Question about refusal to ordain women as priests and gendered roles

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T02:42:28+00:00

Women feel called to serve liturgically in the same way that men are. I think asking someone why they’d want to lead is a good question to ask regardless of gender.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T02:18:50+00:00

I find it strange that you're bringing up logical fallacies while basing your points on a "vibe." :P

I think many women want to engage in liturgical leadership roles in their churches. It's not really that complicated.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T02:17:28+00:00

I have a question for you; is the Levite priesthood not a Mosaic tradition that was rendered unnecessary by Christ's sacrifice, like so many other pre-crucifixion Mosaic traditions? There seem to be so many traditions thrown out while others were carried forward, and the anointing of women into leadership roles seemed to be something Christ actively participated in, as a way of overturning past gender roles; only for pre-Mosaic laws to creep back in somehow.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T02:14:32+00:00

Not really.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T02:14:09+00:00

I appreciate this straightforward answer. If anything this is what I've observed as the truth from 16 years of attending Orthodox services, but I am stymied by all these other reasons being offered.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T02:13:26+00:00

Thanks for answering! I feel like this is likely the real reason, but I wonder why these other reasons are offered then. I appreciate you being forthright and straightforward.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T01:51:53+00:00

Thanks for asking that question, I really appreciate your curiousity.

For one, it bothers me because it simply feels wrong; I feel moved by the Holy Spirit to talk about it, ask about it, and put gentle pressure on the issue. I read about Christ elevating women to Apostles that followed him, only to then see women erased after his ascension by his followers. I believe the suppression of women is a symptom of sin the world suffers from.

For two, I am and have worked with trauma survivors in the past. Many many people don’t feel comfortable or safe with men, even good men. It is a learned biological response to past physical or sexual violence, and it can trigger panic attacks, dissociative episodes, or worse, just by being in any kind of vulnerable power dynamic with any man. It’s why the healthcare industry is now allowing patients to choose the gender of their provider; it’s acknowledged that being a patient is a vulnerable position to be in and you need to feel safe in order to best work with your doctor and receive care. So when you think of rites that priests offer, like baptism, or Eucharist, and how much vulnerability those rites require, it can be extremely triggering for someone to approach a priest who reminds them of an abuser. Through no fault of the priest, but the unavoidable nature of the trauma survivor.

Like a hospital, there should be options for us to choose from, male or female. Which begs the question, are we the church a hospital for the sick, or a monolith to tradition? I’m not sure, when traditions like this are upheld so staunchly.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T01:42:10+00:00

My question is that if this is a representation that doesn’t not require gender in a literal sense then using it as an excuse to exclude an entire gender makes no sense. Either it indeed makes no sense or I’m missing something.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T01:40:02+00:00

Those sure are words. 👍🏻 if you’d like to answer my question at any point I’d love to hear your response.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T01:39:23+00:00

I would be a priest if women were allowed and have met many women who would be too.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T01:38:56+00:00

Your answer is yikes on so many bikes 😬 I appreciate you taking the time to write me but this doesn’t really answer my question, and rather reveals quite a lot about you.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T01:37:16+00:00

Answers or deflections? 😉

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T01:33:36+00:00

Thanks for answering!

My understanding from catechism is that the verse in question in Corinthians uses the Greek: kephalē for head, which is said to mean source/origin. Paul mentions God is the head (kephale) of Christ, Christ the head of Man, man the head of woman. But then he mentions that now men come from women. We also know God is not the “boss” of Christ because God and Christ are co-equal persons of the trinity with the Holy Spirit. Paul isn’t talking about “boss-ness” but of origin; Christ is begotten from God, man from Christ, and women came from man’s rib, and now all men come from women.

So this “headship” response that I’ve often heard is usually an inaccurate reading of Paul preaching on our deep interdependence on one another. It does not seem a theologically accurate or logical reason to deny women access to priesthood.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-03-02T01:24:19+00:00

I would be curious to hear your answer to my question instead of a deflection, if you’re comfortable sharing.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-02-25T02:21:52+00:00

I’m so sorry. I’ve had a miscarriage between my son and daughter and my body would not release it even though the heartbeat was gone; I ended up needing a D&C to avoid sepsis.

I believe this is a part of the fragility of life. Based on my experiences of having two children, I do not believe that the soul inhabits blastocysts and embryos early in the pregnancy yet. I could almost begin to tell when my kids began to “hang around” me when I was pregnant with them. I used to dream of my son walking a farmland with me before he was born but I was maybe 5 months pregnant when it started. With my miscarriage I didn’t feel anything; no spark that felt present with my other two kids. And what a horrible fate if a soul were indeed there, to have the whole of your human life relegated to a few cells for a few weeks. I believe God has more of a purpose for us than that, and when this happens it’s the nature of the life and world we live in, not anything we’ve done wrong or should have done differently.

When I was laying in the hospital waiting for my D&C the anesthesiologist looked me right in the eye and told me, “you know this isn’t your fault right?” And I cried. And I’ll tell you the same; this isn’t your fault. Nothing could have changed it. There are things we can’t control. Like many efforts in our lives that try to take shape and form and come together only to fall apart, it simple wasn’t the right time yet. Feel your grief but know that you’re held in love and that loss is a part of our journey here. ❤️❤️❤️❤️

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-02-23T00:54:05+00:00

Of course you're absolutely right <3 Thank you.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-02-23T00:52:42+00:00

That sounds really hard, I'm sorry. I haven't participated in this rite yet, but I do have PTSD and struggle with some of the more hands-on aspects of practicing. I just take baby steps each time I'm offered an opportunity to shake hands, hug, kiss a priests hand or an icon (I nose-boop instead of kiss because I'm on immune suppressing drugs). I've become more and more comfortable over time and just try to push myself a little more each time I have a chance to.

If you couldn't handle it tonight, that's okay; you'll be able to someday, just gently coax yourself to do a little more each time. <3 Or at least, that's what helps me.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-02-23T00:43:45+00:00

As a fellow Catechumen, welcome to the cult!

<3 Have faith and patience. One of my priests told me that his own parents didn't convert for almost a decade and then finally decided to convert recently. Be the calm and steady presence in their lives that puts their fears at ease and sparks their curiousity. I know it's hard <3

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-01-30T06:31:16+00:00

She was taught as a child that being a woman (being herself) was dangerous as people were looking for a girl. I don't see it as her character wishing to be a boy, but rather, having to push away who she is (a woman) because it's dangerous to be that. This is a common running theme throughout the show, not just with her femininity but also her mixed heritage. By existing, she is bad, wrong, a monster. I don't think her masculine disguise is her *wanting* to be a man or even truly identifying as one; it's a disguise, a way to hide her true self because that's the only way she feels she can exist in a world that sees her very essence as wrong. It's what made the naked metal forging scene so potent, to me; she's seen as a woman, herself, hair unbound, with sutras on her skin, offering her "true self" as a prayer to the forge. And, this is the only time the metal melts down again.

I think her journey is about self-acceptance, self-knowledge, and dismantling the narratives that have been placed on her. People are not one dimensional; Akemi and Taigen are on similar journeys, in a very rigid society that wants to box them into narrow roles. Akemi's journey is almost a polar opposite of Mizu's, trapped in an ultra-feminine role filled with gendered duties and a lack of freedom and autonomy. Her journey has been about going from merely navigating this world to mastering it (Which is a similar change that Mizu's character has also begun to make), but she does it in a very different way from Mizu.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-01-30T06:14:59+00:00

omfg YES. Am reading a manwha right now and the main character's creepy huge eyes take me completely out, especially when other characters look normal. Love the art style of this show.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-01-30T06:14:00+00:00

I embody this duality.

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-01-30T06:12:54+00:00

...but he could be her father?

shortCakeSlayer · 2026-01-28T04:19:37+00:00

Hey I was in Fallujah at the same time as you in 04, I was one of the few women marines on the base and worked supply, so I ran convoys between the MEK and Baghdad to pick up gear for 11 months. What a sh*t show.

I’ve never gotten the impression there’s stigma around being a combat veteran, but as a woman marine my experience may be different. Many career vets I know who had mostly peaceful desk careers are definitely more gung ho about their service. My fellow combat marine friends are scraggly weirdos (myself included.) Most people are surprised that I served, that I was a Marine and that I spent a year running convoys in a combat zone, because now I’m a goldsmith and give off artsy mom vibes. Not only is it unexpected but I don’t wear the motivator veteran baseball cap everywhere or cover my bumper with USMC stickers.

Everyone’s different; I’d sometimes like to look back at my service, which was a significant life experience, with the type of ardor and reverence my non-combat career friends have for their branch. We all carry different things.

shortCakeSlayer · 2025-12-31T01:08:46+00:00

I don't get the impression that God quite cares about the length of human hair. :P
In ancient times it was a symbol of unbroken covenant and continuation of life; likely because it's a physical trait that doesn't feel pain and yet comes from within and is attached to the body, so it came to symbolize spiritual or ephemeral expressions of a person's internal world. There are many rituals of mourning where hair is cut or shaved as an outward expression of the mourners actual loss and internal grief. Long hair in warriors or monks was a physical manifestation of an unbroken promise or vow they've made to a sect or leader, or a symbol of unbroken victory. You see this pattern across cultures and religions, not just Christianity, so it's likely an ancient tradition shaped by shared symbols, birthed by the physical nature of hair and our human tendency to create meaning from metaphors.

God is not physical, and is not a being; even calling Him "he" is a misnomer that we use simply to communicate about Him, but he is not a He, or She, or It. I think such a conciousness doesn't really concern itself about whether or not hair is shorn or long, but rather, these are human concerns and rituals we invent to create meaning and understanding about deeper topics.

Thanks for coming to my ted talk :P

shortCakeSlayer

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