And he wandered on tireless, as if hurrying on to some definite place… he suddenly saw… the semblance of a human body. At first he was confused thinking he beheld a vision of the devil, and even started with fear… It was naked, the skin dark as if burned up by the heat of the sun; the hair on its head was white as a fleece, and not long, falling just below its neck. Zosima was so overjoyed at beholding a human form that he ran after it in pursuit, but the form fled from him. He followed. At length, when he was near enough to be heard, he shouted: "Why do you run from an old man and a sinner?... "Forgive me for God's sake, but I cannot turn towards you and show you my face, Abba Zosima. For I am a woman and naked as you see with the uncovered shame of my body. But if you would like to fulfil one wish of a sinful woman, throw me your cloak so that I can cover my body and can turn to you and ask for your blessing." Here terror seized Zosima, for he heard that she called him by name. But he realized that she could not have done so without knowing anything of him if she had not had the power of spiritual insight. He at once did as he was asked. He took off his old, tattered cloak and threw it to her, turning away as he did so. she picked it up and was able to cover at least a part of her body.
Then she turned to Zosima and said: "Why did you wish, Abba Zosima, to see a sinful woman? … Know, holy father, that I am only a sinful woman, though I am guarded by Holy baptism. And I am no spirit but earth and ashes, and flesh alone." And with these words she guarded herself with the sign of the Cross on her forehead, eyes, mouth and breast…
[T]he elder fell to the ground and, embracing her feet, he said with tears: "I beg you, by the Name of Christ our God… Tell me all, I implore you…
"I am ashamed, Abba, to speak to you of my disgraceful life, forgive me for God's sake! But as you have already seen my naked body I shall likewise lay bare before you my work, so that you may know with what shame and obscenity my soul is filled…
"My native land, holy father, was Egypt. Already during the lifetime of my parents, when I was twelve years old, I renounced their love and went to Alexandria. I am ashamed to recall how there I at first ruined my maidenhood and then unrestrainedly and insatiably gave myself up to sensuality… And it was not for the sake of gain -- here I speak the pure truth. Often when they wished to pay me, I refused the money. I acted in this way so as to make as many men as possible to try to obtain me, doing free of charge what gave me pleasure… Then one summer I saw a large crowd… running towards the sea… I was suddenly filled with a desire to go, Abba, to have more lovers who could satisfy my passion. I told you, Abba Zosima, not to force me to tell you of my disgrace. God is my witness, I am afraid of defiling you and the very air with my words."
Zosima, weeping, replied to her: "Speak on for God's sake, mother, speak and do not break the thread of such an edifying tale."
And, resuming her story, she went on: "…Shamelessly, as usual, I mixed with the crowd, saying, `Take me with you to the place you are going to; you will not find me superfluous.'… At daybreak I saw that everyone was hurrying to the church, so I ran with the rest. When the hour for the holy elevation approached, I was trying to make my way in with the crowd which was struggling to get through the church doors.
"I had at last squeezed through with great difficulty almost to the entrance of the temple… But when I trod on the doorstep which everyone passed, I was stopped by some force which prevented by entering… Thinking that this had happened because of my woman's weakness, I again began to work my way into the crowd, trying to elbow myself forward. But in vain I struggled. Again my feet trod on the doorstep over which others were entering the church without encountering any obstacle. I alone seemed to remain unaccepted by the church. It was as if there was a detachment of soldiers standing there to oppose my entrance… The word of salvation gently touched the eyes of my heart and revealed to me that it was my unclean life which barred the entrance to me. I began to weep and lament and beat my breast, and to sigh from the depths of my heart.
"And so I stood weeping when I saw above me the ikon of the most holy Mother of God. Not taking my eyes off her, I said, `O Lady, Mother of God, who gave birth in the flesh to God the Word, I know, O how well I know, that it is no honour or praise to thee when one so impure and depraved as I look up to thy icon, O ever-virgin, who didst keep thy body and soul in purity…
"As I was leaving the church a stranger glanced at me and gave me three coins, saying: `Sister, take these.' And, taking the money, I bought three loaves and took them with me on my journey, as a blessed gift… I lay down and passed the night on the ground. In the morning I found a small boat and crossed to the opposite bank. I again prayed to Our Lady to lead me whither she wished. Then I found myself in this desert and since then up to this very day I am estranged from all, keeping away from people and running away from everyone. And I live here clinging to my God Who saves all who turn to Him from faintheartedness and storms."
Zosima asked her: "How many years have gone by since you began to live in this desert?" She replied: "Forty-seven years have already gone by, I think, since I left the holy city."
Zosima asked: "Can it be that you did not need food and clothing?" She answered: "After finishing the loaves I had… I have fed on herbs and all that can be found in the desert. The clothes I had when I crossed the Jordan became torn and worn out. I suffered greatly from the cold and greatly from the extreme heat…
Thus concluding her tale she bowed down before him… For the whole year he kept silent, not daring to tell anyone of what he had seen… And when another year had passed, he again went into the desert he reached the same spot but could see no sign of anyone… Then on the opposite bank of the river, her face turned towards the rising sun, he saw the saint lying dead. Her hands were crossed according to custom and her face was turned to the East. Running up he shed tears over the saint's feet and kissed them, not daring to touch anything else. For a long time he wept. Then reciting the appointed psalms, he said the burial prayers and thought to himself: "Must I bury the body of a saint? Or will this be contrary to her wishes?" And then he saw words traced on the ground by her head: "Abba Zosima, bury on this spot the body of humble Mary. Return to dust that which is dust and pray to the Lord for me, who departed in the month of Fermoutin of Egypt, called April by the Romans, on the first day, on the very night of our Lord's Passion, after having partaken of the Divine Mysteries." Reading this the elder was glad to know the saint's name.
The Life of the Venerable Mary of Egypt. St. Mary of Egypt. N.D. https://stmaryofegypt.org/files/library/life.htm.
Questions:
- What descriptive words does the author use to describe Mary of Egypt?
Bede: Of The Life And Death of the abbess Hilda
In his Church History of the English People, the monk Bede described the establishment of Christianity in Britain after the Roman Empire’s withdrawal. For the year 680, he noted the death of Hilda, abbess of Whitby. Hilda was related to English royal families, and hosted a conference establishing the method of calculating the date of Easter in the English church, which had been controversial. Whitby was a “double monastery” with both monks and nuns, separate from each other but all under Hilda’s authority. One of its best-known members (described in the chapter of Bede’s history after this excerpt) was Caedmon, a poet who wrote some of the first religious verses in Old English.
When she had for some years governed this monastery, wholly intent upon establishing a regular life, it happened that she also undertook either to build or to arrange a monastery in the place called Streaneshalch [Whitby], which work she industriously performed; for she put this monastery under the same regular discipline as she had done the former; and taught there the strict observance of justice, piety, chastity, and other virtues, and particularly of peace and charity; so that, after the example of the primitive church, no person was there rich, and none poor, all being in common to all, and none having any property. Her prudence was so great, that not only indifferent persons, but even kings and princes, as occasion offered, asked and received her advice. In short, we afterwards saw five bishops taken out of that monastery, and all of them men of singular merit and sanctity, whose names were Bosa, Hedda, Oftfor, John, and Wilfrid.
Thus this servant of Christ, Abbess Hilda, whom all that knew her called Mother, for her singular piety and grace, was not only an example of good life to those that lived in her monastery…
Bede (673-735): Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, Book IV, Chapter XXIII. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/bede-book4.asp.
Questions:
When she had for some years governed this monastery, wholly intent upon establishing a regular life, it happened that she also undertook either to build or to arrange a monastery in the place called Streaneshalch [Whitby], which work she industriously performed; for she put this monastery under the same regular discipline as she had done the former; and taught there the strict observance of justice, piety, chastity, and other virtues, and particularly of peace and charity; so that, after the example of the primitive church, no person was there rich, and none poor, all being in common to all, and none having any property. Her prudence was so great, that not only indifferent persons, but even kings and princes, as occasion offered, asked and received her advice. In short, we afterwards saw five bishops taken out of that monastery, and all of them men of singular merit and sanctity, whose names were Bosa, Hedda, Oftfor, John, and Wilfrid.
Thus this servant of Christ, Abbess Hilda, whom all that knew her called Mother, for her singular piety and grace, was not only an example of good life to those that lived in her monastery…
Bede (673-735): Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, Book IV, Chapter XXIII. https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/bede-book4.asp.
Questions:
- What does this excerpt reveal about how an abbess might interact with powerful men in early medieval society? Explain.
Boniface: Letter to Abbess Eadburga
Boniface was an English Benedictine monk and leading figure in the Anglo-Saxon mission to the Germanic parts of the Frankish Empire during the eighth century. He organized significant foundations of the church in Germany and was made archbishop of Mainz by Pope Gregory III. He was killed by raiders while baptizing converts in 754 CE.
To the most reverend and beloved sister, Abbess Eadburga, Boniface, least of the servants of God, loving greetings.
I pray Almighty God, the Rewarder of all good works, that when you reach the heavenly mansions and the everlasting tents He will repay you for all the generosity you have shown to me. For, many times, by your useful gifts of books and vestments, you have consoled and relieved me in my distress. And so I beg you to continue the good work you have begun by copying out for me in letters of gold the epistles of my lord, St. Peter, that a reverence and love of the Holy Scriptures may be impressed on the minds of the heathens to whom I preach, and that I may ever have before my gaze the words of him who guided me along this path.
The materials [gold] needed for the copy I am sending by the priest Eoban.
Deal, then, my dear sister, with this my request as you have so generously dealt with them in the past, so that here on earth your deeds may shine in letters of gold to the glory of our Father who is in heaven.
For your well-being in Christ and for your continual progress in virtue I offer my prayers.
The English Correspondence of Saint Boniface, by Edward Kylie (London, 1911). Retrieved from https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/boniface-letters.asp.
Questions:
To the most reverend and beloved sister, Abbess Eadburga, Boniface, least of the servants of God, loving greetings.
I pray Almighty God, the Rewarder of all good works, that when you reach the heavenly mansions and the everlasting tents He will repay you for all the generosity you have shown to me. For, many times, by your useful gifts of books and vestments, you have consoled and relieved me in my distress. And so I beg you to continue the good work you have begun by copying out for me in letters of gold the epistles of my lord, St. Peter, that a reverence and love of the Holy Scriptures may be impressed on the minds of the heathens to whom I preach, and that I may ever have before my gaze the words of him who guided me along this path.
The materials [gold] needed for the copy I am sending by the priest Eoban.
Deal, then, my dear sister, with this my request as you have so generously dealt with them in the past, so that here on earth your deeds may shine in letters of gold to the glory of our Father who is in heaven.
For your well-being in Christ and for your continual progress in virtue I offer my prayers.
The English Correspondence of Saint Boniface, by Edward Kylie (London, 1911). Retrieved from https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/boniface-letters.asp.
Questions:
- Does it seem like Boniface respects or belittles the achievements of his sister nun? Explain.
The Life of Leoba
Leoba was an English nun, related to Boniface (probably a niece or distant cousin) and originally a member of Eadburga’s nunnery (see Document C). At Boniface’s request she came to Germany to set up a new nunnery at Bischofsheim in support of his missionary and church organizing work. Rudolf’s Life of Leoba was written about fifty years after her death in 782. Lives of saints were written to impress readers with how holy their subjects were, not necessarily to convey factual information. Still, they often reveal much about the culture of the people who wrote and read them.
There was a certain poor little crippled girl, who sat near the gate of the monastery begging alms. Every day she received her food from the abbess's table, her clothing from the nuns and all other necessities from them; these were given to her from divine charity. It happened that after some time, deceived by the suggestions of the devil, she committed fornication, and when her appearance made it impossible for her to conceal that she had conceived a child she covered up her guilt by pretending to be ill. When her time came, she wrapped the child in swaddling clothes and cast it at night into a pool by the river which flowed through that place. In this way she added crime to crime, for she not only followed fleshly sin by murder, but also combined murder with the poisoning of the water.
When day dawned, another woman came to draw water and, seeing the corpse of the child, was struck with horror. Burning with womanly rage, she filled the whole village with her uncontrollable cries and reproached the holy nuns with these indignant words: " Oh, what a chaste community ! How admirable is the life of nuns, who beneath their veils give birth to children and exercise at one and the same time the function of mothers and priests, baptising those to whom they have given birth. …Look for the one who is missing from the monastery and then you will find out who is responsible for this crime."
At these words all the crowd was set in uproar and everybody, of whatever age or sex, ran in one great mass to see what had happened. As soon as they saw the corpse they denounced the crime and reviled the nuns. When the abbess heard the uproar and learned what was afoot she called the nuns together, told them the reason, and discovered that no one was absent except Agatha, who a few days before had been summoned to her parents' house on urgent business: but she had gone with full permission. A messenger was sent to her without delay to recall her to the monastery, as Leoba could not endure the accusation of so great a crime to hang over them.
[Agatha protests her innocence. Abbess Leoba summons the nuns to pray through the entire book of Psalms - a part of the Bible with 150 songs and poems - with their arms held out in the form of a cross until God reveals the guilty one].
Immediately after she had said this, that wretched little woman, the dupe and the tool of the devil, seemed to be surrounded by flames, and, calling out the name of the abbess, confessed to the crime she had committed. Then a great shout rose to heaven: the vast crowd was astounded at the miracle, the nuns began to weep with joy, and all of them with one voice gave expression to the merits of Leoba and of Christ our Saviour.
C. H. Talbot, The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany, Being the Lives of SS. Willibrord, Boniface, Leoba and Lebuin together with the Hodoepericon of St. Willibald and a selection from the correspondence of St. Boniface, (London and New York: Sheed and Ward, 1954). From the Internet History Sourcebook: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/leoba.asp.
Questions:
There was a certain poor little crippled girl, who sat near the gate of the monastery begging alms. Every day she received her food from the abbess's table, her clothing from the nuns and all other necessities from them; these were given to her from divine charity. It happened that after some time, deceived by the suggestions of the devil, she committed fornication, and when her appearance made it impossible for her to conceal that she had conceived a child she covered up her guilt by pretending to be ill. When her time came, she wrapped the child in swaddling clothes and cast it at night into a pool by the river which flowed through that place. In this way she added crime to crime, for she not only followed fleshly sin by murder, but also combined murder with the poisoning of the water.
When day dawned, another woman came to draw water and, seeing the corpse of the child, was struck with horror. Burning with womanly rage, she filled the whole village with her uncontrollable cries and reproached the holy nuns with these indignant words: " Oh, what a chaste community ! How admirable is the life of nuns, who beneath their veils give birth to children and exercise at one and the same time the function of mothers and priests, baptising those to whom they have given birth. …Look for the one who is missing from the monastery and then you will find out who is responsible for this crime."
At these words all the crowd was set in uproar and everybody, of whatever age or sex, ran in one great mass to see what had happened. As soon as they saw the corpse they denounced the crime and reviled the nuns. When the abbess heard the uproar and learned what was afoot she called the nuns together, told them the reason, and discovered that no one was absent except Agatha, who a few days before had been summoned to her parents' house on urgent business: but she had gone with full permission. A messenger was sent to her without delay to recall her to the monastery, as Leoba could not endure the accusation of so great a crime to hang over them.
[Agatha protests her innocence. Abbess Leoba summons the nuns to pray through the entire book of Psalms - a part of the Bible with 150 songs and poems - with their arms held out in the form of a cross until God reveals the guilty one].
Immediately after she had said this, that wretched little woman, the dupe and the tool of the devil, seemed to be surrounded by flames, and, calling out the name of the abbess, confessed to the crime she had committed. Then a great shout rose to heaven: the vast crowd was astounded at the miracle, the nuns began to weep with joy, and all of them with one voice gave expression to the merits of Leoba and of Christ our Saviour.
C. H. Talbot, The Anglo-Saxon Missionaries in Germany, Being the Lives of SS. Willibrord, Boniface, Leoba and Lebuin together with the Hodoepericon of St. Willibald and a selection from the correspondence of St. Boniface, (London and New York: Sheed and Ward, 1954). From the Internet History Sourcebook: https://sourcebooks.fordham.edu/basis/leoba.asp.
Questions:
- To judge by this source, what risks did early medieval nuns face, and what resources did they have to manage them? Note also the presence of women from several different walks of life in the story.
- What does this source reveal about how nunneries expanded and limited women’s opportunities?
- Overall, how did nunneries expand and limit women’s opportunities in the early Middle Ages?
Remedial Herstory Editors. "9. 0 ONE MALE GOD OVER WOMEN" The Remedial Herstory Project. November 1, 2022. www.remedialherstory.com.
AUTHORs |
Chloe Gardner, Kelsie Brook Eckert, Dr. Whitney Howarth
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PRIMARY REVIEWERs |
Dr. Bonnie Rock-McCutcheon
Dr. Barbara Tischler, Dr. Jonathan Couser, Dr. Nancy Locklin-Sofer, and Sara Stone |
|
Kelsie Brook Eckert, Project Director
Coordinator of Social Studies Education at Plymouth State University Dr. Nancy Locklin-Sofer, Consultant Professor of History at Maryville College. Chloe Gardner, Consultant PhD Candidate in Religious Studies at Edinburgh University Dr. Whitney Howarth, Consultant Former Professor of History at Plymouth State University Jacqui Nelson, Consultant Teaching Lecturer of Military History at Plymouth State University Maria Concepcion Marquez Sandoval PhD Candidate in History at Arizona University |
Chris Canfield
Humanities Teacher, Moultonborough Academy ReviewersAncient:
Dr. Kristin Heineman Professor of History at Colorado State University Dr. Bonnie Rock-McCutcheon Professor of History at Wilson College Sarah Stone PhD Candidate in Religious Studies at Edinburgh University Medieval: Dr. Katherine Koh Professor of History at La Sierra University Dr. Jonathan Couser Professor of History at Plymouth State University Dr. Shahla Haeri Professor of History at Boston University Lauren Cole PhD Candidate in History at Northwestern University |
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Ancient History (3000 BC-500 AD)
Historians Helen Bond and Joan Taylor explore the way in which Mary the mother of Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mary, Martha and a whole host of other women - named and unnamed - have been remembered by posterity, noting how many were silenced, tamed or slurred by innuendo - though occasionally they get to slay dragons.
Hatshepsut successfully negotiated a path from the royal nursery to the very pinnacle of authority, and her reign saw one of Ancient Egypt's most prolific building periods. Scholars have long speculated as to why her monuments were destroyed within a few decades of her death, all but erasing evidence of her unprecedented rule. Constructing a rich narrative history using the artifacts that remain, noted Egyptologist Kara Cooney offers a remarkable interpretation of how Hatshepsut rapidly but methodically consolidated power - and why she fell from public favor just as quickly. The Woman Who Would Be King traces the unconventional life of an almost-forgotten pharaoh and explores our complicated reactions to women in power.
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Byzantine Intersectionality reveals the fascinating, little-examined conversations in medieval thought and visual culture around sexual and reproductive consent, bullying and slut-shaming, homosocial and homoerotic relationships, trans and nonbinary gender identities, and the depiction of racialized minorities.
This first comprehensive work on women in pre-Columbian American cultures describes gender roles and relationships in North, Central, and South America from 12,000 B.C. to the A.D. 1500s. Utilizing many key archaeological works, Karen Olsen Bruhns and Karen E. Stothert redress some of the long-standing male bias in writing about ancient Native American lifeways.
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This riveting narrative explores the lives of six remarkable female pharaohs, from Hatshepsut to Cleopatra--women who ruled with real power--and shines a piercing light on our own perceptions of women in power today.
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monotheism
The Virgin Mary plays a major - although often paradoxical - role in the incarnation and crucifixion and in the ecclesiastical structure of Christianity. This role is shaped by sacrifice as understood in terms of the religious patrimony of ancient Israel and as refigured in the new Christian and Islamic paradigms arising from it.
This pioneering study of the social and political lives of Muslim women has shaped a whole generation of scholarship. In it, Leila Ahmed explores the historical roots of contemporary debates, ambitiously surveying Islamic discourse on women from Arabia during the period in which Islam was founded to Iraq during the classical age to Egypt during the modern era.
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Two issues in particular raised by these are the existence of a female consort, Asherah, and the implication for monotheism; and the proliferation of pictorial representations that may contradict the biblical ban on images. Was the religion of ancient Israel really as the Bible would have us believe? This volume provides a comprehensive introduction to these issues, presenting the relevant inscriptions and discussing their possible impact for Israelite monotheism, the role of women in the cult, and biblical theology.
From the turbulence of her father’s reign, Akhenaten, who forced monotheism on the country to the mending of these wounds by the now-famous Tutankhamun, her life saw more change than most ancient Egyptians dared even dream about.
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In Pagans, O’Donnell brings to life various pagan rites and essential features of Roman religion and life, offers fresh portraits of iconic historical figures, including Constantine, Julian, and Augustine, and explores important themes—Rome versus the east, civilization versus barbarism, plurality versus unity, rich versus poor, and tradition versus innovation—in this startling account.
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Prehistory (3,300,000-3000 BC)
They live in caves and huddle around fires, but they are fully human, though they belong to our most ancient history. Risa the Arbiter has now spent years in her role and is known and respected throughout the area. Her children are half-grown and exhibiting traits of independence, both of thought and action. Her tribe has grown along with her and now needs more than one Arbiter can provide alone. Risa struggles with how best to organize her duties and establishes acolytes in each village to screen petitioners.
Ancient HISTORY (3000 BC - 500 AD)
The men of Athens gather to determine the truth. Meanwhile, the women of the city, who have no vote, are gathering in the shadows. The women know truth is a slippery thing in the hands of men. There are two sides to every story, and theirs has gone unheard. Until now.
Timely, unflinching, and transportive, Laura Shepperson’s Phaedra carves open long-accepted wounds to give voice to one of the most maligned figures of mythology and offers a stunning story of how truth bends under the weight of patriarchy but can be broken open by the force of one woman’s bravery. |
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Bibliography
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Beard, Mary. Women & Power: A Manifesto. Liveright Publishing Corporation: New York, NY, 2017.
Helleman, Wendy Elgersma. "From Patristics to the Study of Early Christianity." Evangelical Review Of Theology 38, no. 3 (July 2014): 231-249. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost.
Miles, Rosalind. The Women’s History of the World. London, UK: Harper Collins Publishers, 1988.
Lewis, Berwyn. “There's nothing new about virgin births (just ask Plato).” The Sydney Morning Herald. December 26, 2019. https://www.smh.com.au/national/there-s-nothing-new-about-virgin-births-just-ask-plato-20191225-p53mui.html#:~:text=A%20virgin%20rollcall%20might%20include,%2C%20Nana%2C%20on%20December%2025.
Pagels, Elaine. The Gnostic Gospels. New York: Vintage Books, 1979, p. xiii-xxiii. Reprinted by PBS with permission. Last modified 1998. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/gnostic-gospels/.
Socrates Scholasticus. https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf202/npnf202.ii.x.xv.html.
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Swetnam, Joseph. “The Araignment of Lewde, idle, forward, and vnconftant women, 1615.” Female Replies to Swetnam the Woman-Hater. Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 1995.
Warren, MJC. “What child is this?” The Conversation. Last modified December 23, 2016. https://theconversation.com/what-child-is-this-miraculous-births-and-divine-parents-in-the-time-of-jesus-70109.
Beard, Mary. Women & Power: A Manifesto. Liveright Publishing Corporation: New York, NY, 2017.
Helleman, Wendy Elgersma. "From Patristics to the Study of Early Christianity." Evangelical Review Of Theology 38, no. 3 (July 2014): 231-249. Academic Search Premier, EBSCOhost.
Miles, Rosalind. The Women’s History of the World. London, UK: Harper Collins Publishers, 1988.
Lewis, Berwyn. “There's nothing new about virgin births (just ask Plato).” The Sydney Morning Herald. December 26, 2019. https://www.smh.com.au/national/there-s-nothing-new-about-virgin-births-just-ask-plato-20191225-p53mui.html#:~:text=A%20virgin%20rollcall%20might%20include,%2C%20Nana%2C%20on%20December%2025.
Pagels, Elaine. The Gnostic Gospels. New York: Vintage Books, 1979, p. xiii-xxiii. Reprinted by PBS with permission. Last modified 1998. https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/gnostic-gospels/.
Socrates Scholasticus. https://ccel.org/ccel/schaff/npnf202/npnf202.ii.x.xv.html.
Strayer, R. and Nelson, E., Ways Of The World. 3rd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2016.
Swetnam, Joseph. “The Araignment of Lewde, idle, forward, and vnconftant women, 1615.” Female Replies to Swetnam the Woman-Hater. Bristol: Thoemmes Press, 1995.
Warren, MJC. “What child is this?” The Conversation. Last modified December 23, 2016. https://theconversation.com/what-child-is-this-miraculous-births-and-divine-parents-in-the-time-of-jesus-70109.
