Tonight at Great Vespers, we begin the annual feast of our patron saint, Olga of Kiev.
Before her repentance, Saint Olga was a fiery figure of vengeance. and afterward she was indirectly the founder of Russian Christianity.
If you can’t be at the services tonight and tomorrow, take a moment to look at the readings for the feast. They celebrate courageous, confident women: Jael and Sisera, Judith and Holofernes; the powerful women behind St Paul’s ministry, and finally a rebuke from the Lord to a Pharisee who prefers to judge a woman rather than celebrating her repentance.
Our culture sometimes asserts that we need a return to biblical womanhood. That is a great idea! Here are a few biblical roles women are empowered to undertake:
Business owner
- Judges 4
- Acts 16:14
- Proverbs 31
Leader
- Romans 16:7
- Judges 4
- Micah 6:4
- Acts 18:18-28
Political figure, deliverer and influencer
- Esther 4
- Judges 4
- Numbers 27
- 1 Kings 10
- 2 Samuel 20:14-25
- Judith 13:2-20
Student of scripture
- Luke 10:39
- Acts 18:18-28
Teacher
- Acts 18:26
Prophet
- Exodus 15:20
- 2 Kings 22
- 2 Chronicles 34:19-33
- Luke 2:36-38
- Acts 21:8-9
Mother
- Genesis 21
- 1 Samuel 1:20
- 1 Kings 1:19
- 2 Maccabees 7:20-41
- Luke 1
