Church Mothers?

[Crow_and_dove]

I’ve heard of the Fathers of the Church, and I’m curious… are their any Church Mothers, officially (or otherwise)? Who were they and what did they contribute?

 

[JRKH]

Interesting question.
Not sure if there is a difference but there are three female Doctors of the Church…

Peace
James

 

[dmar198]

I’ve heard of the Fathers of the Church, and I’m curious… are their any Church Mothers, officially (or otherwise)? Who were they and what did they contribute?

It is my understanding that there are Church Mothers among the Church Fathers. Some of the most important ones are:

St. Perpetua of Carthage, unknown birth, died in 203 A.D.

She composed the book Diary of Perpetua, which told the story of her capture and imprisonment up un to the day before her martyrdom. It is my understanding that this is the most ancient work in the world that is written by a woman and that still exists. Her feast day is commemorated on March 7th in the Catholic Church.

St. Syncletica of Alexandria, ~270 - ~350

As a Desert Mother, St. Syncletica’s sayings about the moral life and spirituality are included with those of the Desert Fathers.

St. Macrina the Younger ~330 - 379

The sister of St. Gregory of Nyssa is presented by him as his teacher in his book, On the Soul and Resurrection. If she really was his teacher on this subject, she contributed to the development of Catholic theology on the Resurrection.

Proba Betitia Faltonia, ~310 - ~360

A Catholic teacher in the fourth century, Proba was a true scholar and author. She composed an epic poem on the life of Christ which was widely circulated in the Middle Ages. The Catholic universities would later use it as a model for teaching poetry and grammar.

Egeria of Galicia, unknown birth, died around 380 A.D.

This important pilgrim from the fourth century wrote a book called “Egeria’s Travels,” documenting her pilgrimage from Spain to the Holy Land. If my understanding is correct, she recorded the Eastern liturgies so that they could be imitated in the West, and her writings were widely copied and read later in the Church.

St. Pulcheria, 399 - 453

An early example of a Catholic woman in politics, St. Pulcheria ruled the Roman Empire while her brother was still a minor, and maintained her influence after his accession. She took a vow of virginity early in life, and was a leader in the fight against two of the major heresies of the day, Nestorianism and Monophysitism. She assisted in the formation of the third and fourth ecumenical councils, and helped maintain the orthodoxy of the Church during a difficult time.

Catholic Exchange has a great article about her called “The Woman Who Saved Orthodoxy – Twice”

Empress Eudocia, ~401 - 460

A highly educated woman, Empress Eudocia wrote poems, lives of saints, and a life of Christ in an epic poem form similar to Faltonia Proba’s work from the previous century.

 

[Crow_and_dove]

Excellent! Thank you!

 

[dmar198]

It is my understanding that there are Church Mothers among the Church Fathers. Some of the most important ones are:

St. Perpetua of Carthage, unknown birth, died in 203 A.D.

She composed the book Diary of Perpetua, which told the story of her capture and imprisonment up un to the day before her martyrdom. It is my understanding that this is the most ancient work in the world that is written by a woman and that still exists. Her feast day is commemorated on March 7th in the Catholic Church.

St. Syncletica of Alexandria, ~270 - ~350

As a Desert Mother, St. Syncletica’s sayings about the moral life and spirituality are included with those of the Desert Fathers.

St. Macrina the Younger ~330 - 379

The sister of St. Gregory of Nyssa is presented by him as his teacher in his book, On the Soul and Resurrection. If she really was his teacher on this subject, she contributed to the development of Catholic theology on the Resurrection.

Proba Betitia Faltonia, ~310 - ~360

A Catholic teacher in the fourth century, Proba was a true scholar and author. She composed an epic poem on the life of Christ which was widely circulated in the Middle Ages. The Catholic universities would later use it as a model for teaching poetry and grammar.

Egeria of Galicia, unknown birth, died around 380 A.D.

This important pilgrim from the fourth century wrote a book called “Egeria’s Travels,” documenting her pilgrimage from Spain to the Holy Land. If my understanding is correct, she recorded the Eastern liturgies so that they could be imitated in the West, and her writings were widely copied and read later in the Church.

St. Pulcheria, 399 - 453

An early example of a Catholic woman in politics, St. Pulcheria ruled the Roman Empire while her brother was still a minor, and maintained her influence after his accession. She took a vow of virginity early in life, and was a leader in the fight against two of the major heresies of the day, Nestorianism and Monophysitism. She assisted in the formation of the third and fourth ecumenical councils, and helped maintain the orthodoxy of the Church during a difficult time.

Catholic Exchange has a great article about her called “The Woman Who Saved Orthodoxy – Twice”

Empress Eudocia, ~401 - 460

A highly educated woman, Empress Eudocia wrote poems, lives of saints, and a life of Christ in an epic poem form similar to Faltonia Proba’s work from the previous century.

I want to make a small correction to my above remarks after re-reading them and thinking about this some more. I said I would “include” these women as Mothers of the Church, but I would actually only do that for the ones who, at present or in the future, have “St.” before their name. As for Proba, Egeria, and Eudocia, who are not currently considered saints, I think I would place them at best as “Ecclesiatical Writers,” like Origen and Tertullian. Unless some of them someday get canonized. In that case, I would call them Mothers of the Church. But until then, I think we should only call saints by such a title.

Just my thoughts.

Also, I think Eudocia and St. Pulcheria ended up being rivals. It is my understanding that they were friends at first, and I think St. Pulcheria even wanted Eudocia to be her brother’s wife. But as time went on, I think they had some sort of falling out over the issue of Nestorianism versus Catholicism, with Eudocia supporting the heretics. At best, then, I think Eudocia can be praised for her writings on the lives of the saints and the life of Christ, but not for her support for heresy, unless I’ve missed something.

**UPDATE :: Catholic author Mike Aquilina has written a book called “Mothers of the Church” that has more information about many other early Christian women, including St. Thecla, St. Felicity, St. Blandina, St. Agnes of Rome, St. Marcella, St. Paula, St. Eustochium, St. Monica, St. Helena, and St. Olympias, along with the ones I mentioned in my post. Aquilina’s book doesn’t appear to include information on St. Pulcheria or Empress Eudocia, at least not in the table of contents.