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In Memory Of Her: A Feminist Theological Reconstruction of Christian Origins

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From Biblical and extra-canonical literature, Schussler-Fiorenza gleans many little jewels of insight into the role of women in the early church. She compares the epistles of Peter and Paul, which enjoin restraint and submission of women, to the writers of the primary Gospels who emphasize altruistic love and service, not any form of hierarchy, as the substance of spiritual life. She relates the social conventions and legal roles of women in the ancient Roman world to the emergence of patriarchal church-institutions, in contrast to house-churches which could be headed by women. The picture which emerges is a very diverse early christian millieu in which women prophesied, presided over the eucharist, supported missionaries, and were missionaries themselves.

Unfortunately, the picture is hard to see if you are unaccustomed to the language of biblical scholarship and feminist historical reconstruction. For most people interested in feminist theology, this is not the book to start with. I wish someone would rewrite it for a broader audience. In substance it is exactly the kind of background that every woman should have, in order to understand how she has been viewed, defined, and influenced by christianity and christian-dominated culture.

It should be required reading (along with a diet of bread and water and daily flagellation) for every Catholic bishop who is not demanding the ordination of women in his church.

Those not familiar with Elisabeth's work might do well to read her article entitled, "Feminist Theology as a Critical Theology of Liberation". That article, published in a number of edited collections of feminist theology, lays out the methodology she uses in, "In Memory of Her". Just as important, those not familiar with her work should begin this book with the understanding that it demands to be studied, not just read, very carefully. It is not a written motivational talk, i.e. to help women feel better about themselves. Women are not the problem. The book is written to challenge the deeply embedded assumptions scholars and people of faith make about biblical religion, biblical texts, and religious authority. It is the challenge, not just the book, that is formidable.

Schüssler Fiorenza's title is taken from Mark 14:9 referring to Jesus' recognition of the unnamed woman, who anoints him at Bethany. Jesus states that her actions will live on wherever the gospel is preached "in memory of her". It is clear even from the introduction that this book will take us to new places as the author reflects that we remember the man who betrayed Jesus, but throughout history this woman has been largely ignored. The author examines why this happened, particularly as a result of patriarchal systems. She examines the historical methods of inquiry which provide a different view of the role of women during Jesus' time and historically. She posits that women were not on the margins in the early church, but those who produce the memory through androcentric discourse (historians, authors of biblical texts in particular) have marginalized women. While the author explores many early Christian texts - both those of the New Testament and others which circulated but were not included in the canon -a major focus is directed at Galatians 3:28. She concludes that through this baptismal covenant there is oneness in the body of Christ that rejects oppression and domination. However, she recognizes the tension that this statement seems to be in with others in the Pauline corpus. She challenges the post-Pauline interpretations which subordinate women to men. In Chapter 8 on the Patriarchal Household and the Ekklçsia of Women, she cites many examples of women leaders in the early church particularly in the Gospels of John and Mark. She views the post-Pauline and post-Petrine prescriptions of women's roles in the church to run counter to the documented apostolic and ministerial leadership of women within the canonical texts. Schüssler Fiorenza explores the political concept of a contemporary ekklçsia of women to claim religious power and to nurture the oppressed--particularly since a large percentage of those who are oppressed are women and women with children.
This book, originally published in 1983, was republished in 1994 as the Tenth Anniversary Edition. The updated edition remains essentially the same except for an introduction which addresses many of the critiques of the first edition. Schüssler Fiorenza makes no apology for this book being a feminist theology text. Yet, she seems to lament in the introduction to the 1994 edition that as frequently happens in a patriarchal system, which has historically removed women's voices and memory from the mainstream, this book is too often relegated to women's or feminist studies.
This text is a seminal study on the hidden or denied/repressed role of women. It is vitally important to remember the foundational basis of this book: "Believe in and respect yourself, stand up for your dignity and rights, and always remember the struggle" (pages xvi and xxxv). This densely packed book may intimidate some readers particularly if the reader has no background in feminist studies and theology, liberation theology, and Biblical exegesis. Yet with patience and perseverance, it provides fertile ground with which to explore the roles of women in the early church from a different perspective than is traditionally taught. Even though it was first published 27 years ago, if one (or even better with a small group ekklçsia) takes the time to wrestle with the book, they will come away with a clearer understanding of women's roles in the early church; the untapped power of an ekklçsia of women; and an imaginative and liberating vision to reclaim woman-self as created equal in "the image and body of Christ" (page 351).

In spite of a deficit of sources and incomplete pieces of the puzzle, Schüssler Fiorenza reconstructs the organizational forms of the early Christian missionary movement (30 - 50 C.E.) and examines its theological perspective. She identifies Galatians 3:28 as a key expression of the movement's theology ("There is no longer Jew or Greek, there is no longer slave or free, there is no longer male and female; for all of you are one in Christ Jesus."). In fleshing out the [male] players of the missionary movement centered in Antioch, she often has to read between the lines to imagine and piece together the role of women within the movement. I do not find this a weakness, but a necessity with imagination, given the reality of lack of sources. Schüssler Fiorenza's knowledge of Greco-Roman culture assists in reconstruction of the movement's organizational form.
Schüssler Fiorenza begins her reconstruction by examining the organizational forms of the early missionary movement, focusing specifically upon the house churches and the missionaries themselves. In examining the house churches, Schüssler Fiorenza contrasts them with other religious clubs and associations in the Greco-Roman culture. This leads her to the conclusion that within the Christian house church structure, women gained new status and dignity, and that within the missionary movement itself, women were among the prominent missionary leaders.
Schüssler Fiorenza next turns to the theological self-understanding of the missionary movement. She posits that it has three main features: it is rooted in the experiences of the Holy Spirit, it understands the ministry and life of Jesus in terms of Sophia/Wisdom, and it has a prophetic-critical attitude regarding the Temple being the locus of God's presence.
While her treatment of the Christological understanding of Jesus in terms of Sophia felt a bit plodding at times, its importance in terms of the church's mission to the Hellenistic world and its experience of wisdom theology cannot be underestimated. She helpfully uses this argument as foundation for the importance of Christian equality and obedience. Lastly, Schüssler Fiorenza helps the reader understand how the new meaning of being a temple community effected the theology of the movement in erasing distinctions between men and women, slave and free, and Jewish and Gentile Christians. This effective argument points to what Schüssler Fiorenza says was the key to the theological self-understanding of the early missionary movement (Galatians 3:28).

Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (born 1938) is a leading feminist theologian, who identifies herself as a Catholic. She is currently a Professor of Divinity at Harvard Divinity School. She was the first woman elected as president of the Society of Biblical Literature. She has also written books such as Jesus: Miriam's Child, Sophia's Prophet : Critical Issues in Feminist Christology.

She states in her Introduction the the 10th Anniversary Edition, "As I finished the book in 1982, I became acutely aware that I was attempting to speak to two very different audiences: women in the academy and churches, and the academic community of religious studies and theology. Still, my effort to complete the manuscript was stymied because I subconsciously feared that neither audience would appreciate the book's feminist rhetoric. Since I had decided early on not to write another popularizing book on 'women in the Bible,' I deliberately chose critical biblical scholarship and its discourses as my mode of operation. Nevertheless, I did not wish to write an academic book on 'women in early Christianity.' Instead, I set out to explore the problem of women's historical agency in ancient Christianity in light of the theological and historical questions raised by the feminist movements in society and church." She later adds, "In Memory of Her is firmly planted within liberation theories and theologies in general, and feminist epistemologies and interpretive practices in particular."

The book is named, of course, after the anonymous woman who anointed Jesus in Mark 14, about whom Jesus said, "wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, what she has done will be told in memory of her.' Schussler Fiorenza points out that "The name of the betrayer (Judas) is remembered, but the name of the faithful disciple is forgotten because she was a woman."

Here are some representative quotations from the book:

"Texts such as Rom 16:1-3 or 16:7 suggest that leading women in the early Christian missionary movement did not owe their position to Paul. It is more likely that Paul had no other choice but to cooperate with these women and to acknowledge their authority within the communities." (Pg. 48)
"Women who belonged to a submerged group in antiquity could develop leadership in the emerging Christian movement because it stood in conflict with the dominant patriarchal ethos of the Greco-Roman world." (Pg. 92)
"Although Phoebe (Rom 16:1, ff) is the only person in the Pauline literature to receive an official letter of recommendation and although she is given three substantive titles---sister, diakonis, and prostatis---her significance for the early Christian mission is far from acknowledged. Exegetes tend to denigrate these titles, or to interpret them differently, because they are given to a woman." (Pg. 170)
"The Pauline literature and Acts still allow us to recognize that women were among the most prominent missionaries and leaders in the early Christian movement. They were apostles and ministers like Paul, and some were his co-workers. They were teachers, preachers, and competitors in the race for the gospel." (Pg. 183)
"Women were among the prophetic leaders of the Pauline communites. Luke characterizes Mary and Elizabeth, as well as Anna, as prophets. He mentions the four prophetic daughters of Philip (Acts 21:9)..." (Pg. 299)
"While---for apologetic reasons---the post-Pauline and post-Petrine writers seek to limit women's leadership roles in the Christian community ... the evangelists called Mark and John highlight the alternative character of the Christian community, and therefore accord women apostolic and ministerial leadership." (Pg. 334)
"Because the spiritual colonization of the male as divine, men have to relinquish their spiritual and religious control over women as well as over the church as the people of God, if mutuality should become a real possibility." (Pg. 347)

I have read a number of works by the author. There is no doubt that she is an experienced scholar, albeit with an ax to grind.
However, none of these works yet have answered to me the central question:
Why did not Jesus ordain women apostles?
This question, I believe lies at the heart of why the Catholic Church does not ordain women. Yes, one can easily document the oppression of women, and many other populations and groups in the church throughout history, no difficulty in that. But to me this does not answer the central question, why in the canonical gospels no women are called as apostles by Jesus? I think there must be a meaning in this.