Their lives push back against the romanticized ideals of domestic femininity. Their stories remind us that faithfulness can look brave, unconventional, and far from expected.
St Catherine was a highly educated woman who overcame the best scholars in Alexandria, and also refused any husband but Christ. Her prayers helped bring me to Orthodoxy!
Plus Matushka Olga (I’ll be reading her akathist live on substack on Sunday, and love the way it brings out the gentle but persistent way she cared for so many people around her.
St Mary Magdalene, apostle to the apostles! First witnessed the resurrected Christ! I think about all the women who stayed during the crucifixion as well. Also my own patron St Brigid who gave away all her father’s things to serve the poor and founded monasteries in pagan Ireland! Orthodoxy loves women, it’s absurd to see it any other way!
As well as all the glorious women mentioned so far, I like the early Abbesses who were all about peaceful stability but unyielding in defence of their boundaries. I grew up in a little English town called Wimborne Minster, where St Cuthburga (d. AD 725) established a monastery that had influence across Europe (e.g. sending St Walpurga to Germany). She was very high born: the sister of the king of Wessex and married to the king of Northumbria, but decided to give up married life, by mutual consent, for love of God. He died a little while later and she continued as a nun. Cuthburga was reputed to be extremely ascetic in her own practices but kind towards her monastics.
This is amazing! Thanks for sharing. I love st. Walpurga. I first learned about her when living in Germany studying 16th and 17th-c texts. She was a big deal.
Do you think things like “Trad Wife” and such things have driven women to seek solace in Eastern Mysticism such as Buddhism and Divine Energies highlighting female power?
I have a friend who is against Christianity due to the view point of the shame and blame of certain Calvinistic beliefs.
I am glad to see that women can see that they are not beholden to distorted beliefs that make it a “man’s world.”
I had a stepfather who held to this belief, he was not a Christian but was crazy.
I never want to be like that.
I don’t want to be like that.
I pray I won’t be like that.
And, I know my wife would not want me to be like that…
I don't know what drives people/women towards Eastern Mysticism, though that's been a trend longer than the trad wife ideal. I think in general right now, people are skeptical of organized/formal institutions, including 'religious institutions' (though of course, I think the Church is more than an institution--you know what I mean). Maybe mysticsm gives people and women in particular the appearance of individual freedom and autonomy, which can be attractive if they have ever experienced harm in more formal, hierarchical environments.
And although it may not have come across clearly in this post... I'm really trying here, and in all my writing, not to inadvertendly advocate for man hating or anti-male sexism. We are all wounded by the kind of thinking that undergirds misogyny and trad culture, including the trad wife phenomenon (which is fueled at least as much by women as it is by men). We all--men and women--feel this weird need to apologize for ourselves, or defend ourselves, or worry we are capable of living out the worst things people perceive our gender to be prone to.
What gives me hope is that, in Christ and in the overall arc of the salvation message, we are offered a path by which we can all--men and women together--learn to live out our God-given humanity alongside one another, not at enmity with one another, or out of resentment, fear, or unjust condemnation. Part of this requires being vigilant, aware, and repentant of the dynamics that humanity is prone to in its brokenness (which is why I write about these saints--they force us to face up to some pretty hard aspects of human and church history), and part of it too is learning to find a redemptive path beyond those dynamics that is not based in hatred or resentment or fear of the Other.
Just me rambling. I guess that's my way of saying... In some ways, it's not much easier to navigate these questions as a man than as a woman, and I'm glad you're here.
I respect individuals such as yourself who tow a thin line. Knowing how to say something that you hope doesn’t throw you into some camp, but being aware that you can be. It is my God’s grace that you are able to minister to hurting people and people who are blind to their own selves.
I have myself, joined several substacks to learn about myself and to try to understand others.
May God richly bless you in your endeavors and bring Him much glory. Thank you.
I really love Saint Marina (St Margaret)! of course she existed, we have her relics in the Greek orthodox tradition; I first read her life as a teenager, in a sort of novel that i got from sunday school, and was super fascinated as she was martyred 15 or 16 years old, according to tradition she was already known for her christian ministry in helping and healing others, apparently even when she was a small girl wild animals became tame around her... and her own father, the pagan priest was outraged with her rejection of the imperial suitor and delivered her to him to be tortured. I have been praying to her since I first read about her, and she has a miraculous presence in my life. She has also performed miracles as Saint Marina of Andros, where her monastery and miraculously icon are: https://andros.travel/item/st-marinas-monastery-andros/
I only recently discovered the fascinating and glorious epic that is the life story of St. Tamar of Georgia, the monarch and military leader. Do look her up; there is too much about her to describe here!
St. Kassiani is also one of the OG greats. When she appeared in a bride show for the Emperor Theophilos, she famously had the following exchange with him:
Emperor Theophilos: From woman came worse things (referring to Eve).
Kassiani: And from woman came better things (referring to the Theotokos).
She was subsequently "disqualified", and the Emperor decided instead to marry the beautiful Theodora. One of the things I love most about this story (aside from the impish glee of a classic laconic comeback) is the fact that BOTH Kassiani and Theodora were eventually recognized as saints -- St. Kassiani, the monastic, poet and illustrious hymnographist, and St. Theodora, the Empress, mother of seven, and iconodule who would eventually restore the veneration of icons.
Yes, St. Tamar is awesome! I found her too recently because someone commented on a post of mine in February (the one about divorced saints I think?) and that was the first I'd heard of her.
I love that mashup of Saints Kassiani and Theodora. I never realized their lives intertwined that way.
St Catherine was a highly educated woman who overcame the best scholars in Alexandria, and also refused any husband but Christ. Her prayers helped bring me to Orthodoxy!
Glory to God!
St. Macrina the younger, Church mother who taught the Cappadocian fathers their theology.
Love her!
I love so much about this trio and the what you highlight about each. Thank you! I have a soft spot for the underground saint that Jan Bear wrote about here: https://www.axiawomen.org/blog/im-not-hiding-i-am-journey.
Plus Matushka Olga (I’ll be reading her akathist live on substack on Sunday, and love the way it brings out the gentle but persistent way she cared for so many people around her.
Thanks for sharing Patricia!
Thanks, these are great! I’m a sixty something thrice divorced woman with no children, and it’s helpful to remember that there are many ways to be.
Thanks for being here, Kristi!
St Mary Magdalene, apostle to the apostles! First witnessed the resurrected Christ! I think about all the women who stayed during the crucifixion as well. Also my own patron St Brigid who gave away all her father’s things to serve the poor and founded monasteries in pagan Ireland! Orthodoxy loves women, it’s absurd to see it any other way!
I love St. Margaret! Her bursting open the dragon’s belly also led, by convoluted medieval logic, to her being revered as the patron of childbirth.
"by convoluted medieval logic" 😂 Is this possibly also why she is a patron saint of kidney stones??
😂
I am SO proud of the work you are doing!
St. Hermione would have been a great addition!
"mansplaining demonic powers to her..." 😂😂 Thank you for this great piece!
Saint Shushanik is a great example of putting Christ above all else!
As well as all the glorious women mentioned so far, I like the early Abbesses who were all about peaceful stability but unyielding in defence of their boundaries. I grew up in a little English town called Wimborne Minster, where St Cuthburga (d. AD 725) established a monastery that had influence across Europe (e.g. sending St Walpurga to Germany). She was very high born: the sister of the king of Wessex and married to the king of Northumbria, but decided to give up married life, by mutual consent, for love of God. He died a little while later and she continued as a nun. Cuthburga was reputed to be extremely ascetic in her own practices but kind towards her monastics.
This is amazing! Thanks for sharing. I love st. Walpurga. I first learned about her when living in Germany studying 16th and 17th-c texts. She was a big deal.
Do you think things like “Trad Wife” and such things have driven women to seek solace in Eastern Mysticism such as Buddhism and Divine Energies highlighting female power?
I have a friend who is against Christianity due to the view point of the shame and blame of certain Calvinistic beliefs.
I am glad to see that women can see that they are not beholden to distorted beliefs that make it a “man’s world.”
I had a stepfather who held to this belief, he was not a Christian but was crazy.
I never want to be like that.
I don’t want to be like that.
I pray I won’t be like that.
And, I know my wife would not want me to be like that…
…nor would she ever let me get away with that.
I guess that is why I married her.
I don't know what drives people/women towards Eastern Mysticism, though that's been a trend longer than the trad wife ideal. I think in general right now, people are skeptical of organized/formal institutions, including 'religious institutions' (though of course, I think the Church is more than an institution--you know what I mean). Maybe mysticsm gives people and women in particular the appearance of individual freedom and autonomy, which can be attractive if they have ever experienced harm in more formal, hierarchical environments.
And although it may not have come across clearly in this post... I'm really trying here, and in all my writing, not to inadvertendly advocate for man hating or anti-male sexism. We are all wounded by the kind of thinking that undergirds misogyny and trad culture, including the trad wife phenomenon (which is fueled at least as much by women as it is by men). We all--men and women--feel this weird need to apologize for ourselves, or defend ourselves, or worry we are capable of living out the worst things people perceive our gender to be prone to.
What gives me hope is that, in Christ and in the overall arc of the salvation message, we are offered a path by which we can all--men and women together--learn to live out our God-given humanity alongside one another, not at enmity with one another, or out of resentment, fear, or unjust condemnation. Part of this requires being vigilant, aware, and repentant of the dynamics that humanity is prone to in its brokenness (which is why I write about these saints--they force us to face up to some pretty hard aspects of human and church history), and part of it too is learning to find a redemptive path beyond those dynamics that is not based in hatred or resentment or fear of the Other.
Just me rambling. I guess that's my way of saying... In some ways, it's not much easier to navigate these questions as a man than as a woman, and I'm glad you're here.
Nicole
I respect individuals such as yourself who tow a thin line. Knowing how to say something that you hope doesn’t throw you into some camp, but being aware that you can be. It is my God’s grace that you are able to minister to hurting people and people who are blind to their own selves.
I have myself, joined several substacks to learn about myself and to try to understand others.
May God richly bless you in your endeavors and bring Him much glory. Thank you.
I really love Saint Marina (St Margaret)! of course she existed, we have her relics in the Greek orthodox tradition; I first read her life as a teenager, in a sort of novel that i got from sunday school, and was super fascinated as she was martyred 15 or 16 years old, according to tradition she was already known for her christian ministry in helping and healing others, apparently even when she was a small girl wild animals became tame around her... and her own father, the pagan priest was outraged with her rejection of the imperial suitor and delivered her to him to be tortured. I have been praying to her since I first read about her, and she has a miraculous presence in my life. She has also performed miracles as Saint Marina of Andros, where her monastery and miraculously icon are: https://andros.travel/item/st-marinas-monastery-andros/
I only recently discovered the fascinating and glorious epic that is the life story of St. Tamar of Georgia, the monarch and military leader. Do look her up; there is too much about her to describe here!
St. Kassiani is also one of the OG greats. When she appeared in a bride show for the Emperor Theophilos, she famously had the following exchange with him:
Emperor Theophilos: From woman came worse things (referring to Eve).
Kassiani: And from woman came better things (referring to the Theotokos).
She was subsequently "disqualified", and the Emperor decided instead to marry the beautiful Theodora. One of the things I love most about this story (aside from the impish glee of a classic laconic comeback) is the fact that BOTH Kassiani and Theodora were eventually recognized as saints -- St. Kassiani, the monastic, poet and illustrious hymnographist, and St. Theodora, the Empress, mother of seven, and iconodule who would eventually restore the veneration of icons.
Yes, St. Tamar is awesome! I found her too recently because someone commented on a post of mine in February (the one about divorced saints I think?) and that was the first I'd heard of her.
I love that mashup of Saints Kassiani and Theodora. I never realized their lives intertwined that way.
Love this, Nicole.