Gender and Magisterial Authority According to the Catholic Church, in order to become an ordained priest, one requirement is that the candidate be male in gender. There are several reasons as to why the Church believes that in order to be a priest one must be a man. Some of those arguments against women ordination include apostolic succession, sacramental disposition and in persona Christi Captis. However, there are several scholars and theologians that argue for the ordination of women into the priesthood. One of those arguments that pertain to women ordination includes the example of Junia in Romans 16:7, an apostle of Paul who he calls outstanding and in Christ. Paul reveals the significance of Junia and how she should be noticed as one …show more content…
However in several versions and translations of The Bible, the name of Junia is translated, as Junias due to the different translations of the original name, but the feminine version is more natural and an easier way of translating the original name. There are several reasons as to why Paul was referring to a woman named Junia instead of a man named Junias. For example, Junia was a common Roman name for freed slaves of the Junia clan and for noble members of the Junia family. Additionally, whenever the name Ίουνιαν was conversed by ancient Christian writers the name was understood as Junia. Epp furthers, “the feminine Junia is how Rom 16:7 was read in English translations of the New Testament from Tyndale almost without exception until the last quarter of the nineteenth century” (Kindle Edition 343). Moreover, the masculine forms of Junia have not been found anywhere else and the hypothesis of Junias creates serious problems. Therefore, using the name Junia becomes the primary choice for translating the Bible, because it offers the least amount of complications and is understood the best in the cultural context of the …show more content…
Junia and Andronicus are referred to as “distinguished among the apostles” but it has been debated whether Paul meant Junia was in fact an apostle or if Paul referred to her as an apostle without really meaning “Apostle”. Epp continues, “it is equally clear that Paul, in his letters, feels compelled to defend his apostleship, which he does vigorously, making it highly unlikely that he would employ the term “apostle” loosely when applying it to others” (867). Since Paul would not use the term apostle to refer to just anyone, Junia and Andronicus were held to a high standard in the early missions of the church. According to Paul, in order to be considered an apostle one must consciously accept and endure the hardships and dedication that is attached to missionary work. Therefore, if Paul revered Junia as an apostle who was dedicated to the labors and sufferings that are joined with missionary work than he considers her as a vital part of the missionary process. Epp furthers, “his bestowal of the term upon a woman is in turn strong evidence that the category of “apostle” in the early church was not only of considerable importance but also gender inclusive” (873). Since Junia not only suffered the same things other missionaries suffered and even spent time in prison with Paul, Epp
An interesting characteristic of the bible is that it focuses on the acts of a character without referencing their name. Some scriptures feature the moral of the story rather than the heroism of the character; this allows the reader to appreciate the message. Moreover, the majority of scriptures are male dominated as men are more important in a patriarchal society. It does not mean that women did not contribute a great deal, though; when the scripture recognizes a character by name, it is because their actions were significant to mention. Ackerman (2002) points out “This is...
In Women, Church, God: A Socio-Biblical Study, Caleb Rosado uses a socio-biblical approach to discuss the role of women in the church today and how they were treated in the Bible, during the patriarchal times. Rosado looks at the connection between what people believe now, their culture, and how they treat women in regards to how one perceives God. This book contains ten chapters in which several topics are discussed, including the nature of God, the treatment of women in the Bible, patrimonialism, servitude, and servanthood.
Klein, Franz. "John Paul II Priests." Commonweal 132.14 (2005): 23-25. Academic Search Premier. Web. 3 May 2014.
Despite his adherence to deeply gendered tradition, the stories he relates help detail the fundamental roles women played in the history of the empire. One of the earliest examples of this is found in the account of the Sabine women. This series of events shows the importance of women in forming alliances and linking families, something that could not happen if women were not at least moderately valued. Perhaps most importantly, the intervention of Romulus’ wife, Hersilia, in the battle following the abduction of the Sabine women displays the influence Roman women held within their families. Because these men appreciated and respected their wives and daughters, they listened to their pleas to halt the violence before too many lives were lost. This shows that while women may not have been considered equals, they were not discounted as
The marianismo gender role beliefs vary depending on where one is located. Marianismo beliefs influence what women see as “appropriate female behavior” (Craske, 1999, p. 12). Stereotypes of women are created which have stuck to what is ‘appropriate’ for what women can and cannot do. It is out of the normalcy for women to not follow these marianismo beliefs. It is obvious that motherhood is found as the ultimate role for women. Though it would make sense that men have fatherhood is not the ultimate role for men (even though both man and woman are needed to create a child) this is not the case at all. Another key marianismo belief Craske (2002) found was that women are “dominant in the private world of domestic organization,” while men are dominant in the public sector (p. 11). This is important to know because women lived very secluded lifestyles. This exclusive lifestyle connects to how Catholic women in Latin America had greater transgressions than men when it came...
middle of paper ... ... While official Church teaching considers women and men to be equal and different, some modern activists of ordination of women and other feminists argue that the teachings by St. Paul, the Fathers of the Church and Scholastic theologians advanced the impression of a pleasingly ordained female subordination. Nevertheless, women have played prominent roles in Western history through the Catholic Church, particularly in education and healthcare, but also as influential theologians and mystics. The important status of the Virgin Mary gave views of maternal virtue and compassion a place at the heart of Western civilization.
King, Karen L. The Gospel of Mary of Magdala: Jesus and the First Woman Apostle. Santa Rosa, California: Polebridge Press, 2003.
The Book of Romans Romans is a very important addition to the Bible. This is written by Paul to the Roman church. Much of Romans is showing the righteousness of God in different ways. “Romans road” passages are a great description of how to lead someone to christ (His saving righteousness).
Because of the nature of Catholicism, almost all of these people are men. There are a few women in the Swiss Guard, but the prerequisites are difficult to fulfill if you are a women. The official electrician and the official gardener of the Vatican each are allowed to have families, (and they are some of the only people inside the walls of the Vatican who are not celibate) but the women have little to no authority in these situations. In fact, there is only one woman in the Vatican who had any sort of power at all! This wonderful Lady, Sister Enrica Rosanna, served as an under-secretary to an important organization during the reign of Pope John Paul II, a more liberal Pope who pushed for major reforms in the Catholic Church.
In fact there is evidence in the 1st century BC of Priene, a woman named Phyle became the first woman in office as a crown bearer, who also paid for a cistern to store water, and water pipes for the city( “A Woman in politics: Phyle, Wife of Thessalos”, page 227). In addition there was evidence of a female philosopher named Hipparchia from the city of Maroneia, a female doctor and midwife named Phanostrate, from Athens in the 4th century BC, and a harpist named Polygnota from Delphi in 86 B.C. ( “A Woman Philosopher: The Life of Hipparchia” page 227; “ A Professional Women: Phanostrate, Midwife and Doctor”, page 227; “ A Professional Woman: The Theban Harpist Polygnota, Daughter of Socrates”, page 228). In addition there have been discovered letters dated back from 90-120 AD, which were actually birthday invitations from an officer 's wife named Claudia Severa to her friends and sister . With these sources, one can’t conclude that females had no other roles in the ancient world. Although a majority of women were forced into the life bearing kids and just caring for the household, because that was the ideal role that was given to them and there was no other role to look up to, not all females were restricted that life. Females like Phyle and Phanostrate were both married and in addition was a doctor, or politician. Also, the
Today, women share the same equal rights and opportunities as men; nevertheless, that has not invariably been the case. Before the Jazz Age era, gender discrimination between men and women in society was considerably popular. Women were seen as inferior to men. Their jobs were to care for the home, children, and other domesticated duties while men were able to work, get an education, and become doctors or lawyers. Many women like Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Ida B. Wells, Sojourner Truth, Zora Hurston, to mention a few, seen the unfairness in women's rights and fought for equal rights for women through different movements, efforts, protests, and even marches to abolish women’s rights. As a consequence, women now pursue not only higher education and higher paid jobs/ businesses, but their rights. One of the world’s most controversial issues among churches of today is the role of a woman. Many people are confused about the duty of a woman and how she is supposed to serve God because of history. History taught us to never deny someone of gender, race, or even diversity since he or she has human rights. However, this issue should not be viewed as men versus women because this is not a political issue; instead, it should be viewed as the structural of a church. Women should not be priests, pastors, or even rabbis for God condone women for being priests, pastors, and rabbis as well as proscribed.
Throughout history there have always been an abundant source of prejudice and discrimination towards women. Many generations have followed and continuously tolerated the sexist ideals that were reinforced. In a religious perspective, Saint Paul, had insisted than when in the church, women should cover their heads, and should not talk. Many churches today still follow this belief and require that men and women are segregated in the church.
Dulcitius idolizes these woman as nothing more than a
The Apostle Paul is known as the greatest missionary of the early church. Paul, who once vowed to wipe out belief in Jesus Christ, was later converted to do the work of Christ. He would author almost half of the 27 books in the New Testament. He endured sickness, rejection, and repeated attacks on his life to bring the message of God's grace and forgiveness to Gentiles. Paul was the apostle largely responsible for the solid inception and growth of Christianity. He spoke before Jews, Greeks, and Romans. Paul is known as the apostle to the Gentiles. He defended God's Word before kings and emperors of this world. By the end of his life, much of the Mediterranean world had been reached with the gospel.
A year later, according to a research project, The Notre Dame Study of Catholic Parish Life, many women have assumed parish responsibilities. “…The following percentages of ministerial activities done by women reveal: alter preparation 85 percent, teaching 80 percent, social caring and justice ministries 85 percent, parish council leadership 52 percent (Wessinger, 246).”. Church practice is - to a large extent - women's practice. Without the unpaid cooperation of women, important pastoral activities would stop. A fair number of women choose to give their time and efforts to the church, rather than take paid employment. Many times these women are over looked.