wfn.org | Orthodox Archbishop Rejects Claim That He Ordained Women Deacons

[PCUSA NEWS <pcusa.news@ecunet.org>]

28-October-1999 
99367 
 
    Orthodox Archbishop Rejects Claim 
    That He Ordained Women as Deacons 
 
    Albanian leader Anastasios says he will 
    raise the issue "at the right time" 
 
    by Jonathan Luxmoore 
    Ecumenical News International 
 
WARSAW-The head of Albania's minority Orthodox church has denied press 
reports that he recently ordained several women as deacons. 
 
    However, the church leader,  Archbishop Anastasios of Tirana and All 
Albania, confirmed in a telephone interview from Tirana Oct. 13 that he 
favored a discussion of women's ordination as deacons, and would raise the 
issue "at the right time" with other Orthodox archbishops and patriarchs. 
 
    There are no women deacons in any of the world's Orthodox churches, nor 
in the Roman Catholic Church.  In the Orthodox, Roman Catholic and Anglican 
churches, the diaconate is traditionally the first major step on the way to 
priesthood, and deacons exercise some of the functions of priests. 
 
    The ordination of women deacons by one Orthodox church would be an 
event of major ecclesiastical importance, and would have deep ramifications 
for relations with other Orthodox churches and for the Catholic Church. 
 
    It would also bring about a major boost to Orthodox relations with 
Anglican, Old Catholic, Lutheran and other Protestant churches in which 
women have won entry into the clergy. 
 
    "This report is pure fiction - none of it is accurate beyond the basic 
background," Archbishop Anastasios said of the Swiss agency report which 
claimed he had accepted three women into the diaconate.  "We use women in 
all our activities. But a decision to admit them to the diaconate would 
require formal discussions - we could never take such a decision by 
ourselves." 
 
    The 70-year-old archbishop was responding to a report by "Reformierter 
Pressedienst," a Swiss Protestant news agency, which claimed he had "broken 
a taboo" by ordaining three women 
deacons. 
 
    Archbishop Anastasios told ENI that had been that he had been 
interviewed in Geneva in September by a Protestant news agency during a 
meeting of the World Council of Churches, but he now believed he was 
"completely misunderstood." 
 
    Archbishop Anastasios said: "Sometimes important initiatives can be 
destroyed by incorrect information.  If misinformation has been circulated 
that the Orthodox Church of Albania has ordained women as deacons, one can 
expect the seed will be destroyed by immediate strong opposition from 
traditional churches." 
 
    Archbishop Anastasios, who has gained a reputation worldwide as an 
enlightened  and effective church leader, told ENI that he had insisted 
since taking office in 1992 that women should be engaged "at all levels" of 
church life, and had persuaded opponents to "accept this as a reality." 
 
    "However, although I hope to convince others that this move is 
desirable, we are at the beginning here, and can't decide by ourselves. We 
are open to the needs of this society.  But we don't wish to suggest we are 
taking quick decisions without consulting others." 
 
    The church leader said the Orthodox church in Albania had had to be 
rebuilt entirely since the end of communist rule and was now "in an 
apostolic period." 
 
    He added that women dominated the church's social, educational and 
youth activities, as well as its social service department and the church's 
relief efforts for Kosovo refugees.  He hoped to raise the issue of 
ordination "at the right time after proper preparation." 
 
    "It is women who have taken responsibility for tackling the various 
difficulties we've faced during these eight years, and we've given them 
more decision-making authority as a result," Archbishop Anastasios added. 
"Although the priesthood is not in question, the diaconate is an open 
possibility.  But it isn't a simple matter, and we must ensure the effort 
isn't destroyed from the beginning by some announcement which creates 
immediate opposition." 
 
    Orthodox Christians traditionally comprise a fifth of Albania's 
population of 3.3 million, and are mostly concentrated in southern areas 
which were Greek-ruled in the 19th century.  Most Albanians are Muslim. 
 
    The Ecumenical Patriarch's 1992 nomination of Greek-born Archbishop 
Anastasios to head the church, which separated from its Greek counterpart 
in 1937, was accepted by Albania's Orthodox church council, but criticized 
by some Albanians as infringing the church's self-governing status. 
 
    But the archbishop told ENI that the Orthodox church's "creative 
efforts" had now been acknowledged, adding that the Socialist-led 
government of Premier Pandeli Majko was aware that church leaders had been 
"continually open to all crises and difficulties." 
 
    The archbishop said the Orthodox church had helped 20,000 Muslim 
refugees from neighboring Kosovo, and was running two of the six refugee 
camps assigned for winter accommodation. 
 
    "This isn't the first time we've been in the front line for every need, 
doing our best with all our heart," Archbishop Anastasios said.  "Of 
course, there are voices here which take a different view.  But they have 
other priorities than what's best for church and society." 

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