‘Done Decently and in Order’: Christianity and the Public Segregation of Women in Late Antique Rome and Constantinople (300–600 CE)

ABSTRACT This article looks at the ways in which gendered and social segregation was carried out within Christian, religious spaces and events, in the Late Antique cities of Rome and Constantinople. It considers the reasons for, and methods used in, separating men and women, as well as elite women from other, non‐elite women. Taking a comparative approach, the practices of both cities are contrasted. So, too, are the practices found in Christian spaces compared to those used within traditional Roman religious rites. Finally, the importance of movement as a determiner for the effectiveness of segregation will be considered.