Hi,
I recently attended a parish adult education session where the topic of women's ordination came up. The deacon who was teaching said that in the early church there were women priests and bishops. I questioned him afterward and he told me that when he was studying for the diaconate they had all read a book that made this claim and had discussed it in class. He was not able to name the book. He gave the strong impression to those present that the current teaching of the church on women's ordination would someday be changed. Is there any historical basis for his claim?
Thank you.
No. Scarcely a jot.
The closest you can get to a biblical basis is that Phoebe is a called a “deaconess” and that a person named Junia is mentioned by Paul as “outstanding among the apostles” in Romans. That's pretty slim pickings. Later conciliar teaching will make clear that 'deaconesses' were not ordained but simply assisted in the baptism of women (since baptism was sometimes conducted in the nude). Likewise the mention of Junia can simply mean that she was highly regarded by the apostles.
Beyond that, the arguments for women priests and bishops in the early Church are extremely weak. Since the Pope has made clear in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis that the Church does not have the authority to put in what God has left out, I would consider the matter closed.
Mark Shea
Senior Content Editor
Catholic Exchange
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