ABSTRACT
The point of all these segregations and divides on the life of the Christian female was to denote status and worth, innate or acquired. To what end? How best to express their pious intent? What could women of this period who had acquired a name for piety actually do? Deprived of entitlement to participate in the (orthodox) canon of Christian offices, what was left for them must be considered: the extent of their Christian service, what positions of responsibility they could find or create, above all, their relationship with authority in the church. What kind of ministry was possible for women of this age?
