A fallen-away
Catholic cites the following as examples of ancient
"female presbyters or priests":
<< Pricilla,
Juneo, Phoebe were all ministers of the word. >>
I'm sorry, but that's
simply incorrect. They were Christian women; and like all
Christians, they were commissioned to share the faith.
Yet, none of these are ever called
"presbyters." NOR did Jesus appoint any female
Apostles.
Let's take a look at what
the Scriptures really have to say about them:
(1) Priscilla, the
wife of Aquila, was merely a patroness of the church
(like Lydia in Acts 16:14-15). In this, she (and her
husband) gave the Apostles financial support and placed
their house at the Church's disposal (Romans 16:3-5).
(2) Juneo (by whom
I assume you mean "Junia" of Romans 16:7) was
the wife of Paul's cousin Andronicus – Palestianian Jews
who had converted to Christ ***before Paul***
(Romans 16:7). Just as Priscilla and Aquila had a
house-church where the faithful would meet, Andronicus
& Junia provided the same.
(3) Phoebe :-) Ah,
yes! Feminists have made much ado about this because Paul
refers to her using the Greek word "diakonon."
Now, depending on your translation of the Bible, some
translate this as "minister" (which is a
Protestant anachronism); and others use the word
"deacon" – assuming, wrongly, that there were
female deacons in the ancient Church; and that these were
the equivalent to the ordained deacons established in
Acts 6.
Well, sorry to burst
everyone's bubble, but the Greek word "deacon"
is merely a generic word meaning "servant"; and
that's how Paul is using the word – generically. She was
a servant in the Church, which could mean anything from a
baby-sitter to a consecrated virgin (i.e. a proto-nun) –
as were the daughters of Philip in Acts 21:9.
So, all Paul is saying in
Romans 16:1-2 is this:
"I commend to you
Phoebe, our sister, who is a **servant** of
the church at Cenchraea, that you may receive her in
the Lord in a manner worthy of the holy ones, and
help her in whatever she may need for you…"
:-) And the next line
reveals it all:
"…for she has
been a BENEFACTOR to many and to me as well."
Ah! So, Phoebe was a
"benefactor"! :-) Well, that puts her in the
same category as Priscilla & Aquila, and Lydia in
Acts 16:14-15. These were RICH women who cared for the
needs of the Apostles and financed their ministries:
Priscilla:
half-owner in a tent-making business (Acts 18:2-3), who
owned houses in Rome (Romans 16:5) AND Ephesus (Acts
18:26 & 2 Tim 4:19), and who traveled extensively on
business between Asia and Rome (Acts 18:18–19)
Lydia: a dealer in
purple cloth: Acts 16:14 (a VERY exclusive business in
the 1st century), who also traveled extensively between
Philipi (in Greece) and Thyatira (in Asia Minor: Rev
2:18) (Acts 16:14), and who owned houses in BOTH cities
(Acts 16:15).
And, lastly Phoebe,
who is merely another of these "BENEFACTORS,"
and who had the financial means to travel between
Cenchraea (a suburb of Corinth in Greece) and Rome –
something she presumably did with regularity on business
(and probably with her husband, who, for all we know,
might have been a pagan), bringing Paul's letter to the
Roman Christians in the process.
