During Advent and Christmas we allow a woman, Mary, the mother of Jesus, to step out of the biblical shadows and into a prominent liturgical role. But God help us --literally -- if we allow women to be too "uppity" in other aspects of our tradition.
You may have heard that the Vatican has released a virtual tour of an area of the underground burial sites called the catacombs and it has created a stir because some are insisting that some of the paintings depict women priests.
The frescoes in the Catacombs of Priscilla were recently restored, so the Google Street View images reveal paintings that look fresh and richly colored, even though they date back to the first few centuries. Moving virtually through the Catacombs of Priscilla's winding passageways, one can find not only the oldest known depiction of the Madonna and child, but also biblical scenes, including Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead and paintings of Saints Peter and Paul.
Now that anyone can tour the catacombs and see these frescoes via Google, members of the Association of Roman Catholic Women Priests say they have let the media know they have written about and believe that two frescoes in the Catacombs of Priscilla provide evidence of an ancient tradition of women deacons, priests and even bishops.
Will it surprise any of you to hear that these claims were immediately discounted? The implication would be that the early church was egalitarian but became patriarchal with the passage of time. Obviously this would affect the ongoing discussion about women in the priesthood of the Roman Catholic Church. While Pope Francis has said that women should be allowed a more prominent role in the church, we haven't heard him saying that he has planned the first service of ordination for any of them.
In our United Church of Canada we have ordained women since the 1930's. Both my predecessor and successor from my last pastoral charge, St. Paul's, are women, as well as the ordained minister who worked with me during my time there and others on staff. Rev.Vicki is a staff member at Bridge St. and did an excellent job during the year of transition.
Have you heard about these catacomb paintings? Do we tend to trot out Mary as the sweet example of faithfulness every year and then tuck her away with the Nativity scenes? Are we where we want to be with equality in the United Church or is there still a way to go?
44 years ago I left the Catholic Church for several reasons, one being the way women are expected to play the role of a good wife and are encouraged by the church to stay with their husband even in an abusive relationship. After my Mom divorced my Dad she could not receive Communion in the Roman Catholic Church, how sad when she was the one keeping our family together and the "good parent". When I hear our Minister invite everyone to the Communion Table no matter their beliefs or background I always think back to how my brothers and I would go to the front of the church to receive Communion and my Mom would bow her head and feel sad that she couldn't do the same. I am not surprised at all to hear these claims were discounted immediately by the Vatican.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sad story and image dmy. Tragic really. I'm glad you chose to seek out another Christian community rather than simply walk away.
ReplyDeleteI feel for DMT's Mom.
ReplyDeleteIt's too bad that there is such resistance to changing with the times.
On the other hand I feel the united church has been a leader in many ways. A female minister is old news for us.
More recent changes give make me stop and think, but I do believe if we are going to talk the talk we need to walk the walk.
Jesus loves everyone we should too.