Great Women of the Christian Faith

by Edith Deen

CHAPTER 1 --
Women of the early centuries --
Vibia Perpetua, early Christian martyr --
Helena, mother of Constantine --
Macrina, founder of a religious community for women in the Eastern Church --
Nonna, mother of Gregory the Divine --
Marcela, founder of the first religious community for women in the Western Church --
Monica, mother of Augustine --
Anthusa, mother of John Chrysostom --
Paula, Jerome's inspirer --
Hilda, Anglo-Saxon Abbess of Whitby --
CHAPTER 2 --
Women of the middle centuries --
Clare, founder of the Franciscan order of Poor Clares --
Elizabeth of Hungary, helper of the poor --
Catherine of Siena, revitalized the Church --
Joan of Arc, the Deborah of France --
Isabella of Castile, first to aid the Church in the New World --
Vittoria Colonna, inspirer of Michelangelo --
Margaret of Navarre, defender of the Reformation --
Jeanne d'Albret, defender of the Reformation --
Katherine Von Bora, wife of Martin Luther --
Teresa of Avila --
beloved woman of the Carmelites CHAPTER 3 --
Women of a time of awakening --
Anne Hutchinson, the first woman preacher of New England --
Margaret Fell Fox, wife of George Fox --
Mary Fisher, pioneering missionary in New England --
Mme Jeanne Guyon, French mystic --
Susanna Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley --
Lady Huntingdon, eighteenth-century revivalist --
CHAPTER 4 --
Women who pioneered --
"Mother Ann" Lee, founder of the American Shakers --
Elizabeth Fry, leader of prison reform --
Ann Judson, first American woman missionary to the Far East --
Emily H. Tubman, an example of Christian stewardship --
Mary Smith Moffat and Mary Moffat Livingstone, missionary mother and daughter --
Narcissa Whitman, missionary to the Indians --
Florence Nightingale, ministering angel in the Crimean War CHAPTER 5 --
Women who built --
Catherine Booth, "Mother" of the Salvation Army --
Lucy Webb Hayes, faithful first lady --
Nettie Fowler McCormick, an international Christian --
Amanda Smith, Negro woman evangelist --
Lottie Moon, pioneer of the mission fund --
Mary Slesor, "White Ma" of Calabar --
CHAPTER 6 --
Women who advanced --
Rose Hawthorne Lathrop, founder of the Servants of Relief for Incurable Cancer --
Pandita Ramabai, founder of a mission, translator of the Bible --
Helen Barrett Montgomery, translator of the New Testament --
Mrs. Charles Jones Soony, China's great Christian mother --
Teresa of Lisieux, guide of the Little Way --
Women Hymn Writers, they sang to the world VIGNETTES OF OTHER CHRISTIAN WOMEN THROUGH NINETEEN CENTURIES --
Thecia, she illuminated many by the Word of God --
Flavia Domitilla, a Christian charged with atheism --
Cecilia, the patroness saint of church music --
Olympias, the glory of widows of the Eastern Chuch --
Fabiola, the founder of the first hospital in Europe --
Pulcheria, she bestowed many benefits ont he fourth-century church --
Genevieve, the beloved patron saint of Paris --
Clotilda, she converted the Franks to Christianity --
Bridget of Ireland, Ireland's best-loved woman saint --
Radegonde, a courageous and Godly queen --
Theodelinda, she brought the Lombards into the Church --
Bertha, England's first Christian queen --
Bathildis, a queen who prized freedom --
Lioba, she pioneered in the Christianization of Germany --
Matilda, she fulfilled Psalm 128 --
Roswitha, a religious writer of Medieval times --
Adela of Blois, the heroine of the First Crusade Hildegard of Bingen, the first of the German women mystics --
Mechthild of Magdeburg, her book was a light in the Middle Ages --
Gertrude the Great, a Christian seer and healer --
Bridget of Sweden, Scandinavia's most famous saint --
Juliana of Norwich, the first Englishwoman to write a spiritual book --
Margery Kempe, a wandering fifteenth-century evangelist --
Catherine of Genoa, she lived int he world but did not conform to it --
Anna Reinhard Zwingli, she opened her home to the first Protestants --
Idelette de Bures, a great Reformer's faithful wife --
Anna Bullinger, a ministering angel to Reformation refugees --
Renee of France, a friend of the persecuted during the Reformation --
Anne Askew, she was burned at the stake because of her religious beliefs --
Mme. Barbe Acarie, her hous was a center of religious Renaissance --
Marjory Bowes Knox, the faithful wife of John Knox --
Margaret Stuart Knox, the faithful wife of John Knox Jane Frances Fremoyot de Chantal, her "daughters" went on errands of mercy --
Rose of Lima, the first saint of the New World --
Pocahontas, a famous American Indian convert to Christianity --
Elizabeth Hooton, sixteenth-century preacher --
Marie de l'Incarnation, founder of the oldest North American convent school --
Marguerite Bourgeoys, she founded the first Canadian sisterhood --
Lucy Hutchinson, she typified Puritanism at its best --
Mary Dyer, an early American martyr --
Gulielma Penn, the devoted wife of William Penn --
Elizabeth Bunyan, the heroi...

Genres: Biography, Christianity, Christian, Nonfiction, History, Womens

420 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1976

About the author

Edith Deen (1905--1994) was the bestselling author of All of the Women of the Bible, Great Women of the Christian Faith, Family Living in the Bible, The Bible's Legacy for Womanhood, and All the Bible's Men of Hope. Five of her books were Christian Herald Family Bookshelf selections, and her six books, published in several editions and many languages, have sold over two million copies.

Reviews

[Carrianna]

I’ve been reading this book off and on for…..a long while now. Mainly to get familiar with more Godly woman and to know their story. I wasn’t reading it to agree theologically, more so to just be aware of more of these woman. But what I don’t appreciate is the extreme “sugar-coating” of literally every single lady! I know that they are well known for a reason and did something magnificent or humble for the Lord-I don’t doubt that! but we all have problems, ok? 🤣 I didn’t pick up a book about angels, but a book about humans. The Bible sure doesn’t give a glorified view of its great men and woman! Noah was found drunk, Moses wasn’t allowed into the Promised Land due to disobedience, Peter denied the Christ three times, David committed adultery, I mean, I could go on! Yet the great thing is that God still used these people despite their obvious flaws and temptations. So I would appreciate reading a book that humanized these people instead of “canonizing” them or forgetting their struggles and temptations. So knowing there are SO many other books I could be spending my time reading, I decided to DNF it, even though I hate doing that. 🙈

[Faith Stukenberg · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I say I loved this book, I mean I LOVED this book! I picked it off the shelf at a used book store and had no idea how much I would love reading through Deen’s miniature biographies of the lives of women throughout Christian history, all from various contexts, backgrounds and denominations. Having been written nearly 75 years ago, the language and perspectives around certain topics are certainly outdated, but regardless it gave me a greater scope than I’d ever had before of how God has used and called women throughout the ages, and I have such great respect for the dedication and sacrifice that defined so many of their lives.

[Maj · Rating 5 out of 5]

The kind of book to keep on hand when you just randomly feel like reading something edifying and learning something new! So many quick biographies of amazing women making a difference in a wide variety of ways. Really encouraging to see what a role we have always played in the Body of Christ.

[Sadie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Short biographies of faithful women throughout the centuries

[Partridge Public]

Deen, Edith