Phyllis Zagano is senior research associate-in-residence and adjunct professor of religion at Hofstra University and founding co-chair of the Roman Catholic Studies Group of the American Academy of Religion. The author or editor of eighteen books in religious studies, including Catholic Press Association and College Theology Society book award winners, Zagano is also the series editor of the Spirituality in History Series published by Liturgical Press.

• ContentsList of Contributors   viiAcknowledgments   ixIntroduction   xi1. The “Diaconate” of Phoebe (Rom 16:1-2) According to Modern Exegesis   1Corrado Marucci2. Women Deacons in 1 Timothy: A Linguistic and Literary Look at “Women Likewise . . .” (1 Tim 3:11)   13Jennifer H. Stiefel3. History and Value of the Feminine Diaconate in the Ancient Church   30Corrado Marucci4. The Diaconate and Other Liturgical Ministries of Women   57Pietro Sorci5. The Deaconess in the Byzantine Tradition   96Cipriano Vagaggini6. The Ordination of Deaconesses in the Greek and Byzantine Tradition   Cipriano Vagaggini7. A View of the Past and Future of Feminine Ministries within the Church: Reflections about a Book by Roger Gryson   144Philippe Delhaye8. Were There Deaconesses in Egypt?   164Ugo Zanetti9. The Liturgical Function of Consecrated Women in the Byzantine Church   168Valerie A. Karras10. Remembering Tradition: Women’s Monastic Rituals and the Diaconate   191Phyllis Zagano11. Varieties of Ministries and Diaconal Renewal   219Yves Congar12. Conclusions Regarding the Female Diaconate   225Peter HünermannSelected Annotated Bibliography   235Index   247

"This helpful collection of academic essays, many of them newly translated into English, shows that the idea of reconstituting the diaconate for women has been around for a very long time. Phyllis Zagano is second to none in the pursuit of this question, and her introduction summarizes beautifully what everyone should know who is interested in the issue."Carolyn Osiek, RSCJ, Charles Fischer Professor of New Testament, Emerita, Brite Divinity School