Nnadiebube Journal of Philosophy

It is understood that many of the mainline denominations in Nigeria exclude women from church leadership, judging from the Pauline doctrine in 1 Corinthians 14: 33b-36 which contains the Injunction by Paul that women should not speak in the church. The Pauline injunction as contained in the passage contains intricate doctrinal and theological message that the researchers has examined with a view to assessing its relevance for women’s participation in church leadership with a focus on contemporary Nigeria. An examination of the history of the Jews reveals that women had a very small role in religious leadership. However, the earthly ministry of Jesus has depicted a woman-friendly ministry which marked a change in the male-dominated Judeo-Palestinian social structure. Built upon this, Paul having many women as co-preachers; was misinterpreted in a literal interpretation of 1 Corinthians 14:33b–36. Moreover, the text would be best understood from the perspective of the Greek term “ekklesia” which its popular context refers to the assembly of a Greek city-state in which women were not permitted to speak. In similar Christian assemblies, they were permitted on the basis of the Christian brotherhood. Apparently, it seemed the Corinthian church women were abusing this privilege by disrupting church services, which may have warranted Paul’s order. This being the case, the crucial issue is the disorderliness being caused by the women, and not their participation. Therefore, in this text it was not the intention of Paul to establish a doctrine disallowing women from participating in church leadership. Information, which served as data for the study were obtained from the primary, secondary and tertiary sources. The primary data are data from oral interviews of wellinformed men and women of across the various churches in Nigeria. The secondary data were from relevant textbooks and journal articles. The tertiary data, on the other hand, were from internet materials. Historical method was adopted in doing a critical and rigorous analysis of the data generated.The study however, recommends that women are a formidable instrument of development in the church and should therefore be adequately included in every level of church leadership. They should be well encouraged by giving them their deserved positions in the church.

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