Women's Authority in Early Christianity

            In considering the nature of early Christianity concerning women in authority positions, the study of Eph 5:21-6:9 contributes to a comprehensive examination of how attitudes toward women evolved in the days of early Christians, especially when this passage is compared to the Apostle Paul's earlier statements regarding the same subject. It becomes clear as one contrasts the authentic writings of Paul with these later works attributed to his name that women became subjugated in early Christian thought and that patterns in these works reflect such a progression. The language of hierarchy and subjection in Eph 5:21-6:9 is perhaps the most clear indication of the change in attitude toward the authority of women, particularly when one considers Paul's deconstruction of Greco-Roman societal roles in letters such as Galatians and 1 Corinthians.

            It is first important to note that Ephesians, though attributed to Paul, was not written by him, and in fact, according to Johnson, "seem[s] to come from a time in the last third of the first century, when Gentile Christianity seeks to define itself against both Jewish Christianity and Greco-Roman paganism" (576). One would thus expect to find a difference between this letter and the writings of Paul such as, for instance, 1 Corinthians, a letter in which Paul answered questions regarding such matters as marriage (Bassler, 558). Ephesians touches on the topic of women and authority by discussing, as Paul did in 1 Corinthians, marriage. Ephesians, however, takes a markedly different approach to this topic than did Paul, and invokes language that not only seems to suppress a woman's authority in marriage but also strengthen a man's authority: "Wives, be subject to your husbands as you are to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife just as Christ is the head of the church, the body of which he is the Savior." (Eph 5:22-23 NRSV). There thus appears in Ephesians a hierarchical system in the household that we do not find with Paul. As Johnson notes of Greco-Roman society, "The head of the household, the paterfamilias, held all three superior roles—master, husband, and father—and his slaves, wife, and children were expected to serve him and the interest of the family" (578). This is perhaps a reason why we find the author of Ephesians go on to instruct slaves to be subject to their masters, just as wives are to be subject to their husbands (Eph 5:5-6 NRSV). Furthermore, by comparing the paterfamilias to Christ, the author of Ephesians elevates him to a role that Paul did not envision and that reflects how significantly the role and authority of women changed from Paul's day.

            Paul, unlike the author of Ephesians, almost wholly deconstructs any hierarchy related to gender and even social standing in both Galatians and 1 Corinthians. Regarding marriage, he states to those who are married, "The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband" (1 Cor 7:3 NRSV). This egalitarian view of marriage is reiterated throughout the course of 1 Corinthians 7. Galatians, moreover, reflects Paul's view of women as equal to men in the eyes of God: "…there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus" (Gal 3:28 NRSV). His theological discourses are not the only indication we have that Paul was not averse to the authority of women. Indeed, as Bassler notes, Paul mentions numerous women as fellow servants of Christ—like  Euodia, Syntyche, and Prisca–and one even as a deacon, Phoebe (564).

            It is evident through the study of the changes in language regarding women from Paul to Ephesians that early Christianity experienced a significant change in attitude toward women in authority. There are perhaps a number of reasons for this, but they are beyond the scope of our discussion. It is important to recognize through what we have discussed, however, the complexities of the topic of women in early Christianity and that there was never a single stance regarding their inclusion in the church. As has been discussed, the views on this subject were widely varying and may serve as a useful lens through which to study the development of Christianity from the days of Paul onward.   

Works Cited

Bassler, Jouette M. "1 Corinthians." The Women’s Bible Commentary. Eds. Carol A Newsom, Sharon H.
         Ringe, and Jacqueline E. Lapsley. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2012. 557-565.

Johnson, E. Elizabeth. "Ephesians." The Women’s Bible Commentary. Eds. Carol A Newsom, Sharon H.
         Ringe, and Jacqueline E. Lapsley. Louisville, Ky.: Westminster/John Knox Press, 2012. 576-580.