Catacomb of Priscilla
This image appears to depict a female priest administering the Eucharist in one of the earliest signs of women in leadership in the early church. The priestess is surrounded by baskets of bread, indicating the communion elements, and other women are seated at the table, a beautiful scene showing community and reverent worship.
The Fractio Panis is a third–century fresco of the Greek Chapel in the Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome, Italy. Latin for “The Breaking of Bread,” nineteenth century archaeologists believed this piece to be seven individuals – six men and a veiled woman – celebrating the Eucharist. They argued that the male figure on the left was a priest who distributed the elements to those who sat with him at the table. This argument, however, began to be challenged in the 1990s.
Questions arose regarding the status and gender of these individuals as well as the context of the meal. Given the posture of the “priest,” it is possible that he was not a priest but a slave. One scholar suggested that all participants in the meal were women, and that the veiled woman may be of different status or in a state of mourning. Building on this claim, another notes that not only is one person veiled, but “all are characterized by upswept hair, slender neck with sloping shoulders, and a hint of earrings,” indicating that this is a group of women. Furthermore, the “priest” on the far left wears a floor length skirt, indicative of female attire.
Though this piece has been traditionally understood as a celebration of the Eucharist, it is also possible that they are celebrating funerary meal. This funerary meal could be the Eucharist in honor of the deceased, but this cannot be confirmed. Nonetheless, fresco is fertile ground for further conversations regarding women’s leadership roles in the early church.
Sources:
• Cohick, Lynn and Amy Brown Hughes. “Christian Women in Catacomb Art,” 65–87. In Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in th Second through Fifth Centuries. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017.
• Irwin, Dorothy. “The Ministry of Women in the Early Church: The Archaeological Evidence.” Duke Divinity School Review 45, no. 2 (Spring 1980): 83.
The Fractio Panis is a third–century fresco of the Greek Chapel in the Catacomb of Priscilla in Rome, Italy. Latin for “The Breaking of Bread,” nineteenth century archaeologists believed this piece to be seven individuals – six men and a veiled woman – celebrating the Eucharist. They argued that the male figure on the left was a priest who distributed the elements to those who sat with him at the table. This argument, however, began to be challenged in the 1990s.
Questions arose regarding the status and gender of these individuals as well as the context of the meal. Given the posture of the “priest,” it is possible that he was not a priest but a slave. One scholar suggested that all participants in the meal were women, and that the veiled woman may be of different status or in a state of mourning. Building on this claim, another notes that not only is one person veiled, but “all are characterized by upswept hair, slender neck with sloping shoulders, and a hint of earrings,” indicating that this is a group of women. Furthermore, the “priest” on the far left wears a floor length skirt, indicative of female attire.
Though this piece has been traditionally understood as a celebration of the Eucharist, it is also possible that they are celebrating funerary meal. This funerary meal could be the Eucharist in honor of the deceased, but this cannot be confirmed. Nonetheless, fresco is fertile ground for further conversations regarding women’s leadership roles in the early church.
Sources:
• Cohick, Lynn and Amy Brown Hughes. “Christian Women in Catacomb Art,” 65–87. In Christian Women in the Patristic World: Their Influence, Authority, and Legacy in th Second through Fifth Centuries. Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2017.
• Irwin, Dorothy. “The Ministry of Women in the Early Church: The Archaeological Evidence.” Duke Divinity School Review 45, no. 2 (Spring 1980): 83.
Title of Art: Fractio Panis (Breaking of Bread)
Ritual Pose/Object: Eucharist
Art Form: Painting
Event: Eucharist
Exhibit Institution: Catacombe di Priscilla
Exhibit Location: Rome, Italy
VM Image #: 0103
Photographer: Public Domain: Wikimedia Commons
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