These volumes, three of which are by women, deal in very different ways with the role of women in history and in the present, with relation to the church.

Darling's well-documented account of women in the Episcopal Church deals with transformation - how women have moved from their "proper place" to roles of lay leadership in the governance of the church, to ordination and, finally, to the episcopate. The author stresses power dynamics, the "interconnection between gender and power."

New Wine recounts the19th-century development of woman's auxiliaries and other associations, leading to the founding of the Episcopal Church Women. Darling goes on to cover the initial ministries of women as deaconesses, the seating of women in the House of Deputies, and women in the ordination process. Her thesis is that as women move into leadership positions in the church, "they also - often inadvertently - disturb the power relationships in all aspects of personal, social, and ecclesial life and thereby challenge everyone's sense of identity, ideas about right relationships with each other, and concepts of God." She concludes that as women take the good news of salvation for all seriously, "they are empowered to challenge patriarchal structures."

Evdokimov, an Orthodox scholar and theologian who died in 1970, lived and taught in Western Europe. His writing is densely packed with biblical, patristic, theological, psychological, philosophical, literary, artistic and historical references. The first 133 pages deal with what he terms "anthropology." Women are not dealt with substantively until more than halfway through the book, under a discussion of matriarchy and of feminism. Evdokimov sees man's nature as acting and woman's as being, the latter representing the true religious quality.

In the last part of his study, Evdokimov considers archetypes and sees men and women as complementary; specifically, he parallels man with Jesus Christ and woman with the Holy Spirit, citing John the Baptist as an example of the former and the Virgin Mary as the example of the Holy Spirit.

Karper writes movingly and sensitively of the solitary life of poverty in the Appalachian hills that she has chosen after spending 30 years in a Poor Clare monastery. She describes vividly the physical difficulties of her daily life, her vulnerability, and her periods of doubt. As well, she voices her trust in God's providence and grace, her growing contentment, and her sense of God's love. Prayer is mingled with her tasks and, especially, her struggles to become sufficiently skilled at quilting to support herself.

Elkins, who teaches worship and liturgy at Drew University, writes primarily for ordained women. Ordained herself, she seeks to show women new dimensions of baptism, the Eucharist, worship and ministry. Elkins illustrates her original and creative interpretations with numerous stories and down-to-earth examples of ways in which women can transform the church.

The four books collectively provide stimulating insights into different aspects of women's roles in the contemporary church. Evdokimov's account emphasizes the traditional role of women while acknowledging what he considers to be their innate religious sense. Karper helps the reader to understand the importance of solitude in developing one's life of response to God's love. Elkins stresses the element of praise and the contributions made by innovative worship. Darling focuses on relationship to God and puts women's roles, both lay and clerical, in the leadership of the Episcopal Church into perspective and leads to reflection on the future directions of women's ministries.

Helen Chapin Metz

Washington, D.C.