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...
What decisions of the committee did the other committee not like?
ReplyDeleteI was confused to, I think it relates to the following:
DeleteThe most controversial I think being that the the council adopted a measure to limit the church to only US not Canada and South Amer.
http://www.stsavamonastery.org/2019/09/09/statement-regarding-the-episcopal-council-for-north-central-and-south-america-the-st-sava-serbian-orthodox-school-of-theology-constitutional-matters-and-draft-child-protection-policies-and-proced/
https://www.change.org/p/holy-assembly-of-bishops-od-serbian-orthodox-church-save-serbian-orthodox-church-in-north-and-south-america-%D0%B7%D0%B0-%D1%81%D1%80%D0%BF%D1%81%D0%BA%D0%B8-%D1%98%D0%B5%D0%B7%D0%B8%D0%BA-%D0%B1%D0%B8%D1%80%D0%B0%D1%98%D1%82%D0%B5-%D0%BE%D0%B2%D0%B0%D1%98-%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%BA-http-chng-it-f62c6cnp
How many Serbian Orthodox are there in the US? How long do they think they'll be genetically Serbian? Do they arrange inter-marriage, ship in brides from Serbia?
ReplyDeleteWas the committee upset with the committee for being "american"?
DeleteNo idea. But I think cloistered hierarchs in the old country don't realize how big the US is and that Central and South America are completely different heritages. I think The Antiochian Churches in Central and South America are Hispanicizing very rapidly. They should, to head off the Greek's creation of a Mayan/Aztec/Inca Church in Central and South America. Or maybe the Antiochians marry into the Iberian elite and the two Orthodox Churches develop along parallel ethno-cultural lines. Better theological minds than mine will have to sort it all out. One thing for sure is I know we are not, definitely not, 100% NOT guilty of the dreadful heresy of phyletism, the worst heresy of all heretical heresies.
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