Summary
Spasova Davcha, Testimonies of the Deaconesses of Lychnidus
The written and material evidence of Ochrid, Roman Lychnidus, undoubtedly speak that the ecclesiastical constitution during the Late Antiquity is an inseparable part of the Early Christian oecumene. The recognized ecclesiastical norms, expressed through the official documents, were embedded in the church practice of the Lychnidus' Episcopate. This is the case with the implementation of the order of the female deacons (deaconesses) as an important part of the institutional ecclesiastical organization and their service was interpreted in the ecclesiastical acts, civil legislative and the historical documents of the time.
First the most certain evidence regarding regular service of the female deacons within the Early Christian Episcopate of Lychnidus is an inscription in circular field with central position on the floor mosaic in the north-western annex of the three-aisled basilica with an atrium at the site of Plaoshnik, that reads:
(In memory of the venerable Paula the deaconess)
The inscription is dedicated to Paula, a member of the order of female diacons along with the category of her sanctity. It seems to be an expression of respect and gratitude of the Christian community and female followers toward the person that might had been the founder of the female service in the Early Christian church of this area. It is a reflection of the entire devotion of Paula in the achievement of the Christian doctrine throughout perfect practice as a spiritual mother of feminine part the Christian community as well.
The other evidence relating to the deaconesses in the Early Christian Curch in Lychnidus is a bronze pectoral cross depicting the Mother of God Orans, revealed in the grave 253/JP at the Ochrid`s citadell.
In the Early Christianity representation of the Mother of God Orans is related to the elected members of female ecclesiastical service. It is a symbolic referring to the service of the Mother of God in the Temple of Jerusalem and her constant pray for the salvation of the human kind as well as a symbol of the Earthly Church as idea of the Glory of God. By the end of the Antiquity, this iconographic type referred to a deep, intimate, inner pray, as a symbol of the eclessiastical service of the deaconesses, order immanent to the Early Christian ecclesiastical constitution of the Roman East.
In addition to the pectoral cross, a ring of a simply twisted bronze strip found in the same grave unity completely define deceased person as a deaconess. Namely, by the act of their ordination, the females devoted to service in the church, apart from an orar and a maphorion, also received a ring as a symbol of their devotion to Christ as a vow of purity and chastity.
The certain units in the in the tree-aisled basilica at Plaoshnik can be appointed as parts of the female deacon practice. Regarding historical sources it is, in the first place, the baptisteria where they perform the act of baptism of adult female – cathechumens.
The second part related to the activities of the female deacons at this place is certainly the northwestern annex of the basilica where the above presented inscription honoring Paula was discovered. Its function remains uncertain even thou experts categorized it as a catechumeneum i.e. deaconicon. Nevertheless, in the attempt to define its usage can not bi denied the fact that it was in a function of the female service. It is strongly suggested by the mentioned inscription as well as the accentuated feminine prefix with an affirmation in the pictorial representation of the Psalm 41 (42) on the floor mosaic in the apse of the annex, depicting two hinds drinking from the Fons Vitae as personification of the female believers.
The main entrance on the western side of the basilica is the third place where the deaconesses accomplished their mission as Guardians of the Holy Doors since they stood at the main entrances of the churches and were engaged with the maintenance the order in the temple during liturgy.
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