Carina Pereira de Oliveira Prestes

Carina Pereira de Oliveira Prestes was born and grew up in Curitiba, Paraná. There she studied architecture and urbanism at UFPR and met her husband, Flávio Prestes III. Together they moved to the United States to prepare for ministry. During the fourteen years they spent in the US, she completed a master’s degree and doctorate in biblical archaeology at Andrews University in Michigan. She has participated in archaeological digs in Sicily, Jordan, and Israel. Her doctoral research covered the archaeological evidence of female leadership in early Christianity. Carina is the author of Excavating Women: The Archaeology of Leaders in Early Christianity.

CBE’s 2026 International Conference Speaking Sessions

Keynote Session | Friday, August 7 at 6:30 pm | Location: O’Hare III

Excavating Women: The Archaeology of Leaders in Early Christianity

This keynote session will present and examine Dr. Prestes’s new book, Excavating Women, tracing the archaeological markers used to honor women leaders in pre– and early Christian centuries. From Greek and Roman temples to tombs, churches, and catacombs, archaeologist and professor Dr. Carina Prestes excavates women’s leadership at odds with literary texts of their day. Learn how one generation spoke to another in the language of archaeology, repeating and repurposing leadership markers in clothing, objects left in tombs, mosaics, and inscriptions that, once seen, are impossible to ignore.  

This in person session will also be available for LIVE virtual viewing.

Workshop Session | Saturday, August 8 at 10:30 am | Location: Midway

Equality in Ephesians: An Archaeological Study

Track: Going Deeper with Biblical Equality

This presentation will focus on Ephesians 2:14–16 in light of its context, archaeological finds, Pauline letters, and other textual sources. While this passage might seem to say little about women’s roles in the early church, looking at it through its historical and literary context, the passage reveals a lot about Paul’s view on women’s participation in the first decades of Christianity.

Panel Discussion on Leadership | Saturday, August 8 at 7:00 pm | Location: O’Hare III

This panel will discuss leadership in ministry: the challenges and highlights of being a woman in an often-male context. In this conversation, we will learn what leadership is (closeness to God, servant heart vs. influencers), as well as offer practical advice for people starting out in ministry whether as women, alongside women, or intending to encourage and lift women up.  

This in person session will also be available for LIVE virtual viewing.