Women Deacons?

Admitting women as deacons in the Church is seen by some 'Evangelical Reformed' Christians as 'unscriptural'. We believe a careful reading of the Bible shows that in the New Testament Church women not only functioned as deacons and held the office of deacon but with the full approval of the Apostles fulfilled other functions of service and ministry. Banning women from roles of service and ministry stemmed from a period of extreme misogyny that emerged during a time after the Apostles. It generated an attitude utterly at odds with the attitude and response of the Lord Jesus to women and the teaching of the New Testament.

Women are prominent in the New Testament in roles of ministry and service in the Church. Although Phoebe alone is described as 'deacon' (Romans 16:1) women laboured with Paul and functioned within the Church as deacons (Romans 16:6; Acts 9:36;16:13ff). Paul refers to women 'co-workers' (Romans 16:3); to Mary, who 'laboured hard' for the Apostle and his companions (Romans 16.6). Her work is described by the word kopian: meaning her work was labour in the ministry of the Church and the gospel. Kopian also describes the work of Tryphena and Tryphosa, two women whose work can fairly be called 'ministerial labour'. There is no distinction in service or status implied in Paul's many references to his fellow-workers, whether male or female.

Acts 6 describes an arrangement to deal with a practical problem in the growing Church. It is thought by some to be the origination of an exclusively male office of deacon. But the seven men chosen are nowhere referred to as deacons. And their ministry went beyond the duties assigned to deacons: so in Acts 6-8 Stephen acts for the defence of the faith and in Acts 21.8 Philip is said to fulfil the work of an evangelist.

In Romans 16.1, Phoebe alone, in a list of twenty-seven servants of the Church, is referred to as 'deacon'. This is the single instance in the New Testament of the title 'deacon' applied to a woman. But most, if not all, the women mentioned in these verses were 'servants' of the Church and so did the work of deacons. Paul's singular use of the term points to Phoebe as almost certainly an office-holding deacon. 

When he refers to 'servants' of the Church, Paul's invariable use of diakonos with the genitive (as here) identifies ministers of the Word (2 Corinthians 3.6; 6.4; 11.15,23; Ephesians 3.7; Col 1.7,25; 1 Thessalonians 3.2; 1 Timothy 4.6). So, allowing the phrase may signify function rather than office, the function Paul describes for Phoebe is minister of the Word! This was distinct from and additional to her role and office as 'deacon'.

Mary worked (kopian) much for the apostles (Romans 16.6). Kopian has 'a distinctive New Testament use for Christian work in and for the community' and, as Prof John Murray suggests, points to the Church at Rome having been organised largely due to Mary's influence. Paul uses the term for his own work (1 Corinthians 15:10); as 'labour in the Lord' (Romans 16:12), deserving the highest esteem (1 Corinthians 16:16), carried out especially by office bearers (1 Thessalonians 5:12). This suggest that Mary fulfilled the function of deacon and also a significant leadership role in one of the congregations of the Church at Rome (cf. Romans 16.5).

1 Timothy 3.11 may imply that Paul either refers to women deacons or to the wives of deacons. That this condition is not applied to elders (verses 1-7) strongly supports the conclusion that Paul refers, not deacons' wives, but to women deacons. John Chrysostom's view (ad 347-407 a native Greek speaker), 'adopted by him as too obvious to require any explanation', is that female deacons are referred to in 1 Timothy 2.

Susan Foh's conclusion about women deacons seems sound: '1 Timothy 3:11 is best understood as referring to female deacons rather than deacons' wives: the witness of the early Church confirms this interpretation. The biblical evidence favours women deacons.' (Susan Foh is one of three 'Reformed' women theologians, with Edith Schaeffer and Elisabeth Elliot, who are greatly respected among American Reformed churches.)

This conclusion is supported by an early inscription found on the Mount of Olives: Here lies the slave and bride of Christ, Sophia, deacon, the second Phiobe [Phoebe?], who fell asleep in peace on the 21st of the month during the 11th indiction.

It is also supported by the very early evidence of women deacons in Pliny's letter, dated about ad 110, to the Emperor Trajan. He mentions two young women who were 'deacons': I thought it the more necessary to inquire into the real truth of the matter by subjecting to torture two female slaves, who were called 'deacons'. Pliny observes the women were 'slaves' and would hardly refer to them as 'deacons' if all he intended was that they 'served' or 'helped' in the Church in some unofficial way. What else would a slave do? These women were recognised by the Church and the civil authorities as office-holding deacons.