This contribution discusses the impact of the Reformation on models of female spiritual authority. The transitions and ruptures of this “religious crisis” are examined on the basis of a Reformation polemic, published in Geneva and addressed to Queen Margaret of Navarre by “a Christian woman from Tournai”, who signed herself – depending on the printings – either M.D. or Marie Dentière. Analysis of her activity in Geneva showed that Marie Dentière reoriented the monastic tradition of preaching among nuns. This practice influenced her theology, which defended the principle of preaching among women as a charisma for Christian communities in a time of social unrest. The original exegesis of the Epistle affirmed a theological and spiritual feminism. By highlighting the authority of biblical models of “faithful” women, this pamphlet sought to neutralize the injunction of silence for women in the churches based on the authority of the Apostle Paul. The gender criticism expressed in this pamphlet also testifies to a dissenting interpretation of the ecclesiastical roles and pastoral profiles that were being asserted in the new reformed communities.