Why can't women be Priests?

[OrthodoxyOrDeath]

:ohvey:

[CGW]

Because they can't grow beards (most of them, anyway).

Which might explain the limited penetration of Orthodoxy in Japan.

Well, I suppose they could become Antiochians.

[Mor Ephrem]

That wasnt funny. Why dont you show some respect for the priesthood.

Nektarios

Why don't you show some respect for the English language instead of incessantly butchering it up with your AIMesque writing style?

[PFC Nektarios]

Now we are making comments about Japanese people. What the .... is wrong with you? I'm half asian, also not a funny comment.

Nektarios

[尼古拉前执事]

The point being that Many Japanese cannot grow a beard at all.

But anyway can we all move back to the topic to hand and explain how Christ never appointed a woman as one of his 70 apostles and thus he never appointed a woman to be clergy, since the first apostles were bishops? It might be good for us to bring up how in 1 Corinthians Paul tells us that women should not speak during services, hence hindering their ability to be presbyters.

[PFC Nektarios]

Intresting... I like St. Paul, I wish the ladies at my parish would shut up and stop talking during the liturgy its so annoying. But back to the scripture reference. some one is going to say "you didnt interpret it right".

In Christ
Nektarios

[Seraphim Reeves]

Regarding the elevation of women to the priesthood, there are two lines of argument against such a practice. One is tradition (which is paramount in Orthodoxy), the other is a more explanatory, rational answer (as in why.)

There is no tradition of consecrating women as Priests in the Orthodox tradition. The only place such a practice is found in the early Christian period, was in gnostic sects. That the gnostics did make women "priests" and that the Orthodox did not, has a lot to do with their respective views of gender, and God's creation in general. As far as Orthodoxy is concerned, the created order (minus it's fallen condition, obviously) are works of God, thus they are good. This includes the real differences between men and women, and their respective roles - the gnostics on the other hand believed the observable, corporeal, created order was the work of a "lesser god" (the demiurge), who was in fact a demonic monster, who created this world as a way of imprisoning the "sparks of divinity" which supposedly constitute our souls. Obviously then, such a belief system would have nothing but contempt for the created order. Not only would it be disinterested in observing it, but would in fact be motivated to do what it could to violate it intentionally (which is precisely what many gnostic sects did to an extreme.)

Strictly speaking, the tradition argument should be sufficient for Orthodox Christians - that there has never been a practice of making Priests of women is indisputable. However, for some this is not a complete enough answer, so some rational should be given.

The more complete answer has to do with the imitation of Christ, and gender roles. Christ was a man, thus Priests are men. Of course, this is not the lynch pin of the argument, and it cannot be taken too far. Some may object, saying "well, Christ was also a Hebrew...can that mean only Jews can be made Priests?" Of course, the rejoinder to this was that Christ called for the diffusion of the Church throughout the world, amongst all nations - this strongly implies a "multi-ethnic" Priesthood, even if not a mixed gender one.

Part of the answer has to do with gender roles, which is something harder for most people to accept in our day (both men and women, actually.) First, there is the evidences of this in Scripture and Orthodox custom. According to the Epistles, women are not supposed to preach in the Churches - it would be a little hard to be a Priest and not do such; thus an implicit, scriptural denial of the legimacy of Christian "priestesses." Traditionally the altar is also off limits to females, and women are not supposed to commune during menstruation - this would weigh against any idea of a woman ministering in the altar.

Getting closer to the heart, is the basic difference between men and women. True, there are lots of "un-manly men" and many "masculinized women" in our day - but both are betraying their true nature, and do not remove the calling of nature. No matter what her vocation, the true woman lives more in the heart than in the head (which has it's advantages from a spiritual p.o.v. obviously), is maternal, and is more yielding than expansive. Those ideals (good ones they are too), are not best suited to the Priesthood, which in varying degrees (particularly in the Episcopate) must judge and be decisive - be able to weigh matters, and to command. This is why, besides women not being called to the Priesthood, not all men are called to be Priests either. It is a calling, by God through the Church, aimed at certain males (by no means all, and not necessarily because they are morally or spiritually unfit either.)

Seraphim