female iconographer in male orthodox monastery

Actually the instrument forbidden was the kithara, less a lute than a lyre, employed in pagan secular musical theatre. I was surprised as a neophyte to learn that guitars cannot be brought in, and that deacons are forbidden from playing them. There are other things that must not be brought into the church, according to canons banning them to prevent the appearance of syncretism (which Protestant pseudoscholars will always charge anyway in their deep ignorance). Every priest of Russian tradition blesses baskets in the hall or on the pavement, often in shifts throughout the day on Holy Saturday. I know this because it was made clear to me once when I brought sorpresata in a bag to church and was told instantly to take it outside. Easter baskets, a Russian thing, are not to be blessed in church but outside or in the hall. That’s on the clergy who ignore the canon or are ignorant of it. The canons also forbid bringing and fleshmeats into the temple.Ĭlick to expand.They should never be brought into the temple. F a priest cuts his finger during proskomedē he cannot continue until he has stanched the blood flow and bandaged the wound so as not to imbrue the bread from which he is cutting the Lamb. If any blood stains the temple, it is considered imbrued and must be ritually cleansed. The fact that canons forbid them even means that in at least one place such drift did occur. Nature cults where milk, honey, fruit and flowers are offered seasonally on an altar might creep into local practice if they were not specifically forbidden. Think of the difficulties faced by the early church as a minority religion in a sea of pagan worship, especially in places with few or no Jews whose religious habits would help maintain continuity with temple and synagogue precedents. To this day the evil-minded, ignorant and scandal-mongering like to falsely ascribe pagan origins to things like the date of Christmas (no, it’s exactly 9 months after Annunciation, of which they know nothing). The early church took great pains to prevent syncretic practices from creeping into the celebration of the Eucharist which has a uniquely Hebrew derivation like everything else I can think of in church. No other foodstuffs, or flowers or plants may be placed on the altar in any manner suggesting an offering, as the only acceptable one is Christ’s which he defined at the Mystical Supper as described in the Gospels. The exclusive nature of the sacrifice requires that only bread made of wheat, salt and yeast, and wine made exclusively of grapes be offered on the high altar. I believe such canons defend the singular sacrifice that goes on in our temples, which must be unbloody. The canons also forbid bringing and fleshmeats into the temple. That the sight of women presents a ‘distraction from spiritual and otherworldly compntemplation’ heard frequently among Orthodox men (on the internet) says everything I need to know about their own dirty consciences, and nothing about women themselves.Ĭlick to expand.If any blood stains the temple, it is considered imbrued and must be ritually cleansed. A sense of taboo and ritual uncleanness surrounds females from menarche to menopause, to greater or lesser degrees. This notion of ritual defilement itself ‘leaks’ into ideas about women and girls.

When leaders are weak, fearing scandal at the least appearance of controversy surrounding sex and gender in church, and not teaching the spiritual equality of all persons, the fearful and spiteful will set the tone.Īnd what is the issue with women and girls handling, when necessary, certain sacred liturgical objects? Where is it written that they are forbidden? I do know there are canons forbidding menstruating women from entering the temple because of the threat of imbruement, because up until very recently there was no sure way to prevent accidental leakage (and I am told there is no perfect solution), which occasion would necessitate the virtual reconsecration of the building. The Church ought not emulate the fallenness Of human culture but rather be the place where the healing of it begins. Misogyny is nearly universal in this fallen world and all its cultures express fear and hatred of women in various ways. We might have Protestant, Anglo-American converts who are misogynistic but I don’t know of specific examples. This notion that females are unworthy of touching a sacred object is widespread throughout the misogynistic societies of the Orthodox commonwealth and emigres import it to American parishes. Click to expand.Good for you to have reminded these bigots of what the image on the Epitaphion depicts!

Female iconographer in male orthodox monastery