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

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

women A woman is an adult female human. Before adulthood, a female child or adolescent is referred to as a girl. Typically, women are of the female sex and inherit a pair of X chromosomes, one from each parent, and women with functional u ...

in the

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

, and in the world into which

Jesus Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

was born. Married to eminent

Baptist Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...

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

Ruston, Louisiana Ruston is a small city in and the parish seat of Lincoln Parish, Louisiana, United States. The 2020 population was 22,166. Ruston is near the eastern border of the Ark-La-Tex region and is the home of Louisiana Tech University. Ruston is the prin ...

. 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 (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...

. 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 college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as cle ...

degree and become

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

. 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