| Dr. John-Eric Gundersen | The Silenced Apostles: Women Leaders of The Way
When following in Paul's journeys, and cross referencing scripture to archeological and geogrpahical history, tour participants are informed of ecclesiastical beginnings and leadership. Acts of the Apostles and Paul's letters introduce several significant women, but after Paul's earthly ministry, there seems to be a shift toward a male dominated clerical hierarchy. The leaders mentioned below are a few of the women that we encounter when traveling with Paul on his Aegean, or second missionary journey but likely there were many more than these few.
Pictured above is ancient Ephesus, and below is ancient Corinth.
In one of his seven authentic and verified New Testament letters, Paul refers to Junia, a women he comes to know in Antioch, as: ἐπίσημοι ἐν tois ἀποστόλοις, which translates to, "prominent among the apostles." From ancient Corinth, Paul wrote his letter to the Romans during his third visit in c. 57-58 AD. In the same chapter, Paul introduces us to another female leader, Phoebe, a prominent benefactor and deacon (diakonos) of The Way. Phoebe is living in Cenchreae, a neighboring coastal town about seven miles from Corinth (Rom. 16:1-2, and Acts: 18) In 1 Corinthians 11:5, Paul makes no judgement about women audibly praying and prophesying (preaching) in the communal assembly. He seems to normalize their authority. From scripture, we learn that Phoebe was in charge of household gatherings where she taught of The Way. Paul trusted Phoebe to be the messenger that delivered his letter to the believers in Rome. At least two out of seven early household gatherings in Corinth were led by female teachers and patrons, Chloe and Priscilla.
Pillars of the Early Community
Priscilla & Aquila
House gatherings were structurally organized and often led by women in the first century. When Priscilla and Aquila joined Paul in Ephesus, we learn that they opened their home as a gathering place. While Paul was on a visit to Jerusalem, Aquila and Priscilla stayed in Ephesus and began ministry work. It was during this time that they met Apollos, a brilliant and eloquent Alexandrian preacher who arrived in Ephesus. Priscilla and Aquila invited him into their home and "explained to him the way of God more adequately." Paul returned to Ephesus and worked with Priscilla and Aquila before returning to Corinth. (Acts 18:24–26)
Lydia of Thyatira
Female leadership in the new ideology sprouting out of second-temple Judaism seemed to be quite prominent in the first century. After Paul's vision of the ‘Man of Macedonia’, Paul travels with Silas, Timothy, and Luke by boat from Troas via Samotrace to Neapolis, but instead of finding a Macedonian man on their arrival, they encountered a group of women gathered to pray. Among them was Lydia, who believed and was baptized. We learn that Lydia was a prominent business woman who served the Roman colony of Philippi, and opened her home as a meeting place for believers. After Paul and Silas were beaten and imprisoned in Philippi, it was Lydia’s home they returned to for shelter, and physical recovery upon their release (Acts 16)
The Great Shift: A Decline in Authority
UNESCO World Heritage Centre -- Ancient Philippi, Greece.
Though somewhat disputed as deutero-Pauline, or Pseudopigraphical, Paul's letter to the Colossians mentions Nympha, another female leader: “Give my greetings to the brothers and sisters at Laodicea, and to Nympha and the gathering [ekklesia] in her house. After this letter has been read to you, see that it is also read in the church of the Laodiceans and that you in turn read the letter from Laodicea.” It is interesting to note, that the Letter to the Ephesians was not originally addressed to the Ephesus community in original facsimiles. It's a later interpolation that added the Ephesus community to the title, resulting in the hypothesis that the Ephesus Epistle was originally intended for Laodicea. Colossians 4:15-16
Paul's conviction is clear in his earlier letter to the Galatians: “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” There are several examples of female leadership throughout scripture, but the egalitarian beginnings of The Way, seem to shift with the later language of Pseudopigraphical letters attributed to Paul, written or interpolated by patriarchy during 2nd - 4th centuries. Early Christianity changed in this period from a fluid, household-based movement where women held notable roles toward a rigid, male-dominated, institutional hierarchy that adapts and syncretizes the infrastructure and religious ideology of the empirical Greco-Roman culture.
Library of Celsus, Ephesus
By examining the archaeological remains and historical texts, we uncover a story of inclusive beginnings that developed into intentionally silencing female voices. After Paul, early church leadership began writing theological drivel regarding female subordination. Unlike the authentic letters of Paul—which were addressed to both “brothers and sisters,” Clement (96 AD) commanded in his first Epistle that women in the church must be subordinate of men, outlining gender specific roles, with a clear directive that women are no-longer permitted to leadership roles in the church. Ignatius of Antioch and Polycarp of Smyrna both celebrated women for their initial financial support to both Jesus and Paul, but that their place in church and society is subordinate to the male clerical hierarchy, which was already a Greco-Roman concept. Tertullian famously called women "the devil's gateway," blaming them for the Fall of Man and subsequently stripping them of public teaching roles. Perhaps the greatest mistake of 2nd century church leadership was to exclude and silence Her mothers, which is comparable to the post-Exilic history when Wisdom texts were diminished as well as the role of women in Judaism. (See: 1 Clement, Katholike Ekklesia, Polycarps Epistle to the Philippians 4,5,14)
While in Ephesus, Paul curiously warns church leaders that false teachers will arise from within their own ranks to distort the truth and draw disciples away. Paul also suggests in his second letter to the Thessalonians, though pseudopigraphical, that there will be a falling away from the truth. Twisting the words of Paul through embellishment leaves us with interpolated fan-fiction vs truth, especially regarding the role of women. This departure from The Way resulted in a non-egalitarian priesthood, a patriarchy-inspired "men only" club. Early male leaders of the church regressed from a priesthood that relied on the Wisdom of the Divine Feminine, which is also an in-depth study in the shift of Theology between First- and Second Temple periods in Judaism. Silencing women caused a shift in ecclesiastical direction and a religion where women struggle to find themselves represented and valued. The Truth of The Way as exemplified by Jesus was arguably lost to the syncretism of Roman imperialism seeking control of a vast population of people. (Acts 20:29-30, 2 Thess. 2:3.)