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...
It's an interesting development, unthinkable a few years ago. I think the Holy Father Pope John Paul II's apostolic visit to Greece has changed the whole dynamic of the relationship between the Orthodox Church of Greece and the Catholic Church. I remember the hatred and vitriol of the Greeks before his visit, the protests in the streets and the rather cold response of the Archbishop of Athens the late Christodoulos prior to that.
ReplyDeleteBut towards the end of the trip, the mood began to change for the better and now the Orthodox Church of Greece seems to have a very cordial relationship with the Church of Rome.
Those Orthodox blogs that have reposted this article have almost uniformly called it some form of "odd." I expect the wording to swing more polemical with time. :)
ReplyDeleteI'll remain hopeful nonetheless.
I appreciate that you linked this article, which, in my estimate, was quite moving. I was interested to read that some, in Orthodox circles, thought the address was odd. Why do you believe that, in some Orthodox circles, this delegate's message is viewed to be odd?
ReplyDeleteBecause it speaks to an affinity and respect for the Latin Church that is seldom visible on a large stage such as this synod.
ReplyDeleteThe position of the Pope, what it means to be a Pope, how the position would be exercised in a reunified Church, and how such a reunified Church would function are topics of concern for the Orthodox Church. The joint dialogues seek to find those answers, but there is still a reserved distance that this representative stepped beyond in a welcome way.