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The oldest reference to women as deaconesses (or female deacons, there is no distinction of role in Latin or Greek) occurs in Paul's letters (c. AD 55–58).Their ministry is mentioned by early Christian writers such as Clement of Alexandria [7] and Origen. [8]
In Christianity, the ordination of women has been taking place in an increasing number of Protestant and Old Catholic churches, starting in the 20th century. Since ancient times, certain churches of the Orthodox tradition, such as the Coptic Orthodox Church, have raised women to the office of deaconess. [1]
References are made within the earliest Christian communities to the role of women in positions of church leadership. Paul's letter to the Romans, written in the first century, commends Phoebe who is described as "deaconess of the church at Cenchreae" that she be received "in the Lord as befits the saints, and help her in whatever she may require from you, for she has been a helper of many and ...
"The need for women deacons is present in the life of the ministry of the Church. Women already serve in diaconal positions in the parish; visiting the homebound and hospitalized, catechizing the youth, aiding the poor with programs that provide food and clothing, caring for the church building and arranging for liturgies."
Women in Church history have played a variety of roles in the life of Christianity—notably as contemplatives, health care givers, educationalists and missionaries. Until recent times, women were generally excluded from episcopal and clerical positions within the certain Christian churches; however, great numbers of women have been influential in the life of the church, from contemporaries of ...
The global Catholic Church is split on whether to allow women to serve as deacons, a Vatican document showed on Tuesday, just weeks after Pope Francis ruled out any opening on the issue. Giving ...
She also notes a sentiment in 1 Corinthians, which exemplifies the pattern of Christianity of all varieties, where Paul explains that women should be veiled in the church to signal their subordination to men because the head of every man is Christ and the head of a woman is her husband and that women should keep silence in the churches. As the ...
Advocates for greater roles for women in the Church had hoped the synod might call for women to serve as deacons. The gathering, which included cardinals, bishops and lay people from more than 110 ...