![]() ![]() Her major work, Sirr al-Ittihad ( Mystery of the Union), is the first-known rare Arabic account of a mystical experience between Jesus and a Christian woman. Hindiyya was unusually well read in Arabic religious works, with a considerable collection of her own publications. ![]() Her first convent formed in Aleppo in 1753, but she frequently traversed the Lebanese mountains and founded four monastic communities overall. Hindiyya’s determination to establish a religious congregation indicated her dedication to Christ, and she became the foundress and mother superior of a group of monastic women. Uninterested in marriage, she considered herself espoused to Christ. By the time she was 17, she was considered a model of piety in the spiritual disciplines, including oral prayer and fasting. But she became known as Hindiyya due to her dark olive complexion, etymologically linked to the Arabic name for India. Hannah Ajaymi was born in 1720 to a Maronite family in Aleppo, Syria. Syriac sources describe the Daughters of the Covenant, cherished for their melodious conveying of scriptural truth, as conversant with exegetical, ascetic, and hagiographic literature, demonstrating a culture where women were concerned about theological education in its many forms. 521), for example, mentioned the women’s choirs as “female teachers” ( malphanyatha, in the feminine plural), whose singing declared the “proclamation” (karuzutha, corresponding to the Greek kerygma) in the liturgy. Their remarkable teaching and liturgical ministry can be traced through at least the ninth century. Not only did their women’s choirs (generally comprised of consecrated virgins) lead worship, but their hymns also provided essential instruction for believers about the Bible, theology, and Christian community. These were women who had taken vows of celibacy and simplicity, working in the service of Christ. Several of the earlier texts mention the Bnat Qyama, “Daughters of the Covenant,” alongside references to deaconesses. Literary sources contain frequent references to this from the fifth century until the tenth century, in both the western (Maronite) and eastern (Assyrian/Chaldean) traditions of Syriac Christianity. From the outset, Syriac Christianity offered women positions as deaconesses and consecrated virgins. Strolling down Star Street in the old city of Bethlehem today, I can see the sanctuary of the Syriac Church of the Virgin Mary. Through times of solitude, these desert mothers produced profound theological works-lacking sorely in the Arab world today, especially those written by women. ![]() The monastic framework encourages the integration of spirituality and theology, with the Word of God and spiritual disciplines at the center. Both men and women respected them as spiritual exemplars of maturity and wisdom, imparted through teaching, preaching, and their own sublime examples.įor modern-day Christians seeking to be faithful in their spiritual lives in a complex context like today’s Middle East, the core practices of desert mothers can provide rich insights. These Ammas (from the original Syriac) were Christian ascetics who also inhabited the deserts of Egypt, Palestine, and Syria in the fourth and fifth centuries, whether in monastic communities or as hermits. The desert fathers left a heritage of wisdom celebrated by many today who seek spiritual discipline.īut we often overlook the desert mothers. 251–356) originally established monasticism as a lay movement, I am reminded how spirituality was crafted by asceticism. Observing the full moon rise above today’s Egyptian desert in the land where Saint Anthony (A.D. Within the rich and complex ecclesial context of the Middle East, their legacy continues to shape our theological thought as evangelical women today. But it is remarkable that two of the largest remaining Christian communities in the Arab world, Coptic and Maronite, have known historical female leadership. However, their stories are not well known even in our region. While only Protestant churches have yet ordained female priests-in Lebanon, Syria, and the Palestinian territories-other similar bold figures are modeling an emerging path of spirituality within patriarchal Arab society.īut their own inspiration is found in the past.Īs members of the first Christian communities, Eastern Christian women-deaconesses, historians, theologians, and martyrs-articulated their faith and theology centuries ago. What was once a trickle of female theologians has developed into a growing number of developing leaders, enabling and emboldening other women to rise in leadership. As women across the region fight for their rights and freedoms, the tectonic shift is felt also in Christian academia. ![]() The Middle East today is at a kairos moment in time. ![]()
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