More ‘holy women’ in early christianity: The gospels of mary and marcion

Markus Vinzent*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

Abstract

This chapter explores ‘More “Holy Women” in Early Christianity: The Gospels of Mary and Marcion’. It provides a comparison between the role of women as described by the Gospel of Mary and Marcion’s Gospel (and Apostolikon) to that of the canonical Gospels. It emerges that in the two non-canonical texts women were regarded as true witnesses, prophets, and apostles of Christ in contrast to the ambiguous, if not dubious role of the twelve, and especially of that of Peter. The chapter also looks into the role of women in the Roman church where, for example, in Hippolytus (In Song of Songs 25.6) they are still known as ‘Apostles to the Apostles’. This picture differs considerably from what we are used to read, at least at face value, in the canonical texts, and ultimately asks us to consider the editing process that resulted in certain versions of the earliest stories to be erased.

Original languageEnglish
Title of host publicationPatterns of Women’s Leadership in Early Christianity
PublisherOxford University Press
Pages130-150
Number of pages21
ISBN (Electronic)9780198867067
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 18 Mar 2021

Keywords

  • Apostles
  • Gospel of mary
  • Hippolytus
  • Marcion’s gospel
  • Roman church

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