This is the second in a series dealing with women in the Church. Part 1
dealt with women saints of the first century, and their extraordinary activities
as role models for today's Orthodox women. Having been edified by the lives
of the women saints, we will now examine the various orders for "ordinary"
Christian women, including the order of widows, the order of virgins, and
the office of deaconess.
The
deaconess ministered to women in their houses and assisted at baptisms
of women. Later the deaconess kept order in the church; cared for the women
sick and poor; was present when bishops, priests, or deacons spoke with
women; and introduced women catechumens
The Order of Widows
Widows were a distinct group of women set apart, first of all, by their
having lost their husbands. Concern for widows goes back to Old Testament
precepts. Because they were very vulnerable in ancient Israel, special
provision was made for them in Israelite law. The prophets harshly condemned
those who were unjust toward widows, and a beneficent attitude toward them
was one of the marks of true piety.
The Acts of the Apostles show that this ideological concern for widows
and their children became a practical one in the case of the Greek speaking
widows who were not being given their proper share in the distribution
of food. Seven men full of the Holy Spirit and wisdom, were appointed to
take care of them. The seven men were brought before the apostles, who
prayed and laid their hands on them. Some say that this event established
the office of deacon.
The order of widows consisted of widows who were enrolled, i.e., those
put on the payroll of the church, who were to were to be representatives
of and perform services on behalf of the church. The enrolled widow:
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was at least sixty years of age
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had led a pure married life
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had a reputation for good works: (a) had reared
children, (b) had shown hospitality, (c) had washed the saints’ feet (literally
and figuratively), (d) had helped those in trouble, (e) had followed
every kind of good work.
The standards were not arbitrary, but rather a clear indication of her
ministry. Her duties included praying, teaching women, and doing good deeds.
Widows were not allowed to function in any specifically male roles. "They
were not to answer questions of a theological nature, but rather to refer
these to the leaders of the community" (House 92). The Didascalia clearly
prohibited baptism by women.
Evidence of the widows' high place was that sinners prostrated themselves
in the center of the assembly before the widows and presbyters. The Alexandrian
writers listed widows along with the bishops, presbyters, and deacons.
Clement referred to biblical commands to "chosen persons, some to presbyters,
some to bishops, some to deacons, others to widows." Origen (later tainted
by heresy) also listed them along with the clerical ranks when he said:
"Neither the bishop, nor the presbyter, nor the deacon, nor the widow may
be
married twice." A very important distinction to keep in mind, however,
is that widows were appointed, but not ordained. There was no laying on
of hands accompanied by prayer.
Some widows apparently abused their position by establishing businesses.
Others visited the houses of the rich in order to receive money donations,
which they were amassed and lent out at usurious rates. The order of widows
disappeared entirely by the beginning of the third century in most places,
although St. John Chrysostom attests to the position of widow up to the
end of the fourth century. The reason for its demise was most likely that
it was gradually subsumed into the office of deaconess.
The Order of Virgins
One of the most "revolutionary" aspects of the advent of Christianity was
its emphasis on self-denial, particularly in the matter of marriage. St.
Paul's err-quoted admonition to the Corinthians was: Art thou bound unto
a wife? Seek not to be loosed. Art thou loosed from a wife? Seek not a
wife. The message is one of continence: divorce and remarriage are to be
avoided.
In about the third century. the order of widows began to decline and was
gradually replaced by the order of virgins. For some period of time the
distinction between the order of widows and the order of virgins was blurred
because young virgins were admitted to the order of widows. Some Church
leaders disapproved of this practice because it violated the requirements
that a widow be sixty years of age, a mother, and someone who had taught
her own children.
Some historians have thought that virgins in the Christian community of
Smyrna were called widows simply because they did the same work as the
order of widows. Others say that it was because both groups had the same
"life-style," i.e., one characterized by continence. What ever the case,
the order of virgins was eventually subsumed into women's monasticism,
possibly beginning in the fourth century.
The Office of
Deaconess
The office of deaconess was abolished in the West before the eleventh century,
but in the East it lasted to the end of the Byzantine period in the fifteenth
century. It is now retained only in some Orthodox convents.
St. Paul mentions the first deaconess, St. Phoebe of the Church at Cenchrea,
in his epistle to the Romans 16: 1-2: I commend unto you Phoebe our sister
which is a deacon of the church which is at Cenchrea. That ye receive her
in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business
she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself
also.
The interpretations of this passage vary. Those who would deny that there
ever were ordained deaconesses say that the word "deacon" simply means
servant, and that anyone could be a servant, male or female, ordained or
not. That interpretation is at odds with the Church's recognition of Phoebe
as the first deaconess. It also fails to take into account that the word
"deacon" derived from the Greek and meaning "helper" or "'minister" is
exactly what the deaconess is supposed to be.
Another interpretation, more realistic in view of the historical facts,
is that this passage "refutes the hypothesis that [deaconesses] were appointed
to administer exclusively to their own sex (Coleman 115). In saying that
Phoebe "hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also," St. Paul is
saying that Phoebe ministered unto him, a male. (Some speculate that Phoebe
nursed Paul back to health from an illness or injury.)
"The office of deaconess was already a position for women in the service
of the Christian community in apostolic times, but it was an inferior office
until the middle of the third century (House 97). It appears to have developed
gradually, representing only a small expansion of the role of widow. The
Apostolic Constitutions required that a deaconess either be a virgin or
a once-married widow, and the Council of Chalcedon (451 AD) forbade marriage
after ordination.
The primary duties of the deaconess were ministering to women in their
houses and assisting at baptisms. The rationale was that it was not proper
for a deacon to go to the house of heathens to visit a believing woman,
and it was not proper for a man to anoint a woman during baptism and to
receive her as she emerged from the water, because men should not see her
unclothed. However, anointing the woman's head, the immersion, and the
pronouncement of the words of baptism were duties reserved to the bishop
or presbyter performing the baptism.
By the fourth century, the deaconess was assigning places to female visitors
in the church, keeping order, admonishing and praying with latecomers,
and assisting "in a minor way" at the altar (House 98). What the qualification
"in a minor way" is not clear. The required age of sixty was reduced to
fifty by the Didascalia and then to forty by the Council at Chalcedon Other
duties added to her charge were to care for the sick and poor of her own
sex; to be present when bishops, priests, or deacons spoke with women;
anti to introduce women catechumens.
Several reasons are given for the ultimate demise of the office of deaconess:
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The decline of missionary activity and the
resultant decline in the number of adult baptisms with which deaconesses
would assist.
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The rise of monasticism which, to some extent
absorbed and redirected the activities of deaconesses.
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The taking over of care of the sick and the
poor by the Byzantine state.
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Abuses on the part of some deaconesses who
took ministerial functions upon themselves, such as reading the Scriptures
in public.
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Reaction against the prominent ministry of
women in certain heretical groups, particularly the Gnostics and the Montanists.
The
office of deaconess was abolished in the West before the eleventh century,
but in the East it lasted to the end of the Byzantine period in the fifteenth
century. It is now retained only in some Orthodox convents.
The office of deaconess was conferred with an ordination practically identical
to that of the deacon. The ordination took place in the altar, which was
not the case with ordination for the inferior offices. The bishop laid
his hands on the candidate and recited two prayers, the first of which
invoked divine grace. In matters of precedence she came after the deacon
and was robed with the sticharion and the orarion.
After her ordination, the bishop handed her the chalice which she placed
on the altar. She had the right to carry and give Holy Communion to sick
women. She could not take a ceremonial part in any of the sacraments or
in other ceremonies that required the assistance of a deacon. She was addressed
as "reverend, "most honorable" or "most pious." During the time when bishops
were selected from among the married clergy, their wives lived apart from
them and were ordained as deaconesses. They could subsequently remain in
society or enter a convent.
St. Elizabeth, New Martyr and Grand Duchess of Russia, attempted to restore
the ancient office of deaconess in Russia. She was zealously supported
by Metropolitan Vladimir of Moscow but opposed by Bishop Germogen of Saratov.
Particularly in the Eastern Church, the deaconesses was an important ceremonial,
instructional, and social-care intermediary between the hierarchy and the
women members of the Church. Up to the sacking of Constantinople, during
what is now regarded as the golden age of Orthodoxy, deaconesses played
a vital role in sustaining the faith of the family. By their own good example,
and through teaching, advising, and counseling, they guided wives and mothers
to the Orthodox way of living. Interestingly enough, a significant movement
to restore the order of deaconess has been occurring in the Eastern Church
in recent years in fact. St. Nectarios of Pentapolis ordained deaconesses
for his convent.
An attempt to re-establish the ancient office or deaconess in Russia is
described in Metropolitan Amvrossy’s account of the life of St. Elizabeth,
New Martyr and Grand Duchess of Russia. Her efforts to restore the office
were whole-heartedly and zealously supported by Metropolitan Vladimir of
Moscow. However, Bishop Germogen of Saratov opposed the idea because of
a misunderstanding. He even went so far as to accuse her of having Protestant
tendencies - but he later repented of this accusation. Nevertheless, the
Grand Duchess abandoned her plans and submitted to Church authority. It
is significant that she did not take advantage of her position as Grand
Duchess to achieve her cherished dream.
It is clear from the remarkable lives of women saints which we reviewed
in Part 1, and from the account of the orders for ordinary women in Part
2, that the role of women in the first century Church was indeed much more
extensive then it is today. In Part 3 we will consider the historical explanations
given for the expansive role of women and what happened to curtail it.
CITED
WORKS
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