During the Orthodox Fraternity conference held in 1996 in Vendee,France,one of the study workshops was based on the theme of 'Men and Women in the Church'. It was led by Nadine Arnould, Elisabeth Behr-Sigel and Veronique Lossky. Both two-hour sessions were attended by a good fifteen people; a striking feature being the presence of a small group of teenage girls who came back on the second day, bringing along other friends. On the wall in large letters were the two Genesis texts about the creation of man (and woman). These were not actually discussed, but were received as popular gifts when they were given out at the end of second session.
There was also a good selection of reading-matter, some relevant issues of Contact, works by various Orthodox writers, periodicals, some of which were either just recommended, or actually handed out. And, of course, all those present were reminded of all the Gospel and Epistle texts that deal with the problem of Christian relations between men and women.
On the first day, the session opened with a brief expose by Elisabeth Behr-Sigel, who reported that a study group looking into the place of woman in the church has been set up in Paris. It has been working at regular intervals for more than eight years (about one meeting every three months, sometimes a little more often). She gave an overview of the subjects which have been discussed in these meetings, and the theological questions they raised, particularly the history of the diaconate, the concept of power, etc.
Then Veronique Lossky presented a brief historical summary of the way in which Orthodox Christians see the ordination of women, compared to the sister churches people had moved from an attitude that it was not a real problem, to the idea that the problem was not ripe for action from a theological point of view and finally they now think that even if there is no theological obstacle to women's ordination, it is still 'urgent to wait', because the matter remains widely unaccepted at a psychological level.
Elisabeth also went over again some historical perspectives on the female diaconate which, according to her, is a desirable interim stage, whereas Veronique Lossky thinks the opposite. Then it was the delegates turn to speak, with order being maintained through Nadine Arnould's gentle but firm direction. A group of Belgians and English spoke of experiences in their parishes, the group leaders translating, alternating between English and French. There was much emphasis on sexual inequality, perpetuated at parish level. Then some teenagers spoke- in particular a priest's daughter, who found it odd that she was not allowed to assist her father when no boy acolyte was present. The leaders tried not to leave any question unanswered, while expressing that difficulties encountered vary from parish to parish, including even those which are "traditionally Orthodox".
There were a few new faces in the audience the next morning, in addition to the teenage girls from the previous day, whose group had grown. There were several men, and not the same as the day before. A summary was made of what had been said previously. Then each person present was given a turn to speak - this being done deliberately to avoid leaving anyone out.
An Englishman spoke of people of both sexes, within parish life experiencing severe loneliness that had to be overcome by meeting people from other parishes. A theologian present revived, to some extent, the discussion of the concept of power. This discussion wandered off-taget for a while due to some clashes of opinion between delegates. He warned those present against the extremely heretical act of introducing a sex-difference within the Holy Trinity, because of the opinions expressed by the people whose hierarchy is entirely worldly, as opposed to the theological "Kingship of the Father".
Another person spoke passionately about their support for the ordination of women in the name of fundamental justice and equality of the sexes. When it was the turn of the teenage girls, they almost unanimously, deplored the indelible, inherited habits of Orthodox Christians. "Why must the congregation be shocked if, during the liturgy a girl reads the epistle? If the sanctuary is a holy place, boys should not go in there either, as they are just as sinful as girls".
People also discussed monastic experiences, and not just in relation to the crucial question of entering the sanctuary. Indeed, a nun who was there explained that monastic life could bring with it such a degree of personal harmony that this harmony no longer had anything to do with being either a monk or a nun - that energy or power were given by grace, from which point the radiance of the individual permiated the entire monastery. She also reminded people of the experience and teachings of the saints, so many men and women that had been somewhat overlooked.
People were happy to have been able to speak freely on subjects which, for many, were still taboo in their own personal experience. Later we received a letter from a Netherlands Orthodox couple, saying that they fully appreciated the tolerance shown by the group-session leaders and leaders and gained a lot of pleasure from participating in our workshops, which gave us a lot of pleasure, too.
(translated. by Colin Williams, Perth)