What should a modern Christian woman be like? Rights and role of women in the Orthodox Church.
priest Sergius Sveshnikov
The question of the role of women in the Church has been raised many times throughout the history of Christianity, starting from the very first decades of the existence of the Church. Therefore, when the question is raised about the role of women in the Church, what is most often meant is not the role itself - Christ Himself preached about this, and the Apostle Paul wrote about this - but the ongoing problem of gender relations in the family, in society and in the Church. In the church consciousness, this problem is usually expressed in the fact that bearded men in black have administrative power, which is not given to a woman, even if she glues on a beard and wears a black robe. From the point of view of modern Western secular culture, to which not only the inhabitants of the United States belong, but to a fairly large extent also the inhabitants of the European part of Russia, there is obvious discrimination of the Church against women, simply because she was born a woman. Therefore, it seems a little strange that I, a bearded man in black, endowed with some administrative power in my parish, that is, in a small part of the Church, was invited to show women their place in the Church.
Well, I’ll share with you my opinion: 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. Thus, if we imagine Christ standing at the royal gates and separating the sheep from the goats (Matthew 25:32), then it is women who stand on the right hand, and men on the left (33).
Of course, all this was said half-jokingly, and the question of the relationship between the sexes in the Church is very complex, that is, composed of many parts. Let's try to consider some of them.
Introduction: A few notes on the Church and society
It is no secret that society—its philosophy, ideology, culture—has a huge influence on Christian thought. Preaching Christianity in the Hellenistic world, the Church used terminology and methodology understandable to Hellenistic society; existing within the framework of the Roman Empire, the Church theologized in political and legal images; Faced with Soviet theomachism, the Church looked for ways of confrontation; and living in the conditions of modern materialism, the Church polemicizes with it, exposing its spiritual poverty.
On the other hand, the Church is not only our heavenly patrons, but we are also completely earthly people, subject to the influence of ideology, propaganda, the spirit of the times, education, various misconceptions and fashionable philosophies. We not only take something out of the Church, but also bring it into it, into its life and into its worldview. This isn't always a bad thing. Imagine that at the age of three you would be told that your life experience has been exhausted, that you now need to learn only from examples from the lives of previous generations, and that your thoughts, experiences and personal experience one must either treat them with distrust or reject them outright. Just as it would be absurd in relation to the individual Christian, it would also be absurd to preserve the Church in the fourth or fifth century, like a jar of pickles.
However, we must remember that our personal experiences cannot always be the measure of all things, and that it is worth reinventing the wheel only after we become familiar with existing models, but not before. It seems that deacon (now protodeacon) Andrei Kuraev has a very instructive example somewhere. He writes that we would never think of telling a neurosurgeon exactly how to operate on the brain, or a modern jet pilot what buttons to press. But for some reason, many ordinary people consider themselves authorities in the matter of steering the church ship and question the path of holiness that has been led by those people whom the Lord appointed as pilots for two millennia.
It is not difficult to understand that some of the modern complaints against the Orthodox Church come from a misunderstanding of the task that Christ set before His Bride. For example, the tasks of the Church do not include establishing universal equality of genders, nations or classes within the framework of earthly history. This does not mean that the Church cannot take one position or another regarding discrimination, lack of rights or slavery. However, the eradication of earthly slavery is not part of the direct tasks of the Church, which proclaims Christ’s victory over the slavery of sin, to which both male and female, and slave, and freedom (Gal. 3:28), and white-skinned, and black-skinned Christians can equally join.
The Church has always completely and scrupulously proclaimed the good news heard from the Lord Himself - “to heal the brokenhearted, to preach freedom to the captives, recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are tormented” (Luke 4:18). But this does not mean that every member of the Church, even those in high rank, has always been faithful to the spirit and letter of the Gospel. Our attachment to earth too often makes itself felt in our attitude towards heavenly things. Desiring earthly blessings for ourselves, we imagine Christ as an earthly king, forgetting that His kingdom is not of this world (John 18:36). By seeking earthly authority, we make Christ into some kind of tyrant, forgetting that He came to serve, and not to be served (Mark 10:45). Finally, in trying to subdue the wife who “raised her voice” (Luke 11:27), we too often quote the words “let the woman fear her husband” (Eph. 5:33) and too rarely “husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the Church and gave Himself for her” (25). Such perverted “theology” is not the fault of the Church, but the fault of our fallen nature. Although there are works of some clergymen such as “Domostroy,” they do not reflect the Christian understanding of the problem of gender, but only point to the author’s contemporary state of affairs in society, and the author of “Domostroy” consciously tried to soften existing morals, pointing the barbarians to the principles of the Gospel love. That is, such creations as “Domostroy” are of socio-historical interest rather than being standards of relationships between Christian spouses.
But the most striking thing, perhaps, is not that the imprint of our sinfulness lies on parachurch literature, but that even Holy Bible forced to take into account our hardness of heart. We find an amazing example of this in the dialogue of Christ with the lawyers: “...how did Moses command...? -...Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, allowed you..., but at first it was not so... but I tell you...” (Matthew 19: 7-9 ). That is, we must be extremely careful when quoting Scripture in order to look at Divine revelation not through the prism of our selfishness and hard-heartedness, but through the eyes of the Most humane Source of this revelation.
Woman in Church
In Orthodox doctrine there is simply no problem of gender, just as the question of the role of women in the Church does not arise in Orthodoxy. These kinds of problems and questions are brought into the Church from society and family by people living in society and family. Having quarreled with his wife, for example, a man can throw at her a quote from the epistle of the Apostle Paul, which will undoubtedly affect the church identity of both husband and wife. And having heard feminist warnings about discrimination against women on TV, a person consciously or unconsciously brings them to the Church and begins to compare Church life - at least as he sees it - with humanistic, including feminist, principles. In addition, the problem is often aggravated by the altar servers themselves, who, some jokingly and some seriously, quote from the Holy Fathers something like “Stay away from women and bishops,” while forgetting to mention that the advice was given by a very specific elder -a monk to a very specific young novice and is not some kind of generalizing principle of Orthodox consciousness.
Of course, one can argue for a long time about whether “abstract” or “abstract” Orthodoxy exists. Most likely, we will be forced to say that such a thing does not exist, just as a non-hypostatized, abstract person cannot have existence. As our very famous compatriot Vladimir Ilyich Lenin once said: “There is no abstract truth, truth is always concrete.” However, this does not mean that we cannot consider the fundamental doctrinal principles Orthodox faith, which are true always, everywhere and for everyone. And in Orthodox dogma we do not find polemics between the sexes. Unlike some other faiths - such as, for example, Hinduism or some sects in Islam - Orthodoxy teaches about the absolute equality of people in their relationship to God, salvation and eternal life, regardless of their gender, nationality, social status, etc.
“There is no longer Jew nor Gentile; there is neither slave nor free; there is neither male nor female: for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal. 3:28). This, of course, does not mean that Paul no longer considered himself a Jew, a free man, or a man—some kind of transnational, sexless, indeterminate being. Quite the opposite - the Apostle understood and accepted the realities of earthly existence. But the existence of a Christian, like the existence of Christ Himself, is a union of the incompatible: earthly and heavenly, temporary and eternal, dust and the breath of life (Gen. 2:7)—namely, a union, and not a rejection of one in favor of the other. The goal of Christian life in Orthodoxy is deification, that is, the deification of our entire being: “To my co-maker; rather, go into my heart, into all my parts, into my womb, into my heart... Cleanse my soul, sanctify my thoughts. Confirm the compositions with the bones" (from Prayers of thanksgiving by Holy Communion; prayer 3rd). Christ came to heal the whole person (see John 7:23), and not to kill the body in order to free the soul, as if from a cage. And the resurrection is not only the resurrection of souls, but the resurrection of bodies. Finally, it is our earthly existence that sets us a trajectory that goes into eternity, just as it was the earthly life of Christ - with His incarnation, ministry, crucifixion and resurrection - that brought salvation to the world.
Woman in Orthodox Church.
The work was performed by N.A. Bashkirova. (2018)
1 . Introduction.
2 . Chapter 1. The role of women in the ministry of the church.
1. The image of wives in the Gospel.
2.Women in the church life of Ancient Rus'.
3.women in the Old Believers.
4. Women in the Russian Church in the 19th - early years. XX century
5.Women in Soviet time and in the 90s.
3 . Chapter 2. To serve the church is to serve people.
1.Women at the origins of Orthodoxy.
2.Women are models of Orthodox marriage.
3.Women are philanthropists.
4. Names of women in the Orthodox calendar.
Introduction.
Christianity is the only world religion that equates men and women before God. A clear evidence of this is the Mother of God (Woman), standing above the entire Angelic world and the Saints. Through a woman - Eve - the world fell, and through a woman - the Mother of God - the world was saved.(1)
The question of the role of women in the Church has been raised many times throughout the history of Christianity, starting from the very first decades of the existence of the Church. The role of women in the Church can truly be called special. Moreover, both in the Church as an institution, and in the small Church - the family.(2)
History gives us amazing examples of women who have done a lot for the Church - our saints, helpers, intercessors. (1) And the role of women in the church is truly enormous. The vector of this role, its essence, was expressed by the life of the Mother of God. This is service, and this is motherhood.(2)
In the first part of the essay I want to talk about women's ministry in the church. The second part will be dedicated to women, Equal to the Apostles, the first martyrs and benefactors.
Chapter 1 The role of women in serving the church.
“The Church has always accepted women’s ministry unambiguously: these are works of mercy, charity, trusteeship, which are closest to women’s nature. This was the missionary activity of women. This ancient understanding of women's service passed on to Rus'. In all known lives of ascetics, business prevails over intellectual pursuits. By the time of Peter the Great's reforms, women did not work in the church, leaving behind them the area of social charity, charity - secret and open, and handicrafts.
In 1917-1918, the Local Council adopted a charter that allowed women to participate in the parish meeting, be elected to the parish, and be elders.
At the Local Council in 1988, they spoke out directly about the involvement of women in the activities of the diocesan council. They can participate in the formation of the parish and the work of the parish meeting. Women can teach outside the church, having the appropriate education and under the supervision of the parish or diocesan body; create sisterhoods, communities, centers of mercy and spiritual enlightenment.
Over time, the Church’s understanding of the role of women enables them to perform feasible and worthy obediences, drawing them into active service to their neighbors, preaching about Christ, and internal and external missions.”(1)
1.1. The image of wives in the Gospel.
“In all the most important moments in the life of Jesus Christ, women take an active part and often come to the fore.” “Where men mocked Christ or were silent, there a woman defends Him and glorifies Him as the Son of God.” “...in Christianity, women are called to serve God, and this service is higher than any other.” “Christianity recognizes a woman as a mother and a woman as a virgin: ... who remains a virgin is not deprived of any of her universal, moral rights as a citizen of the Kingdom of God.” The removal of women from external power was manifested primarily in Christian education, in which women played the main role.”
1.2.Women in the church life of Ancient Rus'.
“In church life in the IV-V centuries. The rank of learned deaconesses flourished, and women widely participated in church charity. “The status of a married woman was high. The position of a woman was thought of primarily as a mother. The mother had the task of maintaining the family and procreating the family.” “During the period of iconoclasm, it was women who actively defended icons from destruction and fought for the restoration of icon veneration.” “In Byzantine literature there was an image of a woman - a defender of Orthodoxy. Princess Olga, who converted to Christianity, received the title of “equal to the apostles.” “Particular attention should be paid to the unexplored “female theme” in the painting of the Church of St. Sophia in Kyiv.” “Princesses act as teachers convents. In the practice of the Russian Church, the order of prosphyropkas has developed.”(2)
1.3.Woman in the Old Believers.
The Old Believers made significant changes in the position of women in Orthodoxy. “In the Old Believers, a woman performed all spiritual requirements and sacraments, led the community,” and taught children literacy, which was inconceivable without religious education.” In women’s Old Believer monasteries, a woman acted as an educator of the masses, established rights, becoming independent in worldly church affairs.” “The nuns tonsured women, confessed women, gave communion, baptized, did charity work, supported the poor and sick, took part in cathedral discussions of various controversial issues, served as mentors and guides, rewrote books and wrote their own works in both the epistolary and hagiographical genres. The situation of persecution led to an increase in women's religious activity. “The spread of ascetic sentiments contributed to the decline in the authority of the institution of marriage in Russian peasant culture.”
1.4. Women in the Russian Church in the 19th - early years. XX century
In Russia at the end of the 19th - beginning of the 20th centuries. A peasant woman could not receive a theological education, although it was the woman who supported religious education in the family. A form of religious life for peasant women, which allowed her to escape the sometimes unbearable living conditions in peasant family, became monasticism. Peasant women went to the monastery, often remaining in the status of novices for the rest of their lives.
“Most communities had almshouses for elderly women, small orphanages for orphan girls, pharmacies and sometimes schools.” State legislation contributed social activities women's monasteries. Abbess Catherine in 1906 raised the issue of restoring the rank of deaconesses “...many girls and widows will respond to the call for a new active service to the Church and the Fatherland.” The clergy was the first of the classes to strive to educate their daughters. “Most of the graduates, after graduation, began teaching in parochial schools or schools of the Ministry of Public Education.” “During the second half of the 19th century. women's gymnasiums were opened, the St. Petersburg Women's Medical Institute (1897), the St. Petersburg Women's pedagogical institute(1903). “However, the women’s movement and education in Russia did not follow the religious path: Russian nihilists who denied faith, family, marriage are well known for fiction" Women's need for education created favorable conditions for the creation of theological educational institutions for women. Girls could continue their education at higher educational institutions" “Graduates of the institute received the right to teach in all secondary women’s educational institutions in those subjects whose methods they studied at the institute.” “Since the middle of the 19th century. communities of sisters of mercy began to appear in Russia, under the patronage of noble women who were well acquainted with Western European models.” " Distinctive feature these communities were the social orientation of nursing, midwifery and paramedic care in Russia.” “An important event was the opening of the Marfo-Mariinsky Convent of Mercy in Moscow by the widow of Grand Duke Sergei Alexandrovich Elizaveta Fedorovna.”(1)
1.5. Woman in Soviet times and in the 90s.
“Historians see the spread of new types of family behavior as a departure from traditional religious values, and this primarily affected women.” “In Soviet literature, the new position of women was interpreted as “the emancipation of women from centuries-old dependence.” “An expression of the decline in religiosity was the rapidly spreading practice of abortion.” “As T. G. Kiseleva writes, “by forcibly drawing a woman into social production, the state doomed her to unskilled, low-paid labor, without protecting her family.” “This process went in parallel with the expulsion of Christian values, first of all, from everyday life.” “The village has almost completely disappeared big family, consisting of several generations. At the same time, there was a process of reducing the number of children in the family.” “In the new conditions, religious families who tried to maintain traditional fertility doomed themselves and their children to poverty.” “It turned out to be easier for a single person to maintain his faith under these conditions than for a married person.” “A believing woman lost the opportunity to influence children as they studied at school, since anti-religious struggle was a mandatory component of education.”
“...The experience of studying the families of repressed people has shown that the memory of the repressed is preserved through the mother’s side. The researchers concluded "the special role of women in storing and transmitting family memory." “Two stages can be distinguished in the fate of the monasteries in the post-October period.
Stage 1: Monasteries make attempts to register as communes or labor cooperatives and continue to run their households. 2nd stage in the history of monasteries - the closure of communes, mass arrests of monks and nuns. “From the memoirs of a nun about the closure of the monastery: “The last farewell mass, everyone was a communicant...”. “The closure of churches and monasteries caused a massive protest on the part of believers...Women played a decisive role in this protest.” “In the 1930s. many nuns were arrested and exiled in 1937-1938. a new wave of repression followed, accompanied by execution sentences.” " Older generation I also found those “grandmothers” who were in the church in the 70s. XX century and “left” with the onset of the 90s.” “The “grandmothers” managed to maintain, despite all persecution, the fidelity and heights of Christian morality that women have demonstrated throughout Christian history.”
“But, apparently, we will never again know many of the names of those women, because of whom the Church not only survived, but also showed Christian service to the world.” “...just as among the Old Believers, under conditions of persecution, women’s activity increased and women’s participation in worship expanded, so during the years of prohibitions and persecution of the 20th century. The role of women in religious communities, both outlawed and officially existing, increased. Women in the 20th century remained bearers of religiosity and the Christian faith. They paid a heavy price for this, dying from hunger and overwork.(1)
“In the 90s, the time for religious freedom came - and not everything returned to normal.” Women began to preach: write articles and books, publish and edit theological magazines, teach classes on the Law of God in church and secular schools, and theology in secular universities.”(2)
Chapter 2.To serve the church is to serve the people.
1.1.Women at the origins of Orthodoxy.
“On the second Sunday after Easter, the Orthodox Church honors the holy myrrh-bearing women - Mary Magdalene, Mary of Cleopas, Salome, Joanna, Martha, Mary, Susanna and others. Myrrh-Bearers- these are the same women who, out of love for the Savior Jesus Christ, received Him in their homes, and later followed Him to the place of crucifixion at Golgotha. They were witnesses of Christ's suffering on the cross. It was they who hurried in the dark to the Holy Sepulcher to anoint the body of Christ with myrrh, as was the custom of the Jews. It was they, the myrrh-bearing women, who were the first to know that Christ had risen. For the first time after his death on the cross, the Savior appeared to a woman—Mary Magdalene.”(1)
« Saint Olga- Equal-to-the-Apostles blessed princess. Equal to the Apostles, because she preached Christ within Russia. She preached not only with her example of baptism, ... she built temples in different parts ancient Rus', even on the banks of the Narova River. People's memory has long preserved and still preserves the memory of a number of places associated with St. Olga, as with the enlightener of Rus'. The memory of her construction in Kyiv is also important. wooden temple Saint Sophia, the Wisdom of God."(2)
1.2. Women are an example of Orthodox marriage.
“Their life is the story of the relationship between a man and a woman who managed to overcome all the difficulties of a long and difficult earthly journey, revealing the ideal of a Christian family.”(3)
"Righteous Godfather Joachim and Anna. The advanced age of the righteous spouses shows that the birth of their Daughter was an act of the special Providence of God. The Church calls Joachim and Anna Fathers of God, for they were the ancestors of Jesus Christ in the flesh, and every day during the Divine Service it asks for their prayers for the believers leaving the temple.”(4)
« Saints Peter and Fevronia gave an example of an ideal Christian family... In old age, having taken monastic vows in different monasteries with the names David and Euphrosyne, they prayed to God so that they would die on the same day, and bequeathed their bodies to be placed in one coffin, having previously prepared a tomb from one stone, with a thin partition. They died on the same day and hour. Considering burial in the same coffin incompatible with the monastic rank, their bodies were placed in different monasteries, but the next day they found themselves together.(5)
Sergei Alexandrovich and Elizaveta Fedorovna Romanov. “It is right to be with your husband of the same faith,” she wrote to her grandmother Queen Victoria. “... “I thought and read and prayed to God all the time to show me the right path, and I came to the conclusion that only in this religion can I find all the real and strong faith in God, which a person must have in order to be a good Christian. It would be a sin to remain as I am now - to belong to the same Church in form and for the outside world, but inside myself to pray and believe the same way as my husband...”(6)
3. Women are philanthropists.
“In 1775, Empress Catherine II established a special Order of Public Charity for charitable activities.”
“Empress Maria Feodorovna, the wife of Emperor Paul I, truly became the organizer of charity in Russia at the state level... The mother of nine children herself, she devoted all her strength to organizing work with children, fully understanding its importance.”
“The guardianship of the blind was created by Empress Maria Alexandrovna (wife of Alexander II, mother Alexandra III and grandmother of Nicholas II). Unable to work, all the wives of Russian emperors were actively involved in charity work.”
“In 1906, the wife of Nicholas II, Alexandra Fedorovna, joined the family’s charitable activities, creating and heading the trusteeship of houses of industriousness and workhouses.”
“The charitable activities of the holy Grand Duchess Elizabeth Feodorovna are widely known. Even before the death of her husband and her tonsure as a monk, she was the trustee and chairman of the Petrovsky Charitable Society, a shelter for weak and convalescent children in St. Petersburg, the Tsarskoye Selo Charitable Society, and in Moscow - the Elisabeth Charitable Society, the Society for Helping Blind Children, and the Society for the Care of the Poor children, the Committee for collecting donations for the benefit of the hungry.
It should be said at least a few words about Olga Konstantinovna, who did a lot of charity work: she founded a model hospital, opened medical courses for women and attended them herself.
“Among the wonderful Russian women who sought to devote themselves to the service of Russia was youngest daughter Emperor Alexander III, the sister of Emperor Nicholas II - Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna. To perpetuate the memory of Grand Duchess Olga Alexandrovna in 1991, her son Tikhon Nikolaevich created - one of the first in post-Soviet Russia - a charitable foundation in her name." (1)
“There are people whose existence makes the most notorious atheists believe in God. The death of these people often undermines the faith of even those who had no doubts until now. Because, as one of the volunteers put it: “to restore harmony after Gali’s death, many millions good people must be born in return at the same time.” Galya Chalikova, one of the founders and director of the Gift of Life charity foundation, was just such a person. From powerlessness, when it was not possible to place a child for a complex test due to the indifference of medical officials. I cried and prayed for everyone, for everyone! The walls of her apartment were covered in icons, childhood photographs and drawings. Galya herself ended up in the hospital (oncology), she admitted to me that only this year she learned to pray. “But you prayed then, in London,” I was surprised. And she: “then I prayed for others, but this year I tried to pray for others and for myself. It’s very difficult to pray for yourself.” With Gali’s passing, the Internet, television, and newspapers in different parts of Russia exploded with messages about the bitter loss, memories, gratitude and prayers for the soul of a Man who devoted himself completely to children with cancer. “Their pain was her pain, their fear was her fear. Their path became her path."
4.Names of women in the Orthodox calendar.
February 6 is the Day of Remembrance of Blessed Xenia of St. Petersburg.
April 7 - Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Conclusion.
Observing the modern “women's Orthodox movement,” one inevitably notices the contrast between today’s women’s asceticism and the life of Orthodox women from our very recent past. A life known from the lives of the holy new martyrs of the 20th century, as well as from the biographies of all those sisters and mothers who spared no effort, and often even their lives, for the sake of preserving the Church in the era of persecution, for the sake of saving shrines, and simply for the sake of helping in some way - then to one specific neighbor. The names of most of them cannot be found not only in the calendar, but also in ordinary archives; they have been erased from human memory forever. Most of these women did not perform feats. What their persecutors called “anti-Soviet propaganda” in practice meant only a Christian way of life, which they continued to lead despite the circumstances of the time. Perhaps we, living in the third millennium, need to remember them more often. We must make sure that the phrase “Orthodox woman” is associated not with some specific visual image, the same for everyone, but with certain human and purely feminine moral qualities, with an obvious moral ideal. With the Kingdom of God, manifested in the life, deeds and actions of man.
Prepared by: teacher primary classes
Sharapova Tatyana Alekseevna
St. Petersburg, 2018
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
1. INTRODUCTION
THE ROLE OF WOMAN IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
2.1. Woman and the Church
2.2. The role of women in the Orthodox Church
2.3
3. CONCLUSION
4. REFERENCES
INTRODUCTION
The question of what role women occupy in the Orthodox Church has been constantly raised throughout the history of the religion of Christianity, starting from the very first days of the existence of the Church. Therefore, it is not surprising that in the twenty-first century this question is asked more and more often. Most likely, believers are not even interested in the role of a woman, but in her relationships with men in the family, society and in the Church. With the development of society and the decline of the influence of the Church on the lives of the people, the question becomes more acute. Is it really possible that now a self-respecting, believing woman can wear sexy clothes, have free conversations and have illicit relationships with men? In the distant days of the heyday of Christianity, she would have been renounced from the Church for this. Christ Himself preached about this difficult path of women throughout history, wrote the Apostle Paul.
In fact, the purpose of women throughout the world has remained virtually unchanged over the past 2 thousand years. Everything that the Holy Scriptures and the Church teach us is, as before, relevant, vital, and the place of a woman in the world remains unshakable, which was determined for her by God, who said:“Let us make him (the husband) a helper after him” (Gen. 2:18).
What happens? A woman is a helper to her husband, who does not have the right to speak, pray, or be free before God?
Another thing is that now, in the modern and hopefully still civilized world, filled with pride in their personal morals, values and desires, isolated from their spiritual roots, a woman is increasingly forgetting her “original” place in life, given to her by God.. ... and more and more equates himself with that same husband, maybe they have switched places and now the man is a gifted helper for a woman’s difficult fate. Let's figure it out, no one has canceled a woman's genetic code. Neither holding high positions, nor a successful career, nor inexhaustible reserves of money, power or fun - none of this can ever replace a woman’s quiet family happiness, the opportunity to love each other and have a stone support in the person of her own husband, the happiness of motherhood and raising children, as well as honesty before God.
For most of church history, the absence of women at councils was explained by the words of the Apostle Paul, who spoke about a woman’s right to her opinion and the opportunity to express it in society.“Let your women in churches remain silent, 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).
In Orthodox doctrine, the problem of gender simply does not exist, and therefore the question of that very cherished role of women in the Church does not arise in Orthodoxy. “These kinds of problems and questions are brought into the Church from society and family by people living in society and family,” says T.V. Korolyuk.
Having quarreled with his wife, a man, of course, can throw a quote from the epistle of the Apostle Paul at her, which will undoubtedly affect the church identity of both himself and his wife. And having heard feminist warnings about discrimination against women on TV, a person consciously, or perhaps unconsciously, brings them to his Church. So he begins to compare Church life - at least the one he imagines with the new humanistic and feminist principles of the new modern world.
In addition, the problem of the role that women occupy in life, including in the Church, is often aggravated by the clergy themselves, who endlessly quote from divine books something similar to: “Stay away from women and bishops,” often forgetting to mention that the advice was given by a very specific monk to a specific young man, and is not the main and generalizing principle of the entire Orthodox consciousness.
Thus, the topic of this essay remains especially relevant in our time, no matter how distant life from the Church may seem. And also, the modern generation of believers still faces many unresolved issues and tasks directly related to the participation of women in the life and deeds of the Orthodox Church.
2.1. Woman and the Church.
Woman and religion are one of the most controversial phenomena in the entire history of human development. Of course, in the spiritual aspects of all existing religions, the feminine principle plays a very important, and in some specific cases, a decisive role. After all, it is thanks to the combination of the masculine and feminine principles that all life, everything that exists, appears.
There are many contradictions, but what is common? Let's start with the fact that both of these concepts in Russian refer to words of the feminine gender.
“The Virgin Mary was given the honor of becoming the Mother of God; the myrrh-bearing women were the first to learn about the Resurrection of Christ, and St. St. Mary of Egypt Zosima asked for blessings, although he himself was a priest.” - Mikhail Bychkov reminds us.
That is, a woman is still a saint, she is important for the continuation of life, which means she is also important for the Church. But why then do we so often hear about discrimination against women’s roles in this area? If we talk about the Church as a general meeting of believers, then here it is indeed the man who is called to “play” main role, but a woman should be his faithful assistant, and not hide behind a screen.
All this proves that the achievement of essential holiness in Christianity for women is in no way limited and does not depend on the role of a woman in society.
However, almost all world religions seem to ignore women, making it impossible for them to interfere in the life of the Church as a minister of worship, but still she is given a certain place in the temple, where she performs certain functions for her.
For example, in Orthodoxy a woman belongs to her family, children, and husband. And last but not least, of course, to herself, if she has time and energy left for this.
The Orthodox Church predetermines the fate of a woman - the birth of children in pain and conscientious obedience to her husband. This dogmatic point of view is also characteristic of modern Orthodoxy. Thus, Orthodoxy in its views adheres to a clear patriarchal line, placing exclusively on the man responsibility for the woman in the family and society.
This approach of Orthodoxy and the Church is characterized by asceticism and harsh dogmatism, traditionally considering a woman as a mother, wife and helper to her husband, whose main task should be caring for the well-being of the family. That is, the Orthodox Church significantly narrows the scope of a woman’s activity - a similar trend is observed now2.
To determine what the position of women is in Christianity, it is necessary to study this issue in detail in a historical excursion. To do this, you need to turn to primary sources on this topic, compare the position of women, which characterizes theoretical materials, and, based on the statements of clergy, determine the connection of religious views with the trends of the modern world, the processes of globalization, determine the role of the media in the formation of stereotypes regarding female role in society3.
The relevance of this topic is evidenced by the interest in it in the scientific literature, as well as a large number of publications on this topic. We can talk about a scientific discussion on the position of women in the Orthodox Church and the attitude of the church itself towards women and their social functions. The point of view is defended that a woman is modern stage has a respectful position in the church, which encourages her social initiative, approves of a conscious civic position, but calls for respect for the dogmas of the church and respect for her husband4.
Another group of researchers talks about openly discriminatory attitudes towards women in Orthodoxy, about their non-observance of rights and freedoms, and about the narrowing of their social roles. It must be said that both groups of researchers openly avoid controversy on this issue, highlighting only one side of the problem and using comparisons with other religions, without taking into account trends modern development peace5.
According to a tradition dating back to early Christian times, men and women stand separately in the church. This division corresponded to ancient ideas about piety. The conventional division of the temple into male and female halves is still preserved, for example, among the Copts.
On the days of the celebration of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, all believers are rewarded with the generous mercies of God and experience the extraordinary joy of the celebration of Easter. But believing women are awarded special Paschal grace on the Easter holidays, just as the myrrh-bearing women, who were not only the first to hear from the Angels the news of the Risen Savior, but also the first to see the Risen Lord, were awarded. Therefore, the Orthodox Church established on the first Sunday after Antipascha to honor the memory of the myrrh-bearing women.
Why did the myrrh-bearing women have such great honor from the Lord? This question is answered by the Gospel, which speaks of the fiery love of the myrrh-bearing women for their Lord and Savior. They not only diligently served Jesus Christ in His saving death, but also, in an outburst of their deep love for Him, at dawn of the third day of Christ’s stay in the tomb, they went to anoint His body with aromas, and had the honor of being the first to see the miracle of the Resurrection of Christ, to become the first witnesses of the Resurrection The Lord's.
Likewise, Orthodox wives, always striving to glorify the Lord, prepare themselves especially carefully and with deep love and decorate the church and their homes for the holiday of Easter. By sacrificing their labors and love to the holiday, believing wives accordingly receive the most gracious gifts and mercies from the Risen Christ. Therefore, on the feast of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, the Orthodox Church honors the works and exploits, love and devotion to the Church of Christ of its believing Orthodox women6.
The Easter holiday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women further strengthens the grace-filled power of Orthodox women, which greatly facilitates their service to the family, the Church and society. The Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women becomes for them a holiday of spiritual triumph of love and deeds and blessed Easter inspiration in life and work.
While highly appreciating the social role of women, the Church simultaneously opposes modern trends to diminish the role of a woman as a wife and mother. Equality between a man and a woman does not cancel their natural differences and does not mean the identity of their vocations, both in the family and in society. Everyone has their own purpose, laid down in nature by the Creator Himself, and to contradict this means to oppose all of God’s providence for man.
CONCLUSION
There is no salvation outside the Church, they say. fathers. Only in the Church, in its Sacraments and rituals, do we receive the grace of God, which strengthens us on the path of returning to virtues and gives us the strength to cleanse ourselves of sin. Virtue is generally a gift of grace. Where else, if not in the Church, can one draw strength to change oneself? modern woman?
Only in Christianity does a woman become equal to a man, subordinate her temperament to higher principles, and acquire prudence, patience, the ability to reason, and wisdom.
No matter what the Fathers of the Church proclaim, women in Christianity have no longer been on the margins, although they cannot occupy a leading place. Christianity cannot be accused of looking at a woman as a lower being: this is the only religion that has proclaimed woman as the highest and most perfect representative of the human race - “Honest Cherub and most glorious without comparison Seraphim.” Holy Virgin Maria. But She also obeyed her Betrothed Joseph. This is explained by the fact that a more perfect creature may well submit to a less perfect one, since the relationship of subordination in Christianity is determined not by quality, but by function.
The Orthodox religion represents an independent and ultimate value, and all non-religious needs fade into the background. Among people of this type, women predominate. Religion and the Church save them from worries and fears, give them a feeling of joy and freedom and, ultimately, help them realize their highest spiritual potential. It is in religion that many women find the most important value orientations, and God for them is the necessary interlocutor to whom they can turn in internal dialogue. Each individual woman can now choose what social role she will play, the role of a leader or a mother, perhaps a combination of these two hypostases, which is quite natural.
So, the role of a woman in the Church is the same as the role of every Christian, regardless of gender, nationality, social status, state of health, etc. - co-worker with Christ in the work of our salvation. By virtue of her individual talents, a woman can choose administrative service in the Church, be a theologian, icon painter or director of the choir, acquire equal angelic life in the monastic rank or holiness in the high rank of mother - but all these are only external expressions of some aspects of the life of a Christian. The main thing is “the hidden person of the heart in the imperishable beauty of a meek and silent spirit, which is precious before God.” Because the Body of Christ consists not of administrators, theologians or icon painters, not even of clergy, but of Christians. And the role of every Christian, man or woman, according to the word of Rev. Seraphim of Sarov, “acquiring the Holy Spirit of God.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Begiyan Sergius, priest Man and woman [ Electronic resource]. – Access mode: http://www.pravoslavie.ru/66988.html (accessed March 11, 2018)
Evdokimov P.N. Woman and the salvation of the world / P.N. Evdokimov. - Minsk: Rays of Sofia, 1999. - P. 263-267.
Kuraev Andrey, Protodeacon Woman in the Church [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: https://predanie.ru/kuraev-andrey-protodiakon/book/71851-zhenschina-v-cerkvi/ (accessed March 12, 2018)
Lorgus Andrey, priest Woman in Orthodoxy [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: http://www.zavet.ru/vopr/pism/004.htm (accessed March 11, 2018)
The place of women in the Orthodox Church and the question of the ordination of women [Electronic resource].
Sveshnikov Sergius, priest On the role of women in the Church [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: (date of access – March 10, 2018)
Today I want to talk to you about the origins. About the origins of existence, about how it all began, about how the world and you and I – people – were created by God.
You and I may hold different points of view regarding faith, perhaps you profess a different religion - I just want to systematize at least part of the most valuable knowledge that we can glean from the Bible, and apply it for the benefit of our families.
Let us remember what the Bible says about the creation of the first woman, Eve:
“And the Lord God said: It is not good for the man to be alone; Let us make him a helper suitable for him.
And the Lord God created a wife from a rib taken from a man, and brought her to the man.
And the man said, Behold, this is bone of my bones, and flesh of my flesh; she will be called woman, for she was taken from man.
Therefore a man will leave his father and mother and cleave to his wife; and they will become one flesh."
God speaks of a woman as about the "assistant" , and according to Orthodox tradition, this is the most important purpose for a woman with her husband.
To be your husband's main assistant - what does it mean?
- be aware of his affairs, understand what he is doing, be on his side
- support and respect him
- accept him as he is
- inspire your husband, help reveal his best abilities
This purpose of a woman probably most strongly reveals all her spiritual beauty, brings her closer to God, the feeling of maternal love is incomparable to anything, it is the depth of tenderness and love, but also responsibility.
Both father and mother are enjoined to care for their children, to give them love, to educate them, to be a worthy example to them, and to accompany them with love and advice throughout their lives.
What is a family home? This means order and cleanliness in the house, and warm relationships in the family, caring for each other. Who can cope with such tasks? better than women? All these qualities have already been given to us by God and nature - the desire to serve our neighbors, to do something pleasant, to give love, care and tenderness, to take care of the house, to bring beauty and comfort - if you approach household chores from this point of view, then many household chores will cease to be routine . All these tasks have a higher meaning, namely, to ensure that your loved ones feel good and comfortable at home. Then all the effort spent on this is easily compensated, because the main reward here is warmth in the family and love.
What qualities does Orthodoxy prescribe for a woman?
1. Obedience to your husband
“Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord, because the husband is the head of the wife, just as Christ is the head of the Church, and He is the Savior of the body. But just as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives are subject to their husbands in everything.” Eph. 5:22-24.
In the modern world it is so difficult for a woman to be obedient; we have our own opinion on everything. This is good, but somewhere you need to be able to remain silent, listen to your husband, agree with him because... he is the head of the family, and this is the place that the Lord has assigned him.
Obedience to your husband has its advantages - one day it becomes natural, and it is such happiness when you can trust your husband and not challenge his decisions.
This saves a huge amount of our feminine energy and just nerves.
This also sets an excellent example for children - if a wife obeys her husband and does not contradict him, then the children obey their parents, because they have an example of obedience before their eyes.
2.Wisdom
“A wise woman will build her house, but a foolish woman will destroy it with her own hands” Prov. 14:1.
A wise wife will always listen to her husband, support him in new endeavors and ideas, comfort and encourage him.
A wise wife does not strive for leadership in the family, she fades into the background, she stands “behind” her husband, strengthening and emphasizing his importance.
3.Accepting your husband with his strengths and weaknesses
“Bear one another’s burdens, and in this way fulfill the law of Christ” Gal. 6:2.
When we just begin to communicate with our future spouse, everything about him seems wonderful and amazing to us, but the period of stormy love is replaced by a calmer and more stable feeling of love when we have already known our husband for a long time. We know his shortcomings, but we love him entirely, as he is, because in the end there are always more advantages.
We, wives, also have shortcomings, incorrect qualities, and so “carrying each other’s burdens,” supporting in everything, together we make each other better, together we grow and develop.
4.Loyalty
Loyalty to her husband not only on the physical level, but also on the mental and spiritual level - the wife is faithful to her husband in that she is always on his side, supports him in difficult situations, does not turn away from him in moments of difficulties and trials.
5.Joy
“She looks cheerfully at the future” Pr. 31:25; “A grumpy wife is a sewer” Pr. 19:13.
When a wife is full of joy and does not despair in difficult situations, hoping for the help of God and her husband, then the house is warm and light. If she is full of doubts, nerves and fears, she can create a tense atmosphere at home.
6.Ability to shut up in time
“When you talk too much, sin cannot be avoided, but he who restrains his lips is wise.” Prov. 10:19.
Most problems and quarrels in the family arise from the fact that spouses do not control their emotions, and in a fit of anger or irritation they splash out on each other those thoughts and feelings that may be forgotten and pass immediately after the quarrel, and rude words can hurt the husband or wife, and will leave a mark on the soul. Therefore, the ability to shut up in time is an important component of family happiness.
7.Ability to forgive
“And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were called in one body” Col. 3:15.
There is no need to withdraw into yourself, demonstratively not talk to your husband, or seek encouragement for your pride and vanity. You need to be able to talk about everything with your closest person, be able to forget grievances, not look back at the past, and together, together, create your happy family.
I wish you wisdom and patience in knowing the truth, and may love abide in your heart!
Municipal educational institution Pervomaiskaya secondary school No. 2
Essay
Subject: “Fundamentals of religious culture and secular ethics”
WOMAN IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
Executor:
Korolyuk Tatyana Vladimirovna
2018
1. Introduction
2. THE ROLE OF WOMAN IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
3. CONCLUSION
4. BIBLIOGRAPHY
INTRODUCTION
The question of the role of women in the Orthodox Church has been raised many times throughout the history of Christianity, starting from the first decades of the existence of the Church. Therefore, when this question is asked in the twenty-first century, what is most often meant is not the role itself - Christ Himself preached about this, and the Apostle Paul wrote about it, but current problem relationships between men and women in the family, in society and in the Church.
The purpose of women in the world has not changed at all over the past 2 thousand years. Everything that the Holy Scriptures and the Church teach, as before, is vital and relevant, and the place of a woman in the world remains unshakable, which was determined for her by God, who said: “Let us make him (the husband) a helper after him” (Gen. 2:18) .
Another thing is that now, in the modern civilized world, filled with pride in its imaginary values and cut off from its spiritual roots, a woman forgets more and more her original place in life... and feels more and more unhappy. After all, neither holding high positions, nor a successful career - none of this can ever replace her quiet family happiness, the happiness of loving and having support in the person of her husband, the happiness of motherhood and raising children.
For most of church history, the absence of women at church councils was due to the words of the Apostle Paul: “Let your women 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).
In Orthodox doctrine there is simply no problem of gender, just as the question of the role of women in the Church does not arise in Orthodoxy. These kinds of problems and questions are brought into the Church from society and family by people living in society and family. Having quarreled with his wife, for example, a man can throw at her a quote from the epistle of the Apostle Paul, which will undoubtedly affect the church identity of both husband and wife. And having heard feminist warnings about discrimination against women on TV, a person consciously or unconsciously brings them to the Church and begins to compare Church life - at least as he sees it - with humanistic, including feminist, principles. In addition, the problem is often aggravated by the altar servers themselves, who, some jokingly and some seriously, quote from the Holy Fathers something like “Stay away from women and bishops,” while forgetting to mention that the advice was given by a very specific elder -a monk to a very specific young novice and is not some kind of generalizing principle of Orthodox consciousness.
The topic of this essay remains especially relevant in our time and poses many questions and challenges for the modern generation related to the participation of women in the life of the Orthodox Church.
THE ROLE OF WOMAN IN THE ORTHODOX CHURCH
Woman and religion are one of the most controversial phenomena in the history of human development. In the spiritual aspects of all religions, the feminine principle plays an important, and in some cases, a decisive role. It is the combination of masculine and feminine gives rise to everything that exists in society.
However, almost all world religions ignore woman as a secondary being, make it impossible for a woman to play a role as a minister of worship, but she is assigned a certain place in the temple, where she performs functions specific to her..
In Orthodoxy, a woman belongs to her family, children, husband, and last of all to herself, if she has enough time and energy for this.
The Orthodox Church predetermines the fate of a woman - the birth of children in pain and conscientious obedience to her husband. This dogmatic point of view is also characteristic of modern Orthodoxy. Thus, Orthodoxy in its views adheres to a clear patriarchal line, placing exclusively on the man responsibility for the woman in the family and society.
This approach of Orthodoxy and the Church is characterized by asceticism and harsh dogmatism, traditionally considering a woman as a mother, wife and helper to her husband, whose main task should be caring for the well-being of the family. That is, the Orthodox Church is significantly narrowing the scope of women’s activities - a similar trend is observed now.
To determine what the position of women is in Christianity, it is necessary to study this issue in detail in a historical excursion. To do this, you need to turn to primary sources on this topic, compare the position of women, which characterizes theoretical materials and, based on the statements of clergy, determine the connection of religious views with the trends of the modern world, the processes of globalization, determine the role of the media in the formation of stereotypes regarding the female role in society.
The relevance of this topic is evidenced by the interest in it in the scientific literature, as well as a large number of publications on this topic. We can talk about a scientific discussion on the position of women in the Orthodox Church and the attitude of the church itself towards women and their social functions. The point of view is defended that a woman at the present stage has a respectful position in the church, which encourages her social initiative, approves of a conscious civic position, but calls for respect for the dogmas of the church and respect for her husband.
Another group of researchers talks about openly discriminatory attitudes towards women in Orthodoxy, about their non-observance of rights and freedoms, and about the narrowing of their social roles. It must be said that both groups of researchers openly avoid polemics on this issue, highlighting only one side of the problem and using comparisons with other religions, without taking into account the trends in the modern development of the world.
According to a tradition dating back to early Christian times, men and women stand separately in the church. This division corresponded to ancient ideas about piety. The conventional division of the temple into male and female halves is still preserved, for example, among the Copts.
On the days of the celebration of the Bright Resurrection of Christ, all believers are rewarded with the generous mercies of God and experience the extraordinary joy of the celebration of Easter. But believing women are awarded special Paschal grace on the Easter holidays, just as the myrrh-bearing women, who were not only the first to hear from the Angels the news of the Risen Savior, but also the first to see the Risen Lord, were awarded. Therefore, the Orthodox Church established on the first Sunday after Antipascha to honor the memory of the myrrh-bearing women.
Why did the myrrh-bearing women have such great honor from the Lord? This question is answered by the Gospel, which speaks of the fiery love of the myrrh-bearing women for their Lord and Savior. They not only diligently served Jesus Christ in His saving death, but also, in an outburst of their deep love for Him, at dawn of the third day of Christ’s stay in the tomb, they went to anoint His body with aromas, and had the honor of being the first to see the miracle of the Resurrection of Christ, to become the first witnesses of the Resurrection The Lord's.
Likewise, Orthodox wives, always striving to glorify the Lord, prepare themselves especially carefully and with deep love and decorate the church and their homes for the holiday of Easter. By sacrificing their labors and love to the holiday, believing wives accordingly receive the most gracious gifts and mercies from the Risen Christ. Therefore, on the feast of the Myrrh-Bearing Women, the Orthodox Church honors the works and exploits, love and devotion to the Church of Christ of its believing Orthodox women.
The Easter holiday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women further strengthens the grace-filled power of Orthodox women, which greatly facilitates their service to the family, the Church and society. The Sunday of the Myrrh-Bearing Women becomes for them a holiday of spiritual triumph of love and deeds and blessed Easter inspiration in life and work.
While highly appreciating the social role of women, the Church simultaneously opposes modern trends towards diminishing the role of women as wives and mothers. Equality between a man and a woman does not cancel their natural differences and does not mean the identity of their vocations, both in the family and in society. Everyone has their own purpose, laid down in nature by the Creator Himself, and to contradict this means to oppose all of God’s providence for man.
CONCLUSION
There is no salvation outside the Church, they say. fathers. Only in the Church, in its Sacraments and rituals, do we receive the grace of God, which strengthens us on the path of returning to virtues and gives us the strength to cleanse ourselves of sin. Virtue is generally a gift of grace. Where else, if not in the Church, can a modern woman draw strength to change herself?
Only in Christianity does a woman become equal to a man, subordinate her temperament to higher principles, and acquire prudence, patience, the ability to reason, and wisdom.
No matter what the Fathers of the Church proclaim, women in Christianity have no longer been on the margins, although they cannot occupy a leading place. Christianity cannot be accused of looking at a woman as a lower being: this is the only religion that has proclaimed the highest and most perfect representative of the human race is the woman - “The Honest Cherub and the most glorious without comparison Seraphim”, the Blessed Virgin Mary. But She also obeyed her Betrothed Joseph. This is explained by the fact that a more perfect creature may well submit to a less perfect one, since the relationship of subordination in Christianity is determined not by quality, but by function.
The Orthodox religion represents an independent and ultimate value, and all non-religious needs fade into the background. Among people of this type, women predominate. Religion and the Church save them from worries and fears, give them a feeling of joy and freedom and, ultimately, help them realize their highest spiritual potential. It is in religion that many women find the most important value orientations, and God for them is the necessary interlocutor to whom they can turn in internal dialogue. Each individual woman can now choose what social role she will play, the role of a leader or a mother, perhaps a combination of these two hypostases, which is quite natural.
So, the role of a woman in the Church is the same as the role of every Christian, regardless of gender, nationality, social status, state of health, etc. - co-worker with Christ in the work of our salvation. By virtue of her individual talents, a woman can choose administrative service in the Church, be a theologian, icon painter or director of the choir, acquire equal angelic life in the monastic rank or holiness in the high rank of mother - but all these are only external expressions of some aspects of the life of a Christian. The main thing is “the hidden person of the heart in the imperishable beauty of a meek and silent spirit, which is precious before God.” Because the Body of Christ consists not of administrators, theologians or icon painters, not even of clergy, but of Christians. And the role of every Christian, man or woman, according to the word of Rev. Seraphim of Sarov, “acquiring the Holy Spirit of God.”
BIBLIOGRAPHY
- Begiyan Sergius, priest Man and woman [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: http://www.pravoslavie.ru/66988.html (accessed March 11, 2018)
- Evdokimov P.N. Woman and the salvation of the world / P.N. Evdokimov. - Minsk: Rays of Sofia, 1999. - P. 263-267.
- Kuraev Andrey, Protodeacon Woman in the Church [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: https://predanie.ru/kuraev-andrey-protodiakon/book/71851-zhenschina-v-cerkvi/ (accessed March 12, 2018)
- Lorgus Andrey, priest Woman in Orthodoxy [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: http://www.zavet.ru/vopr/pism/004.htm (accessed March 11, 2018)
- The place of women in the Orthodox Church and the question of the ordination of women [Electronic resource].
- Sveshnikov Sergius, priest On the role of women in the Church [Electronic resource]. – Access mode: (date of access – March 10, 2018)
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