ABSTRACT
The Golden Charter of Orthodox ecumenism was addressed by the Ecumenical Patriarchate encyclical in January 1920 to ‘all the churches of Christ, where-so-ever they be’, and stated that ‘… a mutual understanding between the several Christian churches is not prevented by the doctrinal differences existing between them’.1 This statement opened the way for ecumenical dialogue on all matters of Christian faith, including controversial and necessary discussions on the participation and ministry, and decades later the sacramental ordination of women in the Church. In this first chapter, a brief and general historical overview of the structures and relevant teachings of Eastern and Oriental Orthodox churches is placed in the context of a new relationship within the World Council of Churches from 1948, the development of the women’s movement and feminism in the West through the turbulent political changes of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries and the participation of Orthodox women in the early programmes and studies organized and promoted by and within the Women’s Unit of the ecumenical movement.
