Centre for Catholic Studies Podcast

Sara Parvis - Women and the Reception of Nicaea

7 snips
Oct 14, 2025
Dr. Sara Parvis explores the significant yet often overlooked role of women in the reception of Nicaea. She discusses how women acted as educators, copyists, and patrons, contributing to theological discourse and church politics. Notable figures like Queen Mavia and various female networks helped shape early Christian thought and preserve essential texts. Parvis argues for a re-examination of history that highlights women's contributions rather than their absences, asserting their vital role in the Nicene tradition.
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Episode notes
1
Intro
00:00 • 3min
2
Context and Scope of the Talk
03:12 • 26sec
3
Which portraits and images frame Nicaea?
03:37 • 1min
4
What problems and structure will guide this seminar?
04:51 • 5min
5
Why mark the 1700th anniversary of Nicaea?
09:29 • 6min
6
How is Nicaea being received across traditions?
15:28 • 2min
7
How are Reformed churches engaging Nicaea?
17:46 • 2min
8
Is Nicaea colonial or relevant globally?
20:08 • 54sec
9
How is Nicaea relevant to African Christian theology?
21:02 • 3min
10
Why dedicate a World Council of Churches issue to women and Nicaea?
24:13 • 1min
11
What can theologians say about women at Nicaea?
25:40 • 12sec
12
How can the term homoousios be read as egalitarian?
25:52 • 2min
13
Which canons and roles at Nicaea touch on women?
28:00 • 3min
14
Should historians reconstruct what ought to have happened?
30:39 • 40sec
15
What does 'reception of Nicaea' mean historically?
31:20 • 2min
16
Who hid Athanasius during his exiles?
33:11 • 2min
17
What role did women copyists and educators play?
35:04 • 1min
18
How were women subjected to state violence in the controversies?
36:16 • 3min
19
Could nuns have distributed Athanasius's texts clandestinely?
39:15 • 1min
20
How did elite women act as patrons and mediators?
40:28 • 48sec
21
What was Queen Mavia's role in church politics?
41:16 • 1min
22
Which other women supported clergy and church infrastructure?
42:40 • 47sec
23
How should historians include women in the Nicaea story?
43:26 • 14sec
24
Outro
43:40 • 49sec