Through sacrifice, mercy, and charity, women down through church history may have given us our greatest examples of love demonstrated and proven through selfless giving and service to others.
A number of prominent leaders, scholars, and benefactors of the early church were women and—despite neglect by many modern historians—the diligent researcher can still uncover a rich history.
Of course not only women were attracted to the heretical sects that diverged from early church orthodoxy, but women were prominent in their leadership and teachings. Why might this have been?
This close friend of the scholar Jerome, known for her scholarship and her extreme piety and generosity, was one of the most noteworthy people—women or men—in all the 4th-century church.
The Apostle's writings are foundational to the standard interpretation of what women's role in the church should be. But examined carefully, his points about women raise several puzzling questions
About 200 A.D., under the reign of Roman emperor Septimius Severus, persecution broke out against the Christians. It was particularly severe in North Africa. In Carthage, a Christian woman of noble birth, Perpetua, was arrested. She was about 22 years old and was nursing an infant son. In what may be the earliest extant Christian document from a woman's pen, she wrote her own story. The account of her death was, of course, added later.
Augustine considered his mother, Monica, a driving force in his own salvation. In his Confessions, he documents her relentless prayers and persuasions. In Book IX, he speaks of her married life with Patricius in Thagaste, a small town in North Africa, thanking God for her powerful Christian witness. Patricius was a pagan throughout his life, but converted to Christianity shortly before his death.
