Women Preachers and Prophets Through Two Millennia of Christianity

Christian Century, Feb 3, 1999 by M.E.M

Women Preachers and Prophets Through Two Millennia of Christianity. Edited by Beverly Mayne Kienze and Pamela J. Walker. University of California Press, 384 pp., $50.00; paperback, $17. 95.

Women religious leaders have started receiving the scholarly attention they deserve. This heavyweight collection of historical essays is an important contribution. The writers treat specialized topics in ancient, medieval, early modern and modern history. Some are quite specialized: "Proclaiming Sanctity Through Proscribed Acts: The Case of Rose of Viterbo" is typical. But like so many others in the volume, this essay will hold the attention of anyone who would like to fill in the big picture. Elaine J. Lawless sets things off with an engrossing comment on "The Issue of Blood" and Karen King offers a short summary essay on "Voices of the Spirit--Exercising Power, Embracing Responsibility." Not hung up on theory and ideology, these historians tell stories, and by and large tell them well.