Source: St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess
Saturday, November 3, 2018
1 to 5 pm
Saints Peter & Paul Greek Orthodox Church
Glenview, (Chicago) IL
FREE-WILL OFFERING AT THE DOOR
SPEAKER: Teva Regule, Ph.D.
“The Female Diaconate in the Orthodox Church? The State of the Question”
“The Female Diaconate in the Orthodox Church? The State of the Question”
PANELISTS: Randa Karadsheh Anderson, Ph.D., Carrie Frederick Frost, Ph.D., Deacon Perry Hamalis, Ph.D.
___________________
Panelists will discuss:
- Why Ordination?
- How can a revived male and femal diaconate build up the Body of Christ?
- Is NOW the time?
__________________
In 1988, Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios I
convened an International Orthodox consultation in Rhodes, Greece to explore the ministry and Ordination of women in the Orthodox Church. Notable among its concluding recommendations was the call to revive the female diaconate.
In honor of the 30th anniversary of this
consultation, this event will summarize the
history of the multiple calls for the revival of the female diaconate, discuss developments in more recent years, and reflect on ways this important ministry can help build up Christ’s Church.
Plan to attend!
Free-will offering at the door
Free-will offering at the door
___________________
Hosted by the St. Phoebe Center for the Deaconess and the Saint Catherine Institute for Orthodox Christian Studies
5 Comments
We saw how well it has worked for the Anglicans. How about we stop attempting to change the Church, and instead change ourselves for it.
JP, it is a nonsensical idea. In the first place they were never ordained and the reason they existed no longer exists – to help baptize naked females. We don’t do naked adult baptisms anymore!
The restoration of permanent lay deacons and deaconesses is long overdue and essential in growing Orthodoxy in America. By “permanent Diaconate” I understand this to mean those who wish to serve as deacons/deaconesses and not those who are looking to becoming priests. Fear mongering about female deaconesses as the “first step” on the slippery slope to lesbian bishops performing same-sex marriages distorts Orthodoxy into a last-refuge of misogynists and and exhausted culture warriors.
Claims that “they were never ordained” begs the question: “What evidence do you have?” As well as a response from those who can point to contrary evidence. If we are invited to have a discussion on this issue, the discussion cannot begin and end with anecdotal stories about the past, it must also be directed to the questions: “What are the needs of our Church today, in America and elsewhere?” “Are those needs being met?” “Can they be met by restoring permanent deacons and deaconesses?” “What are the benefits?” “What is the danger?” “Is the “danger’ real?”
George, David Ford’s book on women in the church has the actual prayer used for the ordination of deaconesses.The prayer is incontrovertible evidence to the existence of deaconesses in the early church.
In 1988, Ecumenical Patriarch Demetrios I convened an International Orthodox consultation in Rhodes, Greece to explore the ministry and Ordination of women in the Orthodox Church. Notable among its concluding recommendations was the call to revive the female diaconate.