The issue seems to be whether or not one deems any other type of service or ministry in the church as "equal" to that of the priesthood. According to Yn. Devejian, her service to the church (or the service of any other layperson) is just as sacred as her husband's. However, there remains a slight theological problem: serving the church as, say, an internet developer is not sacramentally recognized. One is not consecrated - sealed with holy muron and set aside for a holy purpose - ordained - to be an internet developer, or a Sunday School teacher, or Parish Council member, or any other lay position of "equal leadership." So those women who feel called to serve the church in a deep, profound way, who feel that God is calling them to set their lives aside for a holy purpose, cannot respond to that call because the church does not recognize it.

By Phoebe16 at August 27, 2009

There may be many ways to serve the church, however the most important functions are reserved to those ordained to the priesthood and further up the hierarchy. Enumerating the exclusive and other priestly functions and comparing them to the functions that women, or lay people in general, are relegated to would take more than a page out of this newspaper. Mrs. Devejian’s statement that the mission of leading the “people to God” is not accomplished by priests alone contradicts church teaching which requires sacraments that can be administered only by male priests. However, it does open the way for the classical theological concept of the “priesthood of all the faithful” where every believing person is a “priest” and not just a class of men enjoying special perks and privileges. Ironically, my letter raised the question of the lack of equality for women in the church whereas Mrs. Devejian insists on keeping them at a lower status. Some women are happy with the status quo. I have no quarrel with them. On a note of personal experience, Mrs. Devejian, you do not know the positions I have taken whenever issues came up while I was a member of that privileged club of men and, moreover, “liberal” and outspoken priests are even less tolerated than women. Simon Y. Balian

By syb at August 27, 2009

Yeretsgin Devejian suggests that Mr. Balian should have taken opportunities to interact with “primates, patriarchs, and the Catholicos” – even as she “unequivocally” denies that these are the “most important functions” of the Armenian Church. If they are not the most important functions, then why not suggest interacting with “Internet development directors, outreach coordinators, and Sunday school teachers,” functions open to women in the church? Meanwhile, no one would dispute Yeretsgin Devejian’s assertion, “Ordination to a clerical rank is not the only way one can serve the Armenian Church and people.” By the same token, being elected to Congress is not the *only* way one can serve the United States and its people. But if women were categorically excluded from serving in the Congress, would that be OK because women could find work as teachers and seamstresses? Would Ms. Devejian berate a former member of Congress for objecting to this state of affairs?

By vincent.lima at August 27, 2009

Aside from Ms. Devejian's obvious disdain for Mr. Balian and a very standard party-line response about how "service to our faithful comes in many forms," it remains unclear just what those forms are in which women can serve meaningfully in the church. When a man comes forward and says he wants to serve the church, he is urged to become a priest. When a woman wants to serve the church, she is told to teach Sunday school, join the women's guild, join the Parish Council, cook pilaf for the church picnic, and so on. If these are truly meaningful forms of service to the church, why aren't these presented as viable options to men as well? It is of this disparity that Mr. Balian writes, a policy of saying one thing and doing another, of saying women contribute meaningfully but only attaching meaning to the ministry of the clergy. It remains true that women are sadly excluded from the only ministry accorded any meaning in the Armenian Church, and that is the ministry of the clergy.

By Phoebe16 at August 27, 2009