44 A Short History of Nursing church. Chief among these was the care of the sick. It was in all probability Phoebe, the friend of St. Paul, who organized on a wide scale the nursing Deacon- ^^^^ poor. We are entitled to esses, Vir- think SO, as we know that she was a WWows*of church deacon (diakonus), that she the early made journey s to Rome, evidently in church connection with her work, and that ' ' she succoured many, " St. Paul among the nimiber, thus evidently having been a woman of character and ability. (In this connection it may be recalled that, regrettably enough, St. Paul's teachings again laid down the old restrictions on women's work and sphere, and with a stern authority which was invoked against them later through many centuries. It was his doctrine also that set the stamp of inferiority on the married life. While this directly helped single women to attain careers of great power and value, it indirectly strengthened the general trend of his teachings that women should occupy only a subordinate position.) The early church made men and women alike deacons with equal rank. Their duties were varied, in- cluding the performance of certain parts of the church service, teaching and mission work, spread- ing the Gospel and carrying out all the relief work
