Page 262 - Orthodoxy Zizioulas

O r t h o d o x y
The Testimony and Diakonia
of Orthodox Woman
Having considered the ethos and culture of the Orthodox
Church, we may now turn to the testimony and diakonia
of Orthodox women within the life of the Church and in the
world.
Presently, there is widespread negative skepticism toward
the entire Christian tradition with regard to its position on
women. At this point, it is important to differentiate between
“Western” and Orthodox tradition. There are numerous
sources and views expressed by the holy Church Fathers that
we could quote. Let a comparison between the positions of
Thomas Aquinas, a great theologian of Western Christianity
in the thirteenth century, and St. Basil the Great in the fourth
century suffice as illuminating examples of views on women.
Thomas Aquinas followed the ideas of Aristotle and con-
sidered woman imperfect and incomplete in comparison to
man. His views were also based on the biological theories of
his time. He believed that the male seed is characterized by a
defect or some other disorder at the conception of a female
child (Summa Theologiae I, 92, 3). According to Thomas Aqui-
nas, life is defined as a biological hierarchy with differing lev-
els that take into account the higher functional levels of mind
and intellect. According to him, woman was predestined to be
only man’s companion and helper, primarily in procreation,
and not as an intellectual leader, because, as he reasoned,
woman was taken not from Adam’s head but from his rib. The
key to understanding Aquinas’s theological and philosophical
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