Thread by @FatherChrisVor1

1/15 🧵
Now and then, a claim circulates that “women were ordained as pastors, priests, and bishops in the first centuries, and the Church stopped because of patriarchy.” Let’s walk together through history—calmly, honestly, and without losing sight of God’s plan for His Church.

https://twitter.com/brcremer/status/1669051942520389632

2/15
First, the role of women in the Body of Christ has always been essential. From the women who stood at the Cross when most apostles fled, to those who carried the message of the Resurrection itself—women have been foundational witnesses to the Gospel from day one.

3/15
In the early Church, we find women called deaconesses—especially in the East. These were not sacramental ordinations to the altar like the diaconate of men, but ministries of service, often to other women in baptism and pastoral care.

4/15
We also find titles like presbytides (female elders) in some ancient writings. These were not priests, but often widows honored for their faith, age, and service. Titles in history do not always match the sacramental offices we know today.

5/15
The idea of women serving as bishops or priests in the apostolic or post-apostolic Church has no reliable historical evidence. Councils like Laodicea (4th century) explicitly forbade women to “approach the altar” — confirming this was never an apostolic practice.

6/15
Why? Because from the beginning, the Church understood Holy Orders to be a participation in Christ’s own priesthood — the Bridegroom offering Himself for the Bride, the Church. And Christ, in His public ministry, chose men to represent Him in this sacramental role.

7/15
That choice was not because women were less capable or less holy. Scripture and the Fathers speak often of women surpassing men in courage, wisdom, and faith. The restriction was theological, not sociological. It flows from Christ’s own example.

8/15
At the same time, women in the Church were never “less than.” Quite the opposite. The faith spread through the tireless work of women: in homes, in missions, in monasteries, in schools, and in service to the poor. Their work shaped Christian civilization.

9/15
Consider the great women religious — from St. Scholastica to St. Teresa of Calcutta. Or the women Doctors of the Church — St. Hildegard, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Thérèse of Lisieux, St. Teresa of Ávila. Their spiritual authority still guides the Church.

10/15
The notion that the Church “slipped into patriarchy” and lost something essential ignores that the same early centuries also gave us heroic Christian women who were canonized for their holiness, not for a clerical office.

11/15
Even today, women religious lead vast apostolates — hospitals, universities, missions, schools — caring for souls in ways that often reach where clergy cannot. This is not “less” ministry. It is indispensable ministry.

12/15
The Church is not just an institution of offices. It is the Body of Christ, where every member — man or woman — has dignity, a calling, and gifts to offer. To suggest otherwise is to misunderstand both vocation and grace.

13/15
When St. Paul wrote, “There is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28), he did not erase the distinct callings God gives — he affirmed that salvation and the life of grace are fully open to all.

14/15
The history of the Church shows not a suppression of women, but an unfolding of their vital role in the mission of Christ — a role that continues, in forms ancient and new, to this day.

15/15
So when we speak of women in the Church, let us tell the truth. Their dignity is not measured by a stole or a chasuble, but by their holiness and their love — which have changed the world in ways no historical revision can erase.