ESSAY on the topic: “Woman in the Orthodox Church” educational and methodological material on orcse (grade 4)

Since we all know that women make up more than half of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is very important to understand their role in the body of Christ as assigned to them by God. In many churches and ministries, women are seen as valuable workers in God's work because they represent the majority.

However, not everyone agrees with this. Women are often excluded from certain areas of ministry, especially when it comes to church leadership or public preaching. Some churches have female pastors, but in most churches this is considered unacceptable. Some churches allow women to teach, others do not. Some churches prohibit women from speaking at all during services.

Most of these disagreements have their origins in different interpretations of Paul's words about the role of women in 1 Cor. 14:34-35 and 1 Tim. 2:11-3:7. We will study these Scriptures carefully.

Start

Let's start with what Scripture says about the role of women in the first pages of the Bible. Women, like men, are created in the image of God:

“And God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female he created them” (Gen. 1:27).

God created Adam first and then Eve, which Paul believed had great spiritual significance (see 1 Tim. 2:3). Later we will consider the importance of the sequence of creation as Paul sees it, but for now we will confine ourselves to the thought that this does not prove the superiority of man over woman, just as the fact that animals were created before man (see Gen. 1:24-28) does not prove that man is lower than an animal.[1]

Woman was created to be a helpmate for her husband (see Gen. 2:18). Again, this does not mean that she is inferior, but it does explain her role in the marriage. The Holy Spirit is given to us as a helper, but He is in no way inferior to us. On the contrary, He is higher than us! And it would be correct to say that God created woman because man really needed help! God Himself said that it is not good for a man to be alone (see Gen. 2:18). This truth has been proven by history itself many times when men were left without women as helpers.

Finally, from the first pages of Genesis, we learn that woman was created from the flesh of the first man. She was taken from

him, indicating that without her he was missing something and that the two are one. In addition to this, what God separated was to become one again through sexual union, which is not only a means of procreation, but also an expression of love and mutual pleasure, where one is dependent on the other.

All of the above contradicts the assertion that one gender is superior to the other, or that one gender has the right to dominate the other. And the fact that God assigned them different roles in marriage has nothing to do with their equality in Christ, where “there is neither male nor female” (Gal. 3:28).

Happy holiday, dear brothers and sisters!

Today is a special day, which is dedicated, in the context of the celebration of Easter, to the myrrh-bearing women. And, as you know, it is always considered a kind of “women’s day”, sometimes they even congratulate the sisters on this holiday, sometimes they talk about it in sermons. And it’s probably not bad to sometimes remember in church about the sisters, about their various ministries and what wonderful myrrh-bearing wives they were: how they brought myrrh to anoint the body of the Deceased and turned out to be the first witnesses of the Resurrection, although the apostles did not believe them in this at first .

There is always something touching and kind in such congratulations, but it seems to me that this is not enough. Because to be a witness of the Resurrection means to be filled with the Spirit of Life of the Risen One, it means to be filled with Christ’s Love. And if a person is filled with this Spirit and this Love, then much greater gifts and opportunities are revealed in him than what is needed to serve candlesticks, wash floors, or, in extreme cases, serve as mothers for priests. The ancient church remembered the words of the Apostle Paul that in Christ there is “neither male nor female” (Gal 3:28). The Church knew both the ministry of presbyterides and the ministry of deaconesses, that is, a sacred, holy ministry that embodied this principle of the Apostle Paul.

Of course, those days are long gone. The service of the presbyterides was interrupted by the decision of one of the councils in the 4th century. No one interrupted the service of deaconesses, and it, quietly fading away, existed in the church for a whole thousand years, until the 10th-11th centuries. In the liturgical books of that time we find the rites of ordination and the ordination of deaconesses. And there, as you know, the order is written that deaconesses are ordained at the altar and receive communion at the altar, just like the deacons, and immediately after them, before the subdeacons. Once upon a time it was like this, but from the 12th-13th centuries difficult historical times began, and although this ministry continued in some forms, there was no longer any talk of ordinations of deaconesses. Then, under the influence of Islam, the attitude towards women became even more distant from the New Testament, and they began to be treated only as servants, as those who should serve men, husbands, hierarchy, and so on.

It is no coincidence that the process of restoring the sacred ministry of women began in the middle of the 19th century. Saint Philaret of Moscow is the first to ordain deaconesses again. And then at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries, Saint Nektarios of Aegina does the same in Greece, without, of course, receiving approval from the majority. One may also recall that the Moscow Council of 1917-1918, which examined this issue in detail, clearly favored the introduction of the rank of deaconesses. If it were not for the revolution, we would have had this rank in the church a hundred years ago. In our time - let me remind you of one of the latest news of church life in order to finish this topic about deaconesses - in the Patriarchate of Alexandria this rank has been officially restored, and in Africa Orthodox deaconesses are ordained, preferably from the local population.

This, of course, is not all that is needed so that the gifts that sisters in Christ carry in their hearts can be fully revealed. Today, for example, the memory of Tamara Gruzinskaya, one of the Equal-to-the-Apostles' wives, is still celebrated. Oddly enough, the ministry of Equal-to-the-Apostles wives in the church existed for quite a long time: there are not so many of them in the calendar, but these are not two or three cases. What does it mean? To be equal to the apostles means to serve the cause of witnessing to the Risen Christ, to continue the actual work of the myrrh-bearing women. This means being missionaries, witnesses of Christ from the fullness of the heart, and effective witnesses. Under the influence of such saints, many people came to Christ, and entire churches were formed. And of course, this is not easy to imagine in practice now, but it seems that nothing prevents the sisters from carrying out the Christian mission and reviving catechesis, which in ancient times could be carried out by women. They could help catechists - presbyters or bishops - in performing baptism, but they could also teach themselves. This question remains not entirely clear, sometimes controversial, but apparently, it may be for a very short time, but this has been the case in the history of the church.

Perhaps we should go one step further and recognize that the inspiration that the Holy Spirit gives to each person can be equally fruitful for both men and women. And it is a great pity when Christian women limit themselves and do not set themselves the tasks of spiritual service, charismatic service—testimony, education, diaconal service, and, as necessary, leading prayer meetings, especially women’s, as has happened in history. Probably the only thing that history has not known is women bishops. This practice now exists in some Protestant churches, particularly the Lutheran Church, but it is strongly disputed by the ancient Apostolic churches. You know what debates there are on the issue of the female priesthood. But if we return to the old, original understanding of the priesthood as the royal priesthood of the entire People of God, then here too the obstacles disappear. And I would very much like the sisters, who have traditionally made up the majority of the church people in recent centuries, to be not only listeners, not only those who perceive and help, which in itself is wonderful and worthy of all support, praise and awards. But still, we must admit that in the church, sisters and Christian women can take on even more responsible ministries, even Equal-to-the-Apostles. They may well be an example for all churches, for all church members.

For example, during a recent trip to Helsinki we visited a chapel dedicated to Mother Maria (Skobtsova). We were surprised that the newest chapel, consecrated just two years ago, was consecrated in honor of Mother Mary. We somehow didn’t even expect this; for us it was an unexpected joy. And then we found out that she was chosen not only because she is a saint of our time, and not of ancient times immemorial, but also because she is a wonderful example for all Christians, including Protestants and Catholics. And this is really so, Metropolitan Ambrose of Helsinki and other people told us about this. Orthodox Christians rarely succeed in being an example for all Christians. This turns out to be difficult. And perhaps Mother Mary is one of the rarest examples of such testimony, because, on the one hand, she is a person who, with complete dedication, served all the oppressed, oppressed, sick, needy, hungry, cold, dying, in danger of death, and with on the other hand, she is one of the first women in the 20th century to preach in an Orthodox church. Until now, try to imagine that the Gospel was read in a parish, and then a sermon was given by some woman, even if she were a nun. I think that anyone who knows our church life, imagining this picture, will have a good laugh at its impossibility. But Mother Maria, back in the first half of the 20th century, had such a blessing - standing near the pulpit in the center of the church to preach. She didn’t just write poetry or embroider some kind of church shrouds, she didn’t just carry out diakonia, she also comprehended the most complex issues of intra-church life, and at the same time did not look around and behaved completely independently in this, so she could cause different reactions . However, her ministry was not interrupted.

All this should strengthen us, and above all, strengthen all believing sisters in those ministries that, perhaps, were rarely carried out and are carried out in the church by women. Of course, the 20th century still gave a lot, and we still don’t know much of it. There is, for example, a case associated with the name of Pasternak, when one famous Moscow priest (Fr. Nikolai Golubtsov) sent a woman, not even a nun, to give him communion before his death. Since it was difficult for any of the church people to go into Pasternak’s house at that moment, he gave her the Holy Gifts so that she could go and give communion to the dying wonderful Christian writer and poet.

All this reveals to us in a new way the meaning of today’s, I emphasize, Easter holiday, dedicated to the myrrh-bearing women. And this light of the Resurrection, the Paschal light, drives away all darkness and all prejudices associated with the place and ministry of women in the church and in a world lying in evil. We have something to think about, we have something to do here! We cannot simply return to the Old Testament, we cannot believe that women in families should only be subordinate to the head of the family - a Christian man, the husband. All this now appears before us in a slightly different light. And God forbid that we do not lose this aspect of the Easter holiday! May God grant that Easter will be revealed to us in a variety of ways, including from the point of view of women’s ministry in the Church! And let each of us thank God for the fact that in Christ there is neither male nor female! Let each of us learn to draw the right full conclusions from this! May each of us contribute to the revelation of the gifts of the Holy Spirit in all Christians, in all members of the church, including our wonderful sisters, Christian women!

Amen.

Christ is risen!

Women in Ministry in the Old Testament

With that said, let's now look at the role of some of the women God used to carry out His purposes in the Old Testament. It is an obvious fact that first of all God calls men to ministry - this happens during the times of the Old and New Testaments. The pages of the Old Testament tell about Moses, Aaron, Joshua, Joseph, Samuel and David.

However, the lives of many women are proof that God can use anyone He wants, and women called by God are capable of fulfilling any task to which He calls them.

Before we look at the personality of each of these women individually, it is useful to note that all great men of God were born of a woman. Without the woman named Jochebed there would have been no Moses (see Exodus 6:20). In the same way, none of the other men of God would exist if their mothers did not exist. God has given women the serious responsibility and commendable ministry of raising children in the Lord (see 2 Tim. 1:5).

Jochebed was not only the mother of two called men of God, but also the mother of their sister, a prophetess and worship leader named Miriam (see Exodus 15:20). In Micah 6:4, God places Miriam on a par with Moses and Aaron among the leaders of Israel:

“I brought you out of the land of Egypt and redeemed you from the house of slavery, and sent Moses, Aaron and Miriam before you.”

.

Naturally, Miriam's role in Israel was not as significant as that of Moses. But as a prophetess, she spoke on behalf of God, and we can safely assume that the words she spoke applied not only to women, but also to men.

Female judge in Israel

Another woman whom God raised to leadership in Israel was Deborah, who lived during the time of the judges of Israel. She was a prophetess and judge over Israel, like Gideon, Jephthah and Samson. Scripture says: “The children of Israel came to her for judgment” (Judges 4:5). So, she made decisions not only regarding women, but also men. The woman told the men what they should do, and God himself anointed her to do it.

Like most women God calls into leadership, Deborah had to deal with at least one man who had great difficulty accepting the word spoken through a woman's vessel. His name was Barak, and because he was skeptical of Deborah's words regarding the war against the Kenite general Sisera, she told him that the honor of killing Sisera would be given to a woman. She turned out to be right, and a woman named Jael drove a tent stake into Sisera's temple (see Judges 4). The story ends with Barak and Deborah singing a duet! The song praises Deborah and Jael (Judges 5), and it is possible that Barak finally believed in the effectiveness of a woman's ministry.

Third Prophetess

The third woman mentioned in the Old Testament as a respected prophetess was Huldah. God used her to give direction through prophecy to the king of Judah named Josiah (see 2 Kings 22). Again we have an example of a woman giving instructions to a man. It is likely that God used Huldah regularly, otherwise how could Josiah trust her so much?

But why did God call Miriam, Deborah, and Huldah as prophetesses? After all, He could call men!

Of course God could call men to do exactly the same thing that these women did. But He acted differently. Nobody knows why. But the lesson we all must draw is that God should not be boxed in when it comes to who to call to ministry. Although in most cases in the Old Testament God assigned leadership responsibilities to men, he sometimes called women as well.

Finally, it should be noted that all three examples of outstanding women's ministry in the Old Testament involved the ministry of prophetesses. In the Old Testament there are types of ministry to which women were never called, an example is the ministry of the priest. The conclusion is that God calls exclusively men to certain types of ministry.

Women in Ministry in the New Testament

It is also interesting that in the New Testament we also find women called to prophetic ministry. A few days after Jesus was born, Anna recognized Him and proclaimed that He was the Messiah:

the prophetess was also here

, daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher, who had reached a very old age, having lived with her husband for seven years from her virginity, a widow of eighty-four years old, who did not leave the temple, serving God day and night with fasting and prayer. And at that time she came up and glorified the Lord and spoke about Him to all who were waiting for deliverance in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:36-38).

Notice that Hannah spoke of Jesus “to all who were looking for redemption in Jerusalem.” These included, of course, men. Thus, we can say that Anna proclaimed Christ to men.

There are other women in the New Testament who were used by God in the gift of prophecy. Jesus' mother Mary was one of them (see Luke 1:46-55). Every time you read Mary's prophetic words, you get the impression that the woman is edifying the church. (And God undoubtedly honored women in bringing His Son into the world through one of them, although He could have done it differently.)

Let's continue. God foretold through the mouth of the prophet Joel that when God poured out His Spirit, both the sons and daughters of Israel would prophesy (see Joel 2:28). Peter confirms that this prophecy of Joel is fulfilled in the New Testament (see Acts 2:17).

Acts 21:8-9 says that the four daughters of the evangelist Philip were prophetesses.

Paul writes about women prophesying in church meetings (see 1 Cor. 11:5). From the context it is clear that men were also present.

Given the instances in which God uses women to proclaim the prophetic word, we have no right to reject the idea that God could entrust such a ministry to a woman! Moreover, it cannot be assumed that women do not have the right to prophesy to men in God's name.

Women in the Church

Mother Christopher (Matchak) is the abbess of the Transfiguration Monastery in Ellwood City, Pennsylvania, USA. She has been performing the obedience of the abbess for more than thirty years.

If you go to an Orthodox church, many things in it will surprise you. You will probably notice that in the altar, at the holy altar, only men serve - priests, deacons, maybe a bishop, they are helped by altar servers, readers, in the choir the choir is regented, probably also by a man, a regent. It seems that only men do everything in the Church. But I would like to draw your attention to several aspects.

First of all, walk around the temple (a temple in any country in the world, in a city or village, parish or monastery, large or small) and take a closer look at which icon has the most candles burning. Most likely, you will see that the icon of the Blessed Virgin Mary has the most candles burning. Mother of God, Mother of the whole Church and each of us. We all know that, dying on the Cross, the Savior said to His beloved disciple the Apostle John: “ Behold, your Mother.”

" and said to His Mother: "
Woman!
Behold, Your son " (John 19: 26–27). Having uttered these words, the Lord handed us all over to the Most Holy Theotokos. If you enter the house of Orthodox Christians, most likely you will definitely see an icon of the Mother of God in it, perhaps it will be the largest, most prominent, and beautiful. Many feel that the Mother of God understands them not only because She is the same person, but also because She is a woman.

Many feel that the Mother of God understands them not only because She is the same person, but also because She is a woman

The Lord has endowed women with special qualities: they are understanding, feeling, emotional. These are great gifts from God, part of His Providence. The Lord created man and woman. There are no hard boundaries between which character traits are characteristic of men and which are characteristic of women; they always overlap. But the Lord gave women special spiritual qualities. A Greek elder once said that when a woman gives birth to a child, together with God she gives birth to a new life and becomes a co-creator with God. A woman is capable of feeling especially deeply; she has intuition.

You can conduct this experiment yourself. Go to a temple, absolutely any one - in a city, in a village, in a cathedral or just a church - and try to count, mentally photograph the parishioners. Will you see more men or women in the service? Most likely women. If in doubt, check, you can even argue. Most likely, you will be right.

Our women come to church more often, do all sorts of work, obedience, and work. Is there really any reason to say that women in the Church are somehow belittled and underestimated? In my opinion, no. Christ accepted women, loved them, like every person, spoke with the Samaritan woman, with the Canaanite woman, with the woman suffering from bleeding. He did not reject anyone, although such behavior was not always welcomed in the time of Christ. Therefore, in the Church, the Lord waits for each and everyone, He throws a seed into everyone’s heart, He created both man and woman in His image and likeness.

Can a woman grow in spiritual life or is this a privilege exclusively for men? After all, only men are ordained, only they become priests and serve the Liturgy. Is spiritual life really inaccessible to women? Women can become saints. Women must become saints. Women are saints. We Americans really need holy wives. The country needs saints more than anyone or anything. Maybe we need doctors? Of course, medical help is always needed. In our country there are thousands of talented, well-educated people who will be wonderful doctors. Maybe we need teachers? Or social workers? Politicians perhaps? There are always people who want to become teachers, social workers and politicians. But will our country become stronger from this? Who will make our country stronger if not holy women?

There is a growing number of girls and women who are beginning to take a more serious approach to the main goal of every Christian - to become like God, to get closer to God, to know Him and to do His will. Today there are no barriers or restrictions, all doors are open. An example of this is Orthodox convents. This is a real miracle! Christian women live together in a monastic community, work together, perform obediences. A nunnery can be called a matriarchal society. The monastery is run by nuns; a man cannot come and start dictating to us how to live. The bishop blessed us, he prays for us, looks after us, I’m sure if something happens, he will definitely intervene. But the bishop does not make decisions for us, does not establish rules beyond those prescribed by the Church. Priests come to serve us, especially those who have already retired. This is a great opportunity for them because they don’t have to deal with the parish and have the opportunity to serve. If the Lord has given them good health, then they really love and want to serve with us. The priest can come, serve the Liturgy, and then communicate with the nuns or our guests. At the same time, there is no need to worry about who will help, bake prosphora, or light incense.

In women's monasteries there are no altar boys or subdeacons; nuns help at the altar. This fact may seem interesting. At least he surprised me. I grew up in an Orthodox family and from childhood I knew that girls and women were not allowed to enter the altar. I first visited a convent when I was twenty-five years old. I must admit, when I saw the nun coming out of the altar, I was literally speechless, I thought: “Lord, what is happening?!” But then, of course, I realized that this is a necessity, this is practical, the Church approaches everything very practically.

So, in women's monasteries, nuns help priests during services at the altar - serve something, light incense, boil water, clean, clean, etc. Of course, they do this not without blessing. And not every nun can enter the altar. For us it remains the Holy of Holies. The nuns do not enter the altar in order to do something that is not necessary there, or to prove that a woman can still enter the altar. In a monastery this is a special obedience. The abbess blesses a certain nun for this. She is then taught how to do everything correctly and reverently. Of course, in women's monasteries, as in many parishes, nuns both read and sing.

In women's monasteries there are no altar boys or subdeacons; nuns help at the altar

The life of women in the Church can be called beautiful and fulfilling. Let's take mothers for example. Look at families, at mothers who raise children. The Lord trusts a woman to give birth and raise His child. For fifteen to twenty years, a mother is everything to a child, they are together every minute, the mother is like a priest for the family and for the baby. His spiritual, emotional, physical education, his education depends on it.

Therefore, the spiritual life of the mother, her personal relationship with God, is transmitted to the baby. Mothers pray for their children; the mother is like a spiritual bridge between the child and God. The children are too small, only one or two years old, they can’t speak, pray, they can’t even cross themselves, they do it very awkwardly: they touch the top of their heads, then it’s as if they slap themselves on the chest with their whole palm at once, they understand that crossing themselves is like... it’s possible, but they don’t know how. But then the mother will carefully take the baby’s hands in hers, fold three fingers, squeeze two, and show how to touch the forehead, heart, chest, shoulders. And so little by little the mother will begin to lead the child to God, teach him to venerate icons, prepare for Communion, and approach the Holy Chalice.

A woman not only achieves holiness herself, but also raises saints for the Church

Being a mother is an absolutely amazing role, the most important one, it’s the pinnacle of everything. You probably think that I, as abbess, have great power over the sisters. In fact, I only have the power over them that they give me over themselves. And the mother of the family, in turn, is everything for the baby. The child receives everything through her - from her hands, through her breath, prayers. There is nothing more important and great. A woman not only achieves holiness herself, but also raises saints for the Church: perhaps she raises a future bishop, priest, monk or nun, or singer. The Lord has endowed a woman with the greatest gift - to be a mother.

Translation from English by
Maria Litzman Protecting Veil

A female pastor?

Can a woman serve as a pastor? It is very clear from Scripture that the ministry of pastor/bishop/elder is reserved by God for men:

“The word is true: if anyone desires the episcopate, he desires a good deed. But the bishop must be blameless, the husband

” (1 Tim. 3:1-2).

“For this reason I left you in Crete, so that you would complete what was unfinished and appoint presbyters in all the cities, as I ordered you: if anyone is blameless, a man

one wife” (Titus 1:5-6).

Paul does not directly say that women should not be allowed into this type of ministry, so we must be careful in making radical decisions. In today's world we see quite a lot of successful women pastors/bishops/elders, especially in developing countries, but they are still in the minority. It is possible that God sometimes calls women to this service, in order to achieve His purposes wisely or when there are no male leaders. It is also possible that many women pastors in the body of Christ are called to other female ministries such as prophecy, but the current church structure allows them to do so only in the role of pastor.

Why is the position of pastor/bishop/elder reserved for men? We can understand this better if we consider the very essence of this ministry. One of the biblical requirements for a pastor/elder/bishop is:

“He rules his house well, keeping his children in obedience with all honesty; for whoever does not know how to manage his own house will care about the Church of God?” (1 Tim. 3:4-5).

This requirement makes perfect sense if we understand that the New Testament pastor was placed in charge of a small house church. His role was similar to that of a father caring for his family. This allows us to better understand why the pastor should be a man - because his role is that of the father in the family, and if the family is built according to God's design, it is led by the husband, not the wife. We'll talk more about this below.

A female apostle?

So, we have come to the conclusion that a woman can serve as a prophetess (if God calls her to do so). What about other ministries? It is helpful to read carefully what Paul writes in Romans 16, where he praises women for their service to God's kingdom. One of them can even be attributed to the apostles. In the three quotes below, I have italicized the names of these women:

"I present to you Thebe

, our sister, deaconess of the Church of Cenchrea. Receive her for the Lord, as is fitting for saints, and help her whatever she needs from you, for she has been a helper to many and to myself” (Rom. 16:1-2).

What a recommendation! Paul names Phoebe

“Deaconess of the Cenchrean Church” and “helper of many,” including himself. We do not know what exactly she did for the Lord, but apparently her service was so significant that Paul recommends her to the entire Roman church.

Next we read about Priscilla, who, together with her husband Aquila, carried out such a ministry for which they were respected by all the pagan churches:

"Salute Priscilla"

and Aquila, my fellow servants in Christ Jesus (who laid down their lives for my soul, to whom not I alone give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles), and the church of their home.
Greet my beloved Epenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia for Christ. Salute Mariam
, who worked hard for us. Greet Andronicus and Junia (some English translations translate the name “Junia” as feminine), my relatives and prisoners with me, who were glorified among the Apostles and who believed in Christ before me” (Rom. 16:3-7).

In relation to Junia, it is quite logical to conclude that the person “famous among the Apostles” could only be an apostle. If Junia is indeed a feminine name, then she was a female apostle. Priscilla and Miriam “worked for the Lord.”

“Greet Amplius, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urban, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachy, my beloved. Greet Apelles, tried in Christ. Greet the Faithful

from Aristovoulov's house.
Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those from the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Greet Tryphena
and
Tryphos
, who labor for the Lord.
Greet Persis
, who has labored much for the Lord.
Salute Rufus, the chosen one in the Lord, and his mother and mine
.
Greet Asinkritus, Phlegontus, Hermas, Patrov, Hermias and their other brothers. Greet Philologus and Julia
, Nereus and
his sister
, and Olympanos, and all the saints with them” (Rom. 16:8-15).

We see that women can do good work for the Lord.

Woman and the five-fold ministry. Is there a place?

Today, in many churches and ministries, women are the majority and are seen as valuable workers in God's field.

However, not everyone agrees with this. Women are often excluded from certain areas of church ministry, especially when it comes to leadership or public preaching. Some churches have female pastors, some consider it unacceptable. Some churches allow women to teach, others do not, and some churches do not allow women to speak at all during ministry.

What ministers say about what role is assigned to a woman in the Church of God and whether she can be a pastor, apostle, evangelist, teacher or prophet.

Woman Pastor

Dmitry Zenchenko, pastor of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Russia.

The most important argument against the ordination of women is traditionally considered to be the Apostle Paul’s prohibition on women preaching in the church: “Let your wives be silent in the churches, for it is not lawful for them to speak, but to be in subjection, as the law says” (1 Cor 14:34), “Women let him study in silence, with all submission; But I do not allow a woman to teach, nor to have authority over her husband, but to be silent” (1 Tim 2:11-12). Opponents of female pastors believe that in these places the Holy Scripture does not, of course, prescribe complete silence for women, but prohibits them from preaching and teaching during worship. Therefore, the church cannot appoint women to pastoral positions - after all, one of the main duties of a pastor is public preaching. Further, the apostle says that “if anyone considers himself a prophet or spiritual, let him understand that what I am writing to you is for these are the commandments of the Lord” (1 Cor 14:37). Thus, it is assumed that the prohibition of women as preachers follows from some direct command of the Lord - perhaps not reaching us in the gospel texts, but known to the apostles.

The most interesting evidence is about women elders (pastors) in the early church . An epitaph dating from the mid-fifth century, found in Calabria, reads: “B(onae) m(emoriae) s(acrum). Leta presbitera/vixit annos XL, menses VIII, dies VIII/ quei (scil. cui) bene fecit maritus/ Precessit in pace pridie/idus Maias" (Dedicated to the good memory of Leta, a presbyter who lived 40 years, 8 months and 9 days, who her husband erected this tombstone. She left it in peace on the day before the Ides of May). It has been suggested that the "presbytery" referred to here is the elder's wife (that is, the "pastor's wife" is the pastor's wife). However, let's consider another epitaph.

The inscription on a stone sarcophagus found in Dalmatia and dating from 425 reads: “D(ominis) n(ostris) Thaeodosio co(n)s(ule) XI et Valentiniano/viro nobelissimo (sic) Caes(are). Ego Thaeodo(sius) emi a Fl(avia) Vitalia pr(es)b(ytera) sanc(ta) matro/na auri sol(idis) III. Sub d(ie)….” Here presbytery Flavia Vitalia appears as a person fulfilling her official duties, namely: she sold Theodosius for three gold plots of land in a common Christian cemetery - a transaction the completion of which was within the competence of a bishop or presbyter. It should be noted that references are found to presbyterides as women carrying out church ministry, but not as “wives of presbyters.”

David Servant, author, international minister, founder and director of Heaven's Family Ministries, cites Scripture to explain his point of view on women's pastoring: “This is a sure saying: If anyone desires the bishopric, he desires a good work. But a bishop must be blameless, the husband of one wife” (1 Tim. 3:1-2)

Paul does not directly say that women should not be allowed into this type of ministry, so we must be careful in making radical decisions . In today's world we see quite a lot of successful women pastors/bishops/elders, especially in developing countries, but they are still in the minority. It is possible that God sometimes calls women to this service, in order to achieve His purposes wisely or when there are no male leaders. It is also possible that many women pastors in the body of Christ are called to other female ministries such as prophecy, but the current church structure allows them to do so only in the role of pastor.

Why is the position of pastor/bishop/elder reserved for men? We can understand this better if we consider the very essence of this ministry. One of the biblical requirements for a pastor/elder/bishop is:

“He who rules his household well, keeping his children in obedience with all honesty; for whoever does not know how to manage his own house will care about the Church of God?” (1 Tim. 3:4-5).

This requirement makes perfect sense if we understand that the New Testament pastor was placed in charge of a small house church. His role was similar to that of a father caring for his family. This allows us to better understand why the pastor should be a man - because his role is that of the father in the family, and if the family is built according to God's design, it is led by the husband, not the wife.

Open Line program answers the question “Can a woman be a pastor in a church? ”

Woman Apostle

David Servant, author, international minister, founder and director of Heaven's Family Ministries.

It is helpful to read carefully what Paul writes in Romans 16, where he praises women for their service to God's kingdom. One of them can even be attributed to the apostles. “I present to you Phoebe, our sister, deaconess of the Church of Cenchrea. Receive her for the Lord, as is fitting for saints, and help her whatever she needs from you, for she has been a helper to many and to myself” (Rom. 16:1-2).

What a recommendation! Paul calls Phoebe “the deaconess of the church of Cenchrea” and “the helper of many,” including himself. We do not know what exactly she did for the Lord, but apparently her service was so significant that Paul recommends her to the entire Roman church.

Next we read about Priscilla , who, together with her husband Aquila, carried out such a ministry for which they were respected by all the pagan churches:

“Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus (who laid down their lives for my soul, and to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles), and the church at home. Greet my beloved Epenetus, who is the firstfruits of Achaia for Christ. Salute Mariam , who worked hard for us. Greet Andronicus and Junia (some English translations render the name “Junia” as feminine), my relatives and prisoners with me, who were glorified among the Apostles and who before me believed in Christ” (Rom. 16:3-7).

In relation to Junia, it is quite logical to conclude that a person “famous among the Apostles” could only be an apostle. If Junia is indeed a feminine name, then she was a female apostle. Priscilla and Miriam “worked for the Lord.”

“Greet Amplius, my beloved in the Lord. Greet Urban, our fellow worker in Christ, and Stachy, my beloved. Greet Apelles, tried in Christ. Greet the faithful from the house of Aristobulov. Greet Herodion, my kinsman. Greet those from the household of Narcissus who are in the Lord. Greet Tryphena and Tryphos , who labor for the Lord. Greet Persis , who has labored much for the Lord. Salute Rufus, the chosen one in the Lord, and his mother and mine. Greet Asinkritus, Phlegontus, Hermas, Patrov, Hermias and their other brothers. Greet Philologus and Julia , Nereus and his sister , and Olympanos, and all the saints with them” (Rom. 16:8-15).

As part of the “Light under the Lamp” , the founder of the Christian TV channel CNL, Archbishop of the “New Life” churches Maxim Maximov, pastor of the “Life for God” church in Kiev Sergey Klepov, pastor of the “New Life” church in Kazakhstan Vyacheslav Shipachev, pastor of the Christian Church “Church” Christian City" in Omsk Tatyana Denisova discusses the issue "The role of women from the beginning of creation" .

Alexander Velichko, pastor, bishop, director of the Slavic External Mission, gave the example of a woman apostle named Amida from Lahore.

In old age, many people in Pakistan eke out a miserable existence and pray for a quick death, especially Christians who do not want to burden the already poor and difficult life of their children. This sister decided to do things differently. She asked the Lord: “Will I be of use to you in my old age?” He told her that He needed her at any time.

The inspired old woman went to a neighboring village, where there were no Christians, and began to preach about Christ, reasoning that if she was killed, it would be for Christ. A couple of weeks later, the first repentants gathered on the outskirts of the village to listen to Amida. Soon a church was formed. When the services began, the older brothers sent ministers, and Amida decided to go further.

Next village. History repeats itself. So our heroine walked through all the outskirts of Lahore and moved south along the Indian border. In every village she preached the gospel and stayed if someone repented. New churches remained behind it. We were in the one that God started through her just recently. There were about 30 people there.

After several years of such labor, the Lord called her to go to Nepal, which was closed to the Gospel. An elderly woman walked through the mountains around the entire region and, returning, said that the Lord had started several churches there. In April, Pastor Rashid went there to instruct the brothers and install elders. We are planning to visit there together in November.

Woman prophet

Yuri Sipko, ex-chairman of the Russian ECB Union

The Word of God, like a two-edged sword, is given to the church as a weapon of warfare, to men and women alike. A woman has every right to speak in evidence with the Word of God. And how could it be otherwise? Can a woman prophesy, i.e. to be a witness of Jesus Christ? Certainly! How else.

The Apostle Paul writes in a letter to Corinth about the hierarchy of power in the church and in the Christian family, clearly indicating the completely natural right of a woman to prophesy and pray. “And every woman who prays or prophesies” - these words come after exactly the same words, “Every man who prays or prophesies” - which gives us a clear answer to your question. A woman has every right to prophecy and prayer.

Let me note that speaking and prophesying are synonyms. The Apostle Peter says this about the essence of the prophetic ministry: “Prophecy was never uttered by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke it, being moved by the Holy Spirit.” This is about the already recorded texts of the Holy Scriptures. They pronounced, they spoke, they prophesied, they spoke. Whenever we talk about God, about His revelation, about His word, we prophesy, prophesy, utter. The commission of Christ, which we call great, and we take it personally, as a commission to all disciples, i.e. both men and women have a duty to testify to the world about the Savior! Both men and women are obliged to testify about the Savior to everyone, always and everywhere!

David Servant, author, international minister, founder and director of Heaven's Ministries

David Servant, author, international minister, founder and director of Heaven's Family Ministries.

It is also interesting that in the New Testament we also meet women called to prophetic ministry . A few days after Jesus was born, Anna recognized Him and proclaimed that He was the Messiah:

“There was also Anna the prophetess, daughter of Phanuel, from the tribe of Asher, who had reached a very old age, having lived with her husband for seven years from her virginity, a widow of eighty-four years old, who did not leave the temple, serving God day and night with fasting and prayer. And at that time she came up and glorified the Lord and spoke about Him to all who were waiting for deliverance in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:36-38).

Notice that Hannah spoke of Jesus to “all who were looking for deliverance in Jerusalem.” These included, of course, men. Thus, we can say that Anna proclaimed Christ to men.

Given the instances in which God uses women to proclaim the prophetic word, we have no right to reject the idea that God could entrust such a ministry to a woman! Moreover, it cannot be assumed that women do not have the right to prophesy to men in God's name.

Woman teacher

Yuri Sipko, Former Chairman of the Russian ECB Union

Women should not teach men. You can reproach men as much as you like for laziness, for indifference, for carelessness, but women should not do this. A woman teaching a man is nonsense. A man who listens indifferently to a woman’s criticism is a reaction to the woman’s excessive activity. Women should work with women, in small groups, in Sunday schools, in ministry. Counseling for women should be done by women. Men should not provide counseling to women. Moreover, women should not provide counseling to men. God's Word is very clear about this. “So that wives, too, in decent attire, with modesty and chastity, adorn themselves, not with braided hair, not with gold, not with pearls, not with expensive clothing, but with good deeds, as is fitting for wives devoting themselves to piety. Let the wife study in silence, with all submission; But I do not allow a woman to teach, nor to have authority over her husband, but to be silent” (1 Tim. 2:9-12).

David Servant , author, international minister, founder and director of Heaven's Family Ministries.

What about women teachers? The New Testament says nothing about this. On the other hand, the Bible does not speak about men being called to be teachers. Priscilla, Aquila's wife, participated in the teaching, at least a little. For example, she and Aquila heard the distorted Gospel preached by Apollos, “received it and explained to him more accurately the way of the Lord” (Acts 18:26). It is impossible to argue against the fact that Priscilla helped Aquila mentor a man named Apollos. In addition, Paul mentions Priscilla and Aquila twice in Scripture in connection with their home church (Rom. 16:3-5; 1 Cor. 16:19), and calls them both “fellow workers in Christ” (Rom. 16:13 ). It is hard to doubt that Priscilla played an active role in ministry alongside her husband.

World-renowned Bible expositor, author, and teacher Derek Prince discusses the role of women in the Church .

Alexey Kolomiytsev, pastor-teacher at Word of Grace (Battle Ground, WA)

A woman should not teach. The point is not that a woman understands some issues worse or better. The reason for Paul's warning is that a woman should not be placed in a position where she would have to exercise authority.

Preaching and Bible teaching in the church must be authoritative. They must have power. It is possible that one of the reasons why modern believers do not understand this issue is that modern churches do not know authoritative preaching. The pulpit has become a forum for the exchange of opinions, instead of being a place where it sounds authoritatively: “thus saith the Lord...”.

This is not to say that a woman cannot search the Scriptures. Knowledge of the Bible is a great blessing for a woman. She should strive to know the Bible as best she can, first of all, so that she can live it. In addition, it is absolutely normal for a woman to share with someone what a lesson this or that passage of Scripture or this or that sermon served for her. When a woman, in a spirit of humility, kindness, and gentleness, shares with others what she learns from Scripture, it can be a tremendous blessing both to herself and to those around her.

But, God clearly says in this text that this should not be associated with an authoritative proclamation. Women don't need to be in positions of power.

Under the guidance of ministers responsible for various areas of the church's ministry, women can engage in counseling or discipleship, that is, sharing personal experience of following Christ with other women. But they must do this not in the spirit of power, but in the spirit of humility and meekness, in the spirit of submission to the authority of the ministers of the church established by God.

This is what more mature women should cultivate in women who are younger and less experienced than them. Paul writes about this kind of ministry by women:

“So that the old women also dress decently for the saints, are not slanderers, are not enslaved to drunkenness, and teach goodness; that they may admonish the young to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 to be chaste, pure, careful at home, kind, submissive to their own husbands, so that the word of God is not reviled” (Titus 2:3-5).

Two terms in this text need explanation. By saying “Old Women,” presbu, tidaj, Paul does not necessarily refer to women of advanced age, but to those who are more experienced, whose spiritual experience is recognized by others.

Another important word “admonished” is swfroni, zw. It literally means helping someone come to their senses, being sensitive, giving advice, being a coach for someone. Paul does not use the usual words for teaching or preaching Didasko or Kerusso, which involve proclaiming the truth with authority. He talks about discipleship, that is, about the transfer of the experience of personal following Christ.

Woman Evangelist

Alexander Serkov, retired pastor of the SDA church (Krasnodar, Russia)

Although Luke mentions several women who served Jesus faithfully during His earthly ministry (Luke 8:1–3; 10:38–42), it is important to note that women were the last to leave the cross (Luke 23:55, 56 ) and were the first to see the empty tomb on the third day (Luke 24:1–7). They were also the first to proclaim the good news of the risen Savior (text 9–11). At that time, in a society where women were highly valued, Heaven granted them the unique privilege of being the first heralds of the resurrection of Jesus.

Lecture by Deacon Andrei Kuraev “Woman in the Church: a response to feminists” at the congress of Orthodox youth of the Grodno diocese of the Belarusian Exarchate.

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Female teacher?

What about women teachers? The New Testament says nothing about this. On the other hand, the Bible does not speak about men being called to be teachers. Priscilla, Aquila's wife, participated in the teaching, at least a little. For example, she and Aquila heard the distorted Gospel preached by Apollos, “received it and explained to him more accurately the way of the Lord” (Acts 18:26). It is impossible to argue against the fact that Priscilla helped Aquila mentor a man named Apollos. In addition, Paul twice in Scripture mentions Priscilla and Aquila in connection with their home church (see Rom. 16:3-5; 1 Cor. 16:19), and names them both

“fellow laborers in Christ” (see Rom. 16:13). It is hard to doubt that Priscilla played an active role in ministry alongside her husband.

When Jesus Commanded Women to Teach Men

Before we look at Paul's words about women being silent in church and not teaching men, let's look at one Scripture that will help us come to a balanced understanding.

When Jesus was resurrected, an angel sent at least three women to Jesus' disciples (who, of course, were men). They were ordered to tell the disciples that Jesus had risen and that He would appear to them in Galilee. But that is not all. Some time later, Jesus Himself appeared to the same women and commanded them to tell the disciples to go to Galilee (see Matt. 28:1-10; Mark 16:1-7).

I think it is significant that Jesus chose to appear to women first and then to men. Second, if there had been anything fundamentally or morally wrong with women instructing men, Jesus would not have sent women to tell men the news of His resurrection; at least He could have done it himself (which He did in other cases). The fact is obvious - the Lord Jesus sent women to proclaim spiritual truth to men.

“Problematic” Scriptures

Now that we have a better understanding of what the Bible says about the role of women in ministry, let's try to understand the “problematic” statements of Paul. Let's first look at what he says about women's silence in the church:

“Let your wives be silent in the churches, for they are not allowed to speak, but to be in subjection, as the law says. If they want to learn something, let them ask about it.

at home with their husbands; for it is indecent for a woman to speak in church” (1 Cor. 14:34-35).

Question: What is Paul doing here, teaching or quoting some questions that the Corinthians had previously asked him? The second part of the letter clearly shows that Paul is answering questions asked of him (see 1 Cor. 7:1, 25; 8:1; 12:1; 16:1, 12).

Then, in the next verse, Paul's words can be seen as a reaction to the Corinthians' blanket ban on speaking to women:

“Has the word of God come from you? Or did it reach you alone?” (1 Cor. 14:36).

English translation King James Version

conveys Paul's even greater surprise at the attitude of the Corinthians:

"And what? Did the word of God come from you? Or did it come to you alone?” (1 Cor. 14:36).

However, Paul asks two rhetorical questions. The answer to both of them is no. The Corinthians were not the authors of God's word, and God did not give his word only to them. Paul's questions are clearly aimed at their pride. If we consider that these questions are inextricably linked with the previous two verses, then the meaning goes something like this: “Who do you think you are? Since when did you start deciding for God who He would use to proclaim His word? God can use women if He wants, and you are in vain in silencing them.”

This interpretation seems quite reasonable when we consider what Paul writes earlier in the same letter regarding women prophesying in the church (see 1 Cor. 11:5), which cannot happen if she is silent. Moreover, a little lower, in the same letter, Paul instructs all Corinthians[2], including women, to earnestly desire the gift of prophecy (1 Cor. 14:39). Otherwise, Paul is contradicting himself in 14:34-35 if he completely prohibits women from raising their voices in church meetings.

A woman in church: what is forbidden to her and why?

Rule 1. Women in the temple must stand separately from men.

Priests say this is not strictly obligatory these days, but all churches in Russia still observe this ancient rule.
For example, in the city of Voronezh, where I live, in the Intercession and Annunciation Cathedrals, during services, women stand on the left side, and men on the right, leaving a clear passage from the main doors to the Royal Doors. This division was in keeping with the ancient ideas of piety in the Christian churches. And in Byzantium, many churches had choirs (second floors running along the perimeter of the temple), where women stood during services. Only men were allowed to stand below.

The reasons for this go back centuries. The myth of the Fall, which is part of our cultural heritage, describes a woman as an accomplice of Satan who was the first to deceive Adam, and due to the woman's sin, humanity was punished by God.

Defining the status of women in Christianity, the Apostle Paul said, “It was not Adam who was tempted, but the woman, being tempted, transgressed what was permitted.” Thus, according to the apostle, Adam is not responsible for what he did, he supposedly did not know what he was doing, but Eve knew and consciously sinned.

Photo: Depositphotos

Pavel apparently did not know that ignorance does not save you from responsibility! “There is nothing more destructive than a woman; two working oxen for one wife.” “Love for a woman is poison; fire, woman and sea are three disasters,” this is what Homer, Aesop, Socrates and other great men of Ancient Greece wrote. These short phrases clearly describe the attitude of men towards women in ancient times.

In Ancient Rome, according to the law, when a woman got married, all her property passed into the possession of her husband. A woman could not hold any civil or public position, could not be a witness, guarantor, guardian or trustee, could not adopt children or be adopted, and could not draw up a will or contract.

Women were most viciously attacked by Tertullian (160-c. 220), one of the most prominent early Christian writers and theologians, who first expressed the concept of the Trinity.

“You are the gates of the devil,” he said about women, “you are the discoverers of the forbidden tree, you were the first to betray the law of God, you are the one who convinced the man whom the devil did not have the courage to attack. You have so easily destroyed the likeness of God - a man. Because of your betrayal, even the son of God had to die.

Hieronymus Bosch, “Saint Jerome at Prayer,” 16th century Photo: artchive.ru
Saint Jerome considered a woman “the path of iniquity.” She is “a scorpion, always ready to sting.” According to Saint Bonaventure, a medieval theologian and philosopher (1224−1274), a woman is “an instrument used by the devil to take possession of our souls.” And according to Saint Gregory the Great, called in the Orthodox tradition Gregory the Dvoeslov (c. 540−604), a woman is “the poison of the asp and the malice of the dragon.”

As funny as it may sound, until 585 the world's Christian clergy could not decide whether a woman had a soul or not. The Macon Church Council (France) decided that a woman, although she is a being of a lower order, still has some semblance of a soul!

The accusations and the very attitude of the Christian clergy towards women led to a negative, consumerist attitude towards them in Europe and the rest of the Christian world. And in enlightened England, until the middle of the 19th century, women were not counted at all in the census, like cattle!

That is why men and women “with the semblance of a soul” stand separately even in the modern church. And at the same time, the churchmen believe that such a separation of women from men pleases God!

Photo: Depositphotos

Rule 2: Women are not allowed to speak in church.

In his first letter to the Corinthians, the Apostle Paul instructs:

Let your wives be silent in the churches, for they are not allowed to speak, but to be in subjection, as the law says. If they want to learn something, let them ask their husbands at home; for it is indecent for a woman to speak in church (1 Cor. 14:34-35).

The Russian Orthodox Church strictly observed this rule. Such views formed the basis for the attitude towards women in Christianity. Even Jesus’ answer to his mother: “Who are you, woman? And what do I have in common with you? - sounds humiliating. That is why among the closest disciples of Christ there was not a single woman (the presence of Mary Magdalene, whom some sources place either among the disciples or called the wife of Jesus, is not confirmed by the canonical Gospels).

Based on the mentioned rule, women do not participate in church councils. The Russian Orthodox Church strictly observed this rule until the twentieth century. In the Local Council of 1917−1918, which allowed some church innovations, women (including monastics), although they could be present, did not have the right to vote.

Meeting of the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church (1917-1918) in the Moscow Diocesan House Photo: ru.wikipedia.org

For the first time in the history of the church, women took part in the Local Council of the Russian Orthodox Church in 1971, when Patriarch Pimen was elected. Women also took part in the work of the Local Council in 1990, which elected Patriarch Alexy II.

However, all decisions, including the presence of women, are determined by the episcopate, which retains canonically justified control in the conduct of the Local Council: any decision can be made by the council only with the consent of the majority of the bishops present at it.

Rule 3: Women in church are required to dress modestly.

A woman should wear a dull long skirt or dress. Tracksuits are prohibited. You cannot use cosmetics, especially lipstick. Despite the warm weather, all parishioners are encouraged to wear long sleeves. It is forbidden to wear trousers. The scripture says:

A woman should not wear men's clothing, and a man should not dress in women's clothing, for anyone who does this is an abomination to the Lord God. Deuteronomy 22:5

Why such strictness? Where are their origins? Explanations in the history of the issue.

Jean-Leon Gerome, “The Last Prayer of the Christian Martyrs” (fragment), 1883. Photo: ru.wikipedia.org

Let's remember ancient times: in Rome, Palestine, Byzantium, people wore tunics. And the barbarians wore trousers: they were nomads, always riding horses. And so, in order not to rub their legs on the horse, they wrapped them with what later became trousers. When a man in trousers walked through Constantinople, his appearance showed that he was a barbarian, that is, not a Christian, and he was not allowed into the temple. (Eternal mystery woman Science and Religion. 1988. No. 3. P. 10−11).

But the main reason for the negative attitude towards wearing trousers was the ancient pagan rituals of celebrating the New Year. The pagans staged carnival disguises, which had the religious meaning of turning everything inside out. Men wore women's dress, women wore men's dress. A layman could wear a monk's robe or dress up as an animal.

By the way, the clergy cassock, which has roots in the Middle East, can be considered typical women's clothing. The cassock is even wrapped on the left side, and not on the right, as in men's clothing.

So the religious meaning of these disguises boiled down to the fact that they were the destruction of established social roles, stereotypes, the destruction of order in the turmoil of Maslenitsa and the opportunity to build a new world, more just and comfortable, better for people. Dressing men as women and vice versa was a kind of pagan form of repentance, a desire to live differently.

Christianity, unlike paganism, rejects pagan buffoonery and calls for repentance of sins and not to commit them in the future.

G. I. Semiradsky, “Orgy of the times of Tiberius on the island of Capri,” 1881. Photo: artchive.ru

Thus, the negative attitude towards trousers on women has ancient religious roots. The memory of this once serious religious pagan overtones of cross-dressing led to a negative attitude towards men's wardrobe on women.

Rule 4. A woman has no right to enter church with her head uncovered.

The Apostle Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians (11:3−9) writes:

I also want you to know that the head of every husband is Christ, the head of a wife is her husband, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered disgraces his head; and every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered disgraces her head, for it is the same as if she were shaved; for if the wife does not want to cover herself, let her cut her hair; and if a wife is ashamed to be shorn or shaved, let her cover herself. So, the husband should not cover his head, because he is the image and glory of God; and the wife is the glory of the husband. For man is not from wife, but woman is from man; and man was not created for wife, but woman for man.

And then (11:4-5) Paul clarifies:

A woman should not enter the temple with her head uncovered, and the headscarf should completely cover her hair and cover her ears.

S. Ivleva, “Reverend Ambrose of Optina,” 2002. Photo: cyplive.com
Why? Yes, because women seduced men with beautiful hair, and instead of praying, they looked at pretty women and mentally led themselves into fornication! And if we look at the root cause, we will find ourselves in the Holy Scriptures:

To expose a woman's crown or loosen her hair was to humiliate or punish her (Isaiah 3:17); Numbers 5:18).

Harlots and wicked women in Judea demonstrated that they belonged to their special occupation precisely by not covering their heads. The husband had the right to divorce his wife without returning her dowry if she appeared on the street bare-haired - this was considered an insult to the husband. And in synagogues, in addition to women, men excommunicated from the synagogue and lepers were required to cover their heads.

Rule 5. A woman has no right to enter the altar.

At first glance, a woman has no right to enter the altar because this is the very nature of a woman. Let me remind you that the altar marks the realm of God’s existence, the temple itself represents the realm of the angelic world (spiritual heaven) and the vestibule represents the realm of earthly existence.

S. D. Miloradovich, “At the Confessor,” 1915. Photo: artchive.ru

So, clergy performing divine services must be concentrated in prayer.

The presence of a woman, especially a young and attractive one, can involuntarily evoke vain and seductive thoughts and desires, and the fight against thoughts requires a lot of effort, and most importantly, is not always successful.

The clergy also mention purely psychological reasons why a woman does not serve as a pastor and does not enter the altar. A woman is by nature more emotional and changeable. It is more difficult for her to concentrate on performing such a great task as the Eucharist, it is more difficult for her to maintain impartiality and sobriety.

It is not for nothing that the Apostle Peter, who knew women’s nature well, since he had not only a wife, but also a mother-in-law, calls women the weakest vessel (1 Pet. 3:7). On the other hand, this ban goes back centuries and is associated with female menstrual bleeding.

An altar is an altar on which historically the blood emitted from a sacrificial animal or person was poured to please the deity, the owner of a given temple. It was believed that the soul of the victim was emitted with blood - to please a deity or demon. Then the victim was burned - and the deity “ate” the soul of the victim.

Abrahamic religions are all patriarchal. Only men are allowed to perform rituals - shedding the blood of a victim on the altar, growing long hair on the head and beard and letting it out. A woman should hide her hair in every possible way.

V. A. Kotarbinsky, “The Widow’s Mite” Photo: artchive.ru

In Orthodoxy, a menstruating woman is not only prohibited from ascending the altar (altar), but also from coming to church at all. And in Judaism, such a woman is considered ritually unclean and she is forbidden to have relations with a circumcised, ritually pure husband, for fear of desecrating him. After her period ends, washing in the shower is not enough for her. She needs to perform a ritual bath in a tank - a mikveh, similar to our baptism. Only then can she appear to her husband.

In Christianity, the ban on entering the altar begins with the local Council of Laodicea, held around 360 in the city of Laodicea (Asia Minor). The Council compiled 60 rules regarding issues of church government and Christian piety.

The forty-fourth rule of the council read:

It is not proper for a wife to enter the altar.

This prohibition has unconditionally prohibited women from entering the altar since early Christian times. The text does not explain the reasons for the ban, probably due to its obviousness. During the service, the clergyman symbolizes Christ and in His name pronounces the words: “... take, eat: this is My Body” (Matthew 26:26). It is quite obvious that only a man could utter such words!

Later, at the Council of Constantinople (aka the Sixth Ecumenical Council, 680−681.) the 69th rule generally prohibited lay people from entering the altar, and even more so for women:

Let none of all those belonging to the class of laymen be allowed to enter the interior of the sacred altar. But according to some ancient legend, this is by no means forbidden to the power and dignity of the king when he desires to bring gifts to the Creator.

So, it is only permissible for the king to enter from among the laity, both because he is the anointed one, and only when he brings a gift, that is, a royal ritual gift to the church.

And the last thing: at baptism, boys are brought into the altar, but girls are not. Until the 14th century, all children were “churched” on the fortieth day, for which they were brought into the altar. They were even placed at the Holy Altar, and they were baptized at about three years old. Infants were baptized only when necessary (health risks). And when they began to practice infant baptism, churching took place immediately after the baptismal ceremony, and it was then that girls stopped being brought into the altar, and boys were no longer brought to the saint. to the throne.

By entering the altar, a woman violates church order and thereby sins against the church. In this case, she is ordered to repent and, realizing her guilt, not to do this again. You need to know your place.

Women who have become altar servers can enter the altar to clean it. In addition, widows or nuns, after 40 years, can help the priest: serve the censer, read and go out with candles.

Rule 6. Women are not allowed on the holy Mount Athos.

Aliki Diplaraku "Miss Europe - 1930" - repentant and forgiven for her daring violation of the ban on visiting Mount Athos Photo: filin-dimitry.livejournal.com
On this peninsula in Greece there are twenty large monasteries, where women are strictly prohibited from entering.

There is a legend that the Most Holy Theotokos, accompanied by the Evangelist John, was caught in a storm on a sea voyage; they lost their way and ended up at the foot of Mount Athos. The Mother of God, struck by the beauty of the place, asked the Lord to make the Holy Mountain Her earthly inheritance. According to the covenant of the Mother of God, no woman except Her can set foot on the land of Athos.

In 1045, under the Byzantine Emperor Constantine IX Monomakh, a statute was adopted for the Athonites, officially prohibiting women and even female domestic animals from being on the territory of the Holy Mountain. A 1953 Greek presidential decree provides for prison sentences ranging from 2 to 12 months for women who violate the ban.

Rule 7: A woman cannot be a priest.

Andrey Kuraev at a meeting with readers, 2022. Photo: Mark Nakoykher, ru.wikipedia.org
The Orthodox Church does not accept the practice of “ordaining” women to the priesthood and episcopacy. Protodeacon Andrey Kuraev in his book “Woman in the Church” writes:

The centuries-old Orthodox church tradition has never known female “priests.”

There are several arguments against the female priesthood. Firstly,

the priest at the liturgy is the liturgical icon of Christ, and the altar is the room of the Last Supper. At this supper, it was Christ who took the cup and said: drink, this is My Blood. …We partake of the Blood of Christ, which He Himself gave, which is why the priest must be the liturgical icon of Christ. ...Therefore, the priestly archetype (prototype) is male, not female.

The debate over women's priesthood continues in Protestant churches in Europe. The elevation of women to the clergy with the right to perform divine services and administer the sacraments is practiced in the Evangelical Church of Germany, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland, the Episcopal (Anglican) Church in England, Sweden and Norway (Lutheranism).

Also, the practice of ordaining women is accepted in some Baptist, Methodist, Presbyterian, Old Catholic, Pentecostal and charismatic denominations (part of the Protestant movement in youth culture), including in Russia.

Rule 8. After giving birth to a child, a woman has no right to enter the temple, also during her period. In addition, he cannot proceed to St. sacraments.

S. D. Miloradovich, “Nun at the Iconostasis,” 1922. Photo: stydiai.ru
A manual for practical guidance. “On Church Legislation. About the wedding. clause 21" provides:

A bride who is in the period of postpartum cleansing and has not received prayer “on the fortieth day” not only cannot begin the Holy Sacraments, but cannot even enter the temple. The same applies to brides who are in impurity (physiological).

The charter provides for a 40-day cleansing of the postpartum woman from the impurity of birth, after which the priest reads a special “prayer to the postpartum wife” over her. In this prayer, the priest asks God to cleanse the woman “from bodily filth and mental filth.” Only after this can the mother go to church and partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

The roots of this rule are found in the Old Testament, in which there are many regulations regarding the purity and impurity of a person. “Uncleanness” among the Jews is, first of all, a dead body, some diseases, and discharges from the genitals of men and women. It was associated with the theme of death, which took hold of humanity after the Fall.

It is not difficult to see that death, and illness, and the flow of blood and semen as the destruction of the germs of life - all this reminds of human mortality, of a certain deep-seated damage to human nature. This is the theological meaning of Jewish “uncleanness.” During this period, a woman loses an unfertilized egg, and this is a loss of potential life. This specter of death leads to a state of “uncleanness.”

The Torah lists cases of “uncleanness” and provides ways to purify them. In all cases, cleansing was accompanied by immersion in a mikveh. In Judaism, a woman is considered unclean for 40 days after the birth of a boy and 80 days after the birth of a girl (Lev 12:2−5). In Orthodoxy this problem is both simpler and more complex at the same time.

Ecumenical councils have never touched upon this topic, so there seem to be no canonical obstacles to the presence of women in church on so-called critical days. However, we have canonically authoritative sources that were approved at the local Trullo Council. (council of the Church in Constantinople in 691−692; convened by Emperor Justinian II in 691. The decisions of the council are considered as documents of the Sixth Ecumenical Council).

The Council approved the second canon of Saints Athanasius the Great and Dionysius of Alexandria, as well as Bishop Timothy:

Regarding women who are in purification, whether it is permissible for them to enter the house of God in such a state, I consider it unnecessary to ask! For I do not think that they, if they are faithful and pious, being in such a state, would dare either to begin the Holy Table, or to touch the Body and Blood of Christ. For even the wife, who had been bleeding for 12 years, did not touch Him for healing, but only the hem of His garment. Praying, no matter what state someone is in and no matter how disposed they are, remembering the Lord and asking for help is not prohibited. But let those who are not entirely pure in soul and body be prohibited from approaching what is the Holy of Holies.

Icon of Athanasius the Great Photo: ru.wikipedia.org
And the same St. Athanasius the Great stated in the first rule:

All God's creations are good and pure. For the Word of God did not create anything unprofitable or unclean.

But those are all old times. And today, despite the fact that in the church they talk about the complete absence of discrimination in church life, the rules I mentioned exist and are in effect.

While looking through material on the topic, I came across a religious forum, where Priest Andrei answered a certain Natalya:

Dear Natalia! I cannot answer your question comprehensively. The origin of the prohibitions on uncleanness after expirations, as you know, lies in the Old Testament era, and in Orthodoxy no one introduced these prohibitions - they simply were not abolished (!). Moreover, they found their confirmation in the canons of the Orthodox Church, although no one gave a theological explanation or justification. Probably, no one was affected by this question (!) and we can conclude that there are no essential, dogmatic or canonical obstacles to women receiving communion during menstruation and the postpartum period, especially this can be said about visiting a temple or kissing icons.

That's how! It turns out that since few people are interested in this issue, that’s why the bans exist! “Jewish laws have nothing to do with Christianity,” say the priests. Priest Paul says:

Yes, until there is a conciliar decision, each priest will decide this issue independently, which, in fact, is what is happening now. Therefore, in some churches women are strongly advised to refrain from attending services on such days, while in others they are even allowed to take communion. These are our extremes.

But what about the Holy Scripture - the Old Testament? In general, at the discretion of the shepherd! This is exactly what is said in the Practical Guide “On Church Legislation. About the wedding" (p. 21).

In my opinion, all the listed prohibitions and rules in everyday life do not greatly affect parishioners. In any case, not a single woman from my circle expressed outrage at the obvious discrimination.

Photo: bigmix.info

While researching the article, I read several feminist authors who fight for women's rights in all spheres of activity and, of course, in the church. The feminist movement influences many aspects of religion and there are certain advances, but these trends are not supported in Orthodoxy. Women meekly and without hesitation follow the established rules.

But this does not mean that they are absolutely indifferent to these prohibitions. A lot of questions asked to clergy on religious forums on the Internet indicate that many would like to know why everything that men can do is not allowed for women!

And the opinion of church ministers, who on each of the issues refute or mitigate, at worst, existing discrimination, was completely expected. For example, speaking about the place of women in the church, priest Sergius Sveshnikov writes:

A woman’s place in the church is on the left side, that is, on the side on which the icon of the Mother of God is placed on the iconostasis. However, it should be noted that this situation does more honor to women than to men. The fact is that when the primate offers a prayer to God as one of us, that is, facing east, then men are on his right hand. When Christ Himself comes to us from the royal doors in blessing or through the Holy Gifts, then it is women who stand on His right side.

Archbishop of Pyatigorsk and Cherkessk Theophylact performed the Sacrament of Marriage, 2018. Photo: blago-kavkaz.ru
“In Orthodox dogma,” says the priest, “we do not find polemics between the sexes.” But here it is stipulated:

in the attitude of the Church towards men and women, one can sometimes observe some “primacy of honor” of men, but with absolute equality of male and female hypostases and absolute unity of nature.

Rules and prohibitions exist, and no one has canceled them yet. You can argue how to feel about this. On the one hand, Christianity proclaims spiritual equality, but on the other hand, we see that there was no social equality and there is not until now.

Tags: Christianity, ban, woman in church, Orthodox Church, church life, Orthodoxy, Apostle Paul, churches of Russia

Other options

Let's imagine for a moment that the words of 1 Cor. 14:34-35 are Paul's own words and that he does believe that women should remain silent. How then can we understand what he means?

It becomes unclear how Paul could completely prohibit women from speaking in church when earlier, in the same letter, he says that women can pray and prophesy in church meetings.

Moreover, Paul was well aware of the many instances in which God used women to publicly proclaim His word, including to men. Why would he completely prohibit those whom God had often used to speak His word anointedly?

Common sense tells us that Paul could not completely

ban women from speaking in church. Remember that the early church met in homes and shared meals together. Is it really possible to imagine that women did not utter a word from the moment they entered the house until they left it? Maybe they didn't say a word while they were cooking? Maybe they didn't tell their children anything? Such assumptions sound stupid.

If two or three are meeting in the name of Jesus, He is in the midst of them (see Matt. 18:20), and this in itself is a small church meeting, then when two women meet in the name of Jesus, they should talk to each other or not?

But if what is written in 1 Cor. 14:34-35 is indeed the words of Paul, it deals with a minor issue of order in the church. Some women disrupted the order by asking questions. Paul did not mean that women should remain silent at all times throughout the meeting, any more than he meant that prophets should remain silent at all times:

“If there is a revelation to another (prophet) from those sitting, then the first one should remain silent.

” (1 Cor. 14:30).

In this case, the word “to remain silent” means “to remain silent temporarily.”

Paul also told those who pray in tongues to remain silent unless there is an interpreter:

“If there is no interpreter, then remain silent in church

, but speak to yourself and to God” (1 Cor. 14:28).

Did Paul mean that these people should remain silent during the entire

church meeting? No, he believed that those speaking in another tongue should remain silent if there is no interpreter. Paul gives them the same command to remain silent in church as he gives to women in 1 Cor. 14:34-35. Why, then, should we take what Paul said regarding the silence of women in the church as an instruction to remain silent throughout the entire meeting, and at the same time interpret the words addressed to those praying in tongues as only an instruction to be silent for a while at a specific moment in the service?

Finally, notice that Paul did not mean all

women.
His words are only addressed to married women because he says that they should ask their husbands at home if they have any questions.[3] Maybe part of the problem was that wives were asking questions of other men rather than their
husbands. Such behavior could be regarded as disrespect for their husbands. If this was the problem, then perhaps this is the reason why Paul is talking about the submission of wives to their husbands, which the Law spoke of from the first pages of Genesis (see 1 Cor. 14:34).

If we still admit that in 1 Cor. 14:34-35 Paul means that women should remain silent, he is addressing only married women in the sense that they should not ask questions at inappropriate times and in a manner that is disrespectful to their husbands. In other cases, they can prophesy, pray and speak.

Woman and the Church

Yakov Krotov: Is there discrimination against women in the Russian Orthodox Church? We have three Orthodox Christians in our studio - Irina Karatsuba , Elena Volkova and Lev Alabin .

Elena Volkova: Of course there is! There is even spatial discrimination - based on movement in the temple. A woman is not allowed to enter the altar unless she is a nun or a cleaning lady. A woman is discriminated against from birth because a girl child is not brought into the altar, but a boy child is. The Apostle Paul probably would not have written his letters if he had known that for centuries there would be a ban on women speaking in the temple. What does it mean – “let a woman remain silent in the temple”? Why should a woman cover her head with a scarf when it is no longer part of the culture? Why are you pushing a woman? Isn’t it hypocrisy?

Moreover, women cannot preach, even as laymen. And what indignation is caused by the very idea of ​​a woman becoming a priest! Despite the fact that men have ruined the idea of ​​the Church, and the time has come for women!

In addition, the very values ​​that Christ brought are of feminine origin; they, first of all, reflect feminine nature. Tenderness, mercy, love, forgiveness, healing, care for one’s neighbor are feminine qualities, and therefore Russian religiosity transferred them to the Mother of God. And in our country, the best Christian qualities are embodied by the Mother of God, and Christ is still the Old Testament pantocrator, strict, cruel and punishing.

Of course, misogyny, misogyny. And there is a huge gap between the idol that was created from a woman in the form of the Mother of God, and the real attitude towards a real woman, which insults the Mother of God.

Lev Alabin: Well, “let a woman be silent in church” - this has long been overcome. Women in church not only do not remain silent, but sing beautifully, delighting everyone’s ears! And no one protests against this. They read the psalter, they even read the canons, and this also does not shock anyone. And for a woman to cover her head with a scarf - there is a clarification that this is for angels. Angels do not understand gender, and in order for them to understand who is in front of them, you need to cover your head with a scarf.

Elena Volkova: An angel sees the soul, he doesn’t need rags!

Lev Alabin: But the apostle thought that he did not understand.

A woman has no right to enter the altar unless she is a nun or a cleaning lady

Elena Volkova: There was a girl from Pakistan - Malala Yousafzai, who was given the Nobel Prize. She suffered at the hands of the Taliban (they shot her, but she survived) for being a lawyer, a champion of women's education. Her father had a school for girls, and one mullah kept going there and saying that girls don’t need to be taught, because Allah loves a woman so much that he ordered her to be kept at home, indoors - that’s such respect for her. Now you are saying what respect is for a woman - she sings in the choir! She sings what the men gave her and reads what the men wrote. You know, in America in the 17th century, the Puritans taught girls to read, but did not teach them to write, because a woman, like the Mother of God (which was also written by a man), “listened and put his words in her heart.” She should listen to the man, put it in her heart and sing or read it out loud. But her voice is not in the Church!

Here was the Gospel of Mary Magdalene, and Mary Magdalene was an apostle, and she had her own community - this has now been proven by historians. And she was slandered by male apostles, and she was labeled a harlot in order to discriminate against a female apostle, although nowhere was it proven that she was a harlot. And still women are not given a voice. And a woman would be much better able to listen to confession, psychologically more subtly and tenderly, she could enter into personal problems, speak heart to heart, understand, and console.

Yakov Krotov: Let me quote an excerpt from the book of one Orthodox publicist, Andrei Kuraev: “We should not forget about the special impressionability of women. Their responsiveness could be of disservice if a female priesthood were to emerge. Remember how confession takes place in a parish church: the penitent stands next to the priest, both of them are open to the gaze of other people. During confession, people talk about different things, and it is not difficult to guess how all this will be reflected on the sweet face of the sympathetic and warm-hearted priest. Yes, the whole temple will read from her face what we are talking about!”

Why should a woman cover her head with a scarf when it is no longer part of the culture? Why are you pushing a woman? Isn’t it hypocrisy?

Elena Volkova: This is slander! Another sarcasm from the cunning and crafty Kuraev. I recognize his handwriting. Men, you are pushing a woman into hypocrisy in the Church! As a result, everything happens in our country as in an eastern patriarchal family: a woman has no rights, while she controls her husband behind his back. This conventionally eastern, hypocritical type of relationship flourishes in the Church. And we know very well that behind many priests there are women (not always their wives and mothers) who rule the roost in the parish. Often this is some kind of headman or regent. We know this even about the patriarchs. You know “The Hope of All Rus'” (under Patriarch Pimen), Gulya (under Patriarch Alexy the Second) and so on... These secret, gray female figures arise that control. And that's wrong. A woman must have an official, direct path to realize herself in the Church, to have her own voice!

Lev Alabin

Lev Alabin: By the way, I read John Chrysostom, and he has an example of a bishop who completely submitted to a woman. But he misdirected himself psychologically, and John Chrysostom criticizes him for this. There are different psychological subtleties of human behavior in the family, in society, in the Church. Some woman took complete possession of him, he became her slave.

Elena Volkova: A woman is brought up in conditions of subordination, hierarchy and a patriarchal vertical. If you are not a master, then you are a slave. And if she tries to take power over her husband, then she is the master, and the husband is the slave, and this is not true. There must be equal partnerships.

Lev Alabin: I agree with this. Love comes first!

The very values ​​that Christ brought are of feminine origin; they, first of all, reflect feminine nature

Elena Volkova: And today in our churches priests are forced to say a word before the wedding. I have already been to several such weddings, and they say that partnerships are debauchery that comes from the West. I heard this myself in the church in Krasnogorsk at the wedding of my goddaughter. And most importantly: “The husband is the head; let the wife fear her husband.” I think the Apostle Paul is just blushing, and he wouldn't say that for ages. This was culturally and historically justified at some time, but even then it was not good for a woman that she should be silent and afraid. But that a husband is the image of Jesus, and he must love his wife as Christ loves his Church - this has not entered into everyday life and culture; I have never heard this in sermons. Only the first part is “fearing”, “obeying” and must remember that he is the head. This dictate corrupts the husband and corrupts the woman.

Lev Alabin: Well, if someone says that, it’s wrong. We must correct it and say that love is most important!

Yakov Krotov: In the same brochure by Kuraev “Woman in the Church,” Russia exists in a certain context. If there was an Iron Curtain, how good everything would be, but the Iron Curtain is leaky, and through the hole we see that there are women bishops (by the way, Catholic ones too). In America there are small Roman Catholic communities where women are ordained bishops and priests. The Vatican does not recognize them, but there are Catholics who do not obey the Vatican at all, or rather, are rejected by it. And in England, in the northern Scandinavian countries, female priesthood and female episcopate are, rather, the norm of life. The majority of theologians and pastors in the West and Europe are now women. But Kuraev writes that “it’s nothing good that women predominate in schools” and so on. But why did they suddenly become dominant? Because wages are low there. And a priest in the West earns half as much as even a school teacher. If in America a teacher receives 40 thousand dollars a year, then a priest receives 14-20 thousand. It varies, Catholics have less, Protestants have more, some are still working. Will it be another throw over the shoulder: women demand equal rights, they will get the opportunity to be priests and as a result will occupy the most poorly paid positions?

A woman is brought up in conditions of subordination, hierarchy and patriarchy.

Elena Volkova: I have two friends who are priests in the Anglican Church, and I know what a difficult path they had. There must be a call from God, a woman must hear this call. I have not yet met women in Russia who heard this call and told me: “I want to be a priest!”

Yakov Krotov: We had at least five female Protestant priests on the program.

Elena Volkova: I’m talking about the Orthodox environment - I haven’t met such women.

Yakov Krotov: Didn’t you have such a call?

Elena Volkova: I don’t. Father Gleb Yakunin suggested that I be ordained in Ukraine, with Zhuravlev, in the Reformed Orthodox Church. He ordained two women. I don’t have a calling, but I implemented it in my teaching. And I understood that this was partly missionary.

I believe that every person has his own Church, and in his circle, in his environment, among his disciples, he is a priest, in the sense of the royal priesthood. But it must be a call. For example, Julia, my friend in Norfolk, small, thin, despite the will of her parents, despite her friends, was still ordained. She was sent to a working-class area in Norfolk, and I came to her service. Small, with two such male subdeacons on either side, she served, and the parish accepted her. There are difficult teenagers, drug addiction, alcoholism... Julia has already entered into this, and this area accepts her, but I know how difficult it was for her, what difficulties, ridicule and rejection she went through. But it was a call, she felt that the Lord was with her, and this is very important.

Yakov Krotov: Is it possible to go against a woman’s calling?

Elena Volkova: So the calling is the will of God!

Irina Karatsuba: I had an interesting experience. I was once on vacation in Egypt, in El Gouna. And there are excursions to the ancient monasteries of St. Anthony and St. Paul. And I went there. The ancient Egyptian monasteries made a strong impression on me. There are these clay churches with somehow shabby clay domes, twice the height of a man. And at the top there is a cross - two sticks connected with a rope. There were mostly Russians in our group, and the monks did not speak Russian. The people immediately wanted to confess, and they said they were ready, but does anyone know English? I raised my hand, he put me next to me, I listened to all these confessions as if on a conveyor belt, translated, and it was amazing! Returning from this trip, I suddenly thought that for the first time in my life I understood what monasteries are for.

In Diveevo, the girl nuns told me that their norm is one or two nuns who hang themselves per year.

When I wandered around all our Diveyevo and other places, I always returned from there with such a feeling that I would kill all of you for your attitude towards me, for the way you handle obedience, for violence, for bullying, for being completely stupid and deaf. so-called "culture". In Diveevo, I once served as a translator and secretary with a Protestant nun. Translated the negotiations of Mother Superior Sergius, God bless her. And the girl nuns there, with whom I became friends, told me that their norm was one or two nuns who hanged themselves a year. Three is already a lot.

Elena Volkova: And I lived with the Diveyevo nuns in a monastery, and it was a very cruel life. They are released for service only once a year. Fierce women...

Irina Karatsuba: For the first time I understood what monasteries are for - so that you come there and they love you. This is an example of living love! This is how he listened to these confessions through me, how he answered these women (mostly they were women) through me... It was simply fantastic!

For the first time I understood what monasteries are for - so that you come there and they love you. This is an example of living love!

I would like to agree with Elena Ivanovna’s thesis that men have ruined the Church. Screwed up! In general, I believe that what we are talking about now for Russian Orthodoxy is an attempt to break out of that completely wild, pre-modern archaism in which we are all now. At the beginning of the twentieth century, there were attempts to talk about women’s ministries, there were deaconesses, Elizaveta Feodorovna... And then - the 90s and early 2000s, Andrei Kuraev with all this rubbish, and strongly colored in racist tones. I think that the Church destroyed itself during this time. Remember, Treplev says in the second act of Chekhov’s “The Seagull”: “New forms are needed.” Everything has already died and rotted, and new forms are really needed. And it seems to me that a woman is more promising here than a man.

Elena Volkova: In any case, this would be an attempt at renewal - to give a chance and really repent to a woman. The terrible discrimination that is happening now, when the Church can put the same Pussy Riot activists in prison and when the ruler of the country, who positions himself as Orthodox, echoes them...

Irina Karatsuba: The girls spoke the word of truth! Who are our main martyrs?

Yakov Krotov: Then I will no longer stand up for the Church, but for the KGB, because they imprison both men and women equally.

Who is now waging a vendetta with Nadezhda Savchenko? Putin has a vendetta with a woman!

Elena Volkova: Of course, but the vendetta, the confrontation with one woman - the same boyar Morozova, or three - the same Pussy Riot, and now - Nadezhda Savchenko - this is a completely special confrontation. A physically weak woman is opposed by a male apparatus, two rulers - civil and church. Who is now waging a vendetta with Nadezhda Savchenko? Putin has a vendetta with a woman!

Irina Karatsuba: And Lavrov justifies her. And the judges also arrange what they arrange.

Yakov Krotov: So they should have appointed women as judges and prosecutors?

Irina Karatsuba: Well, the female judge was in the Pussy Riot case, we watched her.

Yakov Krotov: In the Russian judicial system, as in the Church, there are no male and female genders; everyone commits lawlessness.

Elena Volkova: But we are still talking about the Church, and not about the kingdom of heaven. This is either a very high level of spiritual development, which I do not meet in the Church, or this is truly the kingdom of heaven in some other worldly sense.

Yakov Krotov: But nuns in the monastery are driven to commit suicide by women, as I understand it.

Being female does not mean at all that this is a good person

Elena Volkova: Of course. And being female does not mean at all that this is a good person.

Yakov Krotov: “We take two components,” writes Andrey Vyacheslavovich Kuraev. – The first is Orthodoxy, the second is a woman. Each of these components on their own is warm, fuzzy and good. Now we merge them into one flask. What happens? Orthodoxy plus a woman equals a parish witch.”

Elena Volkova

Elena Volkova: Absolutely wonderful! This is the fact that a woman is a witch, that women were burned, executed as witches, sorceresses, the sins of men were attributed to them... Classic scene: a square, a woman at a pillar, sentenced for witchcraft, and right there there are men in cassocks who read to her sentence.

How many women suffer! Now we have signed a letter in defense of Nadya Savchenko, but Asia Bibi has been in Pakistan for seven years. She sits in solitary confinement, and they destroy her there just because she is a Christian, a Catholic, they were picking berries in the field, she went to the well, drank water from a cup and gave water in the same cup to a Muslim woman. And she said that her faith was insulted by the fact that the Christian woman drank, they attacked her... 700 thousand people around the world signed a petition for her to be released, but she is still in prison. It comes from there - the persecution of witches.

Yakov Krotov: But it was a woman who reported her.

Elena Volkova: Of course. But it's not that. When a woman is a victim, she is especially susceptible to persecution and violence because she is helpless, because she has a subordinate position in society. Let's say Farkhunda - men tore her to pieces, ran over her body with a car and threw it into the river. And this happened last year in Afghanistan. A 27-year-old woman, a religious scholar or theologian, she had a religious education, she was preparing to become a teacher and was already teaching, in Orthodox terms, the law of God in a mosque. She came to a famous mosque in the center of Kabul and began to say that there is no need to take and eat soil from the grave of a saint, there is no need to put and carry verses of the Koran on pieces of paper, that is, that these pagan forms of worship contradict classical Islam in her understanding. They attacked her, and the mullah shouted that she had burned the Koran, that is, he slandered her, slandered her, because he made money from this, it was a business, like they do business here at all the relics and at the grave of Matronushka. They attacked her and tore her to pieces.

And then it turned out that she was a pious, educated Muslim, and that she did not burn the Koran. And the movement began, tens of thousands of women took to the streets. And the trials began, about 50 men were convicted, which completely shocked me. We would not have such processes in Russia. But if the man had started to say that there was no need to take soil from the grave, he would not have been torn to pieces, but the woman would have been lynched on the spot.

We have Orthodox humor - Father Krokodily and sister Viper, so they walk together, and one cannot live without the other

Irina Karatsuba: If we return to the “Orthodox witch”... We have another Orthodox humor - Father Krokodily and sister Viper, so they walk together, and one cannot live without the other. (laugh)

Elena Volkova: In Diveevo, where I lived, the older sisters were fierce women of the Soviet era. And these thin, wasting young nuns find themselves in absolute slavery! The most savage forms of subjugation are being reproduced, and women, among other things, participate in this system.

During the Pussy Riot trial, there was a security guard who couldn’t work for a month afterwards, and he was asked: “Does the word ‘feminism’ offend you as an Orthodox Christian?” And he said, “Yes.” To him it sounds rude, indecent, and is perceived as a curse.

And then Tanya Sukhareva, the first feminist politician, went to the Moscow City Duma. On the day when she was supposed to receive her certificate as a candidate for the Moscow City Duma, she was arrested on a trumped-up case, and for eight months she was kept in a pre-trial detention center, tortured, and she came out barely alive, having lost her health. And this is because feminism as a fight for women’s rights, for women’s dignity, has been turned into a dirty word! This is a noble concept that is several centuries old, and there are so many martyrs of feminism!

Yakov Krotov: Lev, does the word “feminism” offend or scare you?

Lev Alabin: I don’t know. We are present at a typical female conversation, without any logic. (laugh) We touched on the history of the Church, the history of the Mary Magdalene sect, we touched on Pussy Riot, we touched on politics, in particular Nadezhda Savchenko, and a very interesting story about the suicides of nuns.

Elena Volkova: And there is no sexual violence in nunneries?

Lev Alabin: Well, this needs to be sorted out on a case-by-case basis.

Irina Karatsuba

Irina Karatsuba: Who will let us figure it out? Who will let investigators into the monastery? And the orphanages - how they abuse them there! There was some information recently. Not a single case has been brought to court! All information is immediately blocked.

Lev Alabin: In general, this is such an emotional look. When I came to faith, my parents were atheists, and they noticed that there would be fasting soon, and I had to bow three times. And they were horrified: they bowed down there! So you say: oh, thin nuns, they perform obedience, sit in the monastery! They chose their own path.

Elena Volkova: They chose to pray to God!

There is violence everywhere, and in the Orthodox Church too

Lev Alabin: And they can come out at any time. Male monks also have a harsh path. Here is an example - Father Gabriel, it seems, is now deceased, in the Pskov-Pechersky Monastery. He beat the brethren, our bishop Tikhon Shevkunov even described it. In general, you are not opening America, there is violence everywhere, and in the Orthodox Church too. But this does not mean that an Orthodox girl will one day become a priest and enter the altar.

Elena Volkova: Of course, she will! Will definitely come in! Just as she entered the university, as she entered the clinic, she will enter the altar, this is inevitable. And this is a movement of love for a woman and respect for her dignity before God, as a full-fledged person equal in dignity to you. And to say that this is women’s conversation without any logic is typical misogyny!

Yakov Krotov: Kuraev says the same about the female priesthood, about what the problem is: “The Savior took the cup and said: “Drink, this is my blood,” and not the Virgin Mary took the cup and said: “Drink, this is the blood of my son.” . To give, to give is a man’s service, to receive is a woman’s service. So the priesthood is an expression of the male archetype.”

Elena Volkova: In the history of the Church, in the Holy Scriptures, this is determined historically - what is eternal and what needs to be separated. But in our country, what was associated with a patriarchal, archaic society is presented as truth for centuries. Life has changed, and this is God's will, including man evolving. The man rises above himself, opens up to the woman and recognizes her as an equal being in all areas except the temple, where she cannot even enter the altar. This is a disgrace!

Yakov Krotov: But the equality of men and women and their sameness are not synonyms?

Imagine now a woman president in our country. This is absolutely impossible to imagine!

Irina Karatsuba: Of course. As a historian, I must say that from this point of view we are going backwards. A woman in ancient Rus', in pre-Mongol Rus', the same princess Olga, Anna Yaroslavna - their degree of education... Or, say, even the 18th century, the so-called female rule from 1725 to 1796, with small intervals for Peter the Second, Ivan Antonovich and Peter the Third. And imagine now a woman president in our country. This is absolutely impossible to imagine! Even here we are going into such a deep archaic state - we are moving forward, but our heads are behind us.

Lev Alabin: Well, this is an assumption. In America it was impossible to imagine that an African American would be president - and here you go.

Irina Karatsuba: So for this, society must mature! Where do you see signs of maturing society?

Just as a woman entered the university, as she entered the clinic, she will enter the altar, it is inevitable

Elena Volkova: And how much America has done for this! Repentance, rethinking, equality, upbringing, education - it was everywhere. To grow to Obama, the whole country has done a tremendous amount of work! We need to talk about serious things - about human dignity, about equal rights, about respect, about breaking the traditions of the patriarchal family. In our country, thousands of women die from domestic violence every year, even tens of thousands. This is a scary statistic!

Yakov Krotov: Well, this is not in Orthodox families, I hope.

Irina Karatsuba: On what basis do you hope?

Yakov Krotov: If a husband beats a woman, then he is no longer Orthodox. But scarves and trousers - this is not really a topic about women, but about who is the first to give in when two believers meet on a narrow bridge.

Elena Volkova: But you wear a woman’s dress! These are women's clothes. And Christ also walked in women's clothing. What is masculine and feminine? It all depends on the climate, on the culture, on the era.

Yakov Krotov: And here I quote Kuraev again: “The point is not that if you are wearing a skirt of the wrong style, then God will not hear your prayer. Our salvation is simply from our loved ones. Why bully the sick, why give a reason to those looking for a reason?”

Irina Karatsuba: Who are these patients?

Yakov Krotov: We are the sick ones, we are the lustful goats, and we cannot stand it if a woman comes to the temple in the wrong clothes. If we, weak and infirm, cannot pray calmly when Irina Karatsuba or Elena Volkova is standing next to us, then why lift up the sick, as Andrei Vyacheslavovich said, with trousers, with our seductive forms?

Elena Volkova: You know, provocation is a great value. And a provocateur is someone who brings out your essence. But you need to work with your essence, that is, identify this lustful goat in yourself and work with it, and cultivate in yourself the kingdom of God, in which there is neither man nor woman. You need to stand next to a very beautiful and seductive woman for a goat and pray and work on yourself. Because prayer, the spiritual path in general, is not therapy, but serious work. And here you need to meet yourself, first of all.

If you go to church in trousers and without a headscarf, you will get so many comments that you might just run away

Lev Alabin: If you go to church in trousers and without a headscarf, you will get so many comments that you might just run away. And this, I think, is unacceptable. But there is a church in Moscow where the rector is Father Dmitry Roshchin, and they don’t make any comments there, and you can come without a headscarf or in trousers. This is the only wonderful temple in all of Russia! This is the most prayerful temple! So I was there on New Year's Day - there were no services anywhere, and there they prayed all night in complete darkness. And I think that comments, especially rude remarks, are bad.

Yakov Krotov: Comments are made, as Father Andrei writes, mainly by women.

Elena Volkova: Women instructed by men. A woman wants to enter this patriarchal, hierarchical, violent system, a system of subordination, and become the same as a man in order to rape another woman. This is already a question of hierarchy. It doesn't matter whether it's a man or a woman.

Yakov Krotov: That is, in Satan there is also neither a man nor a woman?

Elena Volkova: Yes, it turns out that not either. When they become scoundrels, division also disappears! So you want to mix the gender division - into male and female, and the moral, ideological division. Of course, this is not the same thing. And women, of course, serve in the system of humiliation and help men humiliate other women.

Here the question is different - that culture, as a stereotype, imposes on a woman the rightness of a man, the superiority of a man, her subordination and the fact that she is only a function. She is not a person, but she has a function, she must get married, give birth, must be a good housewife, and so on.

Yakov Krotov: But a woman is not only a washing machine, a woman is also motherhood.

Women lose themselves because instead of their own soul they are given an artificial idea of ​​stereotypes, of some roles that they should fulfill

Elena Volkova: Yes, and therefore an idol is also made of motherhood, she must sacrifice herself here too. She is not valuable as a person... Or maybe she was not born with the gift of motherhood - both physically and psychologically - and her talent is completely different. But no, she has to follow this stereotype. And they humiliate her, they laugh at her: when will you?.. And you must definitely get married and give birth.

As a result, women lose themselves, that’s the trouble, because instead of their own soul they are given an artificial, plastic idea of ​​stereotypes, of some roles that they should fulfill. And it's terrible! How many women have I met who, already in adulthood, say: “It seems to me that I have not lived my life. I should do this, that...” And she was taught that she must sacrifice herself to a man, and her children to the state, especially her sons.

Yakov Krotov: Lev Alabin, by the way, is the author of the wonderful book “On the Church and Theater,” since he is also an actor. Can you say about yourself that you haven’t lived your life? The whole world is a theater... Is a woman a mask or the essence? Is a man a mask or the essence?

Lev Alabin: I constantly tell myself this... And they start all over again. And every day they go to fight for women, as Goethe said.

Lev Alabin: Well, of course! This is a feat.

Elena Volkova: Of course, when a woman is pursued, males fight for her.

Yakov Krotov: Is it possible without a fight?

Elena Volkova: It’s possible. Then the chocolate-candy-bouquet relationship is about the same thing, it’s such a courtly version of the fight.

Lev Alabin: I would like to remind you of the Apostle Paul: “a woman will be saved by childbearing,” that is, it is saving!

Yakov Krotov: How do men escape? I forgot... (laugh)

Elena Volkova: You see, they were dying out then! Childbearing was procreation.

Let me remind you from the Apostle Paul: “a woman will be saved by childbearing”

Lev Alabin: Only God can save, for a person this is impossible.

Yakov Krotov: That is, if an unbelieving woman gives birth, gives birth, gives birth to children, then she still will not be saved?

Irina Karatsuba: And leaves, leaves, leaves them in orphanages - as very often happens.

Yakov Krotov: And another simple, but very common question - the question of blood (and here, by the way, I disagree with Father Andrei). In real, practical life, most women perceive this quite calmly - the priesthood is there, not the priesthood, and the majority, indeed, do not have such a call. But many women, getting acquainted with the Orthodox tradition, react nervously when the problem of menstruation arises (Protestants and Catholics do not have this, as I understand it). And although Kuraev writes that now this is no longer a problem, in many churches no one is interested in this for women who have their periods, give communion, and so on, but this is not entirely true.

Elena Volkova: Well, this is also some kind of ancient atavism that should have been abandoned long ago! This is so humiliating, just even low towards a person! This suggests that Orthodoxy cannot cope with corporeality in general, and with female corporeality especially. It always transfers some sins, vices (often its own) onto women’s flesh.

Yakov Krotov: Father Andrei writes that this is a purely physiological problem, and before there were no hygiene products...

Irina Karatsuba: Father Yakov, how can you even say all this? This is so vulgar!

Yakov Krotov: I am a lawyer for all dark and lost, ignorant people. In the end, this is a question of Holy Scripture; Kuraev did not come up with this.

There is a lot in the Holy Scriptures that has long been lost along with some ancient, primitive rituals

Elena Volkova: So in the Holy Scripture there is a lot of things that have long since passed away along with some ancient, primitive rituals. I will quote a wonderful poem by Alexander Gorodnitsky:

Kinship in a word gives birth to a word,

Kinship by blood begets blood.

Let's not talk about this, especially in this sense.

Irina Karatsuba: When we need it, we all do: the Apostle Paul said... And the Gospel says: do not call anyone fathers, you have one heavenly Father. What kind of literalism is this? What a childhood!

Elena Volkova: There is no need to make an idol out of the Bible!

Yakov Krotov: It seems to me that the issue of blood is deeper than is usually believed. And it's not about hygiene products. The whole Gospel... When it is written about the Pharisees... There was a problem that they could not understand whether a woman in the market had her period or not (there were hygiene products), and therefore they shunned any woman.

Elena Volkova: This is just an excuse to again discriminate against a woman, put her lower, find dirt in her.

Yakov Krotov: Lev, how far are you willing to go in compromise with women?

Elena Volkova: This is a completely misogynistic question!

Yakov Krotov: I am a representative of the broad masses. What if Yarovaya becomes president tomorrow? I can easily imagine this... And she will announce that all the clergy are women, all bishops are women, only women confess, that is, everything will turn upside down. Will you then go to the Orthodox Church?

Lev Alabin: Well, you described some kind of unreal situation.

Elena Volkova: Can you imagine how we feel? This is unrealistic for you, but we women must go to church where all the priests are men. We live in this dystopia!

The priest was originally a man

Lev Alabin: The priest was originally a man. Read the Bible. This has been the case for two thousand years.

Elena Volkova: So what? For two thousand years people have been killing and stealing - is this right? Wrong! And for two thousand years men have been discriminating against women, they have seized power. This is right? I will find you so many terrible things that people have been doing for two thousand years and two million years!

Yakov Krotov: But do the theater have female directors?

Lev Alabin: Of course. Both directors and directors.

Elena Volkova: Yes, Galina Volchek, Irina Apeksimova.

Lev Alabin: In general, Father Yakov chose me incorrectly for this program, because I have never been married, that is, I have nothing to do with women at all.

Yakov Krotov: Father Andrei Kuraev was also never married.

Lev Alabin: That’s why you quote him. And I have relationships ahead, compromises... I want to get married, but it just doesn’t work out. I lived 60 years, but it didn’t work out.

Elena Volkova: Everything is ahead of you!

We are talking about saving a person - not only women, but also men

Feminism is a movement for women's rights, it is for the rights of all. And we are not talking about changing Putin for Yarovaya - this is a waste of time, this has nothing to do with the fight for human rights, for women's rights, for equality, for the liberation of women, for her dignity and safety, for respect for her, for preserving her personality, first of all. We are talking about saving a person - not only women, but also men.

Yakov Krotov: In conclusion, I will remember the year 581, the council in Macon, when one bishop, as Gregory of Tours reports in the chronicle, stood up and raised the question: is it possible to call a woman “omo,” that is, a person? There is a problem here, as in the Ukrainian language, where “chelovik” is only a man, and this was and remains so in many languages. By the way, then, in 581, the answer was given in the affirmative. This means that all that remains is to understand whether a man is a human being if he infringes on a woman. But we still have time before the Last Judgment to resolve this issue in one direction or another.

Another “problematic” passage of Scripture

Let's look at another "problematic" passage of Scripture, which is found in Paul's first letter to Timothy:

“Let the wife study in silence, with all submission; But I do not allow a wife to teach, nor to rule over her husband, but to be in silence. For Adam was created first, and then Eve; and it was not Adam who was deceived; but the woman was deceived and fell into transgression” (1 Tim. 2:11-14).

Of course, Paul knew about Miriam, Deborah, Huldah, and Hannah, four prophetesses who spoke to both men and women, declaring to them the will of God. Of course, Paul knew that Deborah, who was a judge over Israel, had a certain degree of authority over both men and women. Of course, he knew that on the day of Pentecost God poured out the Holy Spirit, partially fulfilling Joel's prophecy regarding the last days when God would pour out His Spirit on all flesh so that sons and daughters

prophesied. Of course, he knew that Jesus had sent some women to the apostles to tell them His word. Naturally, he was aware of what he himself had written to the church of Corinth regarding women praying and prophesying during church meetings. Of course, he remembered telling the Corinthians that any of them could receive teaching from the Holy Spirit and share it with the church (see 1 Cor. 14:26). Then what did he want to say to Timothy?

Notice that Paul uses two facts from Genesis to support his argument: 1) Adam was created before Eve and 2) Eve, not Adam, was deceived into transgression. The first point establishes the right relationship between husband and wife. The order of creation indicates that the husband is the head, and Paul teaches this in his epistles (see 1 Cor. 11:3; Eph. 5:23-24).

The second point does not mean that a woman is easier to seduce than a man, because it is not. In fact, since there are more women than men in the body of Christ, one can conclude that it is easier to deceive men than women. The second point rather indicates that when God's order in the family is disrupted, then Satan has easy access. The main problem of humanity began with the fact that the correct order in the family was not maintained - Adam’s wife did not obey him. Adam most likely warned his wife about the dangers of the forbidden fruit (see Gen. 2:16-17; 3:2-3), but she ignored his warnings. In a sense, she even dominated him when she gave him the forbidden fruit to eat (see Gen. 3:6). Adam did not lead Eve to sin, but Eve led Adam to fall. The result was complete disaster.

From deaconesses to bishops: How women achieve the right to lead services and lead the church

Galatians and Corinthians

Of course, the final authority cited in disputes by supporters and opponents of the ordination of women is the Holy Scripture. “The Bible does not contain the phrase ‘I forbid women to be shepherds’ or anything similar to it. Nevertheless, there are some verses that relate to the priesthood, which both camps interpret in their favor,” says Olga Pozdnyak, a specialist in the Icelandic women’s pastorate and religious scholar. Conservatives in this matter refer to the First Epistle to the Corinthians: “Let your wives be silent in the churches, for it is not lawful for them to speak, but to be in subjection, just as the law says. If they want to learn something, let them ask their husbands at home; for it is indecent for a woman to speak in church.” By wives we mean women in general, explains Pozdnyak: “They believe that these words should not be tied exclusively to married women, believing that the Apostle Paul meant women in general. The word “speaking” does not mean absolute silence in the church, but the impossibility of women preaching in churches. In temples, women are allowed to pray and prophesy, but not to interpret prophecy.” A common addition is the Epistle to Timothy, in which Eve personally is declared to be the culprit in the expulsion of the first people from paradise: “Let the woman learn in silence, with all submission; But I do not allow a wife to teach, nor to rule over her husband, but to be in silence. For Adam was created first, and then Eve; and it was not Adam who was deceived; but the wife, being deceived, fell into crime.” We can also recall “physiology” - if the first woman was created from Adam’s rib, “to be his helper,” then what questions may remain regarding the dominant role of men in the family and community.

In turn, liberal Christians quote words from the Epistle to the Galatians, in which gender differences, like any other, are denied in the face of God: “As many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is no longer Jew or Gentile; there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” This is one of those most interesting places in the New Testament where the updated religious doctrine clearly stands out from the patriarchal logic of its day. “From this point of view, the creation of man and woman is a one-time act; accordingly, there is no ontological difference between feminine and masculine natures. Woman is also created in the image and likeness of God, man and woman are equally instructed to dispose of creation, and the subordination of woman to man is only an echo of archaic anthropology,” Pozdnyak explains.

Another controversial issue is the role of deaconesses, a special category of female clergy in Christianity from the 1st to 8th centuries. Some religious scholars believe that such a service was addressed only to women; their opponents believe that deaconesses could act as pastors and conduct the liturgy. Nun Evgenia, vice-rector of the Yakut Theological Seminary, gives a clear answer: “In fact, the rank of deaconess still exists to one degree or another: women sing in church, help the priest in parishes, and are actively involved in social service. Deaconesses did not engage in liturgical activities. The only thing is that at some point they gave the Holy Gifts to the sick. But at that time, in principle, there was a practice for the laity to touch the Holy Gifts and even take them home to receive communion during non-liturgical times. Over time, this became impossible.”

Church is a model of family

The church must reflect God's established order. As I said, it is important to remember that during the first three centuries of Christianity, churches were small. People were going home. Pastors/elders/bishops were like fathers. This God-ordained church structure was very much like a family and was in fact a spiritual family, and therefore female leadership would set a bad example both inside and outside the church. Imagine a woman pastor/elder/bishop regularly teaching a home church while her husband obediently sits and listens in complete submission to her authority. This would be contrary to God's order in the family and would set a bad example for others.

This is what Paul's words refer to. Notice that he speaks in the context of the qualifications for an elder (see 1 Tim. 3:1-7), one of which is that the elder must be a man. It is also worth noting that elders regularly teach in the church (see 1 Tim. 5:17). Paul's words that women should not teach, but should accept teaching meekly and silently, and not exercise authority over men, refer to order in the church. What he means is that it is not appropriate for a woman to serve as an elder/pastor/bishop.

This does not mean that a woman/wife, being subordinate to her husband, cannot pray, prophesy, share the teaching she has received from the Lord with the church, or generally speak during a church meeting. She can do all this in the church without disturbing God's order, just as she can do it at home, again, keeping order. In church she is forbidden to do exactly the same thing as at home - to rule over her husband.

From the following verses we also learn that a woman, like a man, can serve as a deacon (see 1 Tim. 3:12). Serving in the church as a deacon or servant (the literal meaning of the word) requires upholding God's order between husband and wife.

This is the only way we can balance what Paul said in 1 Tim. 2:11-14, with the rest of the Scriptures. In all other examples where God uses women, the situation does not involve the family in any way, as is the case with the church, and thus there is no violation of the Divine order. In none of these examples do we see wives exercising authority over men within the family.

But in the case of Deborah, who was a judge in Israel, with Hannah, who spoke to men about Christ, with Mary and her friends, who told the apostles about the resurrection of Christ, not one of them set a bad example, violating the order established by God in the family. The church meeting is the only place where a woman can set a bad example by dominating her husband and regularly teaching men/husbands.

About women's ministry in the Church

Christ is Risen!

Many people think: it would be good if the Church today became more dynamic or more modern. But the lives of those who make up the glory of the Church tell a different story. All our achievements are fragile without the love of Christ, which alone is stronger than death, and which gives us the desire to respond to this love with our love unto death. Only God saves - we don’t save, God. God saves us with His love, with the Cross. When Christ showed His love to the end, when everything seemed to be destroyed and all hope was lost, Saints Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus suddenly saw this rejected, desecrated, crucified love by all, and, forgetting all previous fears, openly confessed themselves to be His disciples and went boldly to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus for burial. Come, let us, together with Joseph of blessed memory, also bless the holy myrrh-bearing women, who, during the Savior’s preaching, served Him from their property, learning from Him the only commandment about love, about which they had no idea in their previous, righteous or sinful life. While the apostles, fearing to share the fate of their Teacher, fled and Peter, who swore allegiance to death, denied Him three times, the myrrh-bearing women fearlessly followed Him to Golgotha, and stood at the Cross until His burial, “seeing where I trust him." There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear, and as soon as the Sabbath day of rest had passed, they bought aromas, and “while the darkness was still present,” before sunrise, they hastened to the tomb to anoint His body with incense.

The greater the love, the greater the sorrow in the world, which lies in evil. The greater the sorrow for Christ in this world, where at times it may seem that there is no place for Him on earth, the greater the joy. And those who mourn for the Lord, like the holy myrrh-bearing women, turn out to be worthy of that first love about which Revelation speaks, and are the first to rejoice over Easter. The Cross is inseparable from joy, for through the Cross joy came to the whole world. Saving the world does not mean giving it happiness, that illusory, deceptive happiness, which often in itself conceals the beginning of sorrows. To save the world means to give it a meaning to suffering and a joy that no one can take away.

Once again we reflect on the high calling of the Christian woman in the Church. How many of them, holy women, there have been in the entire history of the Church! How many of them were there in Holy Rus' during ten centuries of Christianity! What a feat they showed in recent years of trials! Let us at least remember the founder of the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy in Moscow, Grand Duchess Elizaveta Feodorovna. After the death of her husband, she, already famous for her extensive charitable activities, decided to completely devote her life to serving God and people. She had one joy in the world: to commune with the Lord and lead others to Him. With her own funds, she founded a monastery of mercy, which in its structure of life resembled a monastery, where, together with other sisters, she led the ascetic life of an ascetic.

The Lord called Mother Elizabeth to her last test immediately after the Holy Days and Bright Resurrection. On the third day of Easter, after the liturgy celebrated by Patriarch Tikhon, she was arrested and immediately exiled to the Urals. On the night of July 18, 1918, when brutal people approached her to throw her alive into the mine shaft, she said the highest prayer of love, repeating the words of the Savior on the Cross: “Lord, forgive them, they don’t know what they are doing!” The remains of the long-suffering abbess of the Martha and Mary Convent of Mercy were eventually transported to Jerusalem, to the Church of St. Mary Magdalene in Gethsemane. When the tomb was opened, it turned out that its relics were incorruptible, and the room in which they were located was filled, according to an eyewitness, with a strong smell, as if of honey and jasmine. This is the secret of the love for the world of the venerable martyr Grand Duchess Elizabeth, the holy myrrh-bearing women.

The more Christians differentiate themselves from the world, the more they will have the opportunity to transform the world. And the more we merge with the world, the more useless we become to it. And today the Lord sends us to suffering people who do not know about Him, precisely so that they can have abundant life. We cannot achieve this by becoming like those whom we want to enlighten: this is more than a mistake. The gospel is absolutely contrary to the world, and even the best impulses and the most inspired achievements of humanity without God, no matter how attractive they may be, do not allow us to forget that the center of our life is different. Dozens of brotherhoods and sisterhoods are being reopened in our country, and the work of selfless women is accepted by the Lord: “Whatever you did to another, you did to Me.” But the main thing that we must understand and learn through the lives of the saints is: “If I give away all my possessions, and give my body to be burned, but do not have love, then I am nothing.” Here is the only answer to the question of what prevents the Church from fully demonstrating the power of its mercy, why the second baptism of Rus' cannot heal the illnesses of the people.

We know the amazing role that women have played in our Church in recent decades. It can be said that to a large extent the Church owes its existence to women, their faithfulness to the Lord, their service to the Body of Christ. Martyrs and virgins, wives and mothers, as well as widows, nuns and laypeople - they do not allow the living source of faith to dry up. With truly prophetic power, they remind us of the duty towards priests and bishops, even if they sometimes turn out to be unworthy, not leaving them in exile and persecution, in today’s sorrows. During the Stalinist years of terror, with their courage they sometimes even managed to save churches from destruction, during the Khrushchev persecutions - from closure, and then with heroic efforts they fought for the return of their Church and restored it from the ruins. Women feel with their whole being that there is depth of life here, and nothing can stop them. When everything collapsed, it sometimes seemed that only quiet white handkerchiefs, in the words of the poet, supported the vaults of the temples. And now, perhaps, this is why we see men in our churches, because, as the apostle says, they were acquired without a word by the lives of their wives. Our Marthas and Marys work here, and this service is equal to the apostles - singing in the choir, icon painting in newly opened sanctuaries, teaching in Sunday schools. But for them it is a great joy to prepare a meal for everyone, as for the Lord himself, who visited the house of his friends in Bethany, and for them it is an honor, as St. Seraphim of Sarov says, to wipe the floor of the church with a rag, touching the gold of the Lord’s courts.

In the Gospel of Luke, which is read at matins on the feasts of the Mother of God, the Lord approves of Mary for leaving everything to devote herself to the main thing: listening to the Word of God, for the gospel of which the apostles, in turn, leave the “service of tables.” The most important service is intimate and silent. And a woman’s gift is to penetrate the world like no one else can, without compromise with the world. On Wednesday of Holy Week, a wife who has fallen into many sins, in front of the entire Church, with tears, performs the prophetic anointing of the burial of the Lord, and wipes His feet with her hair. And in this one can see dedication to women’s ministry - prophecy and compassion, and let’s add - chastity and mercy. Mary did what she alone could do - something that belongs to the ministry of woman, and this should be continued throughout the world along with the apostolic preaching of the Beatitudes. The memory of this act of compassion will always be, according to the word of the Savior, wherever the Gospel is preached, just as the Last Supper is always remembered by humble love washing the feet of its disciples. The two ablutions are inseparable, one is the prophetic, left mainly to women, the other is the priestly, left to the apostles. One is with tears of compassion, the other is with the water of the sacrament. And the whole house, the whole Church, until the end of time, is filled with the fragrance of this fidelity and love for the Lord, a strong smell “as if of honey and jasmine.”

It is a gift of grace to be a woman, to be in the highest degree involved in mercy and chastity. In our inhuman times, it is women who are given the charism of mercy and compassion, which must be recognized and implemented in the Church as a true ministry. And the moral climate of society, the chastity of everyone, depends on a woman. If a woman has lost her shame, it is the end of a nation. Who is closer to children than a woman and a family, the guardian of which is primarily a woman? This is the last frontier, with the loss of which everything collapses. To save the family today is to save Russia, to revive the Church. “By this they will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another,” says the Lord. How will the world recognize the face of Christ where love has grown cold? If so many people have turned away from the Church, perhaps it is not only because they loved darkness more than light, but perhaps it is also because we so often fail to achieve fidelity to Christ. It is so easy, even having once tasted Paschal grace, to become loveless in this loveless age due to the increase in lawlessness. All of us, standing in the light of Easter, must constantly test ourselves in the light of the love that the Lord has shown us. Because God loved us so much, because Christ was glorified on the Cross, we are called to learn this fidelity, so that in the Easter light a light will be revealed to us, enlightening every person coming into the world.

Summarizing

Let us ask ourselves the question: “What danger lies in women actively participating in ministry, serving people from a pure heart with the gifts that God has given them? What moral or ethical principle is being violated in this case?” The only violation that can result from this is a violation of God’s established order in the relationship between man and woman, husband and wife.

Thus, women are limited in ministry quite slightly. The Lord wants to use women for His glory in many different ways, as He has done for thousands of years. Scripture speaks of the wonderful contributions women make to the kingdom of God, and we have already covered some of this. Let us not forget that there were women on Jesus' team (John 11:5) and that women supported His ministry financially (Luke 8:1-3), which is not the case with men. The woman at the well of Samaria told her whole city about Christ, and many believed in Him (see John 4:28-30, 39). A woman named Tabitha “was full of good works and gave much alms” (Acts 9:36). The woman anointed Jesus for burial, and Jesus praised her while the men grumbled (see Mark 14:3-9). Finally, the Bible says that the women wept for Jesus as He carried the cross through the streets of Jerusalem, but this is not said about the men. These and many other examples are good encouragement for women to stand up and do the ministry God has assigned them. Each of them is precious!

[1] It is also worth noting that every man after Adam was created after

how God created a woman who gave birth to him. Every man since Adam has come from a woman, as Paul reminds us in 1 Cor. 11:11-12. In this sense, God's order indicates that men are inferior to their mothers.

[2] Paul's instruction is addressed to the "brethren." This word is used 27 times in this letter and refers to all the Corinthian believers, not just the men.

[3] It is useful to note that in ancient Greek the concepts of “woman” and “wife”, as well as “man” and “husband” were denoted by the same words. Therefore, in order to understand whether Scripture is talking about men and women, or husbands and wives, it is necessary to consider the context. In this scripture, Paul is talking about wives because they are the only ones who can ask their husbands anything at home.

Can a woman pray in a church meeting?

In our church, during communion at one of the meetings, a brother asked a woman to pray. This woman walked on stage and began to pray, while many people in the audience did not know how to feel. For the first time in 25 years of being a Christian, I see a woman praying on stage in a church. Could you clarify this question for me - can a woman pray in a general meeting of the church?

Answer:

Wow! Why are you shocked? In the New Testament, women prayed with men (Acts 1:14).

All together they devoted themselves to prayer. With them were several women and Mary, the Mother of Jesus, and His brothers. (Acts 1:14)

Paul talks about women praying (1 Corinthians 11). I think you are shocked that sometimes our church traditions go against the Bible.

I have visited several hundred churches in my life. And I, too, can count on one hand the times women have prayed at a church meeting. You have been a Christian for 25 years and have only seen this once. I have been a Christian for 40 years, and I also saw a similar example only five times. So you're not the only one who may have these feelings.