Bridging the Ecclesial, the Academic, and the Political
Much ink has been spilled on the subject of Christ’s siblings. Rather than indulging in the all-too-familiar debates about the meaning of the words “brother” (ἀδελφοί) and “sisters” (ἀδελφαί), and how they should be interpreted, we will take for granted the position held universally by early Byzantine sources and within the early and medieval Church:…
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God ordained Saint Barbara to serve communion. When I speak these words in the U.S., they are often met with bewilderment and even anger, especially in convert-heavy Orthodox circles. Yet, where I come from, and in many other Slavic Orthodox countries, depicting Saint Barbara with a chalice in her hand is standard, as she is…
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The Fathers of the First Ecumenical Council would not recognize the Church today because of the absence of women leaders. Seventeen hundred years ago, the bishops who made their way to Nicaea carried with them the memories of the great martyrs like Saint Barbara and Saint Katherine and the 20,000 martyrs of Nicomedia. They would…
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Churches are some of the most common places where abuse occurs. Patriarchal structures, lack of resources, community norms that ascribe higher status to men and lower status to women, pregnancy, and traditional gender norms and inequality, all increase the risk of a woman becoming a victim of spiritual, interpersonal, and sexual violence. Impacts of violence…
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[Preface of the Signatories]: The diaconate is one of the higher orders of ordained ministry in the Orthodox Church. Unlike the episcopacy or presbyterate, it is not a sacerdotal ministry, but one focused primarily on service. It seeks to meet the faithful where they are in this world and draw them into the Body of Christ more…
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This month marks the one-year anniversary of the ordination of the first Orthodox deaconess of the twenty-first century, Archdeaconess Angelic-Phoebe Molen. Axia! I wrote in these pages about my experience of witnessing her ordination, and now, a year later, I wish to reflect on her accomplishments and the ongoing significance of her ordination. May 2,…
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