Is the male-only priesthood a discipline or essential to the nature of being a priest? Sr. Vassa (again unflinchingly taking up a contentious topic by climbing up the ladder to the highest platform and then jumping into the deep end head first) dives right in and says there is no reason beyond personal preference to not have female clergy. You know, when people ask me about women in priesthood, they say, 'Sister, why can't women be priests?' And I say, 'Women CAN be priests. We don't WANT them to be priests.' Because you see, God can do anything, and the Church, by divine authority, uh, can do anything, but, the Church doesn't want to - and that's a legitimate reason. What I don't like is when we TRY to pretend that there are other reasons for this, because it's legitimate not to want something, and there are reasons not to want this - right? - but, we shouldn't pretent that there's some... reason, that, for example, the maleness...
Ancient faith radio has also uploaded an interview from a different perspective of Met. Anthony. I hope you will post this as well. http://www.ancientfaith.com/podcasts/features/ukraine_another_perspective
ReplyDeleteAs a Ukrainian Orthodox Christian it is good to see our fellow Orthodox in the USA supporting democracy in Ukraine:
ReplyDelete03-03-2014
http://risu.org.ua/en/index/all_news/orthodox/orthodox_world/55551/
Open Letter to Patriarch Kirill from Orthodox Clergy and Faithful in U.S. Regarding Conflict Between Russia and Ukraine
2 March 2014, Forgiveness Sunday
To His Holiness Kirill Patriarch of Moscow and All Russia
Your Holiness, On the Sunday of Forgiveness, we, the clergy and faithful representing different Orthodox jurisdictions in the United States, are asking you to influence the normalization of the situation in Crimea and the restoration of peace between Russia and Ukraine. The intervention of the Russian Army on the territory of Ukraine is an act of military aggression, which increases ethnic tensions between Russians and Ukrainians. We beseech you, while there is still time, to demand from the President Vladimir Putin to withdraw the Russian troops from the territory of Ukraine, including the Crimean peninsula, in order to prevent bloodshed. Let the peoples of Ukraine and Russia hear the Russian Orthodox Church’s prophetic call to peace, love and mutual forgiveness.
Asking for your Archpastoral blessings,
1. Rev. Dn. Dr. Paul Gavrilyuk, Orthodox Church in America, Aquinas Chair in Theology and Philosophy, University of St. Thomas, Saint Paul, Minnesota.
2. Rev. Dn. Dr. Nicholas Denysenko, Orthodox Church in America, Assistant Professor of Theological Studies, Director of Huffington Institute, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California.
3. Rev. Dr. Michael Plekon, Orthodox Church in America, Professor of Sociology, Baruch College of the City University of New York, New York.
4. Rev. Dr. John Breck, Orthodox Church in America, Emeritus Professor and Former Dean of St. Sergius Orthodox Theological Institute, Paris, France.
5. Rev. Dr. Harry Pappas, Pastor, Archangels Greek Orthodox Church in Stamford, CT, and Sessional Professor of Pastoral Theology, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, New York.
6. Dr. Peter Bouteneff, Orthodox Church in America, Professor of Systematic Theology, St. Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary, Crestwood, New York.
7. Rev. Dr. Oliver Herbel, Pastor, Holy Resurrection Orthodox Church, Fargo, North Dakota.
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