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women

growing knowledgegrowing knowledge
edited December 1969 in Faith Issues
hi guys,

i've heard much about this forum and thought of benefitting it too by asking all that's unclear to me. hope u can help me learn much these days. :)

my first question is: can anyone explain me this piece in 1 cor 14:33-35 which says:

As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

is this why women aren't allowed to participate in the Holy Mass as deacons? if not, then why is it so? then why did the pope attempt to introduce that to our church, 16 years ago, to try make deaconesses, but it failed?

in Christ,
growin

Comments

  • jfranklinjfranklin
    :)

    As in all the congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.

    There have been many explanations of this verse over the centuries but the one I tend to favor suggests that what Paul meant was that women shouldnt exercise authority over a man in church.That she shouldnt usurp the leadership role thus upseting the balance and order established in the church by God.Not that woman is inferior to man but only that we all have a place and role in Gods Holy Church and in the christian life.Men and woman are equal before God,joint heirs of Christ,but the man is the head of woman.Not to rule and lord it over her but rather to love her,provide and care for her.Her love and respect is what completes the man.They both need each other.But they have different roles to play in this blessed union.

    It seems that in the ancient world in which Paul lived there were certain cults and religions{oracle at Delphi for example}where woman played the prominant role in leadership positions and men assumed a sub-servient status to these woman.This is against Gods natural order! Supposedly even in the churches of God some women were trying to usurp leadership positions and rule over men.Paul reacted{or over-reacted...lol}by stating that the man is the head of woman and that they{the men} should assume leadership roles in the church of God.That this is indeed Gods natural order in the churches of God.He is not saying that women shouldnt have some role in the church or that they shouldnt talk,sing,worship,etc in the church service but that they shouldnt take over the preaching,teaching,priestly,etc. functions that are the mans responsibilites.Man has a place,woman has her place;let everything be done decently and in order thus preserving the peace and harmony of God.

    As I said that is only one among many explanations...lol...Hope it helped even a little bit. :)
  • AmazingGraceAmazingGrace
    wow ...... i dont think anyone can explain that any better.........i was sort of wondering the same thing
  • copt-icboycopt-icboy
    Jerry, words of Wisdom, that is all I can say. couldn't have said it better myself. In the Coptic Church, during the cermoney of Holy Matremony, the roles are stressed as we say "and as God loves the church and cares for her, so you also young man should love your wife, care for her and attend to her needs..." (something to that effect.
    Growing knowledge, I am not aware of the Pope making deaconess. As in Alter servants? That is something the Pope is strongly against (based on that verse I am assuming). There are deaconesses that perform functions in the church but not the same as Men. They don't preach, speak at the pulpit, minister the Holy sacrements, etc... but they are sunday school servants and they attend to the church needs as well. These are Un-married (in most cases) and they are not nuns either.
    Hope this helps.
  • growing knowledgegrowing knowledge

    Hope it helped even a little bit.

    very much! thanks!

    coptic boy, the only thing i know is that the pope tried it out temporarily and it didn't work out, and yes, i was wondering about this too as i knew that women aren't allowed to perform these functions in church. well, i agree that women have other things to do :) but of course it would be so nice if we could participate with the hymns and chant with u guys.

    ah well, everybody is assigned their own contribution indeed; whether it's a man or an woman, serving God in any way is the least we could do for Him!

    thanks for your help!

    in Christ,
    growin
  • sleepymusiciansleepymusician
    I don't know what to make of it because the priest in my church acknowledged that there are girls better at hymns better than the deacons and he told us we can set up our own section where we will sing the hymns as "deaconesses". We still haven't gotten around to doing it, but the idea is good.lol. I know this didn't help at all, but I really wanted to share. lol

    sleepy
  • socoolbishoysocoolbishoy
    GOD mad JOBS for FEMALES.. and GOD made JOBS for MALES...

    IN THE END WE ARE ALL SAINTS... AS THE VERSE SAYS.
  • awadawad
    hh pope shenouda has made deaconesses
    so we'r making a comeback, rest assure
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