Shane Williamson’s Reviews > Becoming the Pastor's Wife: How Marriage Replaced Ordination as a Woman's Path to Ministry > Status Update

At the same time, the medieval church began to emphasize that the male body—which represented Christ—was worthy to perform the Eucharist. (120)

In the 11th and 12th century the medieval church began to redefine ordination as bestowing sacramental power. It began to differentiate clergy from secular men by requiring celibacy and providing a financial incentive for the ordained. A new masculine identity emerged, one built on resisting female sexuality. (120)

'Becoming the Pastors Wife' is the history of how Christian women gained a new and important leadership role. But it is also a history of how this gain came at a cost for women too. Both the cost and the gain are bigger than we yet realize. (18)