This translation of Elisabeth Behr-Sigel's essays in The Ministry of Women in the Church is an invaluable contribution to the discussion of women's issues for the English-speaking Orthodox community. Madame Behr-Sigel boldly raises critical issues and questions that are often overlooked, avoided or discounted.

Her questions are provocative: Does difference between men and women exclude equality or can equals be different? Is the male character of the priest essential to the faith? Does the ordination of women to the priesthood affect the essence of the apostolic faith or is it compatible with ecclesial communion expressed by the patristic saying, "In necessary things, unity; in doubtful things, liberty; in all things, charity?" What does the iconic representation of Christ by the priest really mean? Can we say with absolute certainty that God never calls women to the Christian priesthood? Could not the spokesman for the eternal Word, the one who "lends his voice to the Word" be female? Do masculinity and femininity have theological significance?

Mme. Behr-Sigel raises many issues, but consistently comes back to the ordination of women to the priesthood. While the ordination of women deacons is favourably mentioned throughout her essays, her main interest is to determine whether the arguments for or against ordaining women priests are valid and what they imply for the status and ministry of women in the Church. She places this question primarily within the framework of the ecumenical community and devotes great concern to whether of not the Orthodox Church should consider as heretical communities which ordain women.

A drawback to this book is that essays, written in the late 70s and early 80s, do not necessarily reflect Mme Behr-Sigel's current thinking nor are they arranged in a chronological order which could trace the evolution of her thought. She clearly states in her introduction that she now questions even further or rejects altogether certain arguments related to the ordination issue: feminine charisms, the priest as the icon of Christ, and the otherness of men and women.

Of feminine charisms, in a chapter written in 1977, Mme Behr-Sigel said,"The charism that is proper to woman, without excluding an aptitude for intellectual activity, is to give life and to care for it (p.129)". This, she insisted, includes not biological motherhood, but also the sense, naturally inborn or culturally ingrained, of self-giving to and nurturing of all those in need. Now, however, she maintains that to ascribe certain charisms to women tends to mysticize women and therefore subordinate and assign limited roles to them. I think further study into this issue would reveal a middle ground which recognises and fosters feminine charisms without such deleterious effects.

The concept of the priest as icon of Christ, which includes the symbolism of the priest as bridegroom, the husband, of the Church, originally had reasonable appeal for the author. Her current view, however, virtually rejects such symbolism as unnatural. Rather, she deems what the priest does to be the core of the issue, that he merely lends his voice and hands to Christ, who is the true celebrant of the Eucharist. This approach, I believe, has some merit, but tends to be scholastic and fails to see the whole eucharistic/liturgical picture.

Mme. Behr-Sigel discusses in great depth the issue of the otherness of men and women. She vehemently disagrees with the thought that sexuality is grounded in the very being of God, that the vocation of men somehow relates to Christ and that of women or the Holy Spirit, and believes that maleness and femaleness are secondary to humanity. She reasons that to press this concept of the otherness of men and women would make two different kinds of salvation necessary. I think she makes a leap in logic here, but correctly identifies the issues we need to explore.

While some of Mme. Behr-Sigel's conclusions need serious challenging, her emphasis throughout the essays on the ministry of the royal priesthood, the importance of the anthropological and ecclesiological issues, her refutation of the excessive language against women in the patristic writings, her insistence on seeking new forms of cooperation between men and women, and persistence in re-examining the issues regarding the role and ministry of women in the Church are absolutely essential elements of the discussion.

Mme. Behr-Sigel is to be commended highly for raising the issues and working through them so diligently within the context of faith. She tenaciously questions the status quo, the unchallenged traditions, looking for the truth, for the will of God. She asks the questions that shock, even scandalize, but which must be asked and eventually answered. I recommend without reservation the addition of this book to the resources for studying the issue of the ministry and role of women in the Orthodox Church.

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Anthony Bloom, Metropolitan of Sourouzh

With great joy I recommend this book to all serious readers, to those who are ready to put aside their prejudices. May it be the "first swallow that announces the coming of spring". It will, I hope, open a new horizon for many Churches, for many fearful spirits that are afraid of rethinking ideas that have been accepted without reflection. The Orthodox, and Roman Catholics too, must rethink the problem of woman in the light of the Scriptures. They must not make hasty statements about her being and her place in the work of salvation to which God has called us to be witnesses

Fr. Thomas Hopko, St.Vladimir's Seminary.

This splendid translation of Elisabeth Behr-Sigel's essays on issues related to ministry of women in the church is a cause of joy and gratitude for English-speaking people interested in orthodox Christianity. If the present volume did nothing more than to widen and deepen discussion among the Orthodox concerning the community and ministry of women and men in the church, this alone would be sufficient reason to offer its author, and its English translators and publisher, our greatest gratitude.

We have a book which must be read, reflected upon and responded to by all, particularly all orthodox Christians, who care about the identity, continuity and integrity of Christian faith and life through history from apostolic times to our own, and into the awesome days of our daughters and sons yet to be born.