Who was junia the apostle

Junia, a female apostle, prominent among the apostles. The apostle junia barbara andersons watchtower documents. Surely if junia was an well known female apostle, a kinsmen he would have worded this statement very differently. For someone who is only mentioned once in the whole bible romans 16. I am not speaking of the wife that he may or may not have had. Three daughters of servilia, mistress of caesar, sisters or half sisters of marcus junius brutus junia prima junia secunda junia tertia.

John chrysostom on the apostle junia weighted glory. Nor am i referring to anyone to whom he may have had an unfulfilled romantic attraction. Much is made by the author of junia being a female apostle. The identity of junia as a woman apostle was not questioned until the middle ages when translators tried to change the gender of the name to the masculine junias. Part 4 vamva version and lorimer junia, the apostle. Jun 26, 2007 does the bible refer to a female apostle named junia. So was this junias a man who was a prominent apostle, or junia, a woman. The apostle junia by david tatro were there women apostles in new testament times. What can be said for sure is that she worked alongside her husband in planting churches with the apostle paul, sometimes hosting those churches in their home. Theologians and historians have debated the text used in support of this claim and come to differing conclusions. There is a female apostle in the bible named junia romans 16. Despite the fact that the earliest churches met in homes and that other women were clearly leaders in the churches e.

Part 6 lexicon entries for episemos junia, the apostle. Beginning around 1900, the idea that the name was junia, a woman, esteemed by the apostles, was circulated in commentaries by several authors. John chrysostom on the apostle junia january 1, 2019 church history 0 comments photo by carl christian peters jump to series indexif youve ever read a serious article on the apostle junia, youve read the following quote from john chrysostom of. En is a greek preposition, much like our english in. In this important work, epp investigates the mysterious disappearance of junia from the traditions of the church. Because later theologians and scribes could not believe or wanted to suppress that paul had numbered a woman among the earliest churches apostles, junia s. At the end of romans, nestled amid a series of greetings which paul extends to various women and men, one finds this salutation, greet andronicus and junia, my relatives who were in prison with me. This claim is based on the apostle pauls description of andronicus and junia as my kinsmen, and my fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in christ before me romans 16. At the end of the book of romans, paul greets many individuals by name.

We know from the book of romans that junia served alongside paul in his ministry, and was effective enough to be considered a threat to the local authorities, who imprisoned her along with paul. Junia the female apostle sacred scripture catholic. Download it once and read it on your kindle device, pc, phones or tablets. The more obvious reading is that andronicus and junia, as well as being fellow jews and fellow prisoners of paul, were also fellow apostles or missionaries. Junia, the first woman apostle the gospel coalition. She was also a fellow prisoner for christ, though not necessarily in the same jail cell or jail. In his homilies on the book of romans, fourthcentury church father john chrysostom preached favourably about junia, and acknowledged her as a female apostle. This could be as simple as being a witness of jesus ministry sharing the gospel with others or it could mean. This contextual evidence has been mostly ignored in junia studies, which have either focused narrowly on philo.

Junia isnt one of the 12, nor an apostle like paul, or jesus, nor a false apostle. In the earliest generation of christianity, there was a female apostle named junia whom paul said was prominent among. In romans 16 the apostle paul mentions three women who have been recently become the subject of a great deal of conversation and controversy in the evangelical church. Kathryn riss proves that the junia was a woman and an apostle. Though this may be a surprise to some, yes, there were.

A former mk from japan, she lives in southern california with her husband of 44 years, and enjoys spending time with her family, especially her eight grandkids. I have no disagreement whatsoever that, as you say, throughout the new testament the word apostle is placed correctly indicating who the apostles were. Chrysostom provides credible objective evidence that junia was an apostle. The first woman apostle kindle edition by epp, eldon jay. Greet andronicus and junia, my fellow jews, who were in prison with me.

Several patristic writers regard junia as a female apostle. This contextual evidence has been mostly ignored in junia studies. These are matters of speculation and not our business, anyway, but grist for novels. Junia s story is an important one to consider for two reasons. In addition, paul names a number of women as well as men whom he called. There are two major interpretive problems in this verse, both of which involve the identification of junia s. The reason andronicus and junia were in prison with paul romans 16. Chrysostoms statements about these women are particularly convincing especially in light of his misogynist views toward women. Most likely, junia was a female apostle who served alongside her husband. Saint paul mentions them in his epistle to the romans.

This breaks open our notions of what was possible for women in the early church and further reveals the significant ways that women contributed to the leadership and growth of the church in the first century. Any discussion of womens roles in the church must take into account the apostle junia. A female apostle is a major claim, and it would require major clear biblical evidence, which is not found in the bible. It was first debated whether she was a woman or a man. At just 81 pages of text, eldon jay epps book, junia. Oct 29, 2008 the identity of junia named in romans 16. Since apostles are in place of authority, then junia demonstrates that women can be in authority. Further, it appears she had a very firm grasp of the gospel and partnered with her husband in mentoring new believers.

They are outstanding among the apostles, and they were in christ before i was niv2011. The holy, glorious, alllaudable apostle junia of the seventy is commemorated by the church on may 17 with apostle andronicus, and on january 4 with the seventy. This breaks open our notions of what was possible for women in the early church and further reveals the significant ways that women contributed to. Epp tracks how this happened in new testament manuscripts, scribal traditions, and translations of the bible.

Junia was the name of a christian in rome, a person whose name is mentioned in the letter to the romans in connection with andronicus, as being pauls relatives, who were in prison with him. New testament offices held by women include apostle, prophet, pastor, deacon, eldress, widow and virgin. Use features like bookmarks, note taking and highlighting while reading junia. Paul refers to a male apostle, andronicus, and a female apostle, junia, as outstanding among the apostles niv every greek and latin church father until giles of rome circa ce acknowledged that junia was a woman. In romans 16 the apostle paul mentions three women who have been recently become the subject of a great deal of conversation and. Jul 31, 2019 junia was called an apostle because she was active in proclaiming the message of christ.

Apostle simply means someone who saw christ after his resurrection, it isnt a role of definite authority. The argument presented against this claim is that, due to a misplaced accent mark in rom. That said, it is clear that women like junia were teachers, deacons, and maybe even more but theres no definitive evidence for more. Support for junia being a woman part of resolving the first issue is that the name translated junia s appears only once in the greek nt. Since his conversion occurred just a few years after the resurrection of christ, junia must have been one of the earliest converts to christianity and probably was one of the founders of the church at rome.

First, we can be sure that junia was a woman for several reasons. For junia and andronicus perhaps her husband, being an apostle wasnt a matter of privilege, but prison. On the one hand, no instances of junias as a mans name have surfaced to date in greek literature, while at least three instances of junia as a womans name have appeared in greek. Part 3 junia s name, wallace and burer junia, the apostle. At the end of romans, nestled amid a series of greetings which paul extends to various women and men, one finds this salutation, greet andronicus and junia, my relatives who were in prison with. Junia new testament person, or junias, a person mentioned by paul in the epistle to the romans. Nov 29, 2019 those who favor the view that junia was not an apostle do so because of their prior assumption that women could not be apostles, not because of any evidence in the text. The view among most modern new testament scholars is. Junia was an apostle, but so were many men and women. The name junia was a very common womans name, but the name junias was unknown in antiquity and girls werent named boy names and viseversa. In my historical novel, she is known as junia in the hellenized court of antipas, son of herod the great. Part of resolving the first issue is that the name translated junia s appears only once in the greek nt. Yolanda powell under the auspices of the epic global network.

Apr 01, 2010 the epigraphic and literary evidence is overwhelmingly in favour of junia being a woman. However, she was recognized by the twelve as being an apostle. Two thousand years ago in the land of israel, jesus exorcises a demon from joanna, a jewish noblewoman. Junias story is an important one to consider for two reasons. Junias is an alternative spelling to junia, a female apostle found in romans 16. Well, it would mean that junia based on the definition of apostolos was sent, by someone in authority, to deliver a message. If this is a correct reading, it would be significant because junia as the name appears in the kjv and esv would be the only female apostle mentioned in the new testament. They are well known to or prominent among the apostles, and they were in christ before me. That would leave only being an apostle like barnabasan apostle in the sense of one who is simply sent to proclaim the truth or one who was with christ before his death and saw him after his resurrection.

Junia lepida, another roman noblewoman of 1st century junia claudilla, first wife of caligula junia new testament person, or junias, a person mentioned by paul in the epistle to the romans. Salute andronicus and junia, my kinsmen and fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles. Junia, mentioned by the apostle paul in his letter to the romans, is a woman whose identity and whose ministry has been much discussed in the past few decades. Andronicus and junia are called outstanding among the apostles, which places them within the grouping of apostles. If a woman, junia s apostleship opens the door to the highest office in the early church and thus to womens church leadership of any kind in any age.

Further, junia was a common enough latin name and, since this was paul s letter to the romans, one might expect to see a few latin names on the list. Junia, the first woman apostle by harkness professor of biblical literature emeritus at case western reserve university and president of the society of biblical literature is not so much a text on junia, mentioned in chapter 16. In orthodox tradition, however, the title of apostle does not necessarily confer the kind of position that the twelve had from christ. First, it really is significant that paul called her an apostle. Three women in the eye of the evangelical storm share. It not scriptual or logical that you would have a female apostle period. But the overwhelming evidence from inscriptions and other ancient sources indicate that junia was a common name for a woman. Junia is the subject of debate within the academic world concerning the implications of a female apostle leading within the early church, that it might suggest the ordination of women. Using the search box on the homepage of our eewcchristian feminism today website, youll be led to many of her online articles. The view among most modern new testament scholars is that this person was a woman named junia, but a common view in the past was that it was a man named junias.

The early church leaders recognized her as an apostle and they were much closer to the time frame. These newer translations, along with a careful examination of the historical record, provide conclusive evidence that junia was indeed a female apostle. Her ministry in partnership with andronicus and paul reminds us that gods intention is for men and women to partner together as equals in the home, the church, and the community. From the number of persons six in all, and those not only in rome but also in greece and macedonia to whom the title is given in this chapter, it would seem as if the word kinsmen was to be taken in. Junia would not be regarded as a female apostle because the entire teaching and context of the bible limits leadership in the organized church to men. For too long have women been prevented to take any office in the church other than admin and being prayer warriors because of. Junia was an apostle and was not the only woman so honored by the early church. There are two major interpretive problems in this verse, both of which involve the identification of junias. The seventy apostles were chosen and sent forth to preach by christ luke 10. In addition to origen and chrysostom, other greek fathers and commentators unanimously understood junia to be a female apostle, including. The first woman apostle kindle edition by epp, eldon. It is important to recognize, however, that chrysostom did not take junia to be an authoritative apostle, but rather as an apostle in a secondary. Greet andronicus and junia, my fellow jews who have been in prison with me.

Why this is even in question is because of translations like the rsv which says this in the text. This film represents the breaking of the chains for all women, everywhere. Paul mentions such a woman in the sixteenth chapter of his letter to the romans. What about the women in the apostle pauls life and ministry. Often times romans 16 is glossed over when reading the bible, being treated like the cast and credits that appear at the end of a film that one quickly glances over while. Junia arise is a revolutionary documentary film that unveils a seventeencenturyold biblical cover up of female leadership in society. But most readers will want to take their time and savour the rich depth of detail epp packs into his work. Thus, being a woman, did not prevent junia from being an apostle and from preaching the gospel. Junia or junias was a 1stcentury christian highly regarded and complimented by paul the apostle. An apostle, a deacon, and a pastor walk into a bar. Another argument raised by the egalitarians in support of women being an authority is the case of junia in romans 16.

Many maintain that she was an apostle and that her life therefore becomes a basis for affirming an egalitarian view of gender roles in the ministries of the christian church. The junia project is named for junia, a woman apostle in the early church see romans 16. The first woman apostle by eldon jay epp in 2005, the article provides new evidence that junia was indeed an apostle by considering pauls attitudes toward apostleshipboth others and his own. Either way when you consider what scripture clearly states about elders and bishops in timothy and titus as well. Maybe junia was with the followers for the entire time of jesus ministry speculation. Further, she was involved in the formation of the early church in rome. Yolanda powell brings us to a spectacular vision of the. This evidence is the basis for my assertion that junia in romans 16. It is unlikely that junia was an apostle, but romans 16. The apostle junia, was a woman leader in the early church whose ministry reminds us that gods intention is for men and women to partner together as equals. We encourage all of our subscribers to go visit the junia project site and see why patriarchy is bad for everybody. Part 5 nino, equal to the apostles junia, the apostle. Does the bible refer to a female apostle named junia.