"I have my period, I can't go to church": What women are not allowed to do in the Serbian Orthodox Church
Women in the Serbian Orthodox Church cannot be priests, bishops, or patriarchs, but they have important roles as nuns, abbesses, and religious teachers. Read how the SOC interprets canons and the roles of women.
TL;DR
- Women are not permitted to be priests, bishops, or patriarchs in the Serbian Orthodox Church (SOC).
- Women serve important roles as nuns, abbesses leading monasteries, and religious teachers (veroučiteljice).
- The exclusion of women from higher clerical ranks is often justified by historical precedent, though theological interpretations vary.
- The potential for women to hold positions of power within the church is linked to pragmatic issues and the sharing of symbolic and institutional authority.
- The historical existence of deaconesses is noted, with recent attempts to revive this role.
- Interpretations of canons and tradition are seen by some as revealing deeply ingrained misogyny.
- The idea of a woman's role being primarily maternal is criticized as a patriarchal reduction, sometimes framed to serve the state.
- Restrictions on women receiving communion during menstruation are considered cultural-historical impositions from other religious systems, lacking strong theological basis in Christianity.
- Biblical narratives, like the story of Eve, have historically shaped perceptions of women as prone to sin, contrasting with the idealized role of the Virgin Mary.
- The silencing of women's voices in Christian tradition is discussed, even when those voices had influence.