Book Review: The Witness of Early Christian Women by Mike Aquilina

The Witness of Early Christian Women: Mothers of the Church by Mike Aquilina

Aquilina has written many books about early Church history. Here, he profiles many women who were examples of the radical shift in attitudes towards women instituted by Jesus Christ. In the ancient world, women were, at best, secondary people. They had no direct influence over government and could not testify in court. They were esteemed for their beauty and their ability to bring new men into the world. By contrast, Christ treated women as equals and ministered to them as much as to men. Only one male disciple was at the foot of the cross; four to six women were there (including His mom). In the first four centuries of the Christian era, many women witnessed to their Christian faith in diverse ways.

Aquilina groups these mothers of the church according to those ways. Some were martyrs to the faith, including popular ones like Saint Agnes, Saint Perpetua, and Saint Felicity. Others are less famous, like Saint Thecla, who was a contemporary of the apostle Paul. Her story comes down from the earliest centuries though The Acts of Paul and Thecla are not canonical. Like many other virgin martyrs, she defied her parents' and her society's wishes, refusing to marry and instead following a life a prayer into her old age.

Other women were writers and thinkers, roles almost unheard of for women in antiquity. Proba the Poet wrote an epic in the Roman style but she retold Christ's life. Saint Marcella started a monastic group for herself and other women, learning and praying together. Aquilina includes Saint Monica in this group, who not only prayed for her son Augustine's conversion but also argued with the great doctor of the Church. 

The final group is independent women, of whom Saint Helena is the most famous. She was the mother of Emperor Constantine, the ruler who legalized Christianity in AD 313. Helena embraced the Faith and went to the Holy Land to find the sites where Jesus lived and died. She ran the expedition herself, the first archeological effort in Israel, which had fallen into ruin. I found Egeria the Tourist the most charming. She wrote letters to her community at home (southern France), describing her pilgrimages to holy sites around the Mediterranean. She was free to travel and had no regular group with her. No male companions are ever mentioned. She climbs Mount Sinai and visits Thecla's tomb, drawing inspiration and grace from her adventurous life.

This book is a quick read at 160 pages. It provides a lot of interesting insights into how the world changed for the better with the coming of Christianity and how women played important roles in the early Church. Aquilina's style is easy to read and he presents many passages from ancient texts describing these mothers of the early Christian Church.

Highly recommended.