Causes of Relational Suffering between Persons According to the Tradition of the Church Mothers

When we examine the stories of women leaders in the early church—especially the stories of their actions for alleviating suffering—their teaching on the causes of suffering comes into focus: ignorance and fear which are the root of alienation, isolation, and divisions among people and from the earth. Ignorance and fear also manifest in patterns of social injustice and in organized systems of oppression, persecution, and violence (I hear similarities here with Buddha’s three “roots of evil”: greed, aversion, and delusion). The antidote/response to the causes of suffering modeled by the women leaders in the early church is always lovebased action. Their lovebased action makes the gospel message, the “good news” of Jesus, visible in their time. The historical context of the early church is significant: The Roman Empire occupied the territory of the Middle East and, with the collusion of some local Jewish leaders, instituted a harsh system of oppression that included exploiting the resources of the land and extracting onerous taxes from the occupied peoples to feed the greed of Roman rulers and to pay for Roman military expansion. Roman domination was cemented in place by the practice of public executions, including the crucifixion of anyone who hinted at resistance. This is context for the early followers of Jesus, especially for the first three women leaders we will consider.