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Why aren't women allowed in the sanctuary/altar-area of the Church? I don't have a problem with the regulation as I'm sure it makes complete sense, but what is the reasoning behind this censorship?

Additionally, why isn't any feminine thing allowed on the Holy Mountain? Not even livestock?

Just curious!

ChristTeen287

I am looking forward to the answer also, but I have one misconception to point out.

That is that no females, includeing animals are allowed on Mt Athos....

I believe that female cats are allowed.

David

Dear Christ Teen,

Regarding the Holy Mountain, I prefer to defer to one who has been there. However, one could imagine that watching male and female animals engaged in natural sexual activity could lead one's mind toward thoughts of human sexual activity.

My wife and I could see the Holy Mountain clearly from our room while on vacation and I can only hope to visit there someday.

Regarding the canon about women in the sanctuary, it is specific in that they only may not serve there or be there during services. It does not say that they should not enter the sanctuary at any time.

No one should enter the sanctuary except with business there related to the sanctuary or worship. No one should sip coffee or have a pleasant chat about baseball in the sanctuary.

Probably some scandals occurred in the early Church and so the canon was set. Imagine an attractive young deaconess serving alongside a male priest. They must vest together, exchange the kiss of peace, stand and walk in close proximity for long periods of time. Clergy always arrive early and stay late, thus they could be left alone in the sanctuary in an empty church building. Even should they be holy and if they are not even tempted, people will still talk an imagine all manner of evil.

They writers of our canons were most wise.

With love in Christ.

I believe, and I know I will be corrected if I am wrong , that women were prohibited from the sanctuary because of the idea of being unclean.

Also, another reason was that Christ is the blood sacrifice and no one with running blood should be in the sanctuary. This is why menopausal woman are allowed to clean the sanctuary.

I found this out one Sunday when I was to serve, while standing in the sanctuary before the start of the Liturgy my nose started to bleed, I left the sanctuary to get some paper towel and father followed me out and told me this little tidbit....

Not that he was ordering me to stay out, just giveing me a bit of what tradition was.... Anyways my nose stopped bleeding before the Liturgy started so no harm done.

David

Thanks for the replies. This little excerpt answers my question, I believe. Since women are not ordained clergy, and only ordained clergy should be in the sanctuary during worship, this would naturally exclude women.

But can laymen enter the sanctuary during worship? If so, why are they not also excluded?

ChristTeen287

ChristTeen

Hold on a sec - did you read David's response - he is a Server and may be in the Sanctuary.

My understanding is that Servers may be there - they do after all have a service/function to fulfill.

However "what do I know"

I'n just the confused Latin

Anhelyna

The comments regarding menopausal women "only" as cleaners would probably be stating the strictest tradition. But in general, women during their cycle would not be cleaning the sanctuary or receiving the eucharist.

The "uncleanliness" issue has been thoroughly misconstrued to be perjorative (sp?) but is only a reflection of the holiless/otherliness of blood. That blood carries our life means that it is of God. Any thing holy is kept apart from common activities. Holy means "other" in Hebrew. So a flow of blood should not be confused with the bloodless offering of the eucharist. We wait 40 days to bring the mother and infant into the church because what has happened, the birth, the blood, the new breath, should be regarded as very holy!!! Etc. etc.

This discussion deserves a very complex explanation which I cannot adequately provide now.

In Christ.

Have I misunderstood this ?????????

Are we not getting back to the often held opinion that women are unworthy creatures - you mean that I a mere woman cannot receive Communion during my cycle ??

Surely not

Dear Anhelyna,

You need to consult the priest who is communing you. However, I'm speaking for the ancient tradition of the Orthodox Church still most widely practiced. I hope that the manner in which I conveyed this information was not insensitive. Please forgive me if it was.

Who is worthy among us? God looked down upon the sons (children) of men to see if there were any who did right...no, not one...all (of us) fall short of the glory of God.....

The Church holds up as her greatest example of a simple human being the all blessed Mary, Theotokos/Birthgiver of God. The unworthiness of females as a tenet has always been a non-starter in the Christian East. It took off a bit in the West. In the East, the non-Christians also had such foolishness.

No one is worthy. Women simply have particular times when, because of blood flow, they abstain from communion. It doesn't mean that those others (male and female) who are communing are worthy.

If there were two priests ready to serve and one were to cut himself, the other would make the offering. "Unbloody" sacrifice. If there is only one serving and he cuts himself, then he may decide to go forward, knowing and confessing it as a sin, for the sake of the multitudes that have prepared themselves to receive that day.

Clergy may not serve and commune if they have had sexual relations the previous eve. Lay males and females should also be keeping the same rule. So we see that men also have times when they must abstain.

These are canons of the Church.

I hope that this is helpful.

With love in Christ.

Dear Andrew,

After reading your last response, I think you are truly a "cut above . . ."

Alex

Dear Alex,

Not too bad for a squid, huh?

In Christ.

Dear Andrew,

And what does the "J." stand for?

Alex

Dear Alex,

Thanks for asking. That's John, after my dear father who is alive and well!

Certainly in the Balkan and Slavic traditions my full name would have been "Andrew (of) John." If I had moved out of the village of Floqi (my grandfather's village) then it would have been "Andrew (of) John (from) Floqi." That's how so many folks got their middle and surnames!

I was tempted to write that the "J" stands for "jarhead," but I thought that you might get offended.

In Christ.

Question:

What about the rest of us people (such as men and menapausal women) who don't have periods? I mean, blood is still flowing through our body, so why can we receive? Trying to keep this as clean as possible, but is it because the blood is kept inside our bodies, whereas with PMS-ing women and say, someone who cuts himself, the blood exits the body?

ChristTeen287

Dear Christ Teen,

In general, you have it right!

Much of the prohibition has to do with the pagan practices of drinking the hot flowing blood of animals (and in some cases, of human sacrifices). When Jehovah witnesses abstain from transfusions, they're (inappropriately) citing this same prohibition. Clearly, all the cultures found that the "life" ran in the blood.

Blood inside of us is doing what it should do - sustain life. Blood pouring out of us is the exception, the exotic, the exciting, in a ritualistic sense. Put all of this together with the Levitical requirements that (1) all blood be thoroughly drained from all animals intended for regular consumption (not only sacrifice) and with (2) prohibition on eating any animal strangled (i.e. its blood was not drained before or while it was dying) and (3) NT fasting rules that allow us bloodless fish such as crustaceans, mollusks, and shellfish; and we see the importance, ritualistically, of blood.

Just remember there are many many canonical reasons to abstain from communing for varying lengths of time much greater than one day or one week: apostacy (commune at deathbed?), murder (20 years), adultery (20? years), abortion (10 years), fornication, killing in battle (3 years), sodomy, etc. The canons help put all of this in perspective.

With love in Christ.