Æthelthryth – what a great name!!

Long time no blog…again!  Sorry for the absence – I’ve been busily marking exam papers for GCSE students around the country and have been focused on that for a few weeks.

So I thought I’d launch back into the blogging with a bit about Æthelthryth.  What a great name!  My internet research has taught me that she was one of the widest and most venerated of the Anglo-Saxon saints, which is very intriguing…this blog is an excellent introduction to the miraculous life that she is reputed to have led and I really recommend you give it a quick read.

I am interested in the role of women in the church and the argument that surrounds them. I know the reasons why for each side – it’s one thing I teach every year! – but always find it interesting.  I suppose it’s one of those things that I’ll never quite understand because I wasn’t brought up going to church…I came to Christianity aged 17, and my relationship with God is based on my experience of God perhaps even more than on learning about the Bible or church traditions.  I know about the contradictions in St. Paul and the way that the church has changed and developed over the last 2,000 which has affected the role of women.

But here is an example of a woman who is still known today, a woman who lived 1300/1400 years ago.  Her story includes other women, and she is remembered alongside kings in several sources.

I wonder what she would have to say about the role of women in the church…