Phyllis Zagano is an internationally acclaimed Catholic scholar and lecturer on contemporary spirituality and women's issues in the Church and is a member of the papal commission for the study of the diaconate of women. Her other books with Paulist Press include Women in Ministry: Emerging Questions about the Diaconate and Women Deacons: Past, Present, Future. She is senior research associate-in-residence and adjunct professor of religion at Hofstra University, Hempstead, New York. Book jacket.

Women: Icons of Christ traces the history of ministry by women, especially those ordained as deacons. The author demonstrates how women were removed from leadership, prevented from using their voices, and eliminated from official ministries in the life of the Church. And she refutes arguments against restoring women to the ordained diaconate.

Lynn Cohick provides an accurate and fulsome picture of the earliest Christian women by examining a wide variety of first-century Jewish and Greco-Roman documents that illuminate their lives. She organizes the book around three major spheres of life: family, religious community, and society in general. Cohick shows that although women during this period were active at all levels within their religious communities, their influence was not always identified by leadership titles nor did their gender always determine their level of participation. The book corrects our understanding of early Christian women by offering an authentic and descriptive historical picture of their lives. Includes black-and-white illustrations from the ancient world.

Three related essays by experts on the diaconate that examine the concept of women deacons in the Catholic Church from Thistorical, contemporary, and future perspectives.

Written by a group of friends, ?Seven Holy Women? is a one-of-a-kind journey into the lives of seven women saints. Each section of the book includes a story from one saint's life, told vividly and imaginatively in the second person; additional information about the saint to give her context; a reflection on ways the writer, reader, and saint intersect on their journeys; personal surveys for the reader and a friend to complete; and a journal prompt that encourages the reader to explore and document her encounter with themes from the saint's life. Created as both a deeply personal and enriching communal experience, ?Seven Holy Women? speaks directly to the reader, drawing her into the lives of seven saints as it invites her to look more closely and lovingly at her own spiritual journey and her friendship with the cloud of witnesses.

72 pages of egg tempera icon painting collection and commentary. An exploration of women in iconography and the absence of their voices in the church and icon image. Exquisitely painted icons are juxtaposed with text describing each of the images history, religious context and reflections about the world we live in today. This book is a must for any library, for those collectors of icons and those in authority who preserve this great tradition. Iconography has the potential the shape future theology through new liturgy and perspective for men and women everywhere. Mary Jane Miller's collection of new work is exquisite.