Episcopa Theodora

"Episcopa Theodora" is the inscription on a 9th century mosaic in the St. Zeno Chapel of the Church of St. Praxedis in Rome. Historically, Theodora was the mother of Pope Paschal I, and he dedicated the chapel to her.

There is debate over what "episcopa" might mean in reference to this mosaic. Proponents of the ordination of women point out that, linguistically, "episcopa" is a Latin feminization of the Greek "episkopos", the traditional and Biblical term for a bishop. They thus assume that the Theodora in the inscription is in fact Bishop Theodora, evidence of the ordination of women in the 9th century Christian Church. they also note that the 'a' in the word episcopa was defaced in antiquity, leading to the conclusion that it was understood by contemporaries to indicate her ecclesial status. [ [http://www.romancatholicwomenpriests.org/ Roman Catholic Womenpriests :: Welcome! ] ]

Critics of this argument point out, however, that feminizations of clerical titles have traditionally been associated with the wives of clergy. "Presbytera" and "diakonissa" are, for instance, used honorifically to this day to refer to the wives of presbyters and deacons in the Eastern Orthodox Church. Since the ancient Church had married bishops, the title "episcopa" often referred to the wife of a bishop.fix|link=Wikipedia:Contents|text=citation needed In the case of the 9th century Theodora, she might have been given the honorary title of "episcopa" because of her son's position as the Bishop of Rome.

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