Ekhrestos Anesty! Χριστός Ανέστη! Христос воскрес! Քրիստոս հարյավ ի մեռելոց! Cristo è risorto! The greatest news of all were first preached & proclaimed by the women, the Holy Myrrh Bearers: Christ has Risen, everyone! An Armenian Orthodox reader ( lay woman deacon) reading the gospel reading during the ceremony of the sacrament of matrimony. The Armenian Orthodox church have normal lay women ordained as readers and chanters. We hope that women have the same opportunity to participate in the same capacity in the Coptic Orthodox church. An Armenian lay deaconess reading the gospel in the liturgy Just like the Syrian Orthodox church, the Armenian Orthodox church is also an oriental orthodox sister of the Coptic Orthodox Church. The Armenian Deaconesses were ordained (as are the male Deacons), vested, served at the Altar, preached and taught. Women do not need to be ordained or consecrated to serve in the same capacity as lay men! Any more than lay men need to be ordained or consecrated to be, for example, Sunday School teachers. St. Marks Coptic Orthodox Church in LA, South California, has also established a female epsaltos choir that leads in chanting liturgical hymns. Apparently there is a chain of female epsaltos choirs across the Coptic Orthodox churches in the region of South California that are endorsed by the progressive pastoral care of Bishop Serapion!! Such great news!! It seems whether or not wed like to admit, America is always in the lead in so many respects. lol Were praying the Coptic Orthodox communities in the U.S, Australia and the entire Coptic diaspora follow in the footsteps of the South California churches!! female epsaltoses are dressed in the traditional white gown St. Catherine is the patron saint of Italy. She was a doctor of the church who preached to everyone and even taught the pope and cardinals as seen in the picture. Many of her teachings, writings and prayers have thankfully survived till todays date. She remains a greatly respected figure for her spiritual writings, and political boldness to speak truth to power; especially in an age when women didnt hold much power inside or outside the church. May she always be an inspiration to us all, women, men and children to speak the truth with courage and love. May the Spirit continue to gift women of all ages to keep on fruitfully enriching the church. Weve noticed from some comments that some are mistaking the page to be for female priests (!) While we believe that this might not be an intentional malicious straw-man argument to confuse and distract, its important to clarify that the Coptic Orthodox church uses the term deacon very loosely! It doesnt refer to full deacons anymore, but to also refer to the lowest of the ranks of the deaconate, such as epsaltos. , the rank of epsaltos/chanter is open to lay people, except in the case of the COC, its open to lay men only! The purpose of our page is to rally for little lay girls to have the same opportunity that little lay boys enjoy to chant and read in the liturgy. We hope that one day women are no longer excluded in worship life in the Coptic church just because theyre women! At a painful time when Christ was doubted, denied, questioned, betrayed, abused, abandoned and forsaken even by some of His own male disciples, it was the women who stood fast by Christs side. Instead of following from a distance, they followed very closely and witnessed Him and for Him. The ladies always deserve an honorary mention on Good Friday for their courage, loyalty, commitment, sincerity, LOVE and outstanding devotion. They were the ones standing at Calvary!
Posted on: Fri, 10 Oct 2014 03:27:01 +0000
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