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...
I fixed it. Got more than one message on their typo. :)
ReplyDeleteAbp Demetrios will stand up to the EP about a personnel decision but not about the travesty of the "Ecumenism" Council?
ReplyDeleteI am glad the Greeks are standing up to this pretentious wanna-be Pope in Istanbul. If he tries to play hard-ball with them, they should cut off the supply of Gelt which flows copiously from the USA to Bart's little Banana-Boat Fiefdom on the Bosphorus.
ReplyDeleteAs I've said before, there are good reasons for regarding his see as vacant. The Russians will probably wait for the incumbent to die before taking such a position, though.
DeleteMaybe they should write a letter to the Diyanet (the Turkish Ministry of Religion) asking for the removal of the EP.
ReplyDeletehttps://youtu.be/CprG4HYS_vI This link gives a very clear witness to the depths of faith of this fine hierarch of our church. I am confident that all the candidates that were proposed are greatly worthy to serve the Church. May God guide the election of the next Metropolitan of Chicago and may God grant eternal repose to Metropolitan Iakovos of blessed memory.
ReplyDeleteThank you for that link. That does not sound to me like someone who would struggle with his English, as some seem to have claimed according to a different article linked here earlier.
Delete+Fr. Peter
I liked the video, especially at about 4:25. He addresses something that has grated on me for decades, the nonsense of saying children are "the future" of the Church. Hogwash. He says rather, the Church is the future of the children. Good. Further, he mentions the idea that other people (!) may be attracted to the Church(!). Hmmm. Maybe now one sees why this fellow makes "Constantinople" anxious. It isn't that he speaks English badly, he speaks far too well. He is presently bishop of nothing, nowhere and nobody, but that's just how they want him. Otherwise he might get Americans to be Orthodox or something. And THAT is known to have made modern occupants of the "Ecumenical Throne" actually run in fear. Not figuratively, literally.
DeleteDear Bob, in my years of serving under the Ecumenical Patriarchate, over 25 years, I never had anyone try to discourage me from bringing in converts. It was never once discouraged. In all the parishes I ever served the "new" and the "old" all worked together. Bishop Antonios was serving in a mission parish out of a store front as he says in the video. Lots to be thankful for here in his humility and missionary zeal.
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DeleteThe fact that the Turks have been completely quiet about his longstanding ties to the Gulen movement means that they've decided just to wait out his natural lifespan before intervening in the patriarchate's affairs.
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