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Byzantine society was unquestionably patriarchal. Nevertheless, as in all medieval cultures attitudes towards women were ambivalent. It can be argued that women were a marginalized group, in theory an inferior sex, and conventionally were supposed to be seldom seen and never heard in public. They were debarred from all priestly functions and denied the power of giving instruction in church. Nevertheless the church acknowledged that women were spiritually equal to men and there were many well-known early Christian female martyrs. Women founded monasteries, their relics might perform miraculous cures and some achieved sainthood. The Theotokos (the 'Mother of God') was always a central figure in the devotion of both men and women and was seen as the mediator between mankind and Christ. |
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