Order of Creation/Order of Redemption - The Ordination of Women in the Orthodox Church (Paperback)

An idea growing in popularity among some Orthodox over the last few decades has been the admission of women to the sacerdotal priesthood. The source for this idea is not the Scriptures, the Fathers, the Councils of the Church, but comes to us from the world, specifically the feminist movement. It has implications for the secularization of the Church. On one level, advocates view the ordination of women as something owed the female sex, a sign of the Church's repentance, so to speak, atonement for the centuries of female stereotyping and powerlessness, that is to say, denying her the right to creatively express her ingenuity, to exercise her freedom and to exhibit her dedication. Not unaware of the objections in holy Tradition to the ordination of women to the presbytery (and consecration to the episcopacy), the strategy of its proponents is to declare this innovation an "open question." It is, in fact, not a subject to be debated. The theological and ecclesial facts need only to be reviewed to make the point. This book provides an understanding of those facts based on the only authorities (criteria) available to us - the Scriptures, the Fathers and the Canons. They have unalterably defined the place of women in the Church from the beginning.