Evelyn Stagg (''née'' Evelyn Owen) (July 9, 1914 – February 28, 2011) was a trailblazer for Southern Baptist women in ministry.Allen, Bob. "Evelyn Stagg, role model for Baptist women in ministry, dies at 96." ''Associated Baptist Press.'' May 20, 2011. <> She was an authority on

classical studies Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

, which led to her extensive research on the cultural/historical status and treatment of

women A woman is an adult female human. Prior to adulthood, a female human is referred to as a girl (a female child or Adolescence, adolescent). The plural ''women'' is sometimes used in certain phrases such as "women's rights" to denote female hum ...

in the

ancient world Ancient history is a time period from the beginning of writing and recorded human history to as far as late antiquity. The span of recorded history is roughly 5,000 years, beginning with the Sumerian cuneiform script. Ancient history cove ...

, and in the world into which

Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

was born. Married to eminent

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

theologian Dr. Frank Stagg for 66 years, she was a native of

Ruston, Louisiana Ruston is a small city and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. It is the largest city in the Eastern Ark-La-Tex region. As of the 2010 United States Census, the population was 21,859, reflecting an increase of 6.4 percent ...

. She was co-author of the book '' Woman in the World of Jesus,'' which the authors intended to address women's role in the church today by exploring: *the status of woman in the world Jesus entered; *the position of Jesus with respect to women; and *the status of woman in the church as reflected in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

. The book was said to have inspired a generation of women preparing for ministry in the Southern Baptist Convention until more conservative voices seized control of the denomination and went on record against women’s ordination. As a young woman, Evelyn wanted to pursue a

seminary A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...

degree and become

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...

. When husband Frank was enrolled in the Master of Divinity program at Southern Seminary in Louisville in the 1930s, Evelyn was permitted to take the same classes and sit for all the exams, but she could not receive credit since the seminary did not grant degrees to women. However, she performed so well that she was asked to grade the papers of the beginning students in New Testament Greek. Sarah Frances Anders wrote that the course report would list the men by name and add that "one unnamed woman" made one of the few A's. Throughout her marriage, she worked behind the scenes as the first reader and unofficial editor for dozens of journal articles and 10 books written by her husband. Evelyn graduated from Louisiana College in 1934. In later years Mercer University awarded her an honorary degree to recognize her early scholastic achievement and lifetime of shared ministry. In 1983 she was one of 33 women who helped found an organization known today as Baptist Women in Ministry. Pam Durso, the group’s current executive director, called her a “strong advocate for Baptist women ministers.” Evelyn taught in the public schools of New Orleans, LA and served as a reader for the Publishing House for the Blind, Louisville. She was a founding member of Women in Ministry, a group created to help women ordained for the pastorate."Evelyn Owen Stagg." ''Courier-Journal'' (Louisville, KY), March 2, 2011

References and notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Stagg, Evelyn 1914 births 2011 deaths