"I am the door. By me if any man enter in he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture." - John 10:9 At every parish where I have had the pleasure of attending services, there is always a small group of people who find their way all the way up to the church building but don't actually attend services. At one parish it was a group of male gypsies who talked on cellphones or smoked cigarettes. At another it was a few Protestant husbands who, though they never attended services, opened the parish doors for people as they filed in. At yet another parish the men stood in the narthex and chatted until it was time to receive and then got in line. Latin or Greek Catholic, Eastern or Oriental Orthodox I see the same small throng of men standing next to the front door, but not standing, sitting, or kneeling amongst the people. If it were me (and I can only speak for myself here) this option would be an unsavory one. The boredom would be immediate. The anxiety of som...
I am confused. What exactly can these deaconesses do that any other woman in the Church could not?
ReplyDeleteIn addition to Fr John's question, the order of deaconess was present in various Apostolic Churches, but not Alexandria. And, it has fallen obsolete; Tradition has not kept it. So, what tradition is Alexandria resurrecting? And, where in Holy Tradition is the resurrection of an obsolete tradition done?
ReplyDeleteThis must be seen in the context of ecumenism of which Pope Theodoros is a keen supporter.
So, unless these are 40+ years old, celibate unmarried women (the 2 "catechists"), and dealing only with female parishioners, this is a troubling event.
I don't believe they're just now being brought back. As I understand it, the Greeks have some deaconesses in remote monasteries.
DeleteI say that if there's a need (taboo issues between men and women like the early Church) then great. As long as it's not being done because 21st century neo-feminism appeasing junk.
Why there is always the flag of greece in the events of the alexandrine church, this reminds me of the greek flag waving on the chuches of holy land, it's a further proof of the hellenistic colonialism
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