In Front | Workbook: Women on the Frontline, Part 2

Women were disempowered with limited independence in Roman society. They could be pressured to abandon their faith by controlling husbands or masters. Female slaves, for example, were legally obligated to have sexual relations with their masters if requested, which would have violated Christian views on adultery.

On the other hand, women were still the binding fabric of society—at the center of domestic life. Since domestic life was especially crucial to the life of the empire, women were effective evangelists in domestic settings. We know from surviving ancient texts that, “Christian women were able to enter households that were inaccessible to Christian men.”

Source: Alan Kreider, The Patient Ferment of the Early Church, 2016, p. 86.