husband that his wife should ' meet any one of th« brethren to exchange a kiss ' (ad Uxor. ii. 4). Accordingly the custom was altered, the earliest instance oi the new regulations appearing in tha Apostolical Constitutions : ' Let the clergy salute the bishop, the men of the laity salute the men, the women the women' (Const. Apostol. viii. 2. See Diet, of Chr. Ant., art. ' Kiss ').
3. Offices held by Women. — There were no women apostles. The elders were all men, in accordance with the invariable custom of the synagogue. It is given as a sign of the ' contempt ' into wliich re- ligion had fallen in the 5th cent., that women were found to be acting as priests at the altars, a com- I)laint implying that this was an innovation pre- viously unheard of (see Diet, of Chr. Ant., art. ' Women '). Two offices are said to have been held by women in the NT Church — the office of the Deaconess and that of the Widow. — (a) Deacon- esses. There is no certain description of the office of deaconess in the NT. We meet with deacons in Ph 1' and in 1 Ti 3""'^, but without any clear re- ference to deaconesses, though in the latter passage deacons' wives are referred to ; and there is men- tion of women in the course of the directions about the deacons (v."), and before the mention of their wives, which seems to suggest that women deacons are meant. Earlier than this, Phoebe of Cenchrea ia called 'a servant of the Church' (Ko 16'). The word is oid/coi/os, RVm 'deaconess.' In the earlier parts of the Apostolical Constitutions (ii. 20, iii. 15), ri oiaKovo^ is the title of the deaconess ; later we have Siaubviaaa (viii. 19, 20, 28). See Sanday-Head- lara, in loc, also Lipsius, who considers that Phoebe's work would be care of the sick and of strangers. The fact that she went with a letter of recommendation suggests that she was travelling in the service of the Church. She must have been a woman of wealth and social standing, which gave her importance apart from her office, as she is called Tpoardri^, i.e. ' patroness.' See Phcebe. The earliest definite reference to deaconesses is in Pliny (Ep. X. 96), ' Quo magis necessariiim credidi ex duabus ancillis, quce ministrm dicebantur, quid esset veri et per tormenta qtia;rere.' The title ' ministrre,' by which Pliny says these ' hand- maidens' — surely in a humbler position than that of Phoebe — were known, is the Latin representative of SidKovoi and dcaKovKraai ; the former of which titles would probably have been in use in Bithynia. There is nothing in the NT to identify the deaconesses with the ' widows ' of the Pastoral Epistles ; and if 1 Ti 3" refers to deaconesses, they must be in a distinct office, as they are mentioned apart from the widows, to whom reference is made later (5'"'"). See Lightfoot, Com. on PA., Dis- sertation on Chr. Ministry, p. 189. We have no de- scription of the work of deacons and deaconesses. But the significance of the title, pointing to service in distinction from the work of ruling entrusted to the elders or bishops, implies that they would have the care of the poor, ' serving tal)les ' like ' the seven' (Ac G-'*). The division of labour effected in the appointment of the- seven is also implied in the Pastoral Epistles, since, while the bishop is required to be a capable teacher (Tit 1'), tliat is not said of the deacon ; much less, then, could it have been required of the deaconess. Priscilla'a instruction of Apollos, in conjunction \vith her husband, is not associated with any office. — (b) Widows, see Widow.
Literature. — See the works named in the articles on Family and Marriaok; also Peritz, Woman in the Ancient llet/reit Cult; W. R. Smith, RS ; Stade, Oenchichte ; Schwally, /.4 7'IF xi. p. 176 IT. ; Schechter, Studies in Judaism; Wellliausen, Reste arabischeji Hindentwnjt; Allen, Christian Institutions } Bartlet, The Apostolic Age; McGilTert, Uist. of Christianity in Vie Apoat. Age; the Interr^at. Critical Comin. and the llandr Comrn«/Uaroa passages reft rred to. W. F. ADliNKY.
\rooD
WORLD
937
WOOD.— See Grove, Forest, Tree.
WOOL (17^ zemer ; i| gcz, ni: ffizzah, ATB.h. j'azzah, 'a fleece'). — Wool was an important article of commerce (2 K V [part of the tribute of king Mksha], Ezk 27"), and woollen fabrics formed a representative element in Oriental wealth (Mt 6", Ja 5*). It was also an indication of social rank (Mt 11', Lk 7'-=^). The soft raiment (ra /^oXa/cd) worn in kings' houses was not the rough homespun of the shepherd's cloiik, but prob. like the close smooth- faced broadcloth still woven in the East, with native dyes in grey-blue, moss-green, and various brown and purple tones. Until recently the emirs of the Lebanon proiiibited the pea-santry from wcarin" such cloth. A many-folded Oriental suit of woollen cloth must have always been costly, and in modern use it is kept for high family occasions and religious festivals. Esau's 'goodly' garment was under his mother's personal charge (arx ■ex Gn 27"), and Tyrian cloth was valuable enough to be stored up as an ancestral heirloom (p'ni; Is 2,3").
(;re!it care had to be taken to protect woollen cloth from the ravages of moths (Is 50", Lk 12''). In Is 51' mention is made both of the moth {dii'dsh, Arab, 'uththn/i) and the worm (or si'is, Arab, fus, Gr. 0-1)5). In Arab, the former is tlie small silvery moth, and the latter word indicates the destructive larvie.