216 FEMINIST VIEWS BASED ON UNTRUTHFUL CLAIMS
serving even as a pastor or an elder, to say nothing of serving as a bishop,
anywhere in the entire history of the early church.^2
The fresco in question is one example of a common kind of early
painting called an orant or an orans (from Latin for “one who prays”).
The entry for “Orant” in the Encyclopedia of Early Christianity says,
The posture symbolizing prayer, from Latin orans (“one who
prays”). Typically, in early Christian art, the orant is represented by
a standing female facing front, arms raised and extended outward
from the body.... The figure is widely attested in the very earliest
Christian art... but there has been a long history of controversy sur-
rounding its interpretation.... Because this image is often attested in
funerary contexts, many interpreters have sought an eschatological-
symbolic explanation: the orant is a symbol of the soul in paradise,
or of the church (feminine) at prayer anticipating the next life.^3Other interpretations are that these paintings are testimonies to the piety
and faithfulness of the deceased, or portrayals of prayer for those still
on earth.^4
Nothing in any of these studies even hints that the person praying
in these paintings is in “an especially authoritative stance,” or might be
a woman “bishop,” or that the shepherds represent “pastors” in the care
of a bishop, as Kroeger claims. These statements are pure speculation
on Kroeger’s part. A sense of fairness to one’s readers should require that
any author who makes such statements would at the very least include
(^2) Probably the first woman to have such a recognized public role was Margaret Fell in the sec-
tarian Quaker movement in 1667. If there ever had been a woman bishop in Rome in the late
third century, as Kroeger supposes, it would have prompted widespread comment, and even
opposition and conflict. In fact, the Roman Catholic Church has a high interest in the historical
succession of bishops in Rome! But there is no record of a woman bishop anywhere, to say noth-
ing of dozens of women bishops, all of which also makes Kroeger’s speculation highly unlikely.
Someone might answer that the Catholic church has suppressed the evidence of these female
bishops, but to say that is to admit that one has decided to believe something based on no avail-
able historical facts instead of something based on many established historical facts. People may
decide to believe such things if they wish, but such a decision cannot be said to be rational.
(^3) Paul Corby Finney, “Orant,” in Encyclopedia of Early Christianity, 2nd ed., ed. Everett
Ferguson (New York and London: Garland, 1997), 831.
(^4) In addition to Finney’s article (see previous footnote), see J. Beaudry, “Orans,” in New
Catholic Encyclopedia, ed. Berard L. Marthaler (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of
America, 2002), 621; A. M. Giuntella, “Orans,” in Encyclopedia of the Early Church, ed.
Angelo DiBerardino, trans. Adrian Walford, 2 vols. (New York: Oxford University Press,
1992), 2:615. All three articles include bibliographies of additional studies.