Agents in Liturgy, Charity and Communication : The Tasks of Female Deacons in The Apostolic Constitutions

What did women deacons do in the early church? This study is a contribution to resolving this topical question through evaluating the tasks of female deacons in the Apostolic Constitutions. This fourth-century document is the largest among the so-called ancient church orders. Pylvänäinen divides the tasks of female deacons into three categories: liturgical, charitable and communicative. She analyses the individual concepts and verses within their contexts, paying special attention to the context of the document as a whole within the sphere of Jewish Christian interaction and from the viewpoint of the sources the compiler has used in remoulding the document. [Publisher's text].

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