In | Women in Ministry in Paul’s Letters

In the beginning of 1 Corinthians, Paul refers to Chloe as a Christian hostess:

“My brothers and sisters, some from Chloe’s household have informed me that there are quarrels among you.” 
1 Corinthians 1:11 NIV

At a glance, we might think of this as a reference to Chloe’s biological household, but this would have been out of line with Roman custom. A reference to her family would have referred to her husband’s household, even if he had died and she was the sole surviving parent in the home. The fact that her name is used makes it clear that this is a Christian household, a house church that Paul is referring to. And clearly her role in this church was one of leadership. In a house church, household roles were also, in some ways by default, church roles.

The gender of the apostle “Junia” from Romans 6:7 has been much debated but the consensus among most Bible scholars is that this is a female’s name. Throughout the first thousand years of church history, Christians almost universally considered Junia to be a woman, and she was viewed as a model for female “apostleship” in the church. In any event, it’s clear that in the early church, at a time when church organization was more about leadership roles than formal offices or status, women played key roles in Christian communities.