"Virgins of God" The Making of Asceticism in Late Antiquity [Paperback]

Many of the institutions fundamental to the role of men and women in today's society have their origins in late antiquity. This revisionist study offers a comprehensive look at how Christian women of this time initiated alternative, ascetic ways of living, both with and without men. The author studies how these practices were institutionalized, and why they were later either eliminated or transformed by a new Christian Roman elite of men now thought of as the founding fathers.

Susanna Elm's book is a significant contribution. --Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Virgins of Godis --dare I say it?-- anexcitingbook to read by anyone interested in early Church history and the role of women in the early Church, and is especially pertinent for monastics. It belongs in every monastic library. Itisscholarly, but the scholarship is sensible, and almost always fascinating. The book is also very well written, and that is a gift in itself. --Coptic Church Review

Susanna Elm's book is a significant contribution. --Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Virgins of Godis --dare I say it?-- anexcitingbook to read by anyone interested in early Church history and the role of women in the early Church, and is especially pertinent for monastics. It belongs in every monastic library. Itisscholarly, but the scholarship is sensible, and almost always fascinating. The book is also very well written, and that is a gift in itself. --Coptic Church Review

A very well researched and documented academic treatise....It is, I believe, the first comprehensive study of the place of the virgin in antiquity to be written in English....Challenging and exciting reading...I welcome the publication of this book and recommend it to all students of the history of ascetics and community life, as well as to those exercised about the future of the consecrated state. --Fairacres Chronicll“.