Elizabeth Schrader Polczer
Elizabeth Schrader Polczer is Assistant Professor of New Testament at Villanova University. She holds a doctorate in Early Christianity from Duke University, with a focus on textual criticism, Mary Magdalene, and the Gospel of John. Her research has been published in the Harvard Theological Review, the Journal of Biblical Literature, TC: A Journal of Biblical Textual Criticism, the Comparative Oriental Manuscript Studies Bulletin, and the Journal of Early Christian Studies. She is regularly invited to present her peer-reviewed research at churches and conferences internationally.
Presenter at
BAS Class with Elizabeth Schrader Polczer, July 2026
Women in the New Testament and Early Christianity
1. Women in Pauline Literature: This week we will read about some of the first women to be mentioned in the Christian movement, including Phoebe and Junia. We will also consider the reasons for why later generations of Paul’s followers (especially the author of the Pastoral Epistles) may have felt the need to advocate for stricter control over women’s roles.
2. Mary, the Mother of Jesus: This week we will read the gospel passages that mention Jesus’s mother, and consider why each evangelist seemed to have a different perspective on her role in Jesus’s life. We will also look at the Protevangelium of James, a second-century “biography” of the Virgin Mary.
3. Mary Magdalene: This week we will read the gospel passages that mention Mary Magdalene, and again consider why different evangelists present her in different ways. We will discuss the article I co-wrote with Joan Taylor arguing that “Magdalene” may be an honorific title rather than a reference to Mary’s hometown. We will also briefly portions of the Gospel of Mary, the Gospel of Philip, and a recently-published papyrus fragment that may preserve a portion of the Gospel of Mary’s lost vision section.
4. Mary, Martha, and the Anointing Women: This week we will read passages from Luke 10 and John 11–12, the passages that mention the sisters Mary and Martha. We will also look at the four evangelists’ anointing stories, and consider how they are both similar to and different from one another. There will also be a discussion of my 2024 BAR piece, “The Mystery of Mary and Martha.”
5. Salome: This week we will look at the two mentions of Salome in Mark’s Gospel, but also consider mentions of a woman named Salome in extracanonical literature such as the Protevangelium of James and the Gospel of the Egyptians. We will also discuss the findings of my 2022 article “Was Salome at the Markan Tomb? Another Ending to Mark’s Gospel.”
6. Thecla: This week we will discuss The Acts of Paul and Thecla, a popular second-century apocryphal story of a woman named Thecla who followed Paul, baptized herself, dressed like a man, and went out to preach the good news.
7. Perpetua and Felicity: This week we will read the Martyrdom of Perpetua and Felicity, including the diary of a woman who was martyred in the arena alongside her friend in 203 CE for their Christian faith.
8. Macrina: This week we will read Gregory of Nyssa’s biography of his sister Macrina, a consecrated virgin and leader of an ascetic women’s community who Gregory paints as a model of philosophy.
Bible & Archaeology Fest XXVIII, November 21 thru 23, 2025
Has a New Section of the Gospel of Mary Been Discovered?
A previously unknown Christian text published in the 2023 volume of the Oxyrhynchus Papyri series (Papyrus Oxyrhynchus 5577) preserves an ancient dialogue where a woman named Mary is apparently instructed by Jesus. Although the fragment is brief and fragmentary, it contains several themes which are also prevalent in the surviving portions of the Gospel of Mary. Due to this shared content, as well as narrative sensibility, this study explores the question of whether P.Oxy. 5577 might preserve a portion of Mary’s missing vision from the Gospel of Mary.
BAS Summer Seminar 2025, July 26 – 27, 2025
1. Trash as Treasure: Introduction to the Oxyrhynchus Papyri
2. A Scandal at Oxford: Hobby Lobby and Dirk Obbink
3. Stranger than Fiction: Karen King and the Gospel of Jesus’s Wife
Bible & Archaeology Fest XXVII, November 22 – 24, 2024
The Suppression of Mary Magdalene in the book of John
