Pelagius’ View of Ideal Christian Women in his Letters

The Pelagians’ ascetical practices were aiming at neither a kind of elitism nor perfectionism, rather, they simply tried to instruct their women disciples on the physical and spiritual care management in Eastern Christian ascetic manners. Pelagius emphasized the free will of women and their dignity as being in the image of God. This was quite different from the negative evaluations of women’s free will by Jerome, Augustine, and later Western priests, but quite similar to the affirmative perspectives of women’s freedom of will by Eastern Church fathers like John Chrysostom. In this presentation, I would like to focus on the letters to Demetrias from Jerome, Pelagius, and Ps. Prosper; Pelagius’ letters to a widow and a married woman; and Chrysostom’s letter to Olympias. Critically considering the previous research on the letters to Demetrias (by A.S. Jacobs 2000, A. Kurdock 2003 and 2007, and K. Wilkinson 2015), I would like to evaluate the unique perspective that Pelagius offers of the ideal woman as described in the letters to Christian women, from an Eastern theological viewpoint.

Crafting Sociability in Female Spiritual Practices: The Case of Boutchichiyyat

Research on sufism and female spirituality has centered on framing narratives of sufi women within individualized practices, constructing thereby sufi women as mere individual and assisting players in historical accounts of more famous male scholars. In recent years, academic interest has geared towards the investigation of sufi women’s collective and ritualistic performance within structured sufi circles. Henceforth, this paper explores ways in which the gathering of sufi women of Boutchichiyya, a Morocco-based sufi order, in a zawiya mediates not only ritual performances but also promotes the rehearsal of sociability and social relations. The point is made that within a horizon that is viewed as a nexus where the ritualistic performance is what matters in a zawiya, sufi women’s gathering is characterized by a sense of community, and interconnections between spiritual, social capital and socialization. In this pri-blic (private and public) space, namely the zawiya, sufi women of Boutchichiyya enjoy privacy and communal life. Knowing that the zawiya is a segregated space, since men and women disciples perform rituals separately, one might surmise that the spatial division sparks gender inequality. However, this spatial segregation is an ideal of emancipation, which subsumes a spatial segregation of rituals, and constructs a realm of privacy, intimacy, and fervent ambiance women aspire to. This paper builds on findings of a qualitative ethnographic research, in which the researcher assumed a participant-observer role to generate a more focused discussion on whether the gender division of space highlights women’s spirituality or undermines it. More precisely, this paper approaches the interactive relationship, which engages women’s sufi experience with prevalent spatial politics in Moroccan society. In such a space where women come to learn and imbibe spiritual knowledge, social relationships are important assets for women’s spiritual, social, and personal growth.

Women in the Gospels of Mark and Mary

While the Gospels of Mark and Mary are very different and neither gospel makes the role of women the prime focus of attention, the prominence of female characters is striking in both. This chapter explores how, despite their great differences, the two texts show a remarkable similarity in their depiction of Jesus’ women followers. In both, women take on crucial roles at the conclusion of Jesus’ earthly career. Although the original ending of Mark may suggest that the women disciples failed to communicate the message entrusted to them at the, this impression is countered by the later Markan endings and by most other post-Markan retellings of the tomb story. In the Gospel of Mary, Peter and Andrew’s attack on Mary is countered by Levi’s defence of her as a uniquely privileged disciple. Both Mark and the Gospel of Mary use women figures to present a message of discipleship.

Blessed Among Women?

Mothers appear throughout the New Testament. Called “blessed among women” by Elizabeth in the Gospel of Luke, Mary, the mother of Jesus, is the most obvious example. But Mary is joined by Elizabeth, a chorus of unnamed mothers seeking healing or promotions for their children, as well as male mothers, including Paul (Gal 4:19–20) and Jesus. Although interpreters of the New Testament have explored these maternal characters and metaphors, many have only recently begun to take seriously their theological aspects. This book builds on previous studies by arguing maternal language is not only theological but also indebted to ancient gender constructions and their reshaping by early Christians. Especially significant are the physiological, anatomical, and social constructions of female bodies that permeate the ancient world where early Christianity was birthed. This book examines ancient generative theories, physiological understandings of breastmilk and breastfeeding, and presentations of prominent mothers in literature and art to analyze the use of these themes in the New Testament and several, additional early Christian writings. In a context that aligned perfection with “masculinity,” motherhood was the ideal goal for women—a justification for deficient, female existence. Proclaiming a new age ushered in by God’s Christ, however, ancient Christians debated the place of women, mothers, and motherhood as a part of their reframing of gender expectations. Rather than a homogenous approval of literal motherhood, ancient Christian writings depict a spectrum of ideals for women disciples even as they retain the assumption of masculine superiority.

Presence or Absence? The Question of Women Disciples at the Last Supper

This article examines the literary role of women in the passion and resurrection narratives and the practice of the historical Jesus which lies behind the Gospels. Jesus probably included a wider group of disciples than the twelve at the Last Supper, among whom were a number of women. This is reflected in the uneven dynamic between female presence and absence in the Synoptics. Only in John is there the real possibility of women's presence at the Last Supper, although Mark uses the motif of presence/absence to contrast female fidelity with male infidelity.