Women in Ministry
What this essay is NOT: it is not an argument for or against women in ministry, although as a practicing Catholic I do have my personal opinion on the matter. With regard to the Catholic Church I am reminded of a joke regarding the idea of female priests
Question: Why are there no women Catholic priests?
Answer: Because they would not be able to keep from gossiping about the things they hear during confession
The joke may or may not be funny; but it does highlight a broader aspect of women in ministry. The early church believed that the roles of a “minister” encompassed more than just preaching → administration of sacraments
- it is examination of how closely the 2×2 Fellowship follows the apostolic Christian church since it is their assertion that they more closely follow the New Testament church as a reason for their superiority over other “worldly” churches. In other words, it is not a judgment with regard to whether women should preach but rather were women ministers part of the New Testament church.
such an egalitarian approach seems nice, but is it biblical?
teaching and exhorting and prophesying and reading are not all the same
women held prominent leadership positions during the first century, when the New Testament was written. Junia was an apostle (Rom 16:7), Phoebe was a deaconess (Rom 16:1-2), and Paul considered Priscilla one of his coworkers (Rom 16:3; Acts 18:24-26). This means that any universal bans on women in ministry would have been postbiblical developments.
So did the earliest churches in the post-apostolic era include female ministers?
Turns out, many of them did! There is archaeological evidence for female deacons/ministers throughout the first several centuries of the church, as well as written evidence attesting to women in leadership positions.
In a letter to Emperor Trajan (111 C.E.), the Roman governor Pliny mentions that he obtained information by torturing two Christian women “called by them ‘deaconesses’ (Latin: ministrae).” In the 300s C.E., we find in a Christian letter a curious reference to a woman called “Madame Teacher.” In the fifth century, a woman named Olympias was lauded as a deaconess and founder of a monastery.[1]
Also in the fifth century, Theodoret of Cyrus makes this interesting comment on Romans 16:7, where the female apostle Junia is mentioned: “…[Paul] says that they are of note, not among the disciples, but the teachers; nor among ordinary teachers, but the Apostles.” In other words, it seems this ancient church father took Paul’s words to be affirming a very authoritative female teacher.
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#2: The Old Testament priesthood was restricted to males, so shouldn’t the pastorate be, too?
Perhaps this question is a little less beside the point, but at the same time, there is considerable discontinuity between the levitical priesthood and the “priesthood of all believers” we see in the New Testament. For example, 1 Peter 2:9 and Revelation 1:6; 5:10; 20:6 refer to all Christians(whether male or female) as priests now.
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The word authentein is used only once in the NT and in the 1 Tim 2:12 passage, which is interesting and should be cause to take note. It irks me when pastors pretend to be about proper hermeneutics but haven’t done the basic language study to undergird their own position (not you necessarily, just in general).
Paul could have used a typical Greek word for authority, e.g. exousia, which is used over 100 times in the NT, but chose to use an odd word, authentein. In classical works, it carries a weird connotation of seized dominance, sexual dominance, murderous intent, etc.
So it just makes you wonder, why did Paul use this rather than the normal word he would otherwise use for natural authority? This doesn’t necessarily mean women should be pastors, of course. It just means that there is something interesting going on here, and I would slow down before making a teaching about what a person should or should not do based on this passage.
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instances in Scripture of a woman teaching—even correcting—a man in private (Acts 18:26), or of how women were the first to testify to the resurrection of Jesus and did so to men (Matt. 28:8). Or perhaps you’ve heard that every church member speaks God’s Word to each other (Eph. 4:15).
1 Timothy 2:11–14: This is the most central text used to restrict women from teaching or holding spiritual authority over men. The Apostle Paul writes: "I do not permit a woman to teach or to assume authority over a man; she must be quiet". [1, 2, 3]
1 Timothy 3:1–2: Qualifications for the office of elder (or overseer) state that a leader must be "the husband of one wife", which is often read as requiring an all-male elder board. [1, 2] Paul outlines qualifications for the office of pastor (also called an elder or overseer): “The saying is trustworthy: If anyone aspires to the office of overseer, he desires a noble task” (1 Tim. 3:1, emphasis mine). Paul assumes that this office of elder—an office that that includes public teaching and shepherding—is for qualified men only (see also 1 Tim. 3:2).
1 Corinthians 14:34–35: Paul instructs women to "remain silent in the churches," tying this to the concept of submission
Creation Precedence: In 1 Timothy 2:13, Paul grounds the restriction on women teaching men in the creation narrative: "Adam was formed first, then Eve
The Twelve Apostles: Jesus Christ intentionally appointed only men to be His twelve Apostles. Theologically, the leadership structure of the early church established by Christ is interpreted as an exclusively male model.[1, 2]
Sacramental Representation: In Catholic and Orthodox traditions, a priest acts in persona Christi (in the person of Christ) during the sacraments, especially the Eucharist. Because Jesus was male, a male priesthood is required to accurately represent Christ in these liturgical roles. [1, 2]
Unbroken Tradition: The historic practice of an exclusively male priesthood or pastorate is considered a binding tradition that churches do not have the authority to alter. [1, 2]
I agree with Dickson that the prohibition against women teaching in 1 Timothy 2:12 should not be taken in the broadest sense possible. Paul does not mean to forbid women from ever transmitting knowledge to someone else. He is addressing propriety in worship, not the sort of teaching we find from women to women in Titus 2 or from Priscilla and Aquila to Apollos in Acts 18. But just because we reject the broadest definition of teaching does not mean the only other option is the narrowest definition. Dickson would have us equate “teaching” with passing on oral tradition. That was certainly part of teaching in the apostolic age, but many of the places in the New Testament that speak of the apostolic tradition never mention didasko (1 Cor. 2:2; 3:10; 11:2; 11:23–26; 15:1–11; Gal. 1:6–9; 1 Thess. 4:1–2). The language instead is of receiving, delivering, or passing on. https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/kevin-deyoung/women-preach-churches/
None of the Twelve Apostles were men - with the 2×2 hyper fixation on the Great Commission in Matthew 10 with regard to how many preachers traveled together, it is curious that they don’t care about the gender. In fact one of the practical reasons for sending men, and in pairs, was for protection. Women wandering around preaching back in the day was not a good idea
None of the writers of the books of the NT were women.
are there any female Overseers?
Catholics believe the priesthood was instituted at the Last Supper. Because Jesus commanded his male apostles to "do this in memory of me," the Church interprets the ministerial mandate as applying specifically to those who share in the male apostolic succession ==The Levitical priests were all men. Melchizedek was a man. Jesus was born a man. Jesus chose only men. And mind you Jesus wasn't afraid of bucking cultural norms.
This article sums this up far better than I can possibly hope to. https://catholicstraightanswers.com/why-can-only-men-be-ordained-as-priests/
I think it was Bishop Barron, before he became Bishop that said that people mistake the role of a priest as simply what He does during mass and in giving pastoral care. That kind of thinking completely ignores the spiritual and mystical aspects of what it is to be a priest. Just the same, men cannot become nuns
The priest is called into a unique relationship with the Church. What kind of relationship is this? It is to stand in the person of Christ the Bridegroom in relation to the Church as Bride of Christ. Therefore, the priest is necessarily male.
The priesthood of "the Most High God" began in Genesis with Melchizedek. It is an order instituted by The Lord and has always been bestowed upon only men. The final endowment of the order was upon Jesus, who is "a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek". Catholic priests are acting in His place, and in keeping with the order instituted by The Lord, are only men. A female priesthood would be a new order, which can only be initiated by The Lord, not by humans.
Primary Argument:
Jesus Christ established holy orders while he lived on Earth.
As such, the Church does not have the power or authority to alter it.
Jesus only chose men as apostles and chose to be born a man Himself.
The Church has only ordained men to the presbyterate and episcopate. Although female deacons existed at one time, such an office no longer exists and has not for centuries.
Thus, only men can be ordained as priests regardless of how the Church feels about it.
Peter addressed the “brothers,” concerning the selection of a replacement for Judas, and the Eleven apostles chose Matthias, one of two men nominated (Acts 1:15ff). If we examine the Didache (the first manual of doctrine, morality, and spirituality of the Church written about AD 80 and attributed to the apostles) or survey the writings of the Church Fathers, such as St. Clement (d. 101) or St. Ignatius of Antioch (d. 110) to name just two, we find a clear testimony that men were chosen as bishops, priests, and deacons. I remember Archbishop Fulton Sheen once said, “If our Lord would have ordained women, He would have definitely ordained His own Blessed Mother, free of sin, but He did not” (Preached at a Priests’ Retreat, 1974). Therefore, the Church remains faithful to the type of ordained ministry willed by Christ and maintained by the apostles.