Over ten years ago, I began to prophesy, “as this apostolic reformation grows and matures, there will be one primary dividing doctrine and that will be concerning women leadership in the Church”. Today, I am seeing the fulfilling of this prophecy. Today’s “apostles” are clearly divided on this doctrine and don’t seem to be changing.
There are three beliefs that I am aware of and they are:
1. That women should have no part in church leadership
2. That women can be in five-fold leadership but have no part in the government of the Church
3. That there are no biblical restrictions on women as ministers
In my book, “Not Many Fathers”, I included a chapter that was taken out of Charles Trombley’s book, “Who Said Women Can’t Teach?” and in this chapter the subject of Junia as a woman apostle was briefly discussed. I have recently been reading a new book called “The Lost Apostle” by Rena Pederson. Rena has done extensive research on this subject and traveled around the world doing it. She is not a minister, but she is a christian journalist searching for the truth. In this letter, I am going to give you some quotes from her book. If you desire to purchase the book, go to www.josseybass.com.
• Reference Romans 16:7.
• Approximately half of all Bible translations use “Junia” (F), while the other half have added an “s” to the end of the name indicating that it is a masculine name. However, a research into antiquities concerning names shows that there never was such a name “Junias”. Man changed it somewhere around the 12th century.
• The early Church fathers recognized Junia as a woman apostle. Origen of Alexandria, a well known scholar of the age acknowledged this apostle as a woman. Chrysostom, another
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renowned scholar of that time said of Junia, “To be an apostle is something great. But to be outstanding among the apostles – just think what a wonderful song of praise that is! They were outstanding on the basis of their works and virtuous actions. Indeed, how great the wisdom of this woman must have been that she was even deemed worthy of the title of ‘apostle’”.
• Was she really an apostle? Please note that there were more apostles than the twelve disciples. We can count at least 27 in the New Testament, and most well respected Bible scholars state that Junia was a woman apostle, but that fact has been widely suppressed.
• The first person to change Junia’s name to masculine was an Archbishop in the 12th century. His name was Giles of Rome. Man changed the name to masculine just as man changed “deacon” to “deaconess” when referring to a woman deacon. Deaconess is not in the Bible, just as the masculine name “Junias” is not in the Bible.
• There were more women in the early Church than men. Prisca started three home churches. It was only after men began to accept Christ and come into the Church that things began to change for women. The women deacons of Paul’s day became “deaconesses” in the fourth century as christianity began to move into the age of the fathers.
• The council of Nicea, in 325 C.E., (Christian era) decreed that women were no longer to be ordained along with the clergy for leadership roles but were to remain among the laity.
• The Council of Laodicea, in 352, forbade women from the priesthood and presiding over churches. The council also barred women from approaching the altar.
• The fourth synod of Cartage, in 398, said women may not teach men in assembly and may not baptize.
• The Council of Chalcedon, in 451, ruled that no woman under forty could be ordained a deacon, and then only under close scrutiny.
We claim to be an enlightened generation, but it is obvious that we have just begun to scratch the surface of the truth about the early Church. This book brings much more to the surface on this subject. If there is to be a true apostolic reformation, let’s pray that it will be in accordance with the pattern of the early apostles!
Apostle Richard