Ordained Women Deacons

A new, enlarged edition of the groundbreaking 'No Women in Holy Orders?', gathering historical evidence to show that women were ordained as deacons in the first ten centuries of the Church, and identifiying over 120 known female deacons.

The question of restoring women to the ordained diaconate surfaced during the Second Vatican Council and continued to resound in academic and pastoral circles well after Pope Paul VI restored the diaconate as a permanent state for the church in the West in 1967. Available for the first time in English, these two documents by Cipriano Vagaggini, OSB. Cam., on the historical details of women ordained as deacons in the Greek and Byzantine traditions demonstrate that women were sacramentally ordained to the major order of deacon over the course of many centuries in many parts of the Greek and Byzantine East. Vagaggini introduces the conclusions to his study by noting that "in Christian antiquity there were different beliefs and tendencies distinguishing between ministry and ministry, ordination and ordination, with regard to the nature and significance of the respective orders or ranks."

This booklet, comprising five essays, each with questions for discussion, is for anyone interested in the question of women religious and women deacons.

Divided opinion on the topic of this book has caused controversy in Baptist history and life. Most Baptist individuals and churches have strongly opposed women deacons. Some Baptist associations have even disfellowshipped churches that have approved women deacons. And women in general have been suppressed by many recent actions of the Southern Baptist Convention, thereby affecting women deacons. However, thousands of Baptist churches include women in their deacon bodies and find that they make invaluable contributions. The book presents arguments on both sides of the topic, but lands squarely in support of women deacons.

Providing students, pastors, and lay people with up-to-date, evangelical scholarship on the Old and New Testaments. Designed to equip pastors and Christian leaders with exegetical and theological knowledge to better understand and apply God's Word by presenting the message of each passage as well as an overview of other issues surrounding the text. Includes the entire NLT text of 1-2 Timothy, Titus, and Hebrews. Linda L. Belleville PhD., St. Michael's College, University of Toronto, is Professor of Greek and New Testament at Bethel College in Mishawaka Indiana. She has published commentaries on 1 and 2 Corinthians and various articles and essays on 1 Timothy. She has been a member of the translation team for the New Living Translation since its inception. Jon Laansma Ph.D., University of Aberdeen, is Associate Professor of Ancient Languages and New Testament at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois. He is the author of several articles and of “I Will Give You Rest”: The “Rest” Motif in the New Testament with Special Reference to Matthew 11 and Hebrews 3-4. He contributed the introductions and notes for 1–2 Timothy and Titus for the NLT Study Bible. J. Ramsey Michaels Th.D., University, is Professor of Religious Studies Emeritus at Missouri State University in Springfield, Missouri. He has published commentaries on the Gospel of John, 1 Peter, and the book of Revelation. He has been a member of the translation teams for the New International Version and the New Living Translation and has been a consultant for the American Bible Society.

One of the most hotly-debated topics today in the Catholic Church concerns the role of women. Jane Coll upholds as binding the Church teaching that they cannot be ordained as priests. She then explores whether women could be ordained deaconesses. The author takes a new look at this issue and seeks an answer that is compatible with the teachings of Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium. She has based her work on the premise that the Church cannot introduce any changes that contradict the deposit of Revelation. By discussing the meaning of the Sacrament of Ordination and the role of women in the Church under the teachings of Scripture, Tradition and the Magisterium she indicates that, while the Church could not ordain women as priests, it could ordain them as deacons. However, are such deaconesses part of the sacrament of Order or are they sacramentals? Could the whole issue of women's ordination be side-stepped by creating an order of non-ordained deaconesses with wide parish responsibilities? This book attempts to answer these questions as well as a host of others on this fascinating and topical theme.

Madigan and Osiek assemble relevant material from both Western and Eastern Christendom.--Robin Jensen, Vanderbilt University Divinity School, author of Face to Face: The Portrait of the Divine in Early Christianity "Catholic Historical Review"