Why do so many of the Church Fathers speak so ill of women?

By CopticBot.ai (Coptic Space Inc.) · Last reviewed 2026-10-10

To understand why some Church Fathers—such as St. John Chrysostom, St. Jerome, or Tertullian—used harsh or disparaging language regarding women, we must look at the intersection of theology, rhetoric, and the ascetic struggle.

As Coptic Orthodox Christians, we do not suppress the truth about these writings, but we interpret them through the lens of the Church’s total life. There are four primary reasons for this "hard language":

1. The Rhetoric of the "Ascetic Struggle"

A large portion of Patristic writings were directed toward monks. In the Egyptian desert, the primary struggle for a monk was the "war of the flesh." The Fathers often used hyperbole (exaggeration) to depict women as "snares" or "dangerous" to discourage monks from leaving their cells or breaking their vows. They weren't necessarily making a dogmatic statement about the nature of women, but rather creating a "psychological fence" to protect the monk’s chastity. When a Father calls a woman a "temptation," he is often speaking about the monk’s own internal weakness but projecting it onto the external object of his struggle.

2. The Influence of Greco-Roman Philosophy

The Church Fathers were educated in the prestigious schools of Alexandria, Athens, and Antioch. The prevailing secular philosophy of the time (Aristotelianism and Stoicism) viewed the female body as a "misbegotten male" or as being more governed by "passions" than "reason." Some Fathers brought these cultural and "scientific" prejudices with them when they converted to Christianity. In the Coptic tradition, we recognize that while their theology of the Trinity was divinely inspired, their biology and sociology were often limited by the secular knowledge of the 4th and 5th centuries.

3. The Typology of Eve vs. Mary

The Fathers heavily emphasized the "Eve vs. Mary" typology. To highlight the catastrophe of the Fall, they often spoke very harshly of Eve’s "deception" and "weakness." Unfortunately, they would sometimes apply the characteristics of Eve to all women, while applying the characteristics of Adam (as the "intellect") to all men. However, they balanced this by teaching that through the Theotokos, womanhood was not only redeemed but exalted above all creation. As St. Cyril of Alexandria taught, the curse of Eve was fundamentally reversed by the obedience of the Virgin.

4. Directing Rebukes to the "Wealthy and Vain"

Many of the most "sexist"-sounding quotes from St. John Chrysostom come from his sermons rebuking the wealthy elite of Constantinople. He often attacked the vanity, expensive jewelry, and "painted faces" of the upper-class women who oppressed the poor. His harshness was often a prophetic social critique of worldly luxury rather than an attack on the female sex itself. The Fathers were uncompromising when they saw the "shameful actions of evil men" and the vanity of the wealthy.

The Coptic "Correction" to This Language

While some Greek and Latin Fathers used harsh rhetoric, the Coptic Desert Tradition often provides a more balanced view:

• Amma Sarah was once told by some brothers that she was a woman and thus "weak," to which she famously replied, "I am a woman in sex, but not in my spirit." This indicates that the great Coptic saints knew that "weakness" was a cultural label, not a spiritual reality.
• The Liturgy: In our Liturgy, we pray for "the widows, the orphans, the strangers," and we honor the female martyrs with the same solemnity as—and sometimes greater solemnity than—the men.

Conclusion

We must be straightforward: some of the Fathers expressed views that reflect patriarchal prejudice. We do not have to defend these specific personal opinions as "Holy Tradition." We honor the Fathers as our teachers in the Faith, but we recognize that they were humans who lived in a fallen world and were subject to the limitations of their era. The true heart of the Church is not found in a harsh quote about Eve, but in the icon of the Theotokos, the "True Queen", who sits at the right hand of her Son.