Gary Macy

From the age of 5 to 16, I was educated by nuns of the Brigidine Order—an order founded in the memory of St Brigid of Kildare. A large section of our religious education revolved around learning stories of her life and deeds—yet in more than a decade of sitting in classrooms universally adorned with St Brigid's crosses, we were never once told that one of Brigid's biographies included a story that she had once been ordained a bishop. It was a story which we were not supposed to hear—much like the evidence which Macy gathers together here, proving that women were ordained to several roles within the Catholic Church up to the 12th century.

It makes for a fascinating read, as Macy first tackles the theology and history writing from the 17th century to the present day, neatly demolishing the rhetorical feats which (usually male) scholars have gone to to prove that 'ordination' does not mean 'ordination', often by means of anachronistic arguments. He then goes on to discuss the evidence for women as deaconesses, presbyterae (priests), and episcopae (bishops)—whether as wives of men who held equivalent positions or not—who could hear confession, distribute communion (and perhaps bless the host?) and preach the Gospel. Macy demonstrates that while there may never have been a golden age of equality for women within the Christian Church in the west, women before the 12th century certainly had a range of ordained functions which has largely since been denied them. Really fascinating reading if you have any interest in the topic.… (mer)