Having been appointed by our Patriarchate as the women's ecumenical representative, I seek to give a brief but general information about the Armenian Orthodox women in their community in Istanbul, Turkey.

We have been evidently raised in a patriarchal society with an oriental culture. Thus, men keeping women at bay, we have not been used to having a very active public life. So it is in our church life or rather in the administration of the Church. Something that does not make sense at all as God created men and women in His image and likeness.

We have thirty three churches in Istanbul, most of which have Parish Councils. Their activities depend on the largeness of the community or the members of that particular parish within the district. Women in Istanbul bring their contribution to the community mostly by cooking or making many pieces of needlework to raise money for charity or churches, and bringing their aid to the Parish Councils. Our two orphanages and one hospital have women's auxiliary groups as well. As to the sharing of responsibilities in the administrative life, I have to say that we have a long way to go from the present situation. For the first time in history, during the last Patriarchal elections in 1990 two out of ninety-four lay delegates elected in our community assembly were women.

Here, in Istanbul, Armenian Orthodox women organize World ChristianWomen's Prayer Days following the chance given to us by the World Council of Churches under the name of a Decade of Solidarity for Women. In addition to this, Armenian women began to organize Ecumenical Prayer Days for Christian women in Istanbul several years ago, creating opportunities to pray in unity as Christ wants us to do. In the first of these occasions, we had chosen the Holy Mother of God as a model of love through obedience and self-sacrifice, for we believe that the real way to the Cross is by the destruction of the tyranny of self.

Last November, Armenian women organized a further occasion. The chosen Biblical woman character was the "Samaritan woman". After the corresponding passage in the Bible was read and explained, women from participating denominations read short prayers in nine different languages, always seeking the Holy Spirit and praising God while faithful women filling the pews joined in with their ...Amens.

A large number of Armenian women attend Bible study classes regularly. We do have the hope and expectation that our lay spirituality will take its course and do some serious work for the glory of God. Meanwhile, we shall gather the strength to sit around meeting tables with our brothers. We believe that sincere and abundant prayer in addition to action for the realization of love and righteousness will give us the courage and the strength we need in any field, as courage and faith go together. Faith overcoming fear leads to courage. And the strength will be granted to us by God our Lord. "Those who trust in the Lord for help will find their strength renewed". (Isaiah 40:31 ). We also have a group of spiritual women who visit the sick and elderly regularly and try to comfort them according to their needs, always under the careful guidance of our pastor.

Women and Youth Groups alike attend seminars on ecumenical theology, having our pastor, His Grace Bishop Mesrob Mutafyan, Armenian Bishop of the Princes' Islands, as teacher on Saturday afternoons. May the Almighty pour out His spirit on every soul, so that we may have "the wisdom and courage to put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation". ( I.Thess,5:8).