The Roman Catholic leadership still refuses to ordain women officially or even to recognize that women are capable of ordination. But is the widely held assumption that women have always been excluded from such roles historically accurate? In the early centuries of Christianity, ordination was the process and the ceremony by which one moved to any new ministry (ordo) in the community. By this definition, women were in fact ordained into several ministries. A radical change in the definition of ordination during the eleventh and twelfth centuries not only removed women from the ordained ministry, but also attempted to eradicate any memory of women's ordination in the past. The debate that accompanied this change has left its mark in the literature of the time. However, the triumph of a new definition of ordination as the bestowal of power, particularly the power to confect the Eucharist, so thoroughly dominated western thought and practice by the thirteenth century that the earlier concept of ordination was almost completely erased. The ordination of women, either in the present or in the past, became unthinkable. References to the ordination of women exist in papal, episcopal and theological documents of the time, and the rites for these ordinations have survived. Yet, many scholars still hold that women, particularly in the western church, were never "really" ordained. A survey of the literature reveals that most scholars use a definition of ordination that would have been unknown in the early middle ages. Thus, the modern determination that women were never ordained, Macy argues, is a premise based on false terms. Not a work of advocacy, this important book applies indispensable historical background for the ongoing debate about women's ordination.

A Short History of the Theologies of the Lord's Supper, Gary Macy. Explains, in everyday language, how Christian thought about the Eucharist evolved from its earliest celebration up through the Reformation debates.

Do we really know about religion in the Middle Ages? Gary Macy suggests that what most people believe about the Church of the Middle Ages is actually wrong or founded on the perspective of one figure, Aquinas. Now, after two decades of research, Macy explores the truth about medieval religion and the Eucharist in Treasures from the Storeroom, an intriguing look into the forgotten areas of our Christian heritage. Using a wide range of original sources for these articles, Macy discusses such topics as theology, devotion, ecclesiology, and historical methodology. This collection of eight essays provides an important backdrop to the plenary address, The Eucharist and Popular Devotion," presented at the 1997 national convention of the Catholic Theological Society of America (CTSA), since several themes raised in that address are actually summaries of the fuller arguments presented in these articles. By presenting them here as a whole in the form of a book, Macy offers readers a clearer, more systematic look at the themes raised in that address. As comforting as it may be for today's theologians (and others) to pick and choose from the past so that history conveniently leads to their own favorite conclusions, Macy suggests that the Church's true tradition is diversity. Writing to fellow scholars, he offers Treasures from the Storeroom as a text for classroom use and as simply interesting reading. The chapters in Treasures from the Storeroom are *Introduction to The Theologies of the Eucharist in the Early Scholastic Period. A Study of the Salvific Function of the Sacrament According to the Theologians, c. 1080-c.1220, - *The Theological Fate of Beranger's Oath of 1059. Interpreting a Blunder Become Tradition, - *Reception of the Eucharist According to the Theologians: A Case of Diversity in the 13th and14th Centuries, - *Beranger's Legacy as Heresiarch, - *The 'Dogma of Transubstantiation' in the Middle Ages, - *Demythologizing 'the Church 'in the Middle Ages, - *Commentaries on the Mass During the Early Scholastic Period, - and *The Eucharist and Popular Religiosity. - Gary Macy, PhD, teaches at the University of San Diego and is widely published in the areas of medieval theology and devotion. "

In Christian Symbol and Ritual, Bernard Cooke and Gary Macy offer an accessible and engaging introduction to the topic written from a non-denominational perspective. Cooke and Macy demonstrate that celebration, ritual, and symbol are already central to our lives, even though most do not see their actions as symbolic or ritualistic. They connect central Christian symbols to the symbols and rituals already present in everyday life and place Christian theology in a familiar context. After discussing the characteristics and functions of rituals, they explore different kinds of ritual, including those of friendship, worship, and healing. The authors also examine such questions as how rituals establish and maintain power relationships, how "official" rituals are different from "popular" Christian rituals and devotions, and how Christian rituals function in the process of human salvation. Christian Symbol and Ritual is an invaluable resource for students, teachers, and lay readers.

Three related essays by experts on the diaconate that examine the concept of women deacons in the Catholic Church from Thistorical, contemporary, and future perspectives.

In this collection of essays, members of the College Theology Society explore how Christianity, as an historical religion, is responding to the challenge of multiple readings of history. The many new ways of writing history -- women's history, history written from the perspective of minority groups, new sources of history, including those that are non-Western, and deconstructist history -- pose challenges to the assumptions of traditional theology. They also affect our understanding of the history of Christianity and of the development of Christian doctrine.

The Roman Catholic leadership still refuses to ordain women officially or even recognise that women are capable of ordination. But is the widely held assumption that women have always been excluded from such roles historically accurate? Gary Macy investigates in this text.

Dans un contexte où l’Église catholique s’interroge sur les réformes nécessaires à la poursuite de sa mission dans le monde d’aujourd’hui, le diaconat permanent, relancé par Vatican II, apparaît comme un type de ministère particulièrement précieux pour répondre aux besoins spirituels et ecclésiaux de notre temps. En conséquence, la perspective d’admettre des femmes à ce ministère s’avère une avenue qu’il est devenu urgent d’explorer. Dans les trois essais réunis dans cet ouvrage, Gary Macy revisite l’histoire du diaconat, William T. Ditewig analyse le renouveau opéré depuis Vatican II, et Phyllis Zagano réfléchit sur les possibilités d’avenir des femmes dans ce ministère. Voici donc une étude sérieuse et créative qui nourrira d’une manière intelligente et respectueuse le débat autour de l’ordination des femmes au diaconat.