Phoebe

Paul commended Phoebe to the Roman church, calling her a “a deacon of the church at Cenchreae” and “a benefactor of many” (Rom 16:1–2). This kind of introduction was a convention of letter writing: the person recommended (in this case, Phoebe) was also the one who delivered the letter and likely also read it aloud to its recipients (the believers in Rome). Phoebe’s prominent role leaves many readers wanting to know more. Paul’s words contradict the common expectation that women did not have authority or status.

Was Phoebe really ordained as a deacon?

Many readers are surprised to find in Rom 16 that a woman held a title associated with ordination. Some translations read “servant” instead of “deacon” because the translator thought it unlikely Phoebe held an office. But most scholars agree that “deacon” is the better translation here. Paul used the word “deacon” elsewhere to address leaders (Phil 1:1), and the introduction of Phoebe as “a deacon of the church” is quite plausible given other practices of women’s leadership in the first century. Ancient inscriptions record women with civic offices (like “magistrate” and “priest”) or who were officials in religious associations (e.g., “leader of the synagogue”). Although men held these offices more frequently, women often had the same titles men did. This social reality makes it much more likely we should understand Phoebe as a deacon.

What did it mean for Phoebe to be a deacon and a benefactor?

No sources exist to tell us what deacons did in this very early stage of the church’s history—that is true of male deacons as well as female. Later sources show that the role of deacon became an ordained office. By the fourth century, many sources identify women as deacons, although even at that point their roles vary according to local customs. Many assisted the bishop in baptism and taught the believer prior to baptism. Some deacons baptized only women, while some seem to have participated with males as well. Some were leaders of monastic groups. All of these reflect patterns in church life that developed only later, so to understand Paul’s language we should set aside such notions. From the early sources, we can only tell that deacons were leaders in the early churches.

We are on much firmer ground, however, in understanding what Paul meant by identifying Phoebe as a “benefactor of many.” Ancient social life was shaped by relationships between patrons and clients. Benefactors (or “patrons”) were people with higher status who provided benefits for “clients”—lower class individuals who returned honor to their patron. Patronage included activities like making loans, hosting groups in one’s home, using one’s social influence to assist others, or donating money to erect or renovate a building.

Women in this period served as patrons in all of these ways. For example, inscriptions discovered in Corinth honored a woman named Junia Theodora, a contemporary of Paul and Phoebe. She used her social influence on behalf of her native city in a time of political turmoil. In the New Testament, women hosted churches in their homes (e.g., Col 4:15) and provided resources for the Jesus movement (Luke 8:1–3). Many such signs suggest that society valued women’s patronage.

Paul does not say what Phoebe did as a benefactor, but maybe she hosted a house church or used her social influence to assist other believers, including Paul. Whatever it involved, Paul expects the recipients of the letter to understand that Phoebe’s patronage was a reason that they should also “help her in whatever she may require” (Rom 16:2).