Focusing on three historical examples of a different understanding of
Christian identity, the paper seeks to address the role of contemporary
concepts of sex and gender in the creation of Christian identity. In the
first case study, focused on the literary representations of the Christian
martyrdom from the second and third centuries, special emphasis is placed on
the demand for the ?manly? or ?masculine? way of witnessing faith. The
second historical example relates to the creation of a wider ascetic
movement in the fourth-century Asia Minor, and its specific focus is on
Macrina the Younger. In her Vita, Gregory of Nyssa distinguishes between
Macrina?s gender identity based on her virginity on the one hand, and her
social role as a widow, and ?mother? and ?father? of her monastic community
on the other. Finally, the focus is shifted towards Dionysius the Areopagite
and Maximus the Confessor, whose teachings about ecstasy, as a way to
transcend oneself in the movement towards the loved one, provide the basis
for establishing a theology of marriage and creating a Christian identity
based not on sexual or gender roles, but on the uniqueness of human nature.
Sex, gender and Christian identity in the patristic era
