PRESBUTEROS

Polycarp66 at aol.com Polycarp66 at aol.com
Sun May 28 09:40:15 EDT 2000


In a message dated 5/28/2000 5:40:28 AM Central Standard Time, 
jwest at highland.net writes:

<< 
 it does indeed refer to women elders.  cf rom 16:1ff.  that women did in
 fact occupy positions of leadership in the early church has been amply
 demonstrated in the little book titled "When Women Were Priests".
  >>

This is interesting.  I have never given much thought to this passage since 
the translations usually translate it as "deaconess."  On this basis (and 
even in my own reading from the Greek since it's a cognate word), I never 
thought of considering that there might be more to the statement that she was 
a "deaconess." Spurred by your comment regarding Rom 16.1, however, I did a 
quick check on the word DIAKON*.  I noted that prior to the selection of the 
"deacons" in Acts 6 when the selection to replace Judas is proposed in Acts 1 
it is stated

17 hOTI KATHRIQMHMENOS HN EN hHMIN KAI ELAXEN TON KLHRON THS DIAKONIAS TAUTHS.

Although there MAY  be a distinction between DIAKONIA  and DIAKONOS (a 
feminine form is not attested in the NT other than Rom 16.1 -- I know, 
DIAKONON is the same form whether m. or f. as Rom 15.8 shows) with DIAKONIA 
being broader, it does deserve further investigation. Do you have an author 
for "When women were priests"?

gfsomsel



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