Holy Mothers of Orthodoxy: Women and the Church
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Holy Mothers of Orthodoxy Women and the Church By Eva Catafygiotu Topping Light and Life Publishing Company Minneapolis, Minnesota 1987 Acknowledgements The Greek Orthodox Theological Review The Church Woman Journal of Modern Greek Studies Hellenic Chronicle Greek Accent Greek Star Some of the chapters of this book have appeared in print in the above magazines or newspapers. We cordially acknowledge their permission to reprint. Holy Mothers of Orthodoxy ............................................................................. iv Reflections of an Orthodox Feminist ............................................................... vi Thekla the Nun: In Praise of Woman .............................................................. xv Kassiane the Nun and the Sinful Woman ................................................... xxviii Blame It on Eve ......................................................................................... xxxvi Saint Febronia: Equal or Second Class? ..................................................... xxxix Patriarchal Prejudice and Pride in Greek Christianity, Some Notes on Origins ....................................................................................................................... xli Saint Photeine, the Woman at the Well ........................................................ xlix Orthodox Women Face Challenges .................................................................. li Belittling Eve .................................................................................................. liii March 25, 1985 ............................................................................................ lviii The First Christos Anesti (Christ is Risen) ....................................................... lx St. Mary Magdalene ....................................................................................... lxii Heroines and Halos ...................................................................................... lxiii In Defense of the Men of a Certain Parish ..................................................... lxx Make a Joyful Noise! ................................................................................... lxxii Women Hymnographers of Byzantium ........................................................ lxxii St. Katherine: Glorious and All-Wise Martyr .............................................. lxxxiv Three Outstanding Byzantine Women ....................................................... lxxxv Martyrs and Apostles: Saints for February .............................................. lxxxviii Orthodox Eve and the Royal Priesthood ................................................... lxxxix Orthodox Women and the Iconic Image of Christ ........................................... cv At Forty Days ................................................................................................ cvii At Forty Days – A Postscript .......................................................................... cix December Gifts ............................................................................................. cxi In Their Own Write ....................................................................................... cxiii Philothei the Athenaia .................................................................................. cxv Demonstrating for Orthodoxy ..................................................................... cxvii Oh Susanna ................................................................................................. cxix Women Bearing Myrrh ................................................................................. cxxi St. Paul and the Women in Romans 16 ...................................................... cxxiii St. Elizabeth and the Dragon ...................................................................... cxxv Notes ........................................................................................................ cxxvii To the Reader The book in your hands consists of thirty-two articles and lectures. Each is an organic whole, independent of the others. Thus each can be road separately and understood. Nevertheless, all are concerned with the history and the present status of women in the Orthodox Church. They were written over a period of seven years, from 1980 to 1987. All the essays are based on my research in the Scriptures, particularly the New Testament, in the writings of the church fathers, in Byzantine hymnography and hagiography. I read the relevant sources and texts in the original Greek. (Hence the appearance of some key words in Greek.) In this way I tried to come as close as possible to Orthodoxy's tradition relating to women - its origins and development. Before being assembled in this volume, these articles and lectures were addressed to a variety of audiences. Sometimes the audience was exclusively Orthodox, at other times completely non-orthodox. The lectures were delivered either at my parish church, or at Hellenic College, or at a diocesan assembly banquet, or at an ecumenical convocation of 3000 church women from all parts of the world. Some of the articles were published in scholarly journals, others in magazines and newspapers. As a result, there is a variety of style. It may be scholarly, journalistic, and even personal. Also, some repetition inevitably occurs. Unintended though they may be, these repetitions serve a useful function. A life-long student, I have long since come to appreciate the importance and necessity of repetition in learning and understanding a subject, no matter what it is. From this prospective this collection of essays can be viewed as a work which, like a symphony, includes major and minor themes, repeated in variations. What is major in one essay may appear as a minor theme in another. Whether major or minor, variations or not, all contribute to the book's subject, the history, roles and status of Orthodox women in our church. Today no one can doubt the significance and complexity of this subject. It concerns not only Orthodox women, but Orthodox men as well, laity, clergy and hierarchy. Therefore, serious discussion of women's place and participation in the life and ministries of our church is needed in order to understand and meet the changes and challenges of the times in which we find ourselves. More importantly, prejudice-free study of this issue is crucial if we are to achieve the new creation inaugurated by Christ, in which the divine image present in Orthodox women is at last recognized and accepted as reality. Eva Catafygiotu Topping May 5, 1987 The Feast of Saint Eirene the Great Martyr Fredericksburg, Virginia Holy Mothers of Orthodoxy It is well known to all that the Orthodox Church has "fathers.'' We are constantly reminded of their presence and power. For example, every Divine Liturgy ends with the familiar prayer, "Through" the prayers of our fathers…'' Much less well known is the fact that our church also has "mothers.'' Reminders of their existence and influence come very few and far between. Our “mothers'' do not appear in the liturgical petitions of the Divine Liturgy. Yet Orthodoxy has thousands of "mothers.'' They are the women saints whose names are inscribed on almost every single day of our liturgical calendar. With the notable exception of the Theotokos and a handful of major figures, however, our women saints are generally ignored More glorious and powerful than all the angels and saints, Mary is, of course, the first "mother'' of the Orthodox Church. Her presbeia (intercession) forms a dominant theme in countless hymns and prayers in which Orthodox Christians sing Mary's praises and appeal to her maternal love for help and protection. In addition to the Theotokos, the church also has many other noble "mothers.'' The four evangelists record the discipleship of loyal women like Saints Mary Magdalene, Martha and Mary of Bethany and the Myrophoroi. According to the Gospels, women were first at the Cradle and first at the Cross. Likewise, the Book of Acts and the Epistles furnish evidence of women's activities and leadership in the early church. They served as founders of churches, as deacons, apostles, teachers, preachers and prophets. Thus, our church commemorates among others, St Hermione, healer and prophet; Saints Thekla, Apphia, Iounia, Priscilla, Mariamne and Photeine, apostles who spread the word of Christ in a pagan world; Saints Olympia and Suzanne, deacons in Constantinople and Palestine, respectively. Martyrs constitute the largest category of holy ''mothers.'' By their sacrificial deaths these theophoroi (godbearing) women insured life for the church. Along with hundreds of their sisters, the Great Martyrs Katherine, Barbara, Marina, Eirene, Christine and Euphemia "imitated the death of Christ'' and paid blood tribute to their church. From the first prosecutions of Christians and in every crisis women have defended Orthodoxy with their lives; Saints Anna, Theodosia, Maria and Anthousa in the religious straggles of Byzantium during the eighth and ninth centuries; Saints Philothei, Chryse, Kyranna, Akylina and Argyre during the four hundred years of Turkish rule in Greece. Like the “fathers,” the “mothers” enjoy rights of intercession in heaven. With confidence, therefore, Orthodox faithful may address prayers and petitions to female saints, our “mothers.” Likewise, many “mothers” possess miraculous powers, and are distinguished as thaumatourgoi (miracle-workers). To mention a few examples, Saints Zenais, Sophia, Asklepias,