Charlotte Methuen

The “Virgin Widow”: A Problematic Social Role for the Early Church?

In her discussion of the life of Macrina (ca. 327–79), the sister of Gregory of Nyssa, Susanna Elm comments upon Macrinas decision to treat the death of her fiance as if it were the death of a husband. Inasmuch as this decision became a reason for her not to (re)marry, Macrina took on “a new social role: the virgin widow.” Elms casual remark points to a remarkable failure among a number of commentators to take account of the ambiguities inherent in the title “widow” (Greek χήρα, Latin vidua). While acknowledging the existence of an order of widows, scholars have also widely assumed that the terms χήρα and vidua can be equated to the modern term “widow,” that is, a woman who has survived her husband. The discussion of Christian widows, and especially enrolled widows, has accordingly focused primarily upon the function and often the age of these women. If scholars mention the marital status of such women at all, their discussion is generally directed toward the question of second marriages. I shall argue, however, that it is in fact misleading to assume that a widow must have been married previously and that in the earliest centuries of the Christian church, there is evidence not only for the existence of “virgin widows” but also for the problems that these women posed for some church leaders.

Widows, Bishops and the Struggle for Authority in the Didascalia Apostolorum

Recent interest in the position of women in the early Church has stimulated new investigations of texts and documents which consider or define the roles of women. A number of surveys have appeared which consider a spectrum of early sources, and most of these refer to the rules laid down for widows and deaconesses in the Didascalia apostolorum . A simple reading of the Didascalia interprets it as a description of contemporary church practice which reveals a Church that allowed women a certain amount of involvement in restricted spheres: widows are to pray for the Church and deaconesses to assist at the baptism of women and to visit Christian women in their homes. Since the Didascalia does not empower women it is generally regarded with a certain amount of suspicion by those postulating a more positive role for women in early Christianity. However, a closer examination suggests that such a reading is not the whole story. Rather than having a purely descriptive function, it is more likely that the Didascalia represents an attempt to change the structure of ministry in the Churches in Syria, opposing some practices and supporting others. This article will argue that the internal evidence of the Didascalia reveals it to be an attempt to impose an episcopal structure on the Church and to restrict the activity and authority of women. Seen against a background of other sources this suggests that there were groups of Christians in second- and third-century Syria and Asia Minor which recognised womens authority, and that the Didascalia was written partly in opposition to such groups.

Special providence and sixteenth-century astronomical observation: some preliminary reflections

This paper considers the role of the doctrine of providence, and particularly the distinction between general and special providence, in the interpretation of astronomical observations in the sixteenth century, with particular reference to the discussion of the 1572 nova by Lutheran astronomers. It suggests that the essential difference between the events of special providence and those of general providence could be used to legitimate observations which contradicted accepted Aristotelian physics. The decision that the underlying explanatory system must be revised thus required a theological shift as well as contradiction by observation.

Time Human or Time Divine? Theological Aspects in the Opposition to Gregorian Calendar Reform

Abstract On 24 February 1582, Pope Gregory XIII issued a Bull, intergravissimas, initiating the reform of the Julian Calendar. Whilst the new Gregorian Calendar was adopted by the majority of Catholic states, it was rejected by most Protestant states. Focusing on the treatises written by the theologian Jacob Heerbrand and the mathematician and astronomer Michael Maestlin, this article considers the arguments used against adopting the calendar, and in particular the way in which theological arguments were applied to this question, not, at first sight, a theological issue at all.

'I, who knew that I was privileged to converse with the Lord...': Christian women and religious authority in third-century North Africa

This article considers the authority of female confessors in the early church. Beginning with a discussion of the role of Perpetua as portrayed in The Passion of Perpetua and Felicitas, it then places the evidence relating to Perpetua in the context of the correspondence of Cyprian, Bishop of Carthage during the Decian persecution, fifty years later. It concludes that female confessors could and did exercise authority, and that they were considered capable of granting absolution. However, in North Africa, the authority of female confessors seems to have been distinct from that of deacons and presbyters.

And your daughters shall prophesy! Luther, reforming women and the construction of authority

ZUSAMMENFASSUNG Ausgehend von einer Analyse der ambivalenten Haltung Luthers zu predigenden und lehrenden Frauen wird in diesem Beitrag herausgearbeitet, unter welchen Bedingungen es Frauen möglich war, zur Unterstützung der Reformation theologische Werke zu veröffentlichen. Untersucht werden vier Frauen, die aufgrund ihrer Bildung, ihres sozialen Status und ihres Beziehungsnetzwerks in der Lage waren, eigene Schriften zu publizieren. Obwohl Luther Frauen vom Predigtamt ausschloss, stritt er ihnen die Fähigkeit zur Lehre nicht grundsätzlich ab. Er selbst unterstützte die Veröffentlichung der Schriften zweier ehemaliger Nonnen adeliger Herkunft, Florentina von Oberweimar und Ursula von Münsterberg, in deren Lebensgeschichten Luthers Kritik am Klosterleben eine Bestätigung fand. Dagegen erfuhren die Veröffentlichungen Argulas von Grumbach und Katharina Schütz Zells keine vergleichbare Unterstützung von Seiten Luthers. Dementsprechend stark wurde die Schreibtätigkeit dieser Frauen angegriffen.

Vidua — Presbytera — Episcopa Women with oversight in the Early Church

This sixth-century Umbrian inscription marks the tomb of a ‘venerable lady, bishop Q–’. It is generally interpreted as referring to the wife of a bishop. However, the inscription mentions neither a husband nor a male bishop. Moreover, the accolade venerabilis is generally accorded only to members of the clergy.2 The inscription raises questions. Who was this ‘venerable lady, bishop Q–’? What was her role? A Latin epitaph from the cemetery of the Basilica of St Valentina commemorates ‘the honourable lady, bishop’.3 Who was she? A mosaic in the Zeno chapel of St Prassede in Rome dating to the ninth century shows four women. Three (Mary and Sts Praxedis and Prudentiana) have their heads highlighted by the round golden halos of saints; one has her head enclosed in the square white halo, traditionally indicating the portrait of a living person, honoured or regarded as holy. This figure bears the title ‘Theodora Episcopa’. An inscription on a reliquary in the chapel records the donation of relics by Pope Paschal I to the resting place ‘of his most good mother, namely the lady Theodora, Bishop’.4 Like that of the ‘venerable lady, bishop Q–’, and the entirely anonymous ‘honourable lady, bishop’, Theodora’s title has been interpreted variously. Was she named bishop in recognition of the position of her son, the Pope? Was she a supervisor or overseer of virgins and widows, or the equivalent of an abbess? Or had she perhaps been ordained bishop?5 It is probably impossible to be certain of the correct interpretation of these inscriptions. Scholars have generally interpreted these and similar inscriptions referring to women as priests, presbyters or stewards as honorific, that is as alluding to a close relationship between the

The English Reformation in Wittenberg: Luther and Melanchthon’s Engagement with Religious Change in England 1521–1560

ABSTRACT Exploring the reception in Wittenberg of the historiographically often puzzling English Reformation, this article examines Luther’s and Melanchthon’s reactions in their correspondence. Relationships between Henry VIII and the Wittenberg Reformers deepened with an English embassy, led by Edward Foxe, to the Schmalkaldic League. The delegation was based in Wittenberg 1537–38; German deputations were in England in 1538 and 1539 (the year of the conservative Act of Six Articles). The Reformers’ responses show good general knowledge of events in England. Although Wittenberg had hoped for English conversion, Henrician theological ambiguity impeded negotiations with the League. The executions of Thomas More, Anne Boleyn and Thomas Cromwell caused the Wittenbergers to regard Henry with scepticism. Finally, Melanchthons relationships to England after the deaths of Luther and Henry VIII are discussed. Developments under Edward VI made the English Reformation recognizable as part of the wider movement, and Melanchthon advised that English exiles in Germany should be treated as fellow-believers.

The Architecture of Faith under National Socialism: Lutheran Church Building(s) in Braunschweig, 1933–1945

It has frequently been assumed that church building ceased after the National Socialists came to power in Germany in 1933. This article shows that it continued, and considers the reasons why this was the case. Focussing on churches built in the Church of Braunschweig between 1933 and 1936, it explores the interactions between emergent priorities for church architecture and the rhetoric of National Socialist ideology, and traces their influence on the building of new Protestant churches in Braunschweig. It examines the way in which Braunschweig Cathedral was reordered in accordance with National Socialist interests, and the ambiguity which such a reordering implied for the on-going Christian life of the congregation. It concludes that church building was widely understood to be a part of the National Socialist programme for creating employment, but was also used to emphasise the continuing role of the Church in building community. However, there is still much work to be done to investigate the ways in which churches and congregations interacted with National Socialism in their day-to-day existence.

The German Reformation and the Mathematization of the Created World

Abstract This article explores the emergence of mathematics and mathematical method as a means of defining authoritative truth in the thought of some scholars in the German Reformation. Against the background of Martin Luthers critique of Aristotelian philosophy, Philip Melanchthon presented mathematics as an ideal discipline for preparing the mind to understand God. His approach drew on the work of humanist mathematicians such as Regiomontanus. It finds resonances in the work of the Basel humanist Simon Grynaeus, and (in a less mathematically informed way) in the thought of Peter Ramus. These discussions about the divine nature and certainty of mathematical truth formed the context within which Johannes Keplers Platonist astronomy emerged.