Sarah Elizabeth Cowie - Women and the Priesthood
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Women and the fuiesthood The second areathat needs confession is the matterof the priesthood. Onewouldhave hoped thatthe fairhful ofthe Orthodox Church would never havehadto defend the Church from the idea of women in the priesthood. Unfortunately, that time is upon us, And most unfortunately, among those who seem to be promoting this thought aresome ofthe very hierarchs andclergywho should behelping usto stand on holyground. Let us begin our discussion with a metaphor. One ofthe sen- sibilities one gains from reading textsfrom othercenturies is a profound sense of how differently people thought andexperienced the world. This adds to both the beauty andthe difficulty in reading Hawthome or Chekhov. One begins to realize that peoplein the pastused to havea profound sense of their position in the world. This sense ofposition or identity, might involve the land owned by one'sfamily,one'sposition in the family, one's father's occupa- tion, the family's position in the town, one's own work and reputation, and so on. People had differentroles and even wore different clothes according to their position. One's sex wasa key part of one'sposition and identity. Orthodox people understood that one's position and identity,forgedout of these facts of life, were accorded to each person uniquely by God's Providence, as part oftheirpath to salvation. Today, however, we havelostour sense of position and iden- tity, as people and as a people, in this rudemodern culture and in ourdemands for ourselves asindividuals. The issue of women's ordination is very, verysimple. It is not God'swill thatwomen be priests. It is not partof our position in life. The authority of Tradition and the sacred history ofthe Church over the past two thousand years resound with the voiceof God's OFSTONES AND SERPENTS holy will. This is not something thatwasinstituted andenforced by men; it is the will of God. The reason for setting only men apart for the priesthood is partly dueto God'scare for His Church. It wasthe women andone teenage boy (SaintJohnthe Apostle) who stood at the foot of the Crosswhile the men hid. Why? Partly because of the women's love and courage, partly because their position in society allowed themto do so. During the tenibleCommunist years in Russia, it was the womenwho preserved the faith and kept the true Church alive. Why? Because the clergy were killed off first. Because of their position aswomen, many of them weresaved from immediate persecution. They packed the churches whenthe mendid not dare go. They helpedpersecuted bishops and buriedthe dead. They played a large part in keeping thefaith alive. Because oftheir posi- tion as women,they were able to do much that the men were unable to do. This reality is also part of God's love and Providence for women. It is a blessing. Because we are given the freedom not to have ecclesiastical authority, and are therebyreleased from the burdensome obligations andperilous spiritual responsibilities that this typ€ of authority entails, we are able-like God's mother-to ponder what is revealed to us silently, within our hearts. This free- dom also enables us to focus our energies on making andkeeping an Orthodox home, andon raising Orthodox children. Teaching in the homeis no less important thanteaching in the Church; it is merely different. Partof our problem in seeing this is thatwe do not reallyrec- ognize Who God is. If we fully recognized that we are created beings, creatures made by God,if we truly sawwho we are in rela- tion to Who He is, we wouldhave less problem in accepting this restriction. We wouldbe less liable to try to dictate to the Almighty and more likelyto bowourheads and say, "Thy will be done." We cannot just takewhat we like about Orthodoxy and leave the rest, or forever kick against the pricks. We do ourselves a disservice if we do because we do not allow ourselves to enterinto the faith moredeeply. Beyond that, it is not goodfor us to pry into the dis- 209
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EXCERPT: From Chapter 8 - Of Stones and Serpents of Sarah Elizabeth Cowie's 'More Spirited Than Lions: An Orthodox Response to femenism and a practical guide to the Spiritual Life of Women'
Transcript of Sarah Elizabeth Cowie - Women and the Priesthood
Women and the fuiesthoodThe second area that needs confession is the matter of the
priesthood. One would have hoped that the fairhful ofthe OrthodoxChurch would never have had to defend the Church from the ideaof women in the priesthood. Unfortunately, that time is upon us,And most unfortunately, among those who seem to be promotingthis thought are some ofthe very hierarchs and clergy who shouldbe helping us to stand on holy ground.
Let us begin our discussion with a metaphor. One ofthe sen-sibilities one gains from reading texts from other centuries is aprofound sense of how differently people thought and experiencedthe world. This adds to both the beauty and the difficulty in readingHawthome or Chekhov. One begins to realize that people in thepast used to have a profound sense of their position in the world.This sense ofposition or identity, might involve the land owned byone's family, one's position in the family, one's father's occupa-tion, the family's position in the town, one's own work andreputation, and so on. People had different roles and even woredifferent clothes according to their position. One's sex was a keypart of one's position and identity. Orthodox people understoodthat one's position and identity, forged out of these facts of life,were accorded to each person uniquely by God's Providence, aspart oftheir path to salvation.
Today, however, we have lost our sense of position and iden-tity, as people and as a people, in this rude modern culture and inour demands for ourselves as individuals.
The issue of women's ordination is very, very simple. It is notGod's will that women be priests. It is not part of our position inlife. The authority of Tradition and the sacred history ofthe Churchover the past two thousand years resound with the voice of God's
OF STONES AND SERPENTS
holy will. This is not something that was instituted and enforced bymen; it is the will of God.
The reason for setting only men apart for the priesthood ispartly due to God's care for His Church. It was the women and oneteenage boy (Saint John the Apostle) who stood at the foot of theCross while the men hid. Why? Partly because of the women'slove and courage, partly because their position in society allowedthem to do so. During the tenible Communist years in Russia, itwas the women who preserved the faith and kept the true Churchalive. Why? Because the clergy were killed off first. Because oftheir position as women, many of them were saved from immediatepersecution. They packed the churches when the men did not darego. They helped persecuted bishops and buried the dead. Theyplayed a large part in keeping the faith alive. Because oftheir posi-tion as women, they were able to do much that the men wereunable to do.
This reality is also part of God's love and Providence forwomen. It is a blessing. Because we are given the freedom not tohave ecclesiastical authority, and are thereby released from theburdensome obligations and perilous spiritual responsibilities thatthis typ€ of authority entails, we are able-like God's mother-toponder what is revealed to us silently, within our hearts. This free-dom also enables us to focus our energies on making and keepingan Orthodox home, and on raising Orthodox children. Teaching inthe home is no less important than teaching in the Church; it ismerely different.
Part of our problem in seeing this is that we do not really rec-ognize Who God is. If we fully recognized that we are createdbeings, creatures made by God, if we truly saw who we are in rela-tion to Who He is, we would have less problem in accepting thisrestriction. We would be less liable to try to dictate to the Almightyand more likely to bow our heads and say, "Thy will be done." Wecannot just take what we like about Orthodoxy and leave the rest,or forever kick against the pricks. We do ourselves a disservice ifwe do because we do not allow ourselves to enter into the faithmore deeply. Beyond that, it is not good for us to pry into the dis-
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pensation of God. It is good for us to say, "lt is the will of God."Selah.
There has also been some recent interest and discussion in theOrthodox Church about ordaining women as deaconesses. 5r Inthese discussions, it is rarely pointed out by feminists thatdeaconesses were never considered equivalent to male deacons,They never performed blessing, never lead the congregation inprayer, and did not exercise headship. There is no evidence in thehistory or Tradition of the Orthodox Church that shows womenexercising a sacramental priesthood of any type. For instance, inthe rite of baptism, the deaconess simply assisted bringing un-clothed women into the waters of baptism; they did not baptize."Deaconess" was also used as an honorary title for an abbess of aconvent, who was also in charge of an orphanage or charitablehouse. Obviously, the idea of women deaconesses is not a revivalof Tradition, but a feminist move to create a position that has notexisted before: female deacons. The goal is obviously to bring us astep closer to bringing women into the Orthodox priesthood.
The best response to this issue comes from a wise matushkawho said, "Let's just do the work and not seek the title."
5E An excellent historical treatment of women deaconesses can befound in Ami€ Georges Martimort, Deaconesses: An Historical Study(lgnatius Press, 1986). Marlimon takes a more rigorous, scholarly ap-proach than Kyriaki Karidoyanes Fitzgerald in her book, llomen Deqconsand the Orthodox Church: Called to Holiness (Holy Cross OrthodoxPress, 1998) and as a result comes to much different conclusions.
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