The Female Disciples

When we think of women who challenged the social norms of their day to bring about change, our thoughts may turn to the suffragettes, such as Millicent Fawcett or Emmeline Pankhurst. Or we may think of the nurses of the Crimean War like Florence Nightingale, who risked everything to care for the dying and who changed nursing forever. These women would have been outstanding in any generation and their work has rightly been covered by many authors. However there is another band of pioneering women, whose work has been forgotten and these are the daughters of Jerusalem. The female disciples of Jesus played a crucial role in establishing the early Church and they did so in a society that was highly oppressive towards women. When the apostles were in hiding, these women bravely walked the Via Dolorosa behind Jesus to Calvary. Mary Magdalene and Salome were the first witnesses of the resurrection and they and the other female disciples went on to evangelise themselves in foreign lands. This is their story.