ABSTRACT
In order for Orthodox women to challenge the teachings of the Church that recognize the ‘charisms’ of women, but not their intellectual and spiritual equality with men, there is a demand for using a ‘feminist hermeneutics of suspicion’ of canon law and scriptural interpretation, and critical analysis of the practices of hierarchy and patriarchy. As Elisabeth Schüssler Fiorenza asserts: ‘the adoption of a “hermeneutics of suspicion” methodology does not pre-suppose a utopian feminist authority and truth but begins with the simple assumption that biblical texts and interpretations are androcentric and serve patriarchal functions’.1 Adrienne Rich claims that:
When Fiorenza’s assertions are placed alongside the secular of Adrienne Rich then Orthodox women have many questions to ask of their place within the Church. The Rhodes Consultation had not answered these questions and, although theologians and clergy alike acknowledged there was need for some new understandings of women’s place, few original or challenging ideas were forthcoming. The expectations of the WCC Women’s Unit were that forward-planning resolutions would emerge from the forthcoming Crete Consultation in 1990 as a contribution to the Ecumenical Decade, that would be the catalysts to encourage the best from Orthodox women and from the best of Orthodox teachings and practices. Although the topics chosen for debate had possibilities for renewal and reformation, their expectations were not fulfilled.
