DeiProfundis

But dragons, they aren't like us. The don't end like we end. Being made of the world itself, they can be remade by the world. Born of fire, frozen in stone made of the meeting of fire and ice, our young friend slowly but surely became that which surrounded her.

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The Pascha Cheese was a hit this year, the best ever!

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Recently, yet another article on why a male-only Catholic priesthood is sensible has been making the rounds of Facebook.  In a National Catholic Reporter, the Dominican Father Wojciech Giertych acknowledges that we cannot really know why Jesus chose only male apostles despite his other counter-cultural acts, but offers some speculation as to the reasons.

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Dear friend, I need to think more about resources for your priest, since to be frank, I am not sure what would convince him out of his position. I do agree with him that we are accountable, that our decisions have grave consequences, and so like your priest and Fr. Reardon, I take voting seriously. I also think that our choices are not as clear as he, or Fr. Reardon, think. So, let me address Fr. Reardon's points.

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There are few aspects of Schmemann that I find more frustrating that his straw-man dismissals of theologies, theories, perspectives and opinions that he does not appear to make any attempts to understand.  This may sound harsh, but this quote is the perfect epitome: not only does he fail to understand the breadth of virtue (as if kindness was not also a virtue), but he fails to acknowledge that Orthodox theologians consistently speak of theosis as the acquisition (or uncovering) of virtue.

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So tell me, my Orthodox brothers and sisters, do I, a feminist, hate my church? There are many aspects of Pussy Riot’s actions, the charge of blasphemy issued by the Russian Orthodox Church, and the political motivations of the trial itself that can be debated. If you want to read excellent discussions, see the facebook pages of Nadieszda Kizenko, Inga Leonova or the group Taste and See, and debate them there.

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For those unaware, a firestorm has been ignited over the decision of Bishop Matthias (OCA) of Chicago to no longer allow laity to hold the altar cloths at communion. Apparently in his announcement of his decisions, he explicitly mentioned his discomfort that women had contact with sacred things. While he denied this in a letter, it is women who bear the brunt of this decision, and who have no recourse (short of monasticism) to obtain the tonsure that might “rectify” their lay status. Many reasons are floating around to explain away this unfortunate bind. I will address some of them in future posts.

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In May 2004 I wrote a response to an article printed in The Word, the magazine of the Antiochian Orthodox Archdiocesan.  In it, I argue that Orthodox theology allows for the possibility of female priests.  In doing so, I was entering into a discussion with the likes of Mdm. Elisabeth Behr-Sigel, Metrs. Anthony Bloom and Kallistos Ware, Dr. Valerie Karras and Sr. Nonna Harrison, and Fr. Thomas Hopko, all of whom consider (or ‘considered,’ both Behr-Sigel and Bloom are of blessed memory) the topic an open question. At least one of the responses to my article projected that my arguments were merely a precursor for the ordination of openly (and presumably sexually active) gay clergy. 

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