Phoebe (First Century)
Phoebe is known to have been wealthy and generous in service. She delivered Paul’s letter to the Romans, where Paul writes, “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deacon of the church in Cenchreae. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of his people and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been the benefactor of many people, including me” (Rom. 16:1-2). Paul speaks highly of her as a leader and asks the Roman Christians to give her any help she needs; presumably to continue her work of sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is possible that Phoebe was the bishop of the Church in Cenchrea.”[1]
Origen of Alexandria (c.184-c.253) comments on Paul’s words about Phoebe are significant: “Women are to be considered ministers in the Church and … ought to be received in the ministry.” [2] Origen believed Phoebe had been officially ordained, as did Chrysostom who like Origen was often demeaning in his assessment of women.[3] Of Phoebe and Junia, Chrysostom wrote: “You see that these were noble women [Junia and Phoebe], hindered in no way by their sex in the course of virtue, and this is as might be expected for in Christ Jesus, there is neither male nor female.” [4] Here we see Chrysostom pushing the boundaries of tradition as he describes these women as moving outside of the cultural limitations of their gender in order to attribute virtue to them.
Scholar Elizabeth Gillan Muir describes the difficulties the church has had in accurately presenting Phoebe’s legacy as a witness to Christ.
Phoebe was called a diakonos by Paul, a word which can be translated from the Greek as servant, helper, deacon, or minister. Often, Paul used it interchangeably with missionary or coworker for the same people. Generally when it referred to men, it was translated in Bibles as “minister,” but when it referred to a woman such as Phoebe, it became downgraded to servant or helper.[5]
The history of the translation of Phoebe’s descriptors reminds us that we are all biased interpreters and are often blinded to historical realities because of our preconceptions. Sadly, our blindness has meant that the legacy of these early women disciples was hidden for centuries.
While not equally celebrated as the Church Fathers, there is historical evidence that Phoebe has been treated as emblematic of a woman disciple for centuries. In Jerusalem in the fourth century, an epitaph for the deacon Sophia read: “Here lies the servant and bride of Christ Sophia the deacon, the second Phoebe, she fell asleep in peace on the 21st of the month of March In the 11th indiction.”[6] Bishop Theodoret of Cyrrhus (393–460) wrote that “[Paul] opened the world to her [Phoebe] and in every land and sea she is celebrated. For not only do the Romans and Greeks know her, but even all the barbarians.”[7] The Byzantine Ordination Rite of the Deaconess an eighth-century prayer for the ordination of deaconesses that was used by the church in Constantinople, gives special recognition to Phoebe, asking God for the same grace for the new ministers as was given to Phoebe when she was called to the work of ministry.[8]
Little is known about Phoebe’s exact duties, but it’s clear that she was considered a leader and authority figure. We do know Paul sent her as an emissary on his behalf signaling she was esteemed and competent to represent him and his churches’ interests.[9] Phoebe shepherded many new Christians into the faith, was responsible for building the church in the region of Cenchreae, has been canonized as a saint in both the Eastern and Western traditions, and is noteworthy among our Mothers of the Church.[10] This brings us to Lydia, another women closely aligned to the ministry of the Apostle Paul.
[1] Muir, Elizabeth Gillan. 2019. A Women’s History of the Christian Church: Two Thousand Years of Female Leadership. Toronto; Buffalo; London: University of Toronto Press, 7.
[2] Muir, A Women’s History of the Christian Church, 5-6.
[3] Muir, A Women’s History of the Christian Church, 5-6.
[4] Muir, A Women’s History of the Christian Church, 5-6.
[5] Muir, A Women’s History of the Christian Church, 5.
[6] Kraemer, Ross S., ed. 1988. Maenards, Martyrs, Matrons, Monastics, 221. Philadelphia: Fortress Press.
[7] Muir, A Women’s History of the Christian Church, 5-6.
[8] Muir, A Women’s History of the Christian Church, 5-6, quoting Joan Cecelia Campbell, Phoebe, 51.
[9] Muir, A Women’s History of the Christian Church, 6, quoting Rena Pederson, The Lost Apostle, 47f; Origen, Commentary, 291.
[10] Perkins, Zachary K. 2014. “5 Women of the Early Church You Should Know.” Accessed April 19, 2019. https://www.redletterchristians.org/5-women-early-church-know/.