On 27th January each year, the Episcopal Church and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America celebrate the life of Phoebe. "Who?" I hear you ask. Yes, Phoebe, that well known deacon of the 1st century church in Cenchrea, near Corinth. Well, perhaps not so famous after all? The Church of England, known for having Saints' days dedicated to quite a lot of obscure characters, doesn't even mention her in its calendar. So who was she?
Phoebe is one of many women given honourable mentions in their cameo Bible roles. She was, as I've mentioned, a church deacon - the same role that Stephen had. We know that only because Paul mentions her in his letter to the Romans, which he wrote from Corinth: "I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deacon of the Church in Cenchrea. Receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints, and help her in any way she needs. She herself has helped many, including me." (Paul's letter to the Romans, chapter 16, verses 1,2). The rest of the greetings at the end of this letter are to people in Rome; no one else is mentioned as going to Rome to be specially received, although she may or may not have taken a few companions. It seems that Phoebe was probably being sent there by Paul, presumably with his letter, in which case she was being entrusted with an important task. Paul may also have been implying that she would take on some sort of role in the Roman church, in which she was to be supported.
In the Early days of the Church in Jerusalem, when it was a few thousand strong, seven men had been selected as deacons. These were the high profile administrative and logistic leaders, chosen because they had a good reputation, and were full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom. We know that Stephen, for example, was also a good apologist and preacher. Phoebe is in that bracket. Equally the people that Paul mentions sending to places or calling from places include Timothy, Titus and John Mark. Again, Phoebe was probably being entrusted with a task at that kind of level, although her role was deacon rather than apostle. There are no photographs of her, but today she could be pictured as above, ready to leave the church office in Corinth to catch the next plane (probably ship in her case) to Rome, under her arm the original manuscript of what was set to become one of the most famous letters in history.
Phoebe is just one of many women in the New Testament who can easily be seen just as a name in one or two verses. However, they are mentioned because they were significant people in the Church. Another, mentioned by Paul in the same chapter of his letter to the Romans (chapter 16, verse 7) is Junia, who is referred to as an apostle, having been a Christian longer than Paul. She was in Rome at the time, a prisoner for her faith. Again, the other apostles mentioned by Paul include Timothy, Titus and John Mark, as well as the otherwise unknown Andronicus in this verse. Further examples are Jesus' core 12 disciples and Barnabas. These are all men who endured hardship and danger for the sake of the Gospel and stuck their heads above the parapet. Junia ended up in prison for doing the same.
Let's not ever think that women didn't play key and major roles in the early Church or that they shouldn't now. They were essential to its development at all levels; there's just less written about them in the Bible. Women, like men, were gifted and courageous church leaders then and still are today.
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