ABSTRACT
The justification for including a separate chapter on women, if it is needed, is that they almost certainly constituted more than half the membership of the church during the third and fourth centuries (and probably beyond), and often played an important role in the spread of Christianity within families (15.1) – yet the scope for them to exercise leadership and authority within the church was very limited. As a result, they barely figure in the high-profile controversies of the fourth century considered in Chapters 3-6, and there is no role for them in Chapter 12 on bishops. Any sign of women usurping priestly prerogatives quickly resulted in condemnation by church authorities (15.2; cf. 2.10), though involvement in church life in certain strictly defined and subordinate capacities was allowed (15.3). Some women were in a position to make their presence felt, but usually only when they could draw on inherited wealth (15.4, 15.5; cf. 2.7).
