5 influential early Christian women besides Mary Magdalene

Most people I talk to about my studies ask about May Magdalene. But did you know there are way more badass and influential women in the history of early Christianity? There are many historical sources for the period other than the Bible (which also has lots of apostles and prophetesses, if you pay attention to it).

Here’s the story of 5 women, from missionaries to travelers, from healers to writers, that made history in the first centuries of Christianity.

Perpetua

When: 203
Where: Carthage, modern-day Tunisia
What: Martyr and first *known* female Christian writer
Did she exist? Yes!

In some ways, Perpetua has a typical, almost common story: she was a wealthy young woman who converted to Christianity in unclear circumstances and was condemned for refusing to pay tribute to the Roman gods. Then she was tortured and killed in a public arena, becoming an early martyr and saint.

Her story is like many others that circulate about elite young women in the first centuries of Christian history. Carthage was the center of a series of official persecutions and, as the land of Queen Dido, it had a tradition of stories of women who sacrificed for a cause.