?At 74, the Reverend Antoinette Erasmus is proving it's never too late to pursue your passion. Graduating cum laude with a master's degree in theology, her academic accomplishment at Stellenbosch 中国体育彩票 (SU) represents more than an exceptional personal milestone. It reflects a decades-long journey of rethinking theological assumptions, broadening perspectives and challenging the status quo on women's roles in ministry.
Erasmus has spent a lifetime in service of her faith, first as the daughter of a pastor, then as the wife of one, and eventually as a trailblazing female leader in the Apostolic Faith Mission. Her master's degree comes in a landmark year: She and her husband Dennis recently celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary with their four children and grandchildren.
Erasmus credits her spouse and family for providing unconditional support while she was working on her master's degree. “I have an amazing husband. From the start of our relationship, Dennis insisted that we were equals. He and the children have meant so much to me during my academic journey of the past few years," Erasmus says.
Although she admits her body “didn't always cooperate" with waking up at four in the morning to start reading and writing, she describes the opportunity to complete her master's degree as “a great privilege".
While Erasmus had long contemplated pursuing further studies, her focus remained firmly on her work in the ministry. Even after retirement, she remained active. She continued preaching, officiating marriages, leading strategic planning sessions and working on leadership development in South Africa and Zambia. But something still felt unfinished. Erasmus wanted to understand the deeper theological roots of the challenges she had faced as a woman in ministry.
After Erasmus and her husband moved from Midrand to the Western Cape to enjoy their retirement, a visit to Stellenbosch unexpectedly opened a door into academia. As the couple took a stroll through Dorp Street one day, she felt drawn to the historical theological building. “I want to do my master's degree here," she told Dennis. “It just looks like such a nice place."
Erasmus was welcomed with open arms by the faculty, particularly Prof Juliana Claassens and Dr Nadia Marais, who guided her through the programme in systematic theology. She is deeply grateful for the openness she experienced at the faculty of theology, Erasmus says. “I've been exposed to a multitude of new perspectives. Before I started my research, I felt I was trapped in a maze. I was happy there, but suddenly I got out and I saw the world God has made. That opened me to other ways of thinking. It was necessary to see the broader picture of theology and how we understand God."
Having had to navigate a church – and a world – defined by gendered expectations that would often leave women leaders feeling invisible, informed her theological research on the metaphors we use when we talk about God. Erasmus recalls becoming aware of the impact of male dominance as a regional leader in her church. “I reminded one of the men that when they refer to leaders, they only talk about men. I've always been intrigued about how it came about that women are not seen as equal to men."
Such experiences gave her firsthand insight into institutional constraints and the ways in which theological language can reflect and reinforce gender hierarchies. For her thesis, Erasmus examined the work of feminist theologians focusing on Janet Soskice's metaphorical theology and engaged with ideas from various Christian traditions – Pentecostal, Catholic, Reformed, Eastern Orthodox and African theologies.
By interrogating how language shape theology and church practice, Erasmus also questioned the traditional patriarchal imagery of God. “The idolisation of a male figure is problematic. The feminist scholar Mary Daly said that when God is male, then man is God," she explains.
In a poignant gesture, Erasmus dedicated her thesis to her mother Réna du Rand. She exemplifies the generation of women who never had the opportunity to fulfil her potential, Erasmus says. Her mother was intelligent, well-read, multilingual and artistically gifted. She excelled at academics, music and writing, yet due to the patriarchal environment of her time, she never fully realised her potential. “Late in her life, as her health declined, it became apparent to me that my mother was burdened with sorrow stemming from missed opportunities for personal growth. It is this unfulfilled promise that I honour by dedicating my thesis to her," Erasmus notes.
In a study leader's report, her supervisor Dr Marais explained that what Erasmus explored in her thesis is not only of academic interest to her, but also born from pastoral and personal experience and conviction.
“Part of the joy of supervising Antoinette lies here: For her, this is a topic with far-reaching implications in the church that she serves, the women that she journeys with, and the ways in which she understands and expresses her faith," Marais wrote. “In a way, she has already integrated into her own life – as a woman, a pastor and a church leader – what she explores in this thesis; and this was a wonderfully enriching part of working through the process of completing the thesis with her."
For Erasmus, her goal with furthering her studies was always rooted in wanting to help others.
“I don't want the certificate against the wall," she insists. “I want to have the knowledge, but also to apply it. Every year we travel to Zambia to do leadership training and ministry. I love to lead people into new ways of thinking and understanding. My purpose was to empower myself to be able to walk with people and help them to understand our relationship with God and our relationship with ourselves and with other people."
The completion of her master's degree is not the end of Erasmus's academic ambitions. She is already considering a PhD, eager to explore unresolved questions that have emerged throughout her studies. “I believe there's always more to learn and teach," she says. “Like Paul says in the Bible, 'If I keep on living, it must be fruitful'. While I'm still alive and breathing, I want to keep on making a difference in people's lives. I'm just grateful that God gave me the ability and the courage to do this at my age."
PHOTO: Stefan Els
