by Christine Schenk, CSJ
It is nothing short of amazing that more than twice as many women are running for Congress in 2018 compared to 2016. While the political climate and the rise of the #metoo movement are undoubtedly playing a part, female empowerment is also richly connected to feminist historical scholarship.
For the first time, women are able to see themselves as other than passive bystanders in the events shaping world history. For example, we now know that the biblical Miriam was honored as a prophet and one of the major liberators of Israel, alongside her brothers Moses and Aaron. And we have discovered that women such as Phoebe, Prisca, Lydia and Nympha helped establish many of the earliest Christian churches in in Greece, Turkey and Rome.
The Well’s Saturday March 3 program: Crispina and Her Sisters: Women and Authority in Early Christianity uncovers ground-breaking new evidence that women exercised significant ecclesial leadership well into the 5th century. The tomb art of 4th century Christian women shows that they taught and proclaimed scripture at a time when male church leaders demanded that women be silent. Now, the previously unknown ministry of these passionate women of faith is revealed.
Their witness from beyond the grave can help contemporary women and men tap in to the Jesus-Spirit that – against all odds—remains powerfully at work in our world.