question of women in church tradition, The

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"Women's issues" appear in many forms today, having to do with the place and role of women in society, in the church, in history, in culture; and in the relationship between men and women. The ordination of women, about which we are speaking in this consultation-although I would prefer the term "service" or diakonia of women in the church-is a part of this complex cluster of problems. No matter from which angle we analyze this theme, the other angles can never be completely bracketed out.

The Orthodox Church addressed this problem cluster, above all with the question of the ordination of women, at the symposium in Rhodes (1988), where the tendency was clearly in the direction of a negative answer. A fundamental argument was that of the typologies of Adam-Christ and Eve-Mary. These typologies appear most often separately in the Orthodox tradition, or else are only partially brought together. But can they be the basis today upon which the question put to the church by the women's movement might be discussed or even answered?

On the other hand, these questions also have to do with the place and role of the laity in the church, a problem cluster with which Orthodoxy until now has preferred not to engage. The simplistic argument is that this problem does not exist within the Orthodox Church.

Now because these typologies were applied at the Rhodes symposium, I shall in the first part of my paper seek to uncover the relevant texts from the tradition and speak to them briefly. As an interpretative key to these passages I hold that the opinions of an era are not to be separated from their general cultural circumstances. We cannot elucidate the tradition on the basis of present-day experience, much less simply copy the tradition. A general analysis of the socio-cultural circumstances of the age of the church fathers is needed if we are to be justified in our interpretation of the typologies. I will first of all ask, then, whether the argument that was resorted to at Rhodes is used in the tradition. Secondly, I will ask which role the generally prevalent picture of women played. Thirdly, I ask what sort of consequences the speeches and debates at Rhodes, were we to take them seriously, would have for women in society.

The Typologies of Adam-Christ and Eve-Mary

The typology of Adam and Christ has its origins in the theology of the apostle Paul, who again and again goes back to the story of Genesis, interpreting and applying it in a traditional way. Paul argues that Adam, the first human being, comes from the earth and is earth, where the second human being originates from heaven. The first human being is an "earth creature," the last Adam a "lifegiving spirit." As we are formed after the image of the earth creature, so shall we be transformed into the image of the one from heaven (1 Cor. 15:45-49). In the person of the first Adam, through his trespass, sin came into the world, and through sin, death-death by which all suffer, even though not all are guilty. Just as now death has come to dominate through the trespass of one person, so all who partake richly in grace and the gift of righteousness will be justified, and live and reign through the one Jesus Christ. Through the disobedience of the first human being all became sinners, but through the obedience of the second, many are made righteous (Rom. 5:12-21). In Christ the new creation is brought into being: "everything old has passed away; see, everything has become new! All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself in Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation" (2 Cor. 5: 17-18).

Many of the church fathers use and develop these typologies without departing from their basic foundations. The first human being's fall and sin of disobedience remains the central element. Often this initial situation is interpreted through the concept of lust. Athanasius the Great believes that every human birth is bound up with sin.1 John Chrysostom says that Adam is the prototype of the new Adam who came into the world to redeem human beings.2 Other church fathers add further elements, in order to emphasize this typology. For example, Irenaeus remarks that just as Adam was not born of another human being, the anakephalaioumenos was born from Mary.3 Origen remarks also that Christ was crucified and raised in exactly the place where, according to Hebrew tradition, Adam was buried, in order to raise Adam from the grave and to give access to life for all.4 John of Damascus, interpreting the typology theologically, says that Christ has taken up the whole Adam-that is, the whole human person-as he was before the fall, in order to redeem the whole human being.5

The apostle Paul was almost totally unconcerned with the role of Eve in God's plan. This theme appears, nevertheless, relatively early in the history of the church. Theophilus of Antioch, for example, directs his attention to Eve, represented as the one who has introduced sin.6 Irenaeus also sets Eve, through whom the whole of humanity became disobedient, over against the obedience of Mary, who has led us to our salvation.7 In other places he mentions only the Virgin Mary in connection with the Adam-Christ typology.8 John of Damascus later operates with the same schema. Athanasius the Great presents Eve as our mother who, however, has given birth to sin.9 The great church fathers focus usually on the typology of Adam-Christ, with whom they associate the person of the Virgin Mary. The typology of Eve and Mary is unfolded in later works, which are indeed attributed to the great church fathers but which in fact have been shown to be pseudepigraphical, post-dating the sixth century.10 In the early centuries the apocryphal gospels sought to fill what was missing in the canonical gospels with popular tales about the life of Christ and his mother. These influenced hymnography and iconography and were repeated in the pseudepigraphical works of the church fathers in a way that simply reflects popular piety. Especially significant were homilies about the Mother of God, who was especially honored by the common people. This piety can be seen clearly even today in the Orthodox churches, so that one often gains the impression that she overshadows Christ. The Mother of God is the mother of all, and she surpasses all women in virtue.11 Because she has given life to all people through her son, she is called "mother of life" and "the new Eve.,12