For those who believe that the role of women in today’s Christian churches is defined—and limited—by the role they played in the early church, looking at what they actually did in the first century churches would of course be instructive. And for those who don’t believe the role of women back then is relevant to the role they should play today, such information would still be educational and hopefully interesting.

Let’s first look at the position of deacon.[1] Paul discusses the qualifications for the position of deacon in 1 Timothy 3:8-13. Among those qualifications were that a deacon must be “men of dignity, not insincere, not prone to drink much wine, not greedy for money,”[2] and “beyond reproach.”[3] They must also be “husbands of one wife, and good managers of their children and their own households.”[4] From these verses, it seems like deacons were all men, since both Acts and 1 Timothy speak only of male deacons.

But wait. In Romans chapter 16, Paul sends greetings to many people, including “our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea.”[5] The Greek word translated as “servant” is diakonos, and is the same word Paul uses in chapter three of 1 Timothy and in Philippians 1:1,[6] where it is translated as “deacon.” So Phoebe, it seems, was a deacon. Indeed, many English translations, including the New International Version, translate the word as “deacon” or “deaconess” in Romans 16:1 with reference to Phoebe.  We may also note that many commentators have speculated, based on the language of Romans 16:2,[7] that Paul entrusted the Romans letter to Phoebe to carry and deliver it to the Christians in Rome.

What about the initial leaders of the Christian church—the apostles? “Apostle” means one who is sent. Jesus had his twelve apostles, one of whom (Judas Iscariot) needed to be replaced after Jesus’s resurrection and ascension,[8] and Paul often refers to himself as an apostle in his letters.[9] In Galatians 1:19,[10] Paul calls Jesus’s brother, James (aka James the Just), an “apostle.” This was the same James who became the leader of the Christians in Jerusalem.

Were the apostles all men? Maybe not. In Romans 16:7, Paul refers to Junia as being  “outstanding among the apostles,” (NIV)[11] implying that he viewed her as an apostle—and an “outstanding” one at that. However, this translation is not without controversy, for some contend that the name should be “Junias,” a male name, and/or that this individual was “outstanding in the view of the apostles,” and therefore not actually an apostle.[12]

What is not controversial is that women were prominent in the first century church. Among the many Paul greeted in chapter 16 of Romans, seven or eight were women (depending on whether you include Junia). In addition to Phoebe and Junia, Paul says that Priscilla (or Prisca) is one of his fellow workers in Christ Jesus (v. 3); Mary “has worked hard for you” (v. 6); and Tryphaena and Tryphosa are “workers in the Lord,” as is Persis (v. 12).

Priscilla, along with her husband, Aquila, are mentioned in Acts and in several of Paul’s letters.[13] Paul lived and worked with them in Corinth,[14] and they later traveled with him.[15] They hosted a church in their house,[16] and Paul says that they “risked their own necks for my life.”[17] When Apollos—another Christian leader whom Paul mentions in two of his letters[18]—came to Ephesus, Priscilla and Aquila “took him aside and explained the way of God more accurately to him.”[19] Significantly, in each of these contexts, Priscilla is given equal billing with Aquila—she was a partner, not a subordinate.

During Jesus’s ministry, several women—we don’t know exactly how many—followed Jesus in Galilee, accompanied him to Jerusalem, and helped support his ministry.[20] In addition, it was women who were present at his crucifixion[21] and who were the first to learn about the resurrection and the first to see the resurrected Jesus.[22]

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[1]. The position of deacon  appears to date from the earliest days of the church, when the Greeks among the early Christians complained that their widows were being neglected “in the daily serving of food.”[1] So the twelve apostles suggested that the Greeks choose from among their number “seven men of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom,”[1]  to handle this task. However, those seven men were not specifically called “deacons” in Acts.

[2]. 1 Timothy 6:8

[3]. 1 Timothy 6:10

[4]. 1 Timothy 6:12

[5]. Romans 16:1

[6]. Philippians 1:1 says: “To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, including the overseers and deacons. . . .”

[7]. Romans 16:1-2 says: “I recommend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea, that you receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and that you help her in whatever matter she may have need of you; for she herself has also been a helper of many, and of myself as well.”

[8]. See Acts 1:15-26.

[9]. See, for example, Romans 1:1: “Paul, a bond-servant of Christ Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God. . . .” Or Romans 11:13: “Therefore insofar as I am an apostle of Gentiles, I magnify my ministry. . . .”

[10]. Galatians 1:19: “But I did not see another one of the apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.”

[11]. In quotations from the Bible, I always use the New American Standard Bible translation unless otherwise indicated. “NIV” refers to the New International Version.

[12].  For an in-depth discussion of this question, see “Was Junia in Romans 16:7 a Female Apostle,” by Michael S. Heiser, March 4, 2022, found at: https://www.logos.com/grow/jesus-female-apostle/.

[13]. See Acts 18:1-3, 18:18, and 18:24-26; Romans 16:3-5; 1 Corinthians 16:19; and 2 Timothy 4:19.

[14]. Acts 18:1-3

[15]. Acts 18:18

[16]. 1 Corinthians 16:19 and Romans 16:3-5

[17]. Romans 16:4

[18]. See 1 Corinthians 1:12, 3:4-6, 3:22, 4:6, and 16:12; and Titus 3:13.

[19]. Acts 18:26

[20]. See Matthew 27:55, Mark 15:41,  Luke 8:1-3, 23:49, 23:55

[21]. See Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40, Luke 23:27, 23:49. The only male who is mentioned as being present at Jesus’s crucifixion was “the disciple whom He loved” (John 19:26), who is believed to have been John, the son of Zebedee, one of The Twelve.

[22]. Matthew 28:1-10, Luke 24:1-10