Ask a Priest: Can Women Preach?
Dear Father,
Bless!
As you know, we have not been Orthodox for very long. My family is so happy to be part of the parish! But we are a little confused. We saw a video of an Orthodox woman preaching. She was dressed in the black robe you wear at vigil and was wearing a cross. Are women permitted to preach in Orthodoxy? We saw this in our former Protestant parish all the time, but we never thought we’d see this in Orthodoxy. Please…is this right?!
Kissing your right hand,
J—
Dear J—,
The Lord bless you! I’m praying for you all!
I am not sure what video you watched, but I can only imagine your surprise. The short answer is: No, this is not the practice of the Holy Church, nor is it the example laid down for us in the Scriptures.
Sadly, today, preaching is seen as an addendum on the Liturgy. An optional thing. I recall a parishioner saying years ago: “The Eucharist is what really matters. Preaching is not that important.” This is a natural, though inaccurate, swing that most former Protestants make, going from a high view of preaching to none at all. But preaching matters. It is sacramental and salvific. As St. Paul asks: “How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher?” (Romans 10:14)
In a more anecdotal manner, think of someone like our Father among the Saints, John Chrysostom. He is known to us, principally, though his homilies. He is called the “Golden Mouth” for a reason. This reality should be instructive for us.
Now, once we understand that preaching matters, we must ask: what does it do?
Preaching proclaims the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, the person of Jesus Christ is not disconnected from the Gospel which proclaims His life-creating death and resurrection for us. Preaching delivers Christ—tangibly, audibly, and in a manner that affects us. Think of the Most Holy Theotokos and the Annunciation by the Archangel Gabriel. The Evangelist Luke records the scene:
“And having come in, the angel said to her, ‘Rejoice, highly favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!’ But when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and considered what manner of greeting this was” (Luke 1:28-29).
In his Latin translation, St. Jerome rightly translate the word “saying” this way: quae cum vidisset turbata est in sermone. In short, the Theotokos was troubled at the sermone, the sermon. The Archangel Gabriel came and preached a homily to the Mother of God. She listened, received, gave her “yes”, and joyfully bore the Son of God. The sermon, the homily, delivered Christ to the Mother of God. And the same is true of us today. The sermon, the homily, when done in fidelity to the Lord’s way, delivers Christ to the hearer.
This makes preaching an inherently pastoral or priestly act, precisely because it deals with the public proclamation and handing over of Christ and His holy and life-giving gifts. This, then, leads to the core of your question.
St. Paul speaks of preaching, particularly in his pastoral epistles. Therein, he says to young St. Timothy: “Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2). This apostolic mandate is at the core of the responsibilities of the clergy, belonging first to the Bishops, but then to those whom he places into the priestly ministry through the laying on of hands. Thus, when you watched the woman give a “homily,” she might well have been doing something, but it was not preaching.
What leads to this deeply troubling theological error?
It could be the feminism of the present day. This error says that men and women should be provided equal access, not only to the trinitarian life of God as offered in the Church, but even to the responsibilities that, with a divine mandate, are prescribed only for some.
It could be an equating of academic degree with sacramental ordination. This error makes the academy the new laying on hands. It believes the mind is more important than the mandate. Thus, if one has a theological degree, one might feel qualified to do what he or she has not been ordained to do.
It could be an errant or heterodox hierarch. If this, God will judge, not us.
What should you do? Listen to St. Paul, who commands the faithful to “stand fast and hold the traditions which you were taught, whether by word or our epistle” (2 Thessalonians 2:15). This same St. Paul implored Timothy to “preach the word!” This same St. Paul asserted that humanity will not know God without such preachers. And this same St. Paul made plain that he did “not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man” (1 Timothy 2:12).
So, what you witnessed was not Orthodox. It is not the Lord’s way. But it should also not surprise you. Even St. John Chrysostom noted in his own day: “The divine law indeed has excluded women from the ministry, but they endeavor to thrust themselves into it.” Pray for those hurt or led astray by what you saw, but guard your own heart, lest you lead others astray by your own brokenness.
May God help all of us!
Your father in Christ Jesus,
Fr. Joshua
Fr. Joshua Genig is pastor of St. Innocent Church in Redford, Michigan. To submit a question for "Ask a Priest", write to [email protected].
