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The Role of Women in the Orthodox Church

By Dimitris Salapatas

(Orthodoxes Forum –

Zeitschrift des Instituts für Orthodoxe Theologie der Universität München, 29 Jahrgang,

2015, Heft 2, pp.177-194).

Introduction

It is apparent today that the issue of the role of women in the Orthodox Church is

gaining interest, not only within Orthodoxy, but also by non-Orthodox, who wish to identify

the beliefs and practices of the Eastern Orthodox Church. What is evident in a number of

publications and conferences is the fact that we need to hear not only what the Church

proclaims on this issue, but how women themselves understand the theology and the

tradition of their role in Orthodoxy.1 Quoting the same verses from Holy Scripture such as

Galatians 3:28 – “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is

neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus” -, or referring to the same

Church Fathers, who show a negative approach to women within the Church, can only take

us so far. In order to understand the role of women in Orthodoxy we need to go further; we

need to establish their role today, identify the true Orthodox Tradition and examine the

history of this matter, on a practical, historical point of view and also theologically.

The fact that other Christian denominations, specifically the Protestant churches and

parts of the Anglican Communion, have ordained women to the priesthood and the

episcopate, has created many questions, which trouble not only them, but also the Roman

Catholics and the Orthodox, who still maintain the traditional approach of ordaining only

male members. This is, probably, the most important issue, in regards to the role of women

in the Church, in our time. However, it is not the only problem identified. Here we will

examine the role of women by looking at the women chanters according to the Byzantine

Tradition, deaconesses and ordination of women, the role of women in the Orthodox

Church today and the soteriological realities of the members of the Church.

1There have been a number of important conferences on the role of women in the Orthodox Church. Some of them are the following: Agapia, Romania (1976), followed by the Inter-Orthodox Theological Consultation on The Place of the Woman in the Orthodox Church and the Question of the Ordination of Women, 30 October – 7 November 1988, Rhodes, Greece, convened and organised by the Ecumenical Patriarchate; Damascus (October 1996) and Istanbul (May 1997) where the gospel theme “Discerning the Signs of the Times” was examined; Volos (June 2008) where the topic “Participation of Orthodox Women in the Ecumenical Movement” was studied. In the United Kingdom the Orthodox Theological Research Forum, 2014 OTRF Conference, examined the topic “Inspiration from Time Women’s Ministries in the Orthodox Church,” https://otrf123.wordpress.com/2014/07/18/2014-otrf-conference-inspiration-from-time-womens-ministries-in-the-orthodox-church/

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1. Women Chanters According to the Byzantine Tradition

There are various views on whether there should be women chanters, what they can

chant, when they can chant etc. By analysing and examining the past we will be able to

understand the current practices and identify the future prospects in the relation between

women and Byzantine Music.

a. Kassiani

When looking at the history of Byzantine Hymnography and Music we easily identify

the fact that it is dominated primarily by men. Women are not totally absent; they are,

however, the exception to the rule. The most famous woman hymnographer is of course

Kassiani the Hymnographer (known also as Kassia or Eikasia)2; she is known for the

Troparion of Kassiani which is chanted during Matins of Holy Wednesday, considered as

one of the greatest masterpieces within the Byzantine hymnographic tradition. It is

important, therefore, to talk about her life here in order to identify why she is, probably, the

most important example of a female hymnographer within the Byzantine Tradition.

She was born between 805 and 810 AD in Constantinople, during the reign of

Emperor Theophilus (829-842 AD). She was known for her beauty and her cleverness. Three

Byzantine Chronographers, Symeon the translator, Georgios Amartolos and Leon

Grammatikos, claim that she was part of the ceremony for the bride choice for the Emperor

Theophilus, which was organised by his step-mother Euphrosyne. During this ceremony the

emperor would choose his wife by giving her a golden apple. Dazzled by the beauty of

Kassia, the young emperor approached her and said: “All the bad things came to this world

from a woman” referring to the sin and suffering that resulted from Eve. Kassia then

answered: “And all the good things came from a woman,” referring to the Theotokos and to

the hope of salvation from the Incarnation of Jesus Christ. The emperor’s egoism was

injured, which resulted in his rejection of Kassiani, choosing Theodora as his wife.3

2 There are a number of variants of Kasiani’s name, such as Kassia, Kasia, Kassiani, Eikasia, Ikasia. Karl Krumbacher additionally suggests that the usage off the variant names Eikasia and Ikasia “are due to the error of a scribe who mistook η κασία for ἱκασία or εἰκασία, which, in fact, do not exist.” Egon Wellesz, A History of Byzantine Music and Hymnography, Oxford, 1961, p. 237, Cf. Karl Krumbacher, Kasia, Munchen, 1897, pp.316-17. 3 The events of her life can be found in a number of sources, such as: Spyros Panagopoulos, Kassia: A female hymnographer of the 9th century, Proceedings of the 1st International Conference of the ASBMH, 2007, http://www.asbmh.pitt.edu/page12/Panagopoulos.pdf, accessed 09.06.2015, 15.01.; Dianne Touliatos-Miles, ‘Kassia’, in James R. Briscoe (ed.), New Historical Anthology of Music by Women, Bloomington, IN, 2004.; Antonia Tripolitis, Kassia: The Legend, the Woman, and Her Work, New York, 1992. On the other hand, Egon Wellesz merely mentions this event in his book: Egon Wellesz, A History of Byzantine Music and Hymnography, Oxford, 1961, p. 237.

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We know that Kassiani in 843 AD founded a cenobium in Constantinople, near the

western walls of the City, where she became the first abbess. It was at this monastery that

she began her hymnographical work. “St Kassia also wrote secular songs and poems on

moral themes which were witty, often crass, sometimes funny, and usually defended

women’s rights.”4 She was in close contact with the Monastery of Stoudiou, which played a

key role in the re-publications of Byzantine Liturgical Books during the 9th and 10th centuries

AD, preserving thus important works.

This great poet, hymnographer and melodist of the Orthodox Church, Saint Kassiani,

is commemorated on the 7th September. The presence of Kassiani has overshadowed the

hymnographers and melodists of her time, due to the fact that she is the most prominent

woman melodist in the history of Byzantine Music. Having a special talent, intelligence,

sensitivity and expressive richness she excelled in the creation of melodies; this of course

was facilitated due to her high education and noble lineage. That is why her work is timeless

and always current, moving everyone within the Orthodox world.

Forty-nine hymns still used within the Orthodox Church are attributed to Kassia;

however, “only twenty-three of those have been proven by scholars to be genuine.”5 The

reason why modern scholars are not 100% sure of the authenticity of a number of hymns is

due to the issue of anonymity within the Orthodox hymnographic tradition. (This reality

also exists in the iconographic tradition of the Church). This practice was maintained during

the Byzantine epoch due to moral and spiritual reasons. “It was believed that spiritual

anonymity would supersede any earth-given praise.”6

Kassia has also composed many hymns written by various hymnographers. The

majority of her musical works are in sticheron form, i.e. pieces chanted during Matins and

Vespers. She has written many idiomela, i.e. hymns which have their own unique melody,

doxastika (larger hymns which begin with ‘Glory to the Father and to the Son and to the

Holy Spirit, Both now and forever and to the ages of ages. Amen,’ which tell the stories of

the lives of the saints). “St. Kassia has numerous doxastikon following the lives of St. Mary

of Egypt, St. Chrystina, St. Eudokia, St. Agathe, St. Barbara, St. Pelagia, St. Thekla, and

others.”7 Additionally, “she is also credited with writing the odes for the Tetraodion for

Holy Saturday, widely appreciated for their beautiful, programmatic imagery.”8 She has,

4 Dianne Touliatos-Miles, ‘Kassia’, in James R. Briscoe (ed.), New Historical Anthology of Music by Women, Bloomington, IN, 2004, p. 6. 5 Antonia Tripolitis, Kassia: The Legend, the Woman, and Her Work, New York, 1992, p. xii. 6 Rachel Nicolas Brashier, Voice of Women in Byzantine Music Within the Greek Orthodox Churches in America, Southern Illinois, 2012, p. 14. 7. Ibid, p. 14. 8 Diane Touliatos, The Traditional Role of Greek Women in Music from Antiquity to the End of the Byzantine Empire, in Kimberly Marshall (ed.), Rediscovering the Muses: Women’s Musical Traditions, Boston, 1993, p. 81.

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additionally, written the idomelo doxastikon of Christmas9. From the above we understand

why she is the only memorable female Byzantine poet.

Kassia was not the only female monastic hymnographer. We also know about

Thekla, Martha, Theodosia, who were all abbesses during the 9th century. The music they

composed was primarily intended for use by the female monastic choirs within their

monasteries. “Kouvouklisena was a domestikena, or director and lead chanter for female

choir in a monastery who lived during the 13th century.”10 Palaeologina, who was a nun and

a hymnographer (15th century) was related to the Imperial family in Constantinople, being

well educated; she also composed hymns. The daughter of Ioannes Kladis (an accomplished

chanter in the Imperial city)11 is the other hymnographer (15th century), whose writings

appear together with her father’s, making it apparent that she was also his student. Despite

the existence of a number of female hymnographers, Karl Krumbacher (“a German scholar

who was an expert on Byzantine culture”12) believed that Kassiani “is the only worth

mentioning Byzantine poet.”13 On the other hand, Egon Wellesz in his important book A

History of Byzantine Music and Hymnography, has a list of the best-known hymnographers

from the 5th until the 15th century. In it we find two women Kassiani and Thecla (the Nun)14.

b. Women in Worship

Women in worship is a misunderstood topic within the modern pastoral care of the

Church. Can women participate in worship? Especially, can they be chanters?

In the Bible we identify a number of views on women in worship and how both men

and women should act within the Church, during the services. In First Corinthians (14:34-35)

we read: “Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak;

but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let

them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.”

9 ‘Glory. Both now. The same Tone. By Kassia. When Augustus reigned alone on the earth, the many kingdoms of mankind came to an end; and when you became man from the pure Virgin, the many gods of idolatry were destroyed; the cities of the world passed under one single rule; and the nations came to believe in one single Godhead; the peoples were enrolled by decree of Caesar; we the faithful were enrolled in the name of the Godhead, when you became man, O our God. Great is your mercy, Lord; glory to you!’ Anastasis, http://anastasis.org.uk/25decves.htm, accessed 19/08/14, 20.21. 10 Rachel Nicole Brashier, Voice of Women in Byzantine Music Within the Greek Orthodox Churches in America, Southern Illinois, 2012, p. 14. 11 More information: ibid. p. 118. 12Princeton, https://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Karl_Krumbacher.html, accessed 24/07/14, 17.19. 13 Διαμαντής Μαυραγάνης, Σ, Σύντομη Ἱστορία τῆς Ὑμνολογίας, Ἀθήνα, 1996, p. 44. 14 Egon Wellesz, A History of Byzantine Music and Hymnography, Oxford, 1961, pp. 442-444.

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Furthermore, St. Cyril of Jerusalem clearly conveys to the women to sing, but quietly,

mouthing the words, “so that their lips speak, but others' ears catch not the sound.”15

Additionally, the 70th Canon of the Sixth Ecumenical Synod states that: “Women are not

permitted to speak at the time of the Divine Liturgy; but, according to the word of Paul the

Apostle, “let them be silent. For it is not permitted to them to speak, but to be in subjection,

as the law also said. But if they wish to learn anything let them ask their own husbands at

home.””16

This canon, therefore, is based on Scripture, on First Corinthians and on Genesis 3:16,

where we read: “To the woman He said: “I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your

conception; In pain you shall bring forth children; Your desire shall be for your husband,

And he shall rule over you.””

Despite the above being expressed by Scripture and the Church, we identify that

from the 2nd until the 6th century AD women chanted parts of the services. However, in the

6th century the role of women in worship was limited within Byzantium. This is also evident

when looking at Byzantine music, at the modes, at the sounds we all hear during the

services. Byzantine music, “which can be found in seven thousand codes and hundreds of

printed publications, are all written for male voices.”17 Nevertheless, today we have a

number of interesting and significant examples of female Byzantine choirs, mainly in

convents, which contribute towards the richness of Byzantine music, such as the choir at the

Holy Monastery of Saint Stephen in Meteora and the sisters at Ormilia. However, the widely

accepted practice is that an Orthodox parish Church would formally employ a male chanter.

(Officially, the term ψάλτρια, woman chanter, does not traditionally exist, especially within

the Greek Orthodox world. It is more of a new reality.)

If we are permitted to understand this issue from a different point of view, we may

suggest that the important factor is not who can sing, a man or a woman, but whether the

Holy Spirit has given its gift towards a certain person to chant. We read in First Corinthians,

Chapter 12, that not everyone is an apostle or a prophet or a teacher or does miracles or

15 ‘For though the ark was one, and the door was shut, yet had things been suitably arranged. If the Church is shut, and you are all inside, yet let there be a separation, men with men, and women with women: lest the pretext of salvation become an occasion of destruction. Even if there be a fair pretext for sitting near each other, let passions be put away. Further, let the men when sitting have a useful book; and let one read, and another listen: and if there be a book, let one pray, and another speak something useful. And again let the party of young women sit together in like manner, either singing or reading quietily, so that their lips speak, but others' ears catch not the sound: "for I suffer not a woman to speak in the Church." [1 Cor. 14:34] And let the married woman also follow the same example, and pray; and let her lips move, but her voice be unheard, that a Samuel may come, and thy barren soul give birth to the salvation of "God who hath heard thy prayer," for this is the interpretation of the name Samuel. [1 Sam. 1:13] I shall observe each man's earnestness, each woman's reverence.’ Cyril, of Jerusalem, Catecheses, PG 33: 356-357. 16 Agapios Ieromonahos, Nikodimos Monahos, Πηδάλιον, Athens, 1982, Canon 70, Sixth Ecumenical Synod. 17Nektarios Paris, Γυναῖκες καί Ψαλμωδία (β’ μέρος), Πεμπτουσία, http://www.pemptousia.gr/2013/05/%CE%B3%CF%85%CE%BD%CE%B1%CE%AF%CE%BA%CE%B5%CF%82-%CE%BA%CE%B1%CE%B9-%CF%88%CE%B1%CE%BB%CE%BC%CF%89%CE%B4%CE%AF%CE%B1-%CE%B2%CE%84%CE%BC%CE%AD%CF%81%CE%BF%CF%82/, accessed 16/07/2014, 21.45.

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heals etc. The same applies to the gift of chanting within the Church. Therefore, “both men

and women in the church can use their talents for the glory of God.”18

Additionally, we can identify the practicalities, by observing what happens in, for

example, the Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain. In Britain most, if not all the Greek

Orthodox Churches, have at least one female chanter. During the weekday services where

the male chanters are absent, the women chanters chant during the services, whether we are

referring to Vespers, the Divine Liturgy or any other service. This reality shows that, at least

on a practical level, women chanters are part of the liturgical expression of the Orthodox

Church, which follows the Byzantine tradition. This, however, does not mean that problems

don’t occur. The incompatibility of male and female voices, especially when neither are

trained, can create a rough and unpleasant sound. Nevertheless, we do observe a stricter

stance to the aforementioned practice here in Britain. I have personally been present at an

instance where a certain lady was not allowed to read, during Vespers, only because she was

a woman. This brought distress to the chanters at that point; however, the priest was

adamant. This verified exactly the fact that “the empirical reality of women’s lives in the

Church exposes a serious contradiction between what the Church proclaims and what it

practices.”19 In many respects this verifies what Saint Cyril of Alexandria had stated, that

“the male must always command and the female must everywhere be in second class (en

deutera taxei).”20

Is gender, therefore, important for chanting in the Orthodox Church? Unfortunately,

it depends who you ask. However, an interesting fact is that, if we are to follow the formal

practice of the Orthodox Church, readers and cantors are minor orders of the clergy;

therefore, they are roles to which one has to be tonsured. Consequently, any untonsured

man and woman are inevitably excluded from the psalterion. In the Archieratikon, the

service book used by the Bishop, the word Xειροθεσία is used in the title of the service, a

term used interchangeably with Χειροτονία (Ordination)21; nevertheless, in the body of the

service the term Χειροτονία22 is used, the same word used for the ordination of deacons,

priests and bishops, where we read “Προσαγόμενος ὁ μέλλων χειροτονηθῆναι τῷ

Ἀρχιερεῖ...”23 During the service, the Bishop lays his hand on the Reader’s head, verifying

thus the use of the word ordination. The Euchologion of the Orthodox Church during “The

18 Vasie-Leigh Chames, The Role of Women in the Orthodox Church’, Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America, http://www.goarch.org/archdiocese/departments/youth/youthworkers/sessions/women, accessed 24/07/14, 15.01. 19 Eva C. Topping, Orthodox Women and Our Church, in Steven J. Sfekas, George E. Matsoukas (eds). Project for Orthodox Renewal – Orthodox Christian Laity, Illinois, 1993, http://ocl.org/ocl-publications/project-for-orthodox-renewal-2/orthodox-women-and-our-church/, accessed 24/07/14, 15.18, p. 32. 20 Cyril of Alexandria, De Adoratione et Cultu in Spiritu Et Veritate Liber Decimus Septimus, PG 68: 1068. 21 This term was used in ancient Athens, when the people of the city voted at the Assembly of Citizens, meaning that they put their hands up when they agreed with a certain decision. 22Also found in the Euchologion, such as: Ieromonahou Spuridonos Zervou, Εὐχολόγιον τό Μέγα, Athens, 1980, pp. 186-187. 23 Ἱερά Σύνοδος τῆς Ἐκκλησίας τῆς Ἑλλάδος, Ἀρχιερατικόν, Ἀθῆνα, 1971, p. 77.

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Office of Setting Apart Readers and Chanters” identifies the distinctiveness of the Reader

and the Chanter from the laity. During the service, the Bishop exhorts him with the

following:

“My son(s), the first degree in the Priesthood is that of Reader. It behooveth thee

(you) therefore, to peruse the divine Scriptures daily, to the end that the hearers, regarding

thee (you) may receive edification; that thou (ye) in nowise shaming thine (your) election,

mayest prepare thyself (may prepare yourselves) for a higher degree. For by chaste, holy

and upright life thou shalt (ye shall) gain the favour of the God of loving-kindness, and shalt

render thyself (shall render yourselves) worthy of a greater ministry, through Jesus Christ

our Lord; to whom be glory unto ages of ages. Amen.”24

Additionally, in the Apostolic Canons, in the Canons of the Synod of Laodicea and in

the Canons of the Synod in Trullo, chanters are classified as clergy (κλῆρος)25, whereby a

stricter type of life is required of them, in contrast to that of the laymen26. Furthermore, the

Synod of Laodicea mandated that “No others shall psalmodize in church, except the

canonical chanters.”27 The significance of the minor clerical orders in the Church have, for

time now, been, unfortunately, undermined. It is apparent that a renewal of an accurate

distinction between minor clergy and laity is mandatory before fully undertaking the

question of women chanters and readers in the Orthodox Church.

St. Ambrose, commenting on Psalm I (PL 14:924-5) states that “the Apostle

admonishes women to be silent in church, yet they do well to join in a psalm; this is

gratifying for all ages and fitting for both sexes.”28 However, most Fathers who discuss

chanting do not argue whether women can or cannot chant during the services. They

generalise and explain how it should be done; Byzantine music must “be chanted in a state

of attention or inner wakefulness, with fear of God, devoutness, contrition, humility.”29 St Symeon

the New Theologian believed that “One must psalmodize, that is, pray with the mouth, with

fear and piety and attention.”30 Abba Philemon stated that “We ought, as the sacred writings

teach, to guard our mind carefully and to psalmodize without distraction and with

understanding.”31 Not only the Fathers, but also the Church was interested in the way with

which the faithful chanted, claiming in the 75th Canon of the Synod in Trullo (691-692) that

24 Isabel Florence Hapgood (ed.), Service Book of the Holy Orthodox – Catholic Apostolic Church, New Jersey, 1983, p. 308. 25 Agapios Ieromonachos and Nicodemos Monachos, Πηδάλιον, Athens, 1982, Apostolic Canons 26, 43, 69; ibid., Canon 24 of the Synod of Laodicea; ibid., Canons 4, 5 of the Synod in Trullo. 26Ibid., Apostolic Canons 42, 43, 69; ibid., Canon 24 of the Synod of Laodicea. 27 Ibid., Synod of Laodicea. 28 Psalom, http://www.synaxis.info/psalom/reference/quotes.html, accessed 24/07/14, 16.24. 29 Constantine Cavarnos, Byzantine Sacred Music, Massachusetts, 1981, pp. 9-10. 30 Dionysios Zagoraios (ed.), The Existing Works of St Symeon the New Theologian (In Modern Greek), Pt. 1, Syros, 1886, p. 61. 31 Constantine Cavarnos, Byzantine Sacred Music, Massachusetts, 1981, p. 24.

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“those whose office it is to chant in the churches . . . offer the psalmody to God, who is the

observer of secrets, with great attention and contrition.”32

c. Thoughts on Psalmody and Women

For a past talk I gave, entitled: ‘Women Chanters and Hymnographers within the

Byzantine Tradition’33 I undertook a questionnaire, asking male chanters and priests from

around the world, their views on women chanters. There replies were very interesting.

Many believed that women on the psalterion scandalise the faithful. (I presume they mean

that they scandalise the men). Most were against a mixed choir, due to the fact that both

women and men have not been trained properly to facilitate for such a choir. The scale,

formed for male voices, is another key issue as is the non-existence of polyphony within the

Byzantine ecclesiastical musical tradition. Additionally, many accept women chanters due to

necessity alone. Only few see women chanters as a positive tradition and reality, due mainly

to St Paul’s views on this, which are quoted constantly when having to deal with women

chanters within the Orthodox Church. An exception, however, is given to the sisters in a

convent, who seem to be understood as following a unique and different tradition to that of

the Church in the world.

Some comments can be characterised as sexist. Such was a comment that: “women

do not have natural vocal skills and technical training and the ethos of chanting, which

inspires listeners…In the parishes, with the presence of male chanters, the woman should

not stand on the psalterion, but sit in humility as the Theotokos. Women can only chant due

to the economy of the Church, when a male chanter is not present, and not from the

psalterion, but from their seats, so they do not show off. Women should have the virtue of

humility, and when a male chanter appears, they should stay silent.” Unfortunately, these

views are widely “respected” and endorsed by many within the Orthodox Church.34

Nevertheless, there is a minority which understands this matter differently. Women

chanters and women in general chanting during the services are already limited. Some

people who participated in this questionnaire even claimed that the restriction of women in

worship and in chanting is not a tradition of the Orthodox Church and that it has ‘snuck’

into the Church during the late and post Byzantine era, prevailing thus as the strict

traditional Orthodox position. However, the return of women chanters in the daily worship

is more consistent with Orthodox Tradition. Encouragement of these positions is a new

trend within Orthodoxy. Also the fact that women chanters did not exist in the past, but

currently do, is not an inhibition to Orthodox Tradition.

32 Ibid., pp. 15-16. 33 Orthodox Theological Research Forum, 2014 OTRF Conference, Inspiration from Time Women’s Ministries in the Orthodox Church, https://otrf123.wordpress.com/2014/07/18/2014-otrf-conference-inspiration-from-time-womens-ministries-in-the-orthodox-church/ 34 These views are also expressed on a number of Forums, including Psaltologion, a Forum for Chanters. (http://analogion.com/forum/).

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The history of women chanters within the Byzantine Tradition is a rather complex

one. Nevertheless, women chanters are inevitably part of the Byzantine musical and

hymnographical tradition, of the living tradition of the Orthodox Church. According to Fr.

George Florovksy, “Tradition is the witness of the Spirit; the Spirit’s unceasing revelation

and preaching of good tidings.”35 This is how we should understand the living tradition, as a

preaching of good tidings.

The important factor is to offer hymns and chants to God, as we claim during the

Divine Liturgy: “Praise the Lord, O my soul: while I live I will praise the Lord; while I exist,

I will praise my God.” In Psalm 50, chanted during Matins, we read “O Lord, open my lips,

And my mouth shall show forth Your praise.” Therefore, despite Byzantine music being a

complicated musical system, whoever is able to chant should do so.

2. Deaconesses and Ordination of Women

Although the ministry of deaconesses, historically, is different to that of the

ordination of women in the modern era, they do have a relation. The first has been part of

the ecclesiastical Tradition of the Orthodox and indeed the Undivided Church, whilst the

latter is contested by most Christians as a new reality, as an innovation, which brings a

massive rift to the Official Relations and Dialogue between Eastern and Western

Christianity.

Despite the Orthodox and Anglicans praying for unity, during their meetings and

dialogues, a new gorge is forming itself, with the introduction of women priests. According

to Fr Alexander Schmemann36: “The ordination of women to priesthood is tantamount for us

to a radical and irreparable mutilation of the entire faith, the rejection of the whole Scripture,

and, needless to say, the end of all “dialogues”.”37 However, it is currently evident that

despite the introduction of women priests in the Anglican Communion, dialogue between

the Anglicans and the Orthodox still continue. Before examining the current realities of

women priests, let us understand the role of women in the ancient Church, where

deaconesses were a reality.

a. Deaconesses

Historically, deaconesses existed during the first centuries of Christianity. However,

we identify that the Orthodox Church is reluctant to revisit this reality today. The main

reason for this is the fear that if Orthodoxy reintroduces the deaconesses, then many women

35 George Florovsky, Bible, Church, Tradition: An Eastern Orthodox View, Belmont, 1972, p. 46 36 Rt. Rev. Dr. Alexander Schmemann was Dean of St. Vladimir's Orthodox Theological Seminary in Crestweed, New York, where he also occupied the chair of Liturgical and Pastoral Theology. He was an author, writing important books in the field of Liturgics in the Orthodox Church. 37 Kallistos Ware, Man, Woman and the Priesthood of Christ, in Peter Moore (ed.), Man, Woman, Priesthood, London, 1978, p. 69.

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will ask to continue their ministry onto the priesthood and the episcopate, as is the case in

many Western churches.38

In Scripture we find the word deacon in a number of instances, referring to women.

Such is the case with Phoebe, “who is believed to have been the person entrusted by St. Paul

to deliver his epistle to the Romans from Achaia.”39 In the Epistle to the Romans (16:1), we

read ‘Phoebe as serving the Church of Cenchrea as a deacon.’ Phoebe is thus accepted as

being “the prototype of the women deacon and the first deaconess of the Church. Like St

Stephen for male deacons, St Phoebe became an example of faith and service for female

deacons.”40 The Orthodox Church also honours St Lydia and St Tryphena, by

commemorating them as deacons. The same applies to St Priscilla and St Junia.

There are two main sources on the female deacons or deaconesses, the Didaskalia and

the Apostolic Constitutions. However, we find an ambiguity to their role in the ancient

Church. This existed generally, since the ordained orders of the early Church were going

through a developmental process, progressing to their current form.

A deaconess was honoured as being “a type of the Holy Spirit.”41 She had a number

of duties. “She offered pastoral diakonia and charity work and she also had distinctive

liturgical functions.”42 According to the sources we have, they had a very significant role; for

example, in the Apostolic Constitutions we find that, no woman was allowed to speak to the

bishop or any deacon, without speaking first to a deaconess.43 Additionally, the deaconess

also administer Holy Communion to women who were ill, either at their house or the

hospital. She would also give donations to the needy women. Pastoral care was also part of

the job description, including visits to heathen households so to minister them. However

“the most important liturgical services were offered by the deaconesses during the

celebration of the Sacrament of Baptism,”44 in particular the baptism of women. Without a

female deacon, the baptism of adult women could not take place, due to issues of

propriety.45

It is interesting to acknowledge that there were distinctive liturgical responsibilities,

between the female and male deacons. The latter would assist the Bishop during the service

38 This is the stance maintained by the Orthodox Church as a whole, seeing the difficulties and problems which have occurred within the Anglican Communion on the modern issue of women priests. 39 Kyriaki Karidoyanes FitzGerald, Women Deacons in the Orthodox Church, Brookline, 1999, p. 3. 40 Ibid., p. 10. 41 Apostolic Constitution, Library of Greek Fathers and Ecclesiastical Writers, Vol. 2, Athens, 1955, 2:26. 42Anastasios D. Salapatas, The Liturgical Role of the Deaconess in the Apostolic Constitutions, Theologia, Vol.72, Issue 2, July-December 2001, p. 562. 43 Apostolic Constitutions, Library of Greek Fathers and Ecclesiastical Writers, Vol. 2, Athens, 1955, 2:26. 44 Anastasios D. Salapatas, The Liturgical Role of the Deaconess in the Apostolic Constitutions, Theologia, Vol.72, Issue 2, July-December 2001, p. 569. 45 For more information on the importance of the deaconess in regards to baptism see Anastasios D. Salapatas, The Liturgical Role of the Deaconess in the Apostolic Constitutions, Theologia, Vol.72, Issue 2, July-December 2001, pp. 561-578.

11

and would have a social priority to the female deacon. Additionally, deaconesses did not

maintain a role at the celebration of the Eucharist, not being able to even give a blessing.

According to the Apostolic Constitutions, the “deaconess is concerned exclusively with the

women members of the congregation and her valuable diakonia is directed towards them

alone.”46 Nevertheless, in the private sphere of life, in regards to ministry to females and

children, the deaconess had a clear advantage.

An interesting question posed to the Orthodox is whether the deaconess was

ordained or merely blessed. Do we have a χειροτονία (ordination) or a χειροθεσία (placing

of hands on the head)? Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia supports Prof. Evangelos

Theodorou’s position47 (who is a specialist on this theme48) that the deaconesses were

ordained, receiving, “as does the deacon, a genuine sacramental ordination: not just a

χειροθεσία but a χειροτονία.”49 This has troubled many scholars in the past50. An answer to

this question could also form the practice the Orthodox should maintain presently or in the

future.

It is interesting to identify that despite the existence of deaconesses in the Orthodox

Church being extinct, there is a small number of exceptions to this rule, which come to us

46 Ibid., p. 576. 47 Kallistos of Diokleia, Man, Woman and the Priesthood of Christ, in Thomas Hopko (ed.) Women and the Priesthood, New York, 1999, p. 16. Additionally, Prof Panagiotis Trembelas believes that deaconesses in the early Church “received not just a laying-on of hands (χειροθεσία) but a real ordination (χειροτονία), being placed on a level somewhat lower than that of the deacon, but higher than that of the subdeacon.”Panagiotis Trembelas, Δογματική τῆς Ὀρθοδόξου Καθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας 3, Athens, 1961, p.292. 48 Evaggelos Theodorou, Emiritus Professor and Former Rector at the University of Athens, has dedicated a number of his work on the important issue of women in the Church and deaconesses, being therefore a specialist and a much quoted source on these topics. His most significant work on deaconesses are his doctorate thesis Evaggelos Theodorou, Ἡ «χειροτονία» ἤ «χειροθεσία» τῶν Διακονισσῶν, Athens, 1954; Evaggelos Theodorou, Ἡρωΐδες τῆς Χριστιανικῆς Ἀγάπης (Αἱ Διακόνισσαι διά τῶν Αἰῶνων), Athens, 1949. Additionally, this has been examined by Professor Emeritus of the University of Athens Ioannis N. Karmiris, Ἡ θέσις καί ἡ διακονία τῶν γυναικῶν ἐν τῇ Ὀρθοδόξῳ Ἐκκλησίᾳ, Athens, 1978. These works were also part of the Orthodox Bibliography used for the Inter-Orthodox Theological Consultation on The Place of the Woman in the Orthodox Church and the Question of the Ordination of Women, 30 October – 7 November 1988, Rhodes, Greece: Archimandrite Gennadios Limouris (ed.), The Place of the Woman in the Orthodox Church and the Question of the Ordination of Women, Istanbul, 1988. 49 Kallistos of Diokleia, Man, Woman and the Priesthood of Christ, in Thomas Hopko (ed.) Women and the Priesthood, New York, 1999, p. 16. 50 This has troubled all scholars who have endeavoured to examine and further understand this ancient reality of the Church. Such was the case with the significant work of Evaggelos Theodorou, Ἡ «χειροτονία» ἤ «χειροθεσία» τῶν Διακονισσῶν, Athens, 1954; Evaggelos Theodorou, Ἡρωΐδες τῆς Χριστιανικῆς Ἀγάπης (Αἱ Διακόνισσαι διά τῶν Αἰῶνων), Athens, 1949; Panagiotis Trembelas, Δογματική τῆς Ὀρθοδόξου Καθολικῆς Ἐκκλησίας 3, Athens, 1961; Kallistos Ware, Man, Woman and the Priesthood of Christ, in Peter Moore (ed.), Man, Woman, Priesthood, London, 1978; Kallistos of Diokleia, Man, Woman and the Priesthood of Christ, in Thomas Hopko (ed.) Women and the Priesthood, New York, 1999; Barbara Kalogeropoulou Metallinou, Ἡ Γυναίκα στήν καθ’ ἡμᾶς Ἀνατολή, Athens, 1992; Kyriaki Karidoyanes Fitzgerald, Women Deacons in the Orthodox Church, Brookline, 1999; Elisabeth Behr-Sigel, The Ministry of Women in the Church, California, 1991. Modern arguments and academic work are based on the above sources, creating, however, new ones according to the new trends and ideas formed not only due to the ongoing dialogue, but also to the constant questioning of Orthodox Tradition and practice on the issue of the role of women in the Church.

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from the 20th century from the East. Before the 1917 revolution, the Russian Orthodox

Church prepared some schemes to restore this order. In Greece St Nektarios of Aegina

actually ordained a nun on Pentecost Sunday 1911.51 Today, there are a few deaconesses in

the Orthodox Church; according to one Greek newspaper, To Vima52, there are only three

Greek deaconesses, without giving their names. It merely states that one is undertaking

missionary work in the Far East, the second was ordained by late Archbishop Christodoulos

of Greece, when he was still Metropolitan of Dimitriados, and the third lives in

Constantinople.

b. Ordination of Women

We live in a world where women priests exist. They might not exist in the Orthodox

Tradition; nevertheless, being Orthodox in the West, we identify this new reality all around

us. Due to this current actuality, there are many books and articles examining this important

topic. However, they all argue in the same way. Even when asked, many theologians,

hierarchs and priests answer using the argument of Tradition, or the iconic argument. Both

these routes might be satisfactory for some; they are not, however adequate on an academic

level, or even for someone who wishes to further their research on the ordination of women,

not only academically but also pastorally. Here we will examine both these routes, creating a

dialogue and an inquiry, which many Orthodox wish to avoid. It should be said that this

part of the paper is greatly influenced by Metropolitan Kallistos’s ideas and writings53, who

wishes to inquire further into the dialogue on the issue of the ordination of women.

Tradition is a living and dynamic entity within the life of the Church; it is the

exegesis of the Fathers on Scripture. The Orthodox give the same importance to both

Scripture and Tradition. “True tradition is always a living tradition. It changes while

remaining always the same. It changes because it faces different situations, not because its

essential content is modified.”54 However, “loyalty to Tradition must not become simply

another form of fundamentalism.”55 Tradition, therefore, “is the critical spirit of the

Church.”56 Tradition also holds continuity, as is evident in Hebrews (13.8): “Jesus Christ the

51 For more information on this topic and the arguments posed around this issue see: Kyriaki Karidoyanes-FitzGerald, 1999. 52Maria Antoniadou, Ἡ Ἐκκλησία ἐπαναφέρει τίς διακόνισσες, Το Βήμα, http://www.tovima.gr/relatedarticles/article/?aid=161509, accessed 21/01/2015, 17.24. 53 Metropolitan Kallistos looks into this topic in two articles: Kallistos Ware, Man, Woman and the Priesthood of Christ, in Peter Moore (ed.), Man, Woman, Priesthood, London, 1978, pp.68-90. Kallistos, Bishop of Diokleia, Man, Woman and the Priesthood of Christ, in Thomas Hopko (ed.), Women and the Priesthood, New York, 1999, pp.5-53. He has argued this issue in many of his talks and during a number of conferences, based on the articles, his academic and pastoral work during the past decades. 54 John Meyendorff, Living Tradition, Crestwood, 1978, p. 8. 55 Kallistos, 1978, p. 70. 56 Vladimir Lossky, In the Image and Likeness of God, New York, 1974, p. 156.

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same yesterday, and today, and for ever.” Metropolitan Kallistos gives an engaging exegesis

of Tradition, claiming that the Orthodox Church is “the Church of Holy Tradition . . .

Tradition is not static but dynamic, not defensive but exploratory, not closed and backward-

facing but open to the future.”57 The appeal to Tradition, however, on the issue of ordained

women, states that we have never had women priests, we shouldn’t innovate and if Christ

wished to have women priests He would have taught His disciples.

Additionally, an interesting point is the argument of silence. It is apparent that the

churches need to listen and comprehend the words but also the silence, given to us by both

Tradition and Scripture. According to Metropolitan Kallistos, “there is nothing in Scripture

and Tradition that explicitly enjoins the ordination of women to the priesthood; yet equally

there is nothing which explicitly forbids it.”58 Nevertheless, we should inquire whether

silence “indicates consent?”59 When examining the Church Fathers, we identify that they

assume that a priest will be a man. However, theologically there is no exegesis for why this

is the case. Therefore, the argument of Tradition can only take us Orthodox so far.

By maintaining the argument of Tradition we end up into a predicament, whereby

Jesus was a man, the apostles were men; however, they were also Jews. Therefore, should all

the priests and hierarchs be Jews? Practically we see that the Church has introduced Gentiles

into its priesthood. Therefore, one can, rightly, ask, can this departure from the initial

tradition also permit the future introduction of women? It is a fact that Christ nowhere

commanded his disciples to ordain women; nevertheless, he did not forbid them from doing

this. I am, here, posing these questions not necessarily to find the final answers, but to give

birth to a thought process on this matter, which seems to be very important in our modern

world. Many Orthodox theologians believe that an answer should be found, such as

Metropolitan Kallistos60 and those who are involved in the Official Dialogues with other

denominations. Even a negative answer would suffice, whether the other Christian

denominations accept our views or not. Nevertheless, if we are to alter the existing practice

we need to be very careful, we shouldn’t rush into anything before examining all the

parameters, the theological arguments for and against and the ecclesiological implications

this could affect. We need to take in consideration what we read in Hebrews (7:12): “For

when there is a change in the priesthood, there is necessarily a change in the law as well.”

The second argument the Orthodox like to use, against the ordination of women is

the iconic argument, adopted by Fr Alexander Schmemann, who assumed it from the

Roman Catholics. Nevertheless, it is also supported by a number of Church Fathers.

According to St Theodore the Studite: “Standing between God and men the priest in the

priestly invocations is an imitation of Christ. For the apostle says: “There is one God, and

57 Kallistos Ware, The Inner Kingdom, New York, 2000, p. 9. 58 Kallistos, 1978, p. 75. 59 Kallistos, 1999, p. 8. 60 Ibid.

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one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (Tim. 2.5). Thus the priest is an

icon of Christ.”61 Metropolitan Maximos Aghiorgoussis, former Metropolitan of Pittsburgh,

claims that: “For the Eastern Orthodox it is imperative to preserve the symbolic

correspondence between Christ as a male and the ordained priest . . . The ordination of

women to the Holy Priesthood is untenable since it would disregard the symbolic and iconic

value of male priesthood, both as representing Christ’s malehood and the fatherly role of the

Father in the Trinity, by allowing female persons to interchange with male persons a role

which cannot be interchanged.”62

How far, though, can we take the iconic argument? Do we follow a photographic

representation? Because he had a beard, everyone should, therefore, have a beard? He had

black hair; therefore, everyone should die their hair black? These are childish questions,

which will inevitably receive childish answers. But we should ask, why can’t a woman be an

icon of Christ? The Fathers, on the other hand, never inferred “liturgical typology.”63 The

external and materialistic aspect was never important. “A painted icon is indeed intended to

bear a visible resemblance to its prototype; but the priest is not a painted icon.”64 If,

however, we understand the iconic argument in an “inward and spiritual sense”65 then it is

possible that the argument against women priests is weakened.

The language used in the hymns, canons and Patristic texts of the Orthodox Church

is also interesting. In the Creed we read, “Who for us men and for our salvation came down

from heaven and was incarnate of the Holy Spirit and the Virgin Mary and became man.”

The trouble with English is the fact that the term man has two meanings, human being and

male. In Greek and Latin two distinct words exist, ἄνθρωπος, homo (human being) and

ἀνήρ, vir (male). Therefore, in English the word man is ambivalent. The original text of the

Creed, in Greek, clearly states that he became a human (ἐνανθρωπήσαντα). Even the

Church Fathers were more interested in the fact that the Son of God became human and not

male. This is also evident at the Feast of the Circumcision of our Lord (January 1). This could

be the perfect opportunity for the Orthodox Church to use as the key moment to express its

theology on the maleness of Christ. However, what is observed is the fact that, “the themes

central to the hymnography are Christ’s self-emptying, his ‘condescension’ and his

obedience to the Jewish law. While it is stressed that he became fully human, no particular

significance is attached to his maleness as such.”66

Many Orthodox today, however, believe that the wrong question has been posed.

They believe that we ought to ask: “What are the distinctive gifts conferred by God on

61 St Theodore the Studite, Adversus Iconomachos - Capita Septem, PG 99: 493 and St Theodore the Studite, Epistolae - Liber Primus, PG 99: 945. 62 Maximos Aghiorgoussis, Women Priests?, Brookline, 1976, p. 3,5. 63 Kallistos, 1999, p. 49. 64 Ibid. p. 49. 65 Ibid, p. 49. 66 Kallistos, 1999, p. 50.

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women, and how can these gifts be expressed in the Church’s ministry?”67Therefore, “the

question is not “Do women have a role of leadership in the Church?”, but “What is the

nature of that role?””68

When considering the negative inquiry, “Why cannot women be priests?” It might be

more helpful to ask, “In the light of the rich diversity of ministries that can and once did

exist within the local Church, what are the distinctive gifts conferred by God on women, and

in what forms of ministry can these gifts be best expressed?”69

In order to understand these issues, we need to fully examine anthropology. This is a

very current theme, in Anglican-Orthodox Relations, since “the Official Dialogue is entering

a new phase, preparing the Fourth Official Statement on Anthropology and the

understanding of the human person,”70 a theme proposed by Metropolitan Kallistos.

Currently there is a vagueness in our comprehension of the human person. Without

a structured and accepted Orthodox anthropology, it seems inconceivable to promote or

progress into ordaining women priests. However, this does not mean that, in the future, this

could not be a reality.

Therefore, here we understand that there exist a number of problems, theologically

and anthropologically, in the limitation of the priesthood to the male members of the

Church. On the other hand, sociologically, there are issues; socially, this would be

impossible to implement in an Orthodox country today. It is obvious that the hierarchs and

the laity in Orthodox countries find the notion of women priests as ridiculous. Nonetheless,

this is not a theological argument.

Further confusion also derives from the fact that a number of Scriptural references

are misunderstood. Clear example of this is Galatians 3:28, “There is neither male nor

female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” However, this phrase refers to baptism and not

the priesthood. Therefore, a clear understanding of the exegesis of the Biblical sources

together with an understanding of the ontology of the priesthood and the ordination is

needed to further comprehend the current position of the Orthodox Church.

Many would argue that it is a Western question. Metropolitan Kallistos explains that,

“the question has been posed to us Orthodox as it were “from the outside,” and we have not

yet made it truly our own question.”71 Metropolitan Anthony of Sourozh has expressed a

similar view, claiming that “For us Orthodox, it comes to us from outside. It needs to

become an internal question. It requires from us an inner liberation and a deep exposure to

67 Ibid., p. 84. 68 Ibid. p. 84. 69 Kallistos, 1999, pp. 12-13. 70 Dimitris Salapatas, Anglican-Orthodox Relations: A Dead-End or a Way Forward?, Koinonia, New Series No.63, Ascentiontide 2014, p. 30. 71 Kallistos, 1999, p. 6.

16

the Vision and Will of God.”72 The Orthodox, therefore, have not analysed this issue in

depth. However, many Orthodox who live in the West, and are in constant contact with

Western Christians, feel the need for this question to be answered. Maybe, at this point in

time, if we wish to be true to our faith and our Tradition, we could say that we understand

the issue of women priests as an open question. If we feel incapable or even incompetent to

answer this question now, we can leave it for the future. Therefore, we need to have in the

back of our minds the arguments, with an objective of finally answering, in a convincing

manner, the problems of this issue.

A point, which needs to be highlighted, is the fact that “there exists as yet no pan-

Orthodox statement, possessing definitive Ecumenical Authority”73on this issue. The only

statement that exists from the Orthodox world is the declaration proposed by the Orthodox

at the Anglican-Orthodox Joint Doctrinal Commission, Athens 197874, which decisively

discards any opportunity of ordaining women to the priesthood. Nonetheless, its

conclusions are not binding, since it was not enforced and agreed upon within an

Ecumenical Council; it is moderately considered as an input to an ongoing debated theme.

Nevertheless, it is interesting to identify that the Orthodox Church only progressed the

argument from Tradition in that 1978 statement. Therefore, showing an evolution and a

development of the argument and understanding the Orthodox have on this issue.

The question and issue of women priests is identified as a propaganda, seeing that

many perceive the priesthood as being the only potential ministry in the Church. Of course,

this new movement can be acknowledged as “the bitter fruit of the clericalization of the

Church.”75 Conversely, this applied not only to women, but to men also. It is apparent that,

currently, if someone has a vocation within the Church, they believe it must be only for the

priesthood, leaving aside the minor orders or roles one could and should have within the

Church. Therefore a revival of St Paul’s vision is imperative, of spiritual gifts: unity in

diversity (1 Corinthians, 12). Rethinking the Pauline tradition, the Orthodox Church should

explain the significance of these roles for the Church, within the Church. These roles are

given not only to the priesthood, but also to the minor clerical orders and the laity. The

significance of the minor clerical orders in the Church have, for time now, been,

unfortunately, undermined. It is apparent that a renewal of an accurate distinction between

minor clergy and laity, and the role each one has within the Church, is mandatory before

fully undertaking the question of women and deaconesses in the Church.

3. The Role of Women Today

72 Elisabeth Behr-Sigel, and Kallistos Ware, The Ordination of Women in the Orthodox Church, Geneva, 2000, p. 12. 73 Kallistos, 1999, p. 7. 74 This can be found as an appending: Henry Hill and Methodios, Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain

(eds.), Anglican-Orthodox Dialogue, The Dublin Agreed Statement 1984, London, 1985, pp. 58-60.

75 O. Clement, Questions sur l’homme, Paris, 1972, p. 119.

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A number of significant Orthodox academics, thinkers and writers have examined

the topic of the distinctive gifts and female ministry in the Church, including Barbara

Kalogeropoulou Metallinou76, Paul Evdokimoff77, Kyriaki Karidoyanes FitzGerald78 and

Elizabeth Behr Sigel79. In these sources the role of women in the Church is explained,

enumerating some roles they already have within Orthodoxy. Women in the Church are

Saints. We have countless female Saints even living amongst us today. Another important

role women maintain in Orthodoxy is that of the priest’s wife. This is an important calling

within the Church life. The priest’s wife maintains a role in the local community, she is

honoured in this role, given the title papadia or presbytera in Greek. This elevates her to a

role, which she upholds next to her husband. Being a priest’s son, myself, I observe the

importance of the papadia; women prefer to speak to her, take her advice on issues, even

concerning theological enquiries. Interestingly enough, St Basil the Great had stated that the

presbytera is able to be part of the confession of a woman and give her advice80. This exactly

shows the significant role she plays within the local community and Church. That is why it

is helpful, in a parish to have a married priest. He, through his wife and even his children, is

able to achieve a greater ministry in the Church. Another role we find is that of a deaconess,

it doesn’t (widely) exist today; nevertheless, since it was part of the Tradition of the Church,

it could actually be re-introduced into the life of the Church. An important and ever

growing role women are gaining is that of teaching, either at a Sunday school level, a school

or university level. Spiritual motherhood is another function women have, especially in the

monastic context. As explained before, chanters is a position many women have taken upon

themselves, either individually, or within a choir (female or mixed). It is, however,

important to remember what St Paul had stated (1 Corinthians, 12: 4-11):

“4There are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. 5 There are differences of

ministries, but the same Lord. 6 And there are diversities of activities, but it is the same God

who works all in all. 7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of

all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of

knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of

healings by the same[b] Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to

another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the

interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing

to each one individually as He wills.”

The clericalisation that exists in the Church should not dictate to us that if we have a

calling, it primarily means to the priesthood. If everyone became a priest, then we would

76 Barbara Kalogeropoulou Metallinou, Ἡ Γυναίκα στήν καθ’ ἡμᾶς Ἀνατολή, Athens, 1992. 77 Paul Evdokimoff, Woman and the Salvation of the World: A Christian Anthropology on the Charisms of Woman, Crestwood, 1994. 78 Kyriaki Karidoyanes Fitzgerald, Women Deacons in the Orthodox Church, Brookline, 1999. 79 Elisabeth Behr-Sigel, The Ministry of Women in the Church, California, 1991. 80 St Basil the Great, Archbishop of Caesarea of Cappadocia, Capita Regularum Brevius Tractatarum, PG 31, 1061, Questions 110, 111.

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have no chanters, no one to look after finances, no one to prepare the bread etc. We need to

have in our minds that ‘the ministry is not the controlling factor of the Church but only one

of the manifestations of its corporate and grace giving life.’81 This will allow the Orthodox to

be liberated from the idea and the practice of clericalism, allowing for the establishment of

our objective, which is salvation. Everything accomplished in the Church is a calling, a

service to the whole Body of the Church.

4. Salvation

The role of the women in the Orthodox Church is an important issue. However, the

distinction which exists in our world and in the Church, between women and men has no

effect to our salvation. This is also expressed by St Gregory of Nazianzus, who stated: “The

same Creator for man and woman, for both of them the same clay, the same image, the same

law, the same death, and the same resurrection.”82 The existence of the sexes does not show

discrimination but complementarity and reciprocity. This is also highlighted when

identifying the existence of thousands of female saints. They are honoured and remembered

in the Church daily. The most important woman saint is, of course, the Virgin Mary. In

Greek she is called, among other names, Panagia (the All Holy One).

Virgin Mary’s role in salvation is crucial. “According to the great ecclesial vision,

Mary is not the “model” only for women, the prototype of submissive, passive, and

oversweet femininity which women today are no longer able, no longer want, to identify

themselves with. Mary is not a goddess either, a symbol of a feminist Christianity which is

implicitly or explicitly opposed to a masculine Christianity centered on Jesus. . . According

to the Orthodox understanding, Mary is fully human and represents all of humanity, the

complete humanity which God, in his grace, wanted to freely associate with the realization

of his loving plan. She is a sign, the anticipation of a human person entirely given to the

Lord, the ultimate eschatological realization of man-anthropos.”83

The Orthodox faithful always pray to her, saying “O, Holy Mother of God intercede

for us.” This intercession is also evident in the iconographic tradition, whereby the

Theotokos Platitera is depicted in the Sanctuary, between Heaven (the dome) and the earth.

During the Divine Liturgy we sing the hymn: “It is truly right to call you blessed, who gave

birth to God, ever-blessed and most pure, and Mother of God. Greater in honour than the

Cherubim and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, without corruption you

gave birth to God the Word; truly the Mother of God, we magnify you.”

81 Nicolas Zernov, The Russian Religious Renaissance of the Twentieth Century, London, 1963, p. 282. 82 Gregory the Theologian, Oratio XXXVII, PG 36: 289. 83 Elisabeth Behr-Sigel, The Ministry of Women in the Church, California, 1991, p. 24.

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It’s interesting to understand how the Theotokos was never a priest, despite being

the Mother of God. This fact can actually be considered as a great argument against women

priests. The late Greek Orthodox Archbishop Athenagoras Kokkinakis, of Thyateria and

Great Britain, had claimed that: “God in his love sent his Son to be a man, whilst in return

humanity offered Saint Mary the Virgin to be the cleansed and perfected vessel in which

humanity and divinity meet in the God-manhood of Christ.”84

Therefore, Mary, the Mother of God, the Theotokos, played a key role in the

salvation of mankind. Without her, Jesus Christ would not be able to be born into creation.

But what does Mary represent? What is she? “Mary is not a goddess representing feminine

gentleness alongside of or opposed to a fearful masculine God. In the person of a woman, a

human mother, Mary represents humanity associated with the accomplishment of God’s

loving plan. In this woman, in this mother sanctified and made fruitful by the Spirit, the

divine Agape took a human body.”85

The role one maintains in the Church is actually not important, in regards to

salvation. This is pointed out when looking at the categories of saints that we have in

Orthodoxy; we have, for example the apologists, the equal to the Apostles, the Holy Martys,

or even the fools for Christ86. These people, women and men, were not priests; in many cases

they had a troubled road to salvation; nonetheless, they reached it. Salvation, theosis, which

is the objective of Christianity, of our communion with God is reached not by who we are in

the Church, a priest, a chanter, a member of staff or even just a simple participant. It is

reached if we follow what Apostle Peter says in the Book of Acts (2:38): “Repent, and let

every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you

shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Therefore, “Salvation is more than forgiveness. It is

a genuine renewal of man. And this renewal is effected not by the discharge, or release, of

certain natural energies implied in man’s own creaturely being, but by the “energies” of God

Himself, who thereby encounters and encompasses man and admits him into communion

with Himself.”87

5. Conclusion

The role of women in the Orthodox Church is a complex one, which needs to be re-

evaluated, re-examined, finding credible and valid answers which will be sound for all.

Seeing the innovative steps other Christians have taken in elevating women within their 84 Athenagoras, Archbishop of Thyateira and Great Britain, The Question of the Ordination of Women, Orthodox Herald, no. 125-6(May-June 1975), p. 14. 85 Elisabeth Behr-Sigel, The Ministry of Women in the Church, California, 1991, p. 193. 86 For more information on the categories please see: Dimitris Salapatas, Sainthood in the Orthodox Church, Orthodox Herald, January-February –March 2014, Issue 304-306, pp. 25-27. 87 George Florovsky, Bible, Church, Tradition: An Eastern Orthodox View, Belmont, 1972, pp. 117-118.

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own ecclesiastical communities should not push us to haste decisions; nevertheless, we need

to be able to talk about it. By identifying the history of the Church, then we acknowledge

that the equality of both women and men in the Church was 2000 years ago a revolutionary

idea. Can we take it further? This is an interesting question; a question which applies to the

contemporarily minded Christian of the 21st century. When the Church, as a Body is ready to

take that step and endeavour to answer it, it will be able to show its true Tradition and

theological inquiry.

I suspect that if we grew up in an Orthodox Church where women priests, for

example, existed, then our theology and our way of thinking would support this reality. The

fact that our ecclesiology is against this fact, is due to the practicality of it never existing.

Whichever position one takes in regards to the role of women in the Church, since

this is a theologoumenon issue, where varied views are expressed, as seen in this paper, it is

crucial we point out the objective of our life in the Church. Both women and men are saved,

they both reach theosis, communion with God. “Christianity claims both man and women

equally receive the gifts and virtues bestowed by the Holy Spirit.”88 If we are to achieve our

objective, we need to bypass the misconceptions which exist on a social and ecclesiastical

level in Orthodoxy. We need to cultivate the gifts which are given to each one of us, in order

to better the Church and in order for us to achieve communion with God.

88 Seraphim, Metropolitan of Johannesburg and Pretoria, Orthodox Research institute, http://www.orthodoxresearchinstitute.org/articles/misc/seraphim_role_of_women.htm, accessed 06/03/2015, 16.43.