The role of women in the Churches represents an important problem field for Christianity from the very beginning. On the one side was the witness of the liberating practice of Jesus, on the other hand the need was recognised for the legitimacy of a Christian image of women in ancient society. In order to resolve the resulting tensions, the authors have also made particular reference to the Bible. This led to a qualitatively and quantitatively rich literary and theological literature up until the 7th Century - not onliy in Greek and Latin, but also by authors from Syria.