This Female Man of God is a study of holy women in late Roman society. In the early church, many women were considered "holy" and were revered by their peers and by the male establishment for their profound piety. These women preached and converted both men and women; they gave up families, homes and possessions; they confounded secular potentates and religious authorities in their uncompromising pursuit of God; and they revolutionized their own domestic spheres.

While many studies have focused on the great men of the period, these women have been largely forgotten. This groundbreaking book examines the role of Christian women in the patristic age and shows how their experiences were deeply revealing of both the temporal and church politics of the time.