WOMEN AND CHRISTIANITY
IOANNIS PETROU
Abstract: Women issues in the field of
society and the Church afford many multidimensional aspects. Those issues were
perceived on a broader basis over the last century. Within this century,
efforts were made to address their various dimensions. This paper will first
examine how these issues were brought forward in society, what the role of the
feminist movement was and what other factors led to their awareness. Moreover,
reference will be made with regard to the reasons that paved the way during the
70s for a clear change in historical research regarding the issue of women’s
participation in culture production. Questions related to Christianity,
Churches, feminist theology and theological research of women will also be
explored. Additionally, it will be examined whether Christianity and the
Churches have contributed, and whether they can actually contribute, to the
liberation of women. Some basic questions are examined within this frame. What
is the position of women in Church? Could historical research of ecclesiastical
conceptions help to understand the place and role of women and gender? What are
the necessary presuppositions in our time to approach this topic from an
ecclesiastical standpoint? Finally, the question of women’s priesthood will
also be addressed.
The issues of women in society
The issues related to the position
and role of women in society are actually issues of discrimination against
women. The usual way of approaching such issues is to research the stereotypes
associated with them, which contribute to the maintenance and reproduction of
perceptions and practices that were formerly dominant. As is the case with any
social problem, regarding women's issues as well, it is necessary to have
awareness of their negative aspects and accept that those are not valid. The
procedure for the recognition of these problems started very late in the
history of civilization. It was in the late 19th century that the first considerations
emerged in Europe and North America. But had it not been for the efforts of
modern times for human liberation from the shackles of traditional society, there
could not have been any discussion about women's issues. As it has already happened
in other cases, with thinkers who judged rigorously the imperfections of modernity,
disregarding the importance of the changes it made in relation to the
traditional society, the same thing happened in the field of the feminist
movement. It was especially critical towards modernity, expressing various
reproaches, and in particular that it has not contributed to the liberation of
women.
Yet those reproaches point to the
fact that it has not been understood that without the modern conceptions about society
and human beings there could be no change in anything, the case of women
included, and there could be no feminist movement either. For changes to take place
in society in general, it was necessary to question its traditional structure
and realize that society is not a given thing but something that constantly
changes. This means that the human being can intervene and alter the existing
social situations. In addition, without accepting the release of the individual
from his community, and recognizing that every person has value and can act
according to his/her free will, it would be possible to even conceive any
intervention or change. All this shows that the following factors play an
important role for making meaningful social changes: first, how relationships
among people are understood; second, the relationship between people and society;
third, how their social roles are formed, whether they are given or shaped
according to their own will; or more simply, are their roles biological or
social constructs? Nevertheless, those issues require a lengthy process of
elaboration and are not formed from one day to another. It was not only women
who suffered discrimination, but other parts of the population as well. That is
why it was necessary to realize that everyone has the right to claim a place in
society and that it is not justified to have various kinds of discrimination
within it. Such issues have claimed our concern till modern times as we are
constantly becoming aware of their new dimensions.
Initially,
therefore, it was necessary to accept that equality applies to all and not just
some people. Secondly, it was vital to show that the dominant language
represents a situation full of discriminations against women and is influenced
by them. Thirdly, there had to be proved that the past cannot constitute a tool
for supporting social change, because it contains and reflects the
marginalization of women. The cases of some women, who, because of their
special position in traditional society, had bigger freedom of movement, do not
constitute evidence for the role of women in general, since most of them were
marginalized. Fourthly, stereotypes ascribed their social degradation, but at
the same time contributed to the reproduction of the discrimination regime. Women's
research was mainly targeted to these issues and it was many times expressed
acutely. It goes without saying that if one does not present an existing
negative situation in dark colours, one will not be able to succeed in bringing
awareness about its negativity.
The reversal of this
reality required long-term and arduous struggles. Of course, it could be argued
that it was only these struggles that brought about the change of perceptions
and realities. Other factors, which contributed to the constant change in
society and the great rearrangements in the 20th century, were those that
together with women's struggles helped change the broader cultural context. As
such factors, one might mention the movement of populations, the urbanization,
the need for more members to work in each family, broadening the scope of education
in combination with the cultivation of critical thinking, claiming equal
participation in politics and so on. It might not be wrong for one to argue that
it was the combination of all the above that acted as a catalyst in the issue
of women. It is important to mention here that when the book The Second Sex is written by Simone de
Beauvoir (1949), women's claims are expressed particularly strongly. Of course,
it could not even cross one’s mind, in the early post-war period, to refer to
history or to use any arguments for the participation of women in the
production of culture. The situation, though, will change later on, as we shall
see below.
It should also be
noted that the research on the language codes turned initially and towards the
investigation of the language of the Bible. For this reason, there appeared
quite early a Bible of women containing language interventions. It is
unacceptable that basic texts, written at times of male dominance which is
actually reflected in them, remain unchanged. The research was mainly directed
towards the disapproval of patriarchy and sexism, which were a given fact
(predominant?) in the traditional society. This situation was not only a
problem of the West and the East. There were no differences on these issues
between the East and the West. The thorough historical research in the West
confirmed the problems women were facing in traditional society. Particularly
enlightening is the research of Olwen Hufton. But other research projects,
which are belatedly carried out at present in the East, confirm that there was
no difference in women's issues in comparison to the West. This will also be
shown in what will be mentioned about the perceptions of the East below.
The changes in women’s historiography
The decades of 70s
and especially the 80s brought about a diversification in women's research on
the subject of history and culture. What exactly happened that caused this
change in their attitude? What is more, there appears an elaboration of
relevant terminology and new terms are created about the issue of the role of
gender in history and culture. As is generally the case with the history and its
recording , the same applies for the case of women's history. Older histories
referred to the rulers and their war exploits and ignored the activities of
ordinary people. It took a great deal of deliberation as well as challenging
this data for historiography to start approaching culture as a creation of all
people and not just a few. But this change necessitated several centuries of
dispute. In the case of women, it was necessary to first challenge the previous
situation, to realize that it was demeaning to them and to make more widely
accepted, at least in theory, the request for gender equality. Only when it is
broadly understood that a request is fair, may the effort for the
deconstruction of stereotypes and situations that contradict it begin. Then
simply starts the painstaking endeavor of implementation of new concepts in
practice. That seems, at least theoretically, to be a given fact in the 70s.
This is the main reason for the launch of a different kind of approach, which is
reflected both in the research objectives and the theoretical negotiation that
develops from that decade onwards. Of course, we cannot present here the reflection
on those issues in detail. We will just make mention of the basic data and its essential
outcomes.
The concept of
gender becomes the centerpiece of research. A distinction is made between
biological and social sex. In this case, what really matters is how gender is
shaped. Simone de Beauvoir had already argued that one is not born a woman, but
becomes one. One may assume that there is here a denial of biological dimension.
But this is not really the case. At the same time, the 60s, there is a broader
discussion about the humanization of man. This is an equivalent to the issue of
gender. Nobody claims that man is not biologically a man, and that now he will
become one. What is meant is the constitution and the building of his
personality in such a way that it captures the essence of human existence. This
dimension can be particularly noticed in human freedom, the refusal of violence
and the acceptance of the other. The same applies, initially in a negative way,
with respect to women. The particular social role assigned to women was not in
all its dimensions resulting from biology, but from a set of concepts that are
reproduced through stereotypes and want the woman closed in the house, dealing only
with the birth and upbringing of children, without rights and opportunities to
shape her personality and develop her creative abilities. The background of
this kind of thinking about gender, after the questioning of its content in the
past, altered to positive content in the sense that now women have the ability
and the right to freely shape their role and participate in the social,
political, economic and cultural life in whatever way they deem most
appropriate to their own personality. As it has already been said above, the
principle of equality has been accepted as a fact and it is now processed and
consolidated. Its consolidation is directed at reversing the negative
situations and behaviors in the space of the modern world. Simultaneously,
these ideas are spread to other areas despite the opposition encountered.
This new situation
allows for a change in the field of women's historiography. While previously
the idea of researching the past was rejected, because it could not provide
arguments for the liberation of women, it is now turning towards this direction
using the criterion of gender. Historians, who were usually men, omitted many
details concerning women and recorded only what referred to the activities of
men. The patterns of this way of thinking are similar to those reported
previously about the passage of historiography from recording hegemonic
activities only to recording the activities of ordinary people as well. Despite
the unfavourable situation of women, those were not absent from the production of
culture. These dimensions of culture must now be investigated and recorded.
Thus, the criterion of gender is now used in a fresh way. This does not mean
that the modern demands of women are put aside and that the past is suddenly
considered to be positive for them. The two forms of research run parallel ways.
Feminist theology
The course of the
broader female research and thought can also be traced in the field of feminist
theology, as well as in the research of women theologians. So, as it has
already been said, there was at a very early stage criticism of the traditional
language that enunciated the patriarchal and male-centered structures. The 60s
initially witness a continuation of criticism and research, as well as growing concern
about the place and role of women not only in society but also in the Church.
The shift that occurs in women's thought and reflection from the 70s also
appears in the field of feminist theology and women's theological research. Hence,
the presence of women in the history of the Church is also explored and
particularly the behavior of Jesus towards women which was different from the
one that later gradually appears in the Church. Typical is the conversation
between Jesus and the Samaritan woman, which made his students admire the fact
that "he spoke with a woman." (Jn. 4.27). His broader circle of
students comprised women as well, and those were the first to bring the message
of the Resurrection. It is true that the general attitude of the Church changed
later and got adjusted to the requirements of the society of that time. In
other words, instead of having the Church influence society, the opposite
happened. Nevertheless, in the social work that was developed in the Church,
particularly from the fourth century onwards, many women were involved. These
activities are recorded by female theological research and constitute a very
powerful argument. If at a time when women were degraded in society, they
participated in church, then the responsibility on this issue in the modern times
is much bigger. Now that society has recognized the equality of men and women
and makes a serious effort to deconstruct the negative situations for women,
the Church is no longer justified to maintain stereotypes and situations that
reflect the attitudes of an era that was highly negative for women. In other
words, it is not justified to preserve social data long overcome by society
itself.
To all this must be
added a very important dimension of women's issues that derives from the
theology of liberation. This theology that developed mainly in Latin America,
but also in other parts of the world, is more interested in action. In the 90s
there is an adjustment to new global cultural context. Women theologians who
deal, within the frame of this theology, with the problems of the poor, found out
that women actually face many more problems than men, such as violence against
them, sexist attacks and female discrimination. Thus, they stressed the need to
consider those problems in a special way, taking into account not only the dimension
of poverty, but also that of gender
which puts an extra burden on women’s shoulders.
Women’s Issues and
the tradition of the Church
After what has been
generally said about the issues of women in modern society, to which we will
return at the end of the chapter, it is necessary to take a quick look at the
status of women in the tradition of the Church and the gradual evolution of the
relevant perceptions. We will limit ourselves here mainly to the tradition of the
East. As it has already been mentioned, Jesus attitude towards women was
radical for that time, in the sense that it surpassed the stereotypes that did
not allow for any public activity on the part of women and considered
impermissible for men to socialize with them. However, still there women's
activities at that time that are presented in the Old Testament, as well as in
the early Church. It should not be forgotten that in the New Testament there is
specific mention of the deaconesses Phoebe, Priscilla and Lydia (student of Ap.
Paul). This means that women were not only active in the early Church, but they
also had a special place.
Yet Paul has
certain attitudes and perceptions that can be judged as rather contradictory.
More specifically, in Galatians he
talks about the equality of man and woman "in Christ" (3:28). By this
it is understood that the early Church could, to a limited extent and only
within its communities, talk about new relationships and perceptions. Of
course, much later the historical course of events led to the general
acceptance of this perception without the conditions set by Paul with the
reference "in Christ". This means that the modern Church ought to
recognize this dimension as a fact of our time. Equality is a general
perception accepted by modern society, without considering necessary the conditions
set by the Christian community for its acceptance.
But while Paul
talks in Galatians about equality
between men and women, even “in Christ”, in I
Corinthians he refers to the hierarchy of men and women and subdues the
latter to the former (1 Cor 11:3-12). He certainly mentions respect and love
between men and women, but this cannot refute his basic position, which
contradicts what he says in Galatians.
The best interpretation, based on the present time reality, postulates the acceptance
of what is said in Galatians as a
basic principle, considering what is said in I Corinthians to be an adaptation to the cultural conditions of his
time. This interpretation should be considered to be more appropriate, putting
paid to the efforts made on the basis of improbable claims to prove correct the
position of I Corinthians as well. It
is preferable to approach the understanding and regulation of relations from
the perspective of equality and intellectual cultivation of men and women that can
help achieve a balance between them. Paul repeats what has been said in Genesis and with those views that were
suited to the cultural context of his time he had a bigger influence than by
what he said in Galatians.
So, one can see
relatively quickly that in the frame of Church there has been concern about
what the woman is. Clement of Alexandria mentions that the woman as well should
be called "human". This means that this dimension was challenged. She
is called woman, because, as it has been noted, she was taken out of man. This
makes evident the fact that the relative narrative of the Old Testament
influenced their perceptions. So, the man has a name, while the woman is simply
called wife. Throughout the ecclesiastical tradition, the Old Testament
narrative, which has actually got a symbolic character, was considered to be a
"historical fact." It was only in modern times that this has been
challenged by modern theology which maintains that the narrative is symbolic
and should not be construed as a historical fact.
At the beginning of
the fourth century, St. Athanasius the Great, speaking disparagingly about the
goddesses of the pagan religion, stated that we (meaning Christians) do not
take into account women even for simple advice, while the Pagans have turned them into goddesses (Athanasius, Contra Gentes 10, PG 25,21C). This
clearly shows how pejoratively women were treated. Only at the end of the
fourth century, St. Basil the Great and Gregory of Nyssa claim that women as
well are in the image of God (Basilius, Homilia
in 1 Psalmum, PG 29, 216D-217A; Homilia
in Martyrem Julittam PG 31,241A. Gregor of Nyssa, De hominis opificio 16, PG 44, 182 A-C). On the contrary, St. John
Chrysostom maintains that it is indirectly, through man, that women acquire
this dimension (Hom. 26,2 in 1 Cor PG 61,214; Hom. 2 in Gen PG 54,589). These are some
indicative views that show how controversial the perceptions about women were, even
among prominent church representatives.
It is not possible
to describe here in detail how the relevant perceptions evolve. For this
reason, we will mention them briefly. The woman is considered to be the cause
of all evil, she can attract men, so her body should be covered and she should
not try to beautify herself. This is apparently a negative attitude towards the
body and the beauty. These perceptions were generally prevalent in the East. In
our days, they can still be observed in the Muslim communities and in some
cases in the working classes that live in the countryside. It is argued, though,
that the woman was raised in the face of the Virgin. However, in traditional
texts of the 6th century about Virgin Mary, especially in the homilies on
Theotokos, falsely attributed to St. Gregory of Neocaesarea, there coexist on
the one hand these special honors to the Virgin, and on the other the
devaluation of the other women who are considered to be the cause of all evil.
In those texts one can find the famous saying: “it is through woman that all
evil has come to us, but also all good” (Pseudo-Gregory Thaumatourgos, Annunt 3, Pg 10,1177A). The second part refers
to the Virgin Mary and the first to the woman in general. Of course, it can be
easily understood that such views, which strongly influenced the position of
women in ecclesiastical tradition, can be neither accepted in our time, nor
justified. They should simply remain in the past and be considered valid proof
that the past and the tradition cannot be used in order to draw arguments about
the position of women in our time. They are nothing but historical data of the past.
According to
traditional ecclesiastical and social perceptions women we thought to be only
fit for home; they had to do the housekeeping and be occupied with the birth
and upbringing of children. Especially the young were obliged to serve others
and dependent on the will of their husband or, before him, their father or
guardian. In traditional society, women had very limited opportunities for
training and education. Such opportunities were mainly available only for the
young women of aristocratic families. But such was the extent of the connection
between the prevailing social perceptions and church practices, that the basic
demands of society for the reproduction of social situations were interwoven in
religious rules. In case of any deviation in the frame of marriage the woman
was punished very severely. For this reason, some Fathers, Gregory the
Theologian and Gregory of Nyssa, stigmatized this practice of discrimination
against women. In the West, discussions about the woman being an accomplished human
being or not continued in later times until the Middle Ages. Thus, the question
whether a woman also has a soul or not was raised. This question is a clear
indication of the cultural level at the time. Oftentimes, young women were sent
to monasteries, instead of being allowed to have a family. This was mostly done
to preserve the family property. Moreover, the brutal treatment of women and the
derogatory treatment of female children was a common practice until later
periods. This very practice forced St. Cosmas the Aetolian to react and try, by
using soteriological arguments, to persuade men to behave better towards their
wives. These are some characteristic examples of the way women were treated in
the traditional "Christian" society. Additionally, there may be
mentioned some ecclesiastical texts which approach women as unclean. Those are
perceptions that derive from the Jewish tradition. Obviously, those cannot be
supported in our time. But still, the Orthodox Church avoids discussing this
issue and does not cease using these texts in the worship.
The order of deaconesses
Nevertheless, it should be noted here that, for the traditional period, the
fact that women participated in the social work of the Church should be
considered real progress. In this context, the institution of deaconesses
played an important role. This was an institution that was originally created
to provide assistance in the church, particularly with the practice of adult
baptism. The deaconesses assisted in the baptism of women. We will not be concerned
here whether the deaconesses were ordained (χειροτονία) or followed
another procedure (χειροθεσία). The important
thing is that there were specific blessings for their participation in this
institution and a standard procedure as in the other ordinations. After the introduction
of infant baptism, deaconesses devoted themselves to the social work of the
Church. As it can be easily understood, the creation of such an institution in a
period of severe degradation of women brings a lot more responsibility to the
Church in our time, when the role of women in society has been clearly upgraded.
The Church can no longer simply be prevaricating with arguments from tradition interpreting
unilaterally various texts. This, of course, was the reason that forced the
Inter-Orthodox Conference of Rhodes (1988) to discuss the necessity to at least
restore in the Orthodox Church the institution of deaconesses.
The Church and the social emancipation of women
The Church, influenced by the traditional social perceptions about women,
understandably did not conduce to their liberation in modern times. It may,
indeed, be said that even now it supports the traditional views contrary to
contemporary perceptions about women and their position in society. Referring
specifically to the Greek case, the liberation of women from the shackles of
traditional society came gradually with the acceptance of certain basic facts.
As such may be mentioned: the wider acceptance of views about gender equality
and equal participation of women in political and social life, ensuring their
right to education and teaching, the urbanization of the population, the need
for more working members in modern family and the principle of freedom for
shaping the personality and the role of women in society. The most essential of
all those, though, was the acceptance that the social roles, and therefore the
content of the gender, are formulated on the basis of freedom and nothing is predefined
in advance in a way that it cannot be changed. Such perceptions should be admitted
by the Church, which particularly in recent decades speaks of personal freedom
as a basic principle. Individual freedom also means freedom of person to shape social
roles. These things are considered self-evident in contemporary society and no
one can ignore them. The disregard of these views by the Church simply deteriorates
its position, as women have already accepted them and claim their realization.
This is the reason why there are no roles defined by tradition. Everyone is
free to choose how they will shape their personality and role. Any choice is
respected. All these are essential presuppositions that must be accepted by the
Church
According to polls,
women keep relations with the Church to a greater extent than men do. The
percentage is almost double compared to men. How can one explain the fact that
women keep relations with the Church despite the disparaging attitudes it
maintains for women? More specifically, how do they perceive blessings about
their uncleanness and texts that speak of their subordination to men? Of
course, one would be naive to argue that they accept any of these perceptions. What
seems most plausible to assume is that either quite a few of them do not
understand these texts, which are expressed in a language not easily understood
by the average woman of our time, or that they choose to ignore these
perceptions of the Church, because they have separated their social practice
from religious traditions and customs. The second explanation seems to be more
likely. But, whatever the explanation is, the Church should at some point understand
that it cannot continue reproducing the traditional perceptions about women in
our time. Since it particularly values life, it cannot connect the cycle of
life with perceptions that refer to uncleanness. This is just a natural (bodily)
function of women and nothing more than that.
Another key element
should be mentioned here. The egalitarian ideas do not have the potential by
themselves to change the negative attitudes and especially the practices of abuse
and exploitation of women. To overcome those coordinated and targeted efforts
in the social field are absolutely necessary. But whoever wants to denounce
these practices, should initially take action in their own field for the
rehabilitation of women. This is particularly applies to the Orthodox Church.
It cannot escape our attention that very little has been done towards this
direction. Apologetic attitudes through recruiting several women cannot cover
the imperfections.
Over the past two
decades women have achieved a high participation in education as well. This,
indeed, remains at high levels regarding the course of religious education in
public secondary schools, but also in Theological Schools of a university level.
The percentage of women attending courses in Theological Schools is very high.
Life goes on without paying attention to the backward perceptions held by some.
Those perceptions cannot stop the progress of society. This development, as it usually
happens, may help forget the kind of perceptions held for women in traditional
society. But it is not right to use this "forgetfulness" in order to
idealize the past. It is necessary for the young men and women to know what
existed previously and how, through struggles and laborious efforts, the
current situation was reached. Moreover, whatever is painstakingly achieved
must be protected against those who always see positively former realities or
try in any way to reproduce silly and unintelligent stereotypes. There are
positive and negative aspects in every period. Humans should make an effort to overcome
what is negative but also by all means protect what is positive.
The position of women in the Church
Despite the fact
that the change in Greece has become obvious even in the theological space, it
is worthy of particular attention that feminist theology and women's research
has not developed in the field of theology. What are the reasons behind this
situation? It should probably be attributed to the fact that society ensures the
free choices and free development of women’s personality. Yet, it is still necessary
for women to develop a particular vision of society, the Church and theology
based on their own perspective. An effort is made for this particular vision to
be expressed by people who will reproduce traditional apologetic attitudes and
not by progressive people who will offer their own elaboration and sensitivity
to various issues. Of course, the issue of women in the Church should not be
addressed separately from the broader issue of the position of the laity in it.
But this is something that the Orthodox Church is trying to circumvent arguing
that such a thing does not exist in its space. The fact, though, that it
becomes all the more introverted constitutes proof that there exists a serious
issue. The truth is that the involvement of women could conduce to the
development of very useful social projects. The field of social work with the
application of modern methods is open. What is needed is the appropriate will
and imagination. But such a thing requires the opening of the Orthodox Church
and the acceptance of the notion that much can be done in practice based on a
variety of gifts. And those cannot only be limited to what the clergy can do. In
this way, it can be understood that the Church has got many members and it
should not be simply identified with the clergy.
Finally, it is
necessary to raise this issue of the priesthood of women. This increasingly concerns
Christian Churches in recent decades. There is clear variation in the practices
that are followed. The Catholic and the Orthodox Church deny the mere existence
of the issue. But the need that leads them to finding arguments to respond
negatively to this issue constitutes evidence that the problem exists. The
Protestant Churches have moved forward and ordained women priests and bishops.
This differentiation leads to controversy. In reality there are no strong
theological arguments to prevent this practice. The argument 'of tradition'
used by the Orthodox Church is not enough to prevent the implementation of a
different practice in modern times. What was mentioned earlier about the
position of women in traditional society clearly show that it was impossible to
discuss such issues in the context of tradition. So, how can one expect to get answers
from those who never cared to ask any questions?
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