The Catholic Brothers

In this episode on Liturgy in the second century, we resume our journey of reconstructing and envisioning early Christian worship.

In this episode on Liturgy in the second century, we resume our journey of reconstructing and envisioning early Christian worship. In Part 1, we focus on change and continuity with regard to the (1) location, (2) timing, and the (3) “shape” that the Eucharistic gathering is taking in this post apostolic era. You won’t want to miss this one!

In this second part of our episode on women in early Christian communities we address the question of whether or not females served as presbyters. A timely topic, to be sure, as modern events like the Synod on Synodality continue to see this question bubble up to the top of the debates.  But putting aside modern preoccupations and concerns, as historians, let’s really take a good look at the evidence, context, and preoccupations of the second century Christians.

Our personal evaluation of Pope Benedict XVI, especially with regard to his impact on culture, the Church, and our own journey from Protestantism to Catholicism.

Did the early Christian movement have women in prominent leadership roles? What sorts of functions did women perform within the communities? Who are some influential women of the first and second centuries? These questions and more are tackled in part 1 of our episode on women in the early church.