Did you know that by not creating deaconesses young women will flee the church? Did you know that not letting girls be altar servers is unfair? Did you know this is a social "justice" issue? Did you know somehow putting women in a liturgical role will stop sexual assault? Did you know only by mimicking the male clergy can women find "equality?"
This is everything that is wrong with the deaconess effort. A misguided reappropriation of all the social equity efforts of the last three decades to push for equality through innovation. There is nothing magical about doing litanies. If you want to minister to young women... minister to young women. As a priest, nothing in my role makes it more possible to go to someone and ask about their life and give guidance without earning the trust of that person. I am often at a disadvantage really. If you think you have a special charism for helping young women, then do it. The laying on of hands is not going to empower you or give you skills you aren't using now. Truthfully, if the Church did see this massive outpouring of female ministering to the needs of other women, she would feel compelled to organize something formally. How could she not acknowledge such a flowering of sororal devotion. But waiting for an innovative new liturgical role and then doing all the things outlined below is a disordered idea.
Go ahead and bring food to women, speak with girls about tough topics, pray with your fellow women, and see what naturally grows from it. Starting from "Equality Now!" and challenging the order of the Church based on your perceived unequal position is childish and misguided.
Also, this presentations seems to be dismissive of the critical role that women do play as mothers. There is no such thing as "just a mom." If Christ stands before every one of our saints, I'd posit that almost all of them have their mothers' standing behind them pushing them towards Heaven. Maybe if more women prayed and formed their daughters in the faith they wouldn't feel as lost and abandoned as this young lady does. Let's repair the domestic church before we parachute women in galoon into our parishes.
Friday, May 31, 2019
Orthodox scare tactics and the deaconess
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Christ is Risen!
ReplyDeleteNo one has asked me whether or not I want or need a deaconess in my parish. They just assume that I do and proceed to speak (or at least think) ill of me when I point out that it is not at all entirely clear to me a deaconess is and how she would function in a parish.
No one has asked me if I approve of women in the deaconite, they just assume because I'm a woman I do. Just like I would approve of 'reproductive rights'just because I'm a woman
DeleteI find it rather interesting that every time we see a heretical agenda pushing against the holy Orthodox Church....surprise, surprise, George Demacopoulos appears!
ReplyDeleteHe's an archOn.
DeleteIf there were zero deacons in the Church no one would notice. The deaconate exists as a speed bump to making a presbyter, a celebrant. They can be dropped with zero ill effect. Every function except a couple of (unnesessary) liturgical moves can be done by the celebrant. All other functions of a social nature within a community can be done by anyone, male or female. Fr. George Florovsky called a deacon a liturgical ornament. One that most places don't have and do not notice they don't have. Now, as for ordination of women. The universal track record in christendom, universal, without exception, is that an organization that ordains women is bankrupt. Gone into the ditch of theological decay. There are no examples to the contrary. Not one. We have enough problems without importing new or old ones. Women who can't live without ordination have any number of options open to them. Outside the actual Church. The episcopal church welcomes you, the sign says. They mean it, I do also.
ReplyDeleteAn example of two women praying together: several years ago a couple of women here in Wichita felt the need to support other women who were pregnant and at risk of falling prey to the abortionists. They started praying together for guidance as God showed them a way, they took it to their priests. Solidified there the plan was submitted to our Bishop. With his blessing The Treehouse was born-supporting at risk women with,material, emotional and spiritual sustenance through the pregnancy and as the child grows.
ReplyDeleteTheir humility, perseverance and labor bore fruit in an important and ongoing ministry.
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ReplyDeleteChrist is risen ! Spot on thoughts, fr. I just can't fathom how this liberal agenda keeps rearing it's pernicious head. It reminds me of St Gregory Palamas statement about heresy.Like a hydra, you cut the head off and it grows another.liberalism as the embodiment of the sin of self will, just sprouts another head, whatever group is not getting its way and therefore needs to be liberated from the shackles of oppression.
ReplyDeleteChrist is risen!
ReplyDeleteI have a hard time seeing the clear correlation between what these young women's testimonies reveal and the need for women's ordination. Do women really feel that the only way they'll have a voice in the Church is to be permitted to say the "Again and agains"?
Anyway, I am not going to offer the same theological explanations on women's ordination that have been offered many times before and by far more capable people than myself. I simply want to address three important elements that seem to continually be absent from the conversation of women's ordination to the diaconate (or priesthood) in the Orthodox Church: 1.) Orthodox female monasticism; 2.) The role of the priest's wife; and 3.) The spiritual priesthood.
1.) It greatly saddens me that this educated, obviously committed, Orthodox Christian young woman (and those whose testimonies she cites) has lived an experience of Orthodoxy that has clearly been devoid of its rich and empowering monastic tradition. A tradition which is replete with incredible, strong, dynamic women who have become leaders in our faith through their monastic obedience and love for Christ. Visit a cenobitic monastic sisterhood (not simply "the nun who lives in the remote monastery"). Take the time to really understand their way of life - and you will find a place where women are empowered. But, this life requires the "first to be last and the last first" (Matt. 20:16). In other words it's a life of humility, not worldly glory.
(I have to post this in parts - sorry for my long-windedness.)
2.) My dogmatic theology professor at Aristotle University in Thessaloniki used to say, "They want to be presbyters but they don't become presbyteras". In other words, "You want to become a priest: why not a priest's wife?". Initially I took this to be a very simplistic answer but after becoming a priest's wife I understood what he meant. Women saying there are no leadership roles in the church have either met few priest's wives or have too quickly dismissed their important role. You want to serve Christ? I'll tell you an option readily available to you in the Church right now. Find a spouse who shares your love, zeal and calling. Support the ministry of Christ by taking up all the duties, responsibilities and struggles that come with being a priest's wife.
DeleteTrust me there are plenty of things a priest's wife can do that meaningfully contribute to her community. And there's no debating whether or not its a leadership role. The Church, recognizing it as the important leadership role that it is, even applies a title to it. I have a Master's degree in theology and yet I find my life as a priest's wife, even in our small parish, allows me to put all my theological education to good use. Furthermore, the role of the priest's wife is absolutely a pastoral role. Now, whether each individual priest's wife has the capacity to counsel or guide people, to comfort them, teach theology or inform people on moral matters does not really matter because every priest's wife has the capacity to teach by example.
I believe much more can and should be said of the role of a priest's wife and the calling she receives to live this life but I'll leave that for now.
3.) Okay, so I can hear the rebuttals of my above comments already: Yes, but the first point requires I become a monastic and the second I marry a man wanting to become a priest. Both are contingent on (in one sense) external elements that do not guarantee I have a voice in the decision-making process of our Church (ie. at Councils or Pseudo-councils).
DeleteThere is, however, such a thing as the spiritual priesthood and this is available to all: male and female, monastic, married or single. This differs from the sacramental priesthood. It is, essentially, a true spiritual life that facilitates one's own sanctity and the sanctity of others. (Metropolitan Hierotheos of Nafpaktos speaks of this in his book Orthodox Psychotherapy, particularly in the chapter "The Orthodox Therapist").
The desire to "hold a position of power" is indicative of a spiritual illness, in both men and women. St. John Chrysostom goes into detail about this in his work "On the Priesthood". So, I find that alarming no matter who is saying it.
The fact is if you want to play a prominent role in the decision-making process of the Church, whether you're male or female, I'll tell you the best way to do this. You may not like it. Hold out your hand and I'll place a prayer rope in it. Prayer. It's the most powerful tool we have at our disposal. Nothing will fulfill a thirsting soul like prayer nor will any word, paper or lecture influence your immediate and wider community more than prayer. Obviously, there is much more to the spiritual priesthood than just prayer but the cornerstone of this is prayer.
I fully understand that my response will likely not be favourably received. And please forgive me for imitating the holy Apostle Paul who closes his argument on widows with, "And I believe I too have the Spirit of God" (1 Corn. 7:40). But I also am a young woman and an Orthodox theologian. I too am a priest's wife, have spent extensive time with Orthodox nuns contemplating and writing about the spiritual life of women, and I happen to be a social worker. There are available roles to women right now in the Church. Why not seek to understand and honour the important roles of female monastics? Why not seek to understand and honour the role of the priest's wife? And most importantly, why not become a member of the "true clergy" (as Met. Hierotheos says) by participation in the spiritual priesthood where your voice - both through prayer and teaching (by word and example) - will have a vast and powerful influence on the Church?
Yes. Excellent.
DeleteAnd, lastly, here is a great series of homilies based on the spiritual teachings of a contemporary Mother of the Church, Abbess Makrina of Portaria, a true female leader in the Church: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Vks7tC71W8&list=PLcg23js8DB8bwodkY_8nplKR6z7WWGMC7
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone, especially Matushka Constantina, for the good comments. But I'd like to disagree with the rather disparaging views of the diaconate. Our diocese has made progress in re-establishing a permanent diaconate in many of our parishes, and I think it's been a very good thing. The services, especially the Divine Liturgy, really work as they're meant to when the priest can focus on his prayers at the altar without changing channels every few minutes to play deacon. Priests who haven't worked with a deacon may not even have experienced the difference, but it's real and, I think, important.
ReplyDeleteI could not agree more AbbaMoses. When the deacon is present, the Liturgy flows like the seamless prayer it is meant to be. In ROCOR, even the sub-deacons have an important role performing many duties.
ReplyDeleteMay I also add that there is no such term as "deaconate"....the proper term is "diaconate."
I suspect one reason the royal doors stay open during much of the liturgy is because deacons were scarce at one time. Many of the OCA original parishes were made up of former Uniates. The Uniate Catholics didn't have permanent deacons back in the day.
DeleteOn the contrary, in Russia almost every parish had a deacon.Oddly enough, it appears that keeping the royal gates shut was a reform that Patriarch Nikon got from the Greeks.
Back to the subject at hand, thank you, Matushka Constantina!
The difference between the world's values and the Church's can be seen in this whole issue. In the world people want recognition that comes from public roles. What these women completely fail to understand is that the Theotokos, the most holy and revered and "public" saint in the church, never served any liturgies, but rather kept herself hidden, spending her days in prayer. The value of humility and hiddeness is rejected by the world, but recognized by God. Someone who wants service that brings public acclaim or recognition is spiritually ill, while someone who wants to wash floors without notice is spiritually healthy.
ReplyDeleteThis is truth. He must increase, but I must decrease.
DeleteAside from the fact that the Church doesn't modify itself based on how it sells, we have seen the same arguments made in other Christian traditions, and they have never delivered increased attendance... they have consistently delivered just the opposite.
ReplyDeleteI went to a Diocesan Conference recently and decided to attend a presentation on "Women's Ministries Initiative".
ReplyDeleteThere was a ten minute film by Dr. Timothy Ware (Metropolitan Kallistos of Diokleia) preaching his usual anodyne Oxonian prevarication, and then 45 minutes of description of books, projects and so on. Not once was the greatest of all women mentioned, Our Lady the Theotokos!
Matushka Constantina touches on something that all of us should be doing with regularity in our Orthodox parishes: celebrating and consistently honoring the wives of our priests. A priest's wife is called, just as her husband is called, and she should be regarded as sharing in (through her husband) the dignity of the priesthood.
ReplyDelete"I believe much more can and should be said about the role of a priest's wife and the calling she receives..." Well, Amen to that!
And I have to say that the church as a whole could be doing a much, much better job of honoring, supporting, and listening to the voices of these faithful women, who are out there "serving in the trenches" alongside their spouses. Having been close to more than one clergy wife, I can tell you that their job is no walk in the park, by any means. God protect and defend them all!
The women who have truly experienced Christ will not leave; those who seek something other than Him very well may. Weeds of many varieties ever grow to choke out the Sower's seed.
ReplyDeleteJust what is the agenda of the Archons, anyway?