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Church Fathers, Independent Virgins

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Church Fathers, Independent Virgins

This startling study of early Christian attitudes toward sexuality begins with an account of the different stances adopted by the Churchâ€”from the Early Fathersâ€™ view that sex and the female body were irredeemably unholy, to Augustineâ€™s contention that sex was natural, but lust was evil. While the Church Fathers struggled to reach consistent theoretical conclusions, the underlying conflation of â€˜womenâ€™ with â€˜sexâ€™ meant that patristic statements on chastity, virginity and marriage effectively read as ecclesiastical law governing womenâ€™s conduct.

Joyce Salisbury explains the relationship between Church doctrine and the position of women by placing these official views alongside an ascetic tradition which resisted the constraints imposed by sexual intercourse. Through an examination of texts of female and popular authorship, and the extraordinary lives of seven women saintsâ€”including the transvestites Castissima and Pelagiaâ€”she presents a markedly different picture of sexual and social roles. For many of these women, celibacy became a form of emancipation.Â

Church Fathers, Independent Virgins bears witness to the entrenched power of the Church to oppress, the continuing power of women to overcome, and the enduring effects of medieval sexual attitudes.

Country	USA
Author	Joyce E. Salisbury
Binding	Paperback
Brand	Brand: Verso
EAN	9780860915966
Feature	Used Book in Good Condition
ISBN	0860915964
Label	Verso
Manufacturer	Verso
NumberOfItems	1
NumberOfPages	176
PublicationDate	1992-11-17
Publisher	Verso
ReleaseDate	1992-11-17
Studio	Verso

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