BOOK REVIEW: THE WIDOWS: A WOMEN’S MINISTRY IN THE EARLY CHURCH

Bonnie Bowman Thurston, a multi-published author, ordained pastor, and former New Testament professor at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, wrote the book, The Widows. In it, she argues the nation of Israel valued supporting and caring for widows. In fact, provision for the protection of widows was part of the greater ancient Near East culture. The Scriptures describe God as “the defender of widows (Ps 68:5).” And one of the first actions of the first-century church was to organize a ministry to ensure the Jewish widows, who had converted to Christianity and, as a result, were cut off from temple support, were fed (Acts 6:1–7).

A Clerical Order

Widows were not only a class of those in need of defending. Thurston asserts that women were organized into a clerical order of widows. This order was established in the church within the second century. She writes, “The order was the most prominent group of women in the first three centuries of the church (p. 7–8).” This book covers the time from Jesus’s earthly ministry to AD 325. And Thurston’s book was the first to focus exclusively on ancient widows in the Christian church, with scholarly research on the order of widows.

Two Types of New Testament Widows

Thurston notes that the New Testament describes a “widow” as a woman without a husband. There were two types of widows: a woman whose husband had died, but she did not remarry; and a woman without a husband—a celibate woman who had never married (p. 9). Often, defining a widow in the ancient world related to her economic status. A widow was a woman without a spouse, and she was also often without financial resources or support. Hence, widows often suffered unless they received economic support.

Pre-Church Era Widows

This concise book begins with a summary of widows’ lives before the time of Christ within the Greek culture, the Hebrew culture, and the Roman Empire. Athenian women led the most restricted lives in comparison to both Hebrew and Roman women. Hebrew daughters were married off at very young ages, “Up to age twelve and one-half, the father could marry her to anyone or sell her into slavery; after that, she could not be betrothed against her will (p. 12).” Of the three, Roman women enjoyed greater freedoms and had certain legal rights. Overall, widows had the lowest status in each culture.

The Christian Movement and Women

Thurston describes how the Christian movement brought great change to women’s status (and slaves), and they readily embraced its teaching. The early church ministry opportunities centered around function and gifting. Later, as the church grappled with heretical teaching and grew, resulting in more organization, women’s opportunities to lead diminished.

Noting that Luke and Acts contain more information on widows than other New Testament books, she summarizes Paul and Jesus’s interactions with widows. The prophet and widow, Anna (Lk 2:36–38), who fasted and prayed, was a role model for the early disciples and “serves as an example for the later order of Christian widows… (p. 23).” The disciple Tabitha (Acts 9:36–42), a maker of widows’ clothing and one who performed acts of charity for the poor, may have hosted and/or led a group of widows. Peter called “the believers (saints) and widows” to witness Tabitha’s transformation from death to life, an event that led to many conversions to Christianity. Thurston writes, “St. Basil interpreted Acts to mean that Tabitha was a widow in the ecclesial sense (p. 32),” citing 1 Timothy 5:3–16 to suggest that “the case is reasonably strong for the existence of an ‘order’ or ‘society’ of widows outside Jerusalem at a very early stage in the church’s development (p. 34).” However, Thurston did not provide convincing or clear evidence of an established order at this point in the book.

Widows in 1 Timothy 5

In chapter three, Thurston’s deep dive into 1 Timothy 5 clearly differentiated the widows in the order, called “true widows,” from the unenrolled widows and the young widows. The “true widows” are to lead a life of prayer, “but might also be called upon to make pastoral house calls…the widows taught proper Christian conduct and attitudes to younger women (p. 53).”

The author points to credibility for an order of widows described in 1 Tim 5 because their specific qualifications are listed within the passage for other church official’s qualifications. She cites additional proofs as qualifications similar to those of overseers, the “honor” (pay) due to them; the instruction about their enrollment; and the pledge or vow required of the widow (which may have been a pledge of celibacy). Of special consideration, the author suggests that the overseer requirement “husband of one wife” and the widow requirement “wife of one husband” are parallel phrases used “always as a qualification for office (bishop, deacon, widow, and elder, respectively) (p. 48).”

Church Orders and Widows

In chapters four through six, the author searches for evidence of a recognized order of widows in the first three centuries of the church. She examined the major Church orders and the Apostolic Fathers’ writings, including Clement of Rome, Origen, Ignatius of Antioch, Polycarp, and Shepherd of Hermas. Ignatius, in his final greeting in the Letter to the Smyrnaeans, wrote, “I salute the families [or households] of my brethren with their wives and children, and the maidens who are called widows (p. 63).” “Maidens” is sometimes translated as “virgins.” Thurston cautions, “when offices of ministry are mentioned in the Apostolic Fathers, we must be careful to discern the meaning of the office mentioned in the particular community being addressed (p. 61).”

An entire chapter is devoted to the writings of Tertullian of Carthage about widows in the early third century. Tertullian seemed to consider age (sixty years old) as the primary requirement for widows as clergy “I know plainly, that in a certain place a virgin of less than twenty years of age has been placed in the order of widows! (p. 81).” His other specific qualifications for a widow’s enrollment echo the qualifications for widows in 1 Timothy 3, and they included pastoral work.

Clement and Origen “included the widows with the bishops, presbyters, and deacons (p. 95).” Origen allowed teaching, but only to young women. Tertullian writes that widows were to be seated along with the other clergy. According to the Didascalia Apostolorum, enrolled widows must be fifty years of age and without means of support. In addition to prayer and fasting, their work included ministering to the sick and making clothes, but no teaching or baptizing.

Widow’s Service as a Metaphorical Altar

The book’s final chapter, “The Widow as Altar: Metaphor and Ministry,” is fascinating. Thurston noted that Polycarp was the first to link the widow to the image of an altar of God. A widow’s service was considered a living sacrifice by her intercession on behalf of the community, and her way of life as a widow pointed to Christ’s sacrifice. The author writes, “Polycarp requires of the widows: providing a faithful example and engaging in prayer (p. 71).” Widows were not just beneficiaries of the church’s benevolence. Some widows were part of an order with specific qualifications and responsibilities. An enrolled widow made a pledge of dedication to God, possessed moral integrity, lived a celibate lifestyle, and engaged in intercessory prayer and charitable acts.

Conclusion

In her book, The Widows, Thurston shines a light on what the Bible says about widows. Throughout the New Testament, widows are linked with tears, asceticism, prayers, fasting, and charitable acts. Widows had special, recognizable clothing. The order declined as the church grew in size and increased hierarchy, and as a result of the Edict of Constantine. Deaconesses began assuming the widows’ duties early in the third century, including teaching new female converts to the faith. However, it was the widow’s order that was the foundation for women’s monastic orders. In conclusion, Thurston provided interesting arguments and certain evidence for an order of widows in the early church. However, this reader will continue researching for other scholarly evidence on the order of widows.