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. . . ."
Journal: Most Recent
An Icon of Ruth and Naomi
In the realm of the sacred (as distinct from the realm of the computer), the word "icon" has been used for centuries to refer to images of holy subjects painted on wood. The painting and veneration of icons is an ancient tradition, well-developed by the third century AD.
Poem: Odes of Solomon - Ode 19
A cup of milk was offered to
me
And I drank it with the sweetness of the Lord's kindness.
The Son is the cup,
And He who was milked is the Father.
And She who milked Him is the Holy Spirit.
Because His breasts were full,
And it was not necessary for His milk to be poured without
cause.
Letters
Dear editors,
I wish to commend and congratulate you on the content and graphic design of your spring 1998 issue of the St. Nina Quarterly. The articles by Elisabeth Behr-Sigel and Father Antony Hughes are particularly compelling, impressively avoiding polemics in lieu of balanced, insightful, and well-cited thought. In Sister Nonna Harrison's excellent article on Orthodoxy and Feminism, she proposes that ". . . we cannot begin to address this issue responsibly unless we are clear about what feminism is." Indeed, this statement can and should be a model for approaching any new and potentially complex topic. Demetra Jaquet in "Women in Society" touches on several points which I hope to see evolve into future articles and areas of focus.
Language in the Church
The language debate in American Orthodoxy has a number of dimensions to it. The first and most obvious of these is the ethnic issue: the degree to which an ethnic language will be used in liturgical celebration as a means of supporting and retaining the specified ethnicity. This, of course, has the effect of defining the identity of the Orthodox Church in a very particular way.
WOMENViews - Language
The book of Genesis reveals that we are made in the "image and likeness" of God. Our essential self is realized and released when we choose willingly and freely to accept God's presence in our lives, and to express it fearlessly in our every word and deed, each in our own unique way, in loving harmony within the parameters of our Church.
Book Profile: Holy Mothers of Orthodoxy
Holy Mothers of Orthodoxy is a collection of thirty-two essays, talks, and short studies on the history and status of women in the Orthodox Church. Though it was published over ten years ago, the issues are still just as important and relevant for us today. The articles vary in length, content, and style. Some are historical accounts of women saints; others come out of the author's in-depth study of Byzantine hymnography.
From the Editorial Board
Language is a powerful tool. It can be used to express our thoughts, feelings, emotions, experiences, and beliefs. But language also has limitations. Because language is a vital part of the world we live in, it is continually changing and evolving as the world changes. In fact, paradoxically, it must change in order to retain the same meaning. Even as our language changes, so must we be willing to change, finding new ways to express our ideas and beliefs. The challenge is to find new means of expression and images that are relevant to our lived experience, while at the same time retaining the timeless quality of the message.
Women in the Orthodox Church
Oh, strange Orthodox Church, Church of contrasts: at the same time so traditional yet so free, so ritualistic, yet so alive. Church where the gem of a prize, the Gospel, is preciously preserved, sometimes under a layer of dust, but who knows how to sing like no other the joy of Easter.
—Father Lev Gillet
Of these contrasts recalled by a great spiritual Orthodox contemporary, Archimandrite Lev Gillet (better known by his literary pseudonym "a Monk of the Eastern Church"), the status of Orthodox women provides a particularly astonishing example.
Mother Maria Skobtsova - A Saint of Our Day
At the Last Judgment I will not be asked whether I satisfactorily practiced asceticism, nor how many bows I have made before the divine altar. I will be asked whether I fed the hungry, clothed the naked, visited the sick, and the prisoner in his jail. That is all I will be asked.1
Mother Maria Skobtsova did not live what one usually thinks of as the ideal monastic life of constant prayer in quiet solitude. Even after she was tonsured a nun she lived and was active "in the world."
Book Profile: What Paul Really Said About Women
As Orthodox Christians we always look at Scripture within the context of Tradition. However, there are times when we borrow the practice common in this country of haphazardly selecting certain passages or translations to suit our own narrow purposes.
The passages most often used to define the status and delimit the participation of women are found in the letters of the Apostle Paul. In his book, What Paul Really Said About Women, John Temple Bristow gives an in-depth examination of St. Paul's writings.
Orthodoxy and Feminism
People often wonder what attitude the Church should have toward feminism. It may be easy to offer simplistic answers, but we cannot begin to address this issue responsibly unless we are clear about what feminism is. This contentious word feminism means different things to different people, both among its advocates and among its opponents. For many today, including many Orthodox Christians, "feminist" has become a convenient insult largely empty of meaning. If people can pin the label of feminist on people or ideas they dislike, they can dismiss those
The Challenge of the Jubilee Assembly and the Padare
The Eighth Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC), which takes place in this the Council's fiftieth anniversary year, offers a unique opportunity for church representatives from around the world to join with sisters and brothers in Africa. Together in Harare, Zimbabwe, from December 3-14, they will seek to make real for a troubled continent the promise of Jubilee, which is about reconciliation, restoration, and renewal.
Diaconia Agapes
By many hands the work of God is done.
Letters
Dear editors,
I'm writing to inquire about my "subscription" to the St. Nina Quarterly. In December of 1997 I sent a donation to cover 1998. So far, I have not received any of your 1998 issues. Could there be a mixup, or are you a quarter behind in your production schedule? I'd hate to miss an issue of this encouraging journal.
Dear editors,
On Change
I realize more and more clearly that Orthodoxy is the principle of absolute freedom. 1
- Fr. Alexander Elchaninov
Abraham Heschel's writings, especially on the state of modern religion, ring prophetic and true. In a few words he distills the crisis of contemporary religion. It is time we paid attention to such voices.
The human side of religion, its credos, rituals, and instructions is a way rather than the goal. The goal is 'to do justice, to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.'
Orthodox Christian Women of Montreal - 7th Annual Retreat
Speakers at the Seventh Annual Orthodox Christian Women (OCW) held in Montreal on March 7th were Joanne Abdallah and her husband Fr. John Abdallah from Pittsburgh. Observing the harmony with which Joanne and Fr. John shared their joint presentation was an educational event in itself. There was no hierarchy in the order of speaking, just a shared task that they seemed to enjoy doing together. At each step, the speakers solicited the involvement of the approximately seventy participants gathered in St. Nicholas Antiochian Church for this pan-Orthodox occasion.
Africa Conference: Women in the Life of the Church - June 1998
With the blessing of His Beatitude, Pope and Patriarch of Alexandria and All Africa, Petros VII, a group of eighty individuals gathered at the Makarios III Seminary in Nairobi, Kenya from June 1-4, 1998 to participate in a conference entitled, "Women in the Life of the Church." This conference, sponsored by the Holy Archbishopric of Kenya, SYNDESMOS, and the Orthodox Christian Mission Center (OCMC), was hosted by His Eminence, Archbishop Seraphim of Kenya and Irinoupolis.
Women of Korça Minister to the Needy
Every Monday and Thursday approximately one hundred needy people come to the Orthodox Cathedral of Korça for a midday meal. Other families in desperate need wait in their homes for a weekly visit from one of the women volunteers. Some of the members visit the sick and despairing, trying to offer words of encouragement and hope. And the residents of the local Old Age Home and the children's orphanage know that they can expect a visit from this "group of love."
A Voice in the Church
At Pascha this year, for the first time since leaving St. Vladimir's Seminary seven years ago, I decide to take a turn reading from the book of Acts for the Holy Saturday service at my present parish, a small mission in suburban Atlanta. By the time I extricate myself from home duties and get to church that evening, the reading has already begun. The person evidently in charge, a twenty-two year old convert in his subdeacon vestments, is presiding over a clot of minor clergy in black riasas talking together near the iconostasis.
Poem: A Prayer
Ujuntuk oo tuibit feek,
Rub il maseeh ee baarek feek.
Mitil mah rikbit fee urduk,
Irbuk fee mujunuk wud yeed.
Amin.
(Arabic)
As I tired in kneading you,
May the Lord give His blessing.
As you grew in the ground,
May you grow in your rising and be bountiful.
Amen.
(English)
From the Editorial Board
Because the Church is also "in the world," it always has been, at least to some extent, a product of the culture in which it finds itself. As members of the worshipping community, our participation in the life of the Church has, in part, reflected our "place" in society. Yet, as we have seen throughout the pages of past issues of the Quarterly, women have played an active role in spreading the message of the Gospel, in spite of limitations placed on them by societal norms. But we also must admit that there have been times when women were not able to overcome the cultural biases that had seeped into the Church, and were literally prevented from doing the work they were called to do.
