H. In these modern times, it is categorically imperative for the Church to develop and adopt a clear position on a host of appropriate gender issues, and more specifically, as it relates to the roles and places women occupy in the daily operations of the Church. Going forward, the Church cannot continue as a legitimate and viable spiritual entity of the Armenian people without reaching a comprehensive understanding of the integral role women must assume within the hierarchy of the Church.
The existence and the participation of deaconess-sisters in early Christendom is well chronicled and attests to their role in spreading the Gospel as well as performing any number of social and welfare services. With the advent of the New Testament, public opinion of women and their place in society as well as within the Church underwent a wholesale change.
Although women in ancient Rome enjoyed advantages over their counterparts in the golden age of Greece, their prevailing status in society was that of second-class citizens.
However, with the arrival of Jesus Christ and His egalitarian perspective on a range of gender issues, Christianity can claim to have sparked the catalyst which eventually led to a deeper appreciation of women and their roles in the Church and in society at large.
Jesus Christ castigated those who regarded women as inferior human beings. His Disciples were perplexed to see Him talking to a Samaritan woman: “Yet no one said, ‘What do you seek?’ or ‘Why are you talking with her?’” (John 4:27) Furthermore, Christ refused to yield to the Pharisees, when the sinner “stood behind Him weeping and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil”. (Luke 7:38) Then Christ said to the woman “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace” (Luke 7:50).
It is very encouraging to note the speech given by the Apostle Paul to the Corinthians, where he claims, “Nevertheless, neither is man independent of woman, nor woman independent of man, in the eyes of the Lord”. (1 Cor.11:11) In other words, each is an integral and necessary part of a complete unit.
In his Letter to the Romans, the Apostle Paul writes, “I commend to you Phoebe our sister, who is a servant of the church in Cenchrea, that you may receive her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints and assist her in whatever business she has need of you; for indeed she has been a helper of many and of myself also”. (Rom.16:1-2) From the words of the Apostle one can deduce that Sister Phoebe had an important role in the early Christian church.
Likewise, in his Letter to the Philippians, Paul refers to two additional women, Euodia and Syntyche: “I beg Euodia, and I beg Syntyche, to agree together in the Lord’s fellowship. Yes, and you too, my loyal comrade, I ask you to help these women, who shared my struggles in the cause of the Gospel, with Clement and my other fellow-workers, whose names are in the roll of the living.” (Phil.4:2-3).
We have yet another instance where the Apostle Paul addresses the role of women in the Christian faith. He says, “Greet Mary, who labored much for us. Greet Andronicus and Junia, my countrymen and my fellow prisoners, who are of note among the apostles, who also were in Christ before me” (Rom.16:6-7). All these quotes and instances indicate how important women were at the outset of Christianity.
In spite of all the high praise given to women by the Apostle Paul, the role of women became limited in the Church, especially when it came to the issue of their ordination to higher ranks. This limitation was due particularly to the early Old Testament teachings about women, where they were depicted as being inferior to men. This attitude continued through the Apostolic era.
The attitudes towards women expressed in the Old and New Testaments are now considered archaic and largely obsolete by many scholars, and are cause for theological and liturgical debate within sectarian circles. Those who take the words of the Bible literally consider everything that is said as indisputable. Furthermore they claim that if Christ and the Apostles wanted women to become ordained priests, they would not have hesitated to make such a declaration. And, since such a declaration is nowhere to be found in the New Testament, the Church has adopted the principle that whatever was established by Divine ordination cannot be altered, therefore women cannot be admitted to the rank of ordained priesthood. Needless to say, current views on this issue are a far cry from the antiquated mindset expressed in theological doctrines.
The Armenian Apostolic Church, in its early years, assigned meaningful and influential roles to women and its history is replete with recognition of their sainthood. Starting from the 9th century AD, we find extensive references to sister-nuns and deaconesses in our church history, which attest to their missions of helping orphans and the elderly, comforting the neglected, abused, and unfortunate, and counseling women regarding their social inequities.
Also, we know from our church history that some of our Church Fathers, such as Nerses Lambronatsi and Boghos Taronatsi did not approve of women becoming deaconesses and wanted to shut down their convents, while. on the other hand, Mekhitar Gosh (1130-1213) defended the practice of ordaining women as deaconesses and dedicated a large section in his book, “Tadasdanakirk” (Codex), describing the usefulness of women in the mission of the Church.
Armenian history books are full of accounts about numerous convents entrusted to nuns and deaconesses where they have accomplished great missions. In the 17th century AD, Catholicos Movses Tatevatsi, while reforming the Church, encouraged and supported women’s work and roles in the Church. Likewise, convents for women, or nunneries, continued to exist for a long time in the region of Artsakh. Eventually, convents were founded in other cities also, such as Astrakhan (Russia), Jazlowiec (Poland), Tbilisi (Georgia), Istanbul and Bursa (Turkey), and the “Birds Nest” orphanage in Jbeil, Lebanon, where three sisters continue their mission to this date. There is also a small convent in Armenia, known as “the Hripsimyants Order,” under the auspices of the Armenian Catholicosate of St. Etchmiadzin.
It is an undisputed fact that there have been many deaconesses in the Armenian Church, who are held in high respect for their sacred work, both in secular and religious communities. Unfortunately, the Armenian Church, unlike the Catholic and Orthodox churches, having increasingly limited their roles and missions begs the following question: even if it claims to adhere to Biblical tenets, why are gender issues in general not on the table for discussion to day? And more specifically, why are women, who comprise a majority of the Armenian population and are directly responsible for the existence of the entire population, excluded from spiritual service? Does the hierarchy of the Church believe that women are less spiritual and devoted? Are they less in the eye of God? Or, just less able to give spiritual comfort to the needy masses? What is the fundamental rationale for preventing women from serving God and humanity?
Look around you and see what kind of role women have in other ecclesiastical and religious institutions such as the Anglican Church and the Evangelists. They have considered the women’s role very important and crucial in their institutions. The Armenian Apostolic Church should also consider how to attract dedicated women especially in their social-welfare mission.
And finally, as Pope Francis said in an interview recently, “The church cannot exist without woman and her role in it. We must therefore investigate further the role of women in the church. We have to work harder and develop a profound theology for women. Only by making this step will it be possible to better reflect on their function within the church. The feminine genius is needed wherever we make important decisions”.
This is one of the most significant challenges that faces the next Bishops’ Synod. If the Armenian Church wants to continue to function as a viable institution and command moral authority over its people, it must include this issue in its agenda and consider the myriad of ways in which women can contribute to wholeness and welfare of the Church.
VOSGAN MEKHITARIAN to be continued
February 3, 2014
