Episcopa Theodora

Episcopa Theodora is the Greek inscription on a 9th-century Christian mosaic in the Chapel of Bishop Zeno of Verona located within the Church of Saint Praxedis the Martyress in Rome.

The honorific title refers to the Lady Theodora, the historical mother of Pope Paschal I, who built the chapel for her while she was still alive, as indicated by the square halo of the mosaic. Theodora was widely known to be a devout Christian in the early Church, and was notable for her acts of piety and sanctity.

There is contentious debate over what episcopa might mean in reference to this mosaic. Feminist theologians and proponents of the ordination of women point out that, linguistically, episcopa is a Latin feminization of the Greek episkopos, the traditional and biblical term for a bishop. They argue that the Theodora in the inscription is in fact, evidence of the ordination of women in the 9th-century Catholic Church. They also note that the 'a' in the word episcopa was schemingly defaced in antiquity, leading to the conclusion that it was understood by contemporaries to indicate her ecclesial status. As a result, many Feminist theologians and proponents of ordination of women use this titular example to argue for the ordination of women in the Roman Catholic Church today.

Some Roman Catholic theologians and Roman art scholars take issue with this argument by pointing out that feminizations of clerical titles have traditionally been associated with the wives and widows of early Christian clergy since the Apostolic Age.

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