Sr. Vassa: There's no ontological impediment to priestesses
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'm always happy to be in a church where the 14 fussy toddlers/ infants are there for any liturgy. Their parents might not feel the same, but they and their children are appreciated for making the sacrifice!
ReplyDeleteClergy who actually read the anaphora of St. Basil aloud & at a normal pace vs. those who bury/skip 95% of it? No contest, it isn't even a sanctioned event. Reading the words of St. Basil 10 times a year is utterly trivial to all but a few clergy in the country. They figure we hear his words someplace else instead. I wonder where? I wonder where thay learned to do this to church services?
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