St. Nersess Armenian Seminary
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  • St. Nersess Theological Review
  • SNTR Volume 7

Roles for Women in the Canons of the Armenian Church: Restrictive or Expansive?

11/26/2005

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November 26, 2005

"How does one apply the Bible and the Armenian Book of Canons to resolve a contemporary issue within the life of the Armenian Church?," asked Jason Demerjian, St. Nersess seminarian and Director of the Eastern Diocese's College Ministry Program, at a lecture delivered at the Seminary last week.

The issue is the role of women in the Armenian Church, increasingly discussed and debated not only in the diaspora, but increasingly in Armenia itself. Demerjian shared the intriguing results of an independent study project undertaken by him at St. Nersess under the direction of Professors Abraham Terian and Roberta Ervine in a lecture entitled, "The Role of Women in the Armenian Book of Canons." Demerjian's was the fourth in the Seminary's Autumn Lecture Series and the first of two lectures devoted to the role of women in the Armenian Church.

To hear Demerjian's lecture in full click here.

Demerjian began his talk with a brief survey of passages in the New Testament which restrict the activity of women within the life of the early Christian community. And yet alongside these harsh passages one finds much more expansive, active and saintly roles for women implied by other Biblical passages. This results in what Demerjian called a "sort of schizophrenic picture of women in the New Testament."

Demerjian then turned to the Armenian Church's Book of Canons. In a thick packet of materials prepared and distributed by him, the young speaker gave examples of two categories of Armenian canons--canons of the early church which were adopted by the Armenian Church and translated from the original Greek; and original canons instituted by local Armenian synods and councils. 


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In the first category, Demerjian showed how the Armenian version of canons from the ecumenical councils sometimes differs in significant ways from their Greek originals. "The Armenian fathers were not afraid to modify the canons to make them relevant to situations in the life of the Armenian Church," he said. He cited an example of a canon promulgated by the Council of Nicea (325 AD) which, in its original Greek form, prohibits a bishop from having any woman besides his mother or sister dwell in his home. The Armenian version changes the entire sense of the canon, nullifying its original intent of enforcing celibacy among the bishops. It is possible that the Armenian Church needed to modify this canon during a period (as late as the early fifth century) when Armenian bishops were married.

Demerjian also read several canons which regulate the role of women deacons in the early church. These canons were fully adopted by the Armenian Church, implying that women deacons were active there as well. A lecture dedicated to the History of Women Deacons in the Armenian Church by Dr. Roberta Ervine is scheduled for Monday, November 28 at the Seminary. Demerjian next drew the audience's attention to a number of local Armenian canons which severly restrict the role of women.

"If you're looking for a positive description of women's roles in the church, you're not necessarily going to find it in canon law. If you want to know what the positive role of priests was in the Armenian Church, you wouldn't find that in canon law either," Demerjian said. "Canon law is a record of problems that occur, so if you went through the canons and asked whether there should be priests in the Armenian Church, you'd probably answer 'no' considering all the prohibitions and restrictions placed on them." 

To demonstrate that the Book of Canons can not be considered the final authority in determining how women participated in the life of the church, Demerjian read from other Armenian sources that magnified the work and authority of such women as Sts. Hripsime, Nuneh and especially St. Thecla, whom the Armenians call a "co-apostle." The Armenian Church long included the ancient story of St. Thecla, a disciple of St. Paul, as one of the books of the Bible. 


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"I think that the Armenian Church has been open and more flexible about having women involved when the church has been under threat," Demerjian said. "When it was under threat the church seemed to have much greater flexibility toward women, from all the talk of deaconesses and prophetesses and co-apostles (as Thecla and Nuneh are called). There seemed to be the same flexibility when the monastic movement was starting. But when Christianity becomes more institutionalized it tends to restrict those roles."

The lecture was followed by a spirited discussion among members of the audience, including the seminary faculty and seminarians. Time and again it became clear that the canons are to be used with the greatest caution. Often we expect more from our canons than they can provide.

"What questions can one ask of a book of law that deals with problems as they arise? How much can the canons tell us about what was actually going on in day-to-day life?," Demerjian asked rhetorically. "If someone 1000 years from now were to otain a copy of the 2005 Criminal Code of the City of New York, they wouldn't find a very accurate picture of the nature of relationships between men and women in our times."

Another caution emerged from the post-lecture conversation: "Among all the ancient Christian churches, only the Catholic Church has--or has ever had--a functioning, integrated Code of Canon Law," cautioned Fr. Daniel Findikyan. "Neither the Armenian, Russian, Coptic, Greek, or any other ancient eastern church has ever looked upon its church canons as the definitive source of church order and authority," he said.

Added Professor Ervine, "Only for rare interludes did the Armenians have the luxury of a strong, centralized government within which such a system of canons could function."

As always, an enjoyable reception followed the lecture.

The next lecture in the Seminary's Fall Lecture Series will be Professor Ervine's November 28 presentation on the History of Women Deacons in the Armenian Church.


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Seminarians Celebrate Feast of the Presentation of Mary the Mother of God to the Temple

11/26/2005

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November 26, 2005

St. Nersess seminarians, faculty, staff and friends celebrated the Feast of the Presentation of Mary the Mother of God to the Temple early Monday morning, November 21, 2005 in the seminary chapel. 

According to ancient sources, the feast commemorates an event in the early life of Mary. According to Jewish custom, her parents, Saints Joachim and Anne dedicated her to God's service by presenting her to the religious officials of the Temple in Jerusalem.

St. Nersess is one of very few Armenian Churches in the world which retains the tradition of celebrating the Divine Liturgy on the Feast of the Presentation, which the Armenian Church celebrates every year on November 21. The Divine Liturgy was celebrated by Rev. Fr. Kapriel Mouradjian, Pastor of Holy Resurrection Armenian Church (New Britain, CT). Fr. Kapriel was graduated from St. Nersess Seminary last May.


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Serving with him at the holy altar were seminarians Deacon Nishan Baljian and Sub-deacon Ryan Tellalian. Other seminarians read the daily Scripture readings and chanted the hymns of the holy Badarak.

In his message, Der Kapriel related the day's feast to the seminarians, who, like Mary, have devoted their lives to God's service.

Present for the Divine Liturgy were several Indian Orthodox seminarians, who study with the St. Nersess students at St. Vladimir's Seminary in nearby Crestwood, New York. The Indian Orthodox Church is a sister church in full communion with the Armenian Church.


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At the conclusion of the Divine Liturgy, Fr. Daniel Findikyan, Dean, recognized Maria Derderian and Megan Jendian, two women seminarians who have dedicated themselves to theological study and church service.

"Taking the Holy Mother of God as their example, Maria and Megan have undertaken to serve God and serve the holy Armenian Church," Fr. Findikyan said. "Today we recognize them and encourage them in love."

Fr. Findikyan also recognized the dedication of Prof. Roberta Ervine, Associate Professor of Armenian Studies. "She too, in a particular way, has dedicated herself to the service of God and His holy church," Findikyan said


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The History of Women Deacons in the Armenian Church

11/22/2005

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November 22, 2005

Unlike other churches, the Armenian Church has traditionally bestowed the rank of deacon not only on men, but on women as well, who have been active in a number of different ministries.

On Monday, November 28, Prof. Roberta Ervine will present a lecture at the Seminary, in which she will trace the long and intriguing history of this remarkable order of ordained women within the life of the Armenian Church. Ervine's lecture will be the fourth in the Seminary's Autumn Lecture Series and the second of two lectures devoted to Women in the Armenian Church. Two weeks ago, Mr. Jason Demerjian presented a lecture on the place of women in the canons of the Armenian Church. 

"As one of the church's most creative and flexible avenues of ministry, the permanent diaconate's mission has been to remain especially attuned to the current needs of the Church, its hierarchy and its parish faithful," Dr. Ervine says. "The topic of this lecture will be the ways in which deacons, and women deacons in particular, have traditionally stepped in to fill those needs."

Dr. Ervine is Associate Professor of Armenian Studies at St. Nersess Seminary. A specialist in medieval Armenian religious literature and history, Dr. Ervine lived in the Armenian Quarter of Jersualem for more than 25 years and taught in the Department of Armenian Studies at Hebrew University before coming to St. Nersess. In her four years at the Seminary, Dr. Ervine has earned a reputation as a captivating speaker who makes Armenian history come alive.

The lecture, free and open to the public, will begin at 7:30 PM. It will be followed by a reception.


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Preparing leaders for service in the
Armenian Church since 1961
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