Presbyters in Late Antique Women's Monasteries: Roles, Responsibilities and Conflicts

The strict separation of male and female is a commonplace in late antique ascetic literature; nevertheless, at the very least, women's monasteries did require a male presbyter to celebrate the Eucharist or provide previously consecrated bread and wine. The relationship between the presbyter and...

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Autres titres:Behind the Bishop’s back. The middle and lower clergy in Late Antiquity
Auteur principal: Day, Juliette ca. 20./21. Jh. (Auteur)
Type de support: Électronique Article
Langue:Anglais
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Publié: Brepols [2019]
Dans: Sacris erudiri
Année: 2019, Volume: 58, Pages: 267-283
Sujets / Chaînes de mots-clés standardisés:B Christianisme primitif / Monastère de femmes / Presbytre / Supérieur / Histoire 30-600
Classifications IxTheo:KAB Christianisme primitif
KCA Monachisme; ordres religieux
NBE Anthropologie
RB Ministère ecclésiastique
Accès en ligne: Volltext (Resolving-System)
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Résumé:The strict separation of male and female is a commonplace in late antique ascetic literature; nevertheless, at the very least, women's monasteries did require a male presbyter to celebrate the Eucharist or provide previously consecrated bread and wine. The relationship between the presbyter and the women, especially the superior, was not always harmonious and conflict arose because of ascetic scruples, differing models of monastic and ecclesial hierarchy, personality and patronage. Although the topic is not treated in any sustained way in ancient sources, anecdotes in biographies and letters indicate the type of situations where conflict could and did occur. In addition to examining a range of sources and monastic contexts, this paper also suggests that conflict between presbyteral and female monastic leadership may lie behind the ambivalence towards Melania the Younger expressed by her biographer the priest-monk Gerontius.
ISSN:2295-9025
Contient:Enthalten in: Sacris erudiri
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1484/J.SE.5.119456