Can a woman be a priest? Why can't a woman be a priest?

Currently, it is more and more actively debating about whether women can be clothed with a clergyman's dignity. There are supporters of equality in this matter, who believe that women are no worse, and perhaps even better, they can conduct a worship.

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Most Orthodox clergymen insist that only men have the right to send the service. Why did the churchmen have such injustice to the female sex? Let's figure it out.

Why can't a woman become a priest?

The clergy claims that women are not allowed to be Orthodox priests, since the female priesthood is not approved by the tradition of the Eastern Church.
In the priestly hierarchy, which Jesus Christ also established, there were apostles only masculine, and he did not do a single woman such power in the commission of church sacraments. Then this power was entrusted to their successors - bishops, and soon to rule the services of began to become presbyters.
The centuries-old church tradition of Orthodoxy never in its entire history knew a single woman-priest, despite all her possible merits to the church.

Reasons why it is believed that a woman cannot be a priest

Can a woman be a priest in Protestant?

Protestants also do not have women playing the role of a priest, since this san impatves the service of the liturgy and the commission of the sacred sacraments. However, the Protestants have a liturgy and all other sacraments are absent, they only cost sermons and "memories" from biblical themes.

For about 40 years, an official message was made about the female priesthood with that holy synod. It said that the Synod will make any decision on the ministry or not the service of women in those faiths that do not recognize the priesthood as a sacrament. In other words, if the priesthood is not recognized as individual communities, then they cannot have priests. And women can successfully perform the functions of communal pastors.

By the way, the Orthodox Church can just as successfully attract women to the implementation of such cases. The Protestant pastor is a preacher, mentor and teacher for his flock. But in Orthodoxy there are many women who devoted themselves to teaching in Sunday schools, gymnasiums and theological institutions.
And one more thing: pastors in their communities also play the role of a “manager” - they organize and control the life of the community. And what about this case in Orthodoxy? In every convent, mother-hype, with the help of experienced and firm nuns in his faith, has been engaged in the same since antiquity.
But, most importantly, - liturgy Protestant pastors (whether it is a man or woman) do not serve at all. Therefore, they do not understand that the priests who give the parishioners bread and wine during the service in the form of the body and blood of God are living icons of Jesus Christ.
That is why it is permissible to make it possible only for men - at least, so the Orthodox ministers of the church, of course, are the male. They say, referring to the Old Testament, that a woman should devote herself to the family, birth and raising children and help a man, and only men should perform priestly functions.

Will the deaconisses appear in Russia?

Now, even in the Vatican, the issue of the revival of the institution of deaconissa (Greek “servant”) is being discussed - though only backstage. Experts have their own opinion on this score. If women break their way to the church hierarchy, then this will certainly lead to radical changes in the Orthodox Church itself.
Russian clergy also discuss this topic among themselves. The PEW research center notes that at present 39% of Russians professing Orthodoxy do not mind that women are assigned the rank of deaconissa.
Most of the priests of the Russian Church believe that it makes no sense to revive this ancient rank, because the responsibilities that the deaccons had previously been involved, or remained in the past, or they are now fulfilling the priests themselves - men, not women.
Now, if the deaconisses still appear in the Orthodox Church, then they will most likely deal with exclusively good deeds-that is, mercy.