WHY DON’T YOU BELIEVE IN WOMEN’S ORDINATION? DON’T YOU LOVE WOMEN?

By Bp. Joseph (Ancient Church of the West) 

Regarding women’s ordination, our Church follows the “Apostolic Constitutions”, the earliest complete canonical and liturgical manual for the Church, compiled in the late 3rd to 4th century, but containing material that reaches back to the 1st and 2nd century Antiochian tradition, attested by the oldest manuscripts and quotations. These texts reflect the early ecclesial order and sacramental discipline of the Apostolic Churches. In Book VIII of the Apostolic Constitutions, it is clearly stated that “Deaconesses were appointed not to serve at the altar, but to assist with the baptism of women, care for the modesty of female catechumens, and minister to the needs of women and children in the congregation.” Their ordination is described not as sacramental in the same sense as the male diaconate, but rather as a “benediction or designation outside the altar area,” without the laying on of hands (χειροτονία), which was reserved for bishops, presbyters, and male deacons (Apostolic Constitutions VIII.19–20).

The text reads: 

“Let a deaconess be ordained who is pure, and faithful, and holy, and chosen for the service of women; for sometimes the ruler cannot send a deacon to the women, on account of unbelievers. But thou shalt send the deaconess on account of the imaginations of the wicked. For we stand in need of a woman, a deaconess, for many necessities: first, when women go down into the water, it is necessary that those who are unclothed should be anointed by a deaconess, and not by a deacon..." (Apostolic Constitutions VIII.28).

Importantly, the ordination of deaconesses is described as a "laying on of hands not unto the priesthood, but unto service," and done “outside the sanctuary”, clearly demarcating the distinction between the diaconate proper and the female diaconal ministry. St. Epiphanius of Salamis affirms this, saying: "The deaconesses were only for the service of women, and did not receive any priestly function or altar ministry. They were appointed not by ordination but by blessing." (Panarion, 79.3).

Similarly, St. John Chrysostom, who served as deacon and priest in Antioch, acknowledged the utility and importance of deaconesses in the Church, especially regarding female catechumens, but nowhere suggests that they held liturgical or sacramental authority at the altar.

Even in the Scriptures, while St. Paul refers to Phoebe as a “diakonos” of the Church at Cenchreae (Romans 16:1), the context indicates a “ministerial or servant role”, not necessarily liturgical in nature or functionally equivalent to male deacons ordained for public worship and Eucharistic service. The Greek term diakonos was broadly applied and did not always imply ordained ministry unless specified with ritual or hierarchical clarity.

The Didascalia Apostolorum (3rd century Syrian text), an earlier complete source than the Constitutions and foundational to them, also affirms this differentiation, stating: 

"The deaconess does not bless, nor perform anything that the deacons do, but is only appointed for the sake of the dignity of women, and for the sake of the female body." (Didascalia, Book III, ch. 12).

While this view may seem unpopular or even controversial in many parts of the contemporary Western Church, it remains the consensus of the undivided early Church and the unbroken canonical tradition of the Orthodox East. It represents a deeply patristic and apostolic ecclesiology, one that honors the distinct callings of men and women in the Body of Christ without conflating the sacramental and functional offices established by the Holy Spirit and preserved in the life of the Church (1 Corinthians 12:28; Ephesians 4:11).

To follow this tradition is not to denigrate the ministry of women, but to preserve the integrity of Apostolic order as handed down to us from the Fathers, and as practiced faithfully in the Church of Antioch—the very place where "the disciples were first called Christians" (Acts 11:26). We love women, respect women, and promote women's ministry within our Churches. We venerate the Blessed Virgin Mary, the most holy Theotokos, as the greatest of all Christians. In all of this, however, we must remember the holy order of the family, the headship and spiritual authority that God gives to the father, and the beauty of humble obedience—a virtue increasingly rare in a world that doubts and disregards God's Law, His Commandments, and His Holy Revelation.

A COLLECT FOR THE ORDERING OF WOMEN IN THE CHURCH ACCORDING TO APOSTOLIC TRADITION

Almighty and Everlasting God, who by Thy Holy Spirit dost appoint divers offices in Thy Church, and hast from the beginning made a difference between sacred orders and works of charity; We give Thee thanks for the godly women who, like Phoebe of old, have ministered to the saints in purity and reverence, serving the weak and comforting the sorrowful; and we bless Thee for the ancient pattern preserved by Thy Apostles and confirmed by the Fathers, wherein deaconesses were set apart with prayer and blessing, not unto the altar, but unto the service of women and children. 

Grant, O Lord, that Thy Church, guided by the Apostolic Constitutions and the example of the Church of Antioch, may ever hold fast the form of sound words and the order once delivered to the saints; that both men and women, each in their proper estate, may fulfill their calling with faithfulness and humility, adorned with modesty and good works. 

Make us to walk in the obedience of faith, in a world that knoweth not Thy commandments, that, loving Thy will above all things, we may rejoice in the holy vocation of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and magnify Thee in lowliness and truth; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.