Deaconesses, the Ordination of Women and Orthodox Theology

This collection of essays highlights the thorny and divisive issue of the admission of women into the sacramental diaconal priesthood of the Christian Church from the Orthodox theological perspective. The contributions here stem from scientific papers presented at an international conference titled “Deaconesses, Ordination of Women and Orthodox Theology”, organized in Thessaloniki, Greece, in 2015 by the Center of Ecumenical, Missiological and Environmental Studies (CEMES). They cover almost all the fields of biblical, liturgical, patristic, systematic, canonical, and historical theology. The volume's main focus is the ancient order of deaconesses, in connection with the overall issue of the ordination of women. Although most papers address the issues from an Orthodox perspective, their sober analysis can provide theological argumentation for the wider Christian community, both the Churches and Christian denominations that exclude women from the sacramental priesthood, and those that have already adopted their ordination. Table of Contents Preface Patriarchal Message Introduction: Deaconesses, the Ordination of Women and Orthodox Theology: Introduction to the Conference Theme and to the Volume • Petros Vassiliadis Part I: The Messages Message by the Dean of the School of Theology of AUTH, Prof. Miltiadis Konstantinou Message by the Former Dean of Holy Cross, Greek Orthodox School of Theology, Fr. Tom Fitzgerald Message by the President of the Department of Theology of the University of Athens His Eminence Metropolitan of Messinia, Mgr Chrysostomos Message by the President of the Department of Theology of AUTH Prof. Chrysostomos Stamoulis Message by the President of the Department of Social Theology of the University of Athens Prof. Georgios Filias Part II: Special Session to Honor Prof. Emeritus Evangelos Theodorou 1. Laudatum: Praising the Life and Witness of Prof. Evangelos Theodorou, Principle Proponent for the Rejuvenation of the Ordination of Deaconesses • Kyriaki Karydoyanes-FitzGerald 2. Deaconesses, the Ordination of Women and Orthodox Theology • Response by Prof. Emeritus Evangelos Theodorou Part III: The Papers 3. Women and Christianity • Ioannis Petrou 4. Men and Women “in the Service of Christ”: Reflections on the Diaconate in the Orthodox Church • John Chryssavgis 5. Naming God in Orthodox Tradition: Neither Male nor Female • Emmanuel Clapsis 6. Theological Presuppositions and Logical Fallacies in much of the Contemporary Discussion on the Ordination of Women • Valerie Karras 7. Lex orandi est Lex Credendi: Women Deacons as Emissaries of Theion Eleos (Divine Compassion and the Witness of the Ordination Riteof Deaconesses) • Kyriaki Karidoyanes-FitzGerald 8. The Ordination of Deaconesses and the Gender or Genderlessness of Incarnated Christ • Constantine Yokarinis 9. Junia as an “Apostle” (Rom 16:7) and the Consequences for the Ordination of Deaconesses • John Karavidopoulos 10. Mary Magdalene and the Deaconesses • Katerina Drosia 11. Orthodox Theological Criteria from 1 Peter for Women’s Ordination in the Church • Arthur J. Keefer 12. Martha and Mary as Models of Christian Witness • Niki Papageorgiou 13. The Ordination of Deaconesses in the Orthodox Liturgical Tradition • Panagiotis I. Skaltsis 14. Deaconesses and Women in the Public Worship of God: The Evidence of Orthodox Canon Law • Theodore Yagou 15. The Religio-Historical and Sociological Typology of Women’s Submission to Men: The Ecclesiological Consequences of the Ordination of Women • Christophoros Arvanitis 16. Women’s Ordination and the Eschatological Body: Towards an Orthodox Anthropology beyond Sexual Difference • Spyridoula Athanasopoulou-Kypriou 17. Orthodox Christian Anthropology: A Proposal of “Christocentric”Hermeneutics • Constantinos Agoras 18. Unique Bodies, Unique Gifts: Towards a Liturgy that Deifies • Maria Gwyn McDowell 19. Rejuvenating the Diaconate: Building up the Body of Christ • Teva Regule 20. The Order of Deaconesses and Liturgical Renewal in the Orthodox Church: Historical, Teleturgical and Theological Aspects • Srboljub Ubiparipović 21. The Theological Significance of Perichorisis: Its Consequences for the Ordination of Deaconesses • Ioanna Sahinidou 22. “Woman from Man...Judge among yourselves”: I Cor 11:8b,13a—Social Transformation, Demythologizing Female Deities or Paschal Reversal? • Evanthia Adamtziloglou 23. The Role of Heresies in the Formation of the Patristic Teaching on Women: Encounter and Mutual Influence between Orthodoxy and Heterodoxy • Evangelia Voulgaraki-Pisina 24. The Position of Women in the Church according to Patristic Texts up to the V Ecumenical Council • Eirini Artemi 25. Women in the History of the Church • Antonia Kyriatzi 26. The Question of Women’s Ordination: Feminist Challenge or an Ecclesiological Desideratum? (Comments on the Rhodes Document) • Ioannis Lotsios 27. Elisabeth Behr-Sigel and the Institution of Deaconesses • Eleni Kasselouri-Hatzivassiliadi 28. Deaconesses and the Ordination of Women in the Theology of Nikos Matsoukas • Maria Hatziapostolou 29. Problems in the Rejuvenation of the Ministry of Deaconesses • Dimitra A. Koukoura 30. Human Sexuality in the Latin Tradition • Fotios Ioannidis 31. Mulier infirmior viro: Some Thoughts on Thomas Aquinas’s Teachingon Woman as God’s Creature • Elpidoforos Lampriniadis 32. The Problem of the Catholic Church on Deaconesses and the Ordinationof Women • Dimitrios Keramidas 33. Catholic Women Deacons: Past Arguments and Future Possibilities • Phyllis Zagano 34. Ordination, Apostolic Succession, and Ecumenism • Elizabeth M. Smith 35. The Order of Deaconesses in the Ancient Non-Chalcedonian Orthodox Churches: Sources, Historical Processes and the Modern Situation • Nikolaos Kouremenos 36. The Ordination of Women in the Anglican Community and the Official Theological Debate within it: A Critical Evaluation from an Orthodox Viewpoint • Vassiliki Stathokosta 37. Sex and the Divine Persons: Problematic English Language in The Church of the Triune God • Stuart George Hall 38. The Theological Problematic in the Various Protestant Denominations • Sotirios Boukis 39. The Liturgical Presence of Women in Ancient Greece • Anna Koltsiou 40. The Final Communiqué Contributors