God created man and woman in His own image. “In the image of God he created them; male and female he created them” (Gen 1:27). She was taken from man’s side and was made equal to him. “The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.”
However the bible appreciates women very much, and orders husbands to dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, Christ has not chosen even one woman among his 12 disciples. Consequently, the apostles has not ordained a woman as priest or bishop.
In the old Testament, none of the women practiced priesthood, and they were not allowed to do it in the new Testament as well. St. Paul orders women not to teach or have authority over a man. “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” (1 Timothy 2: 12). Thus, no woman apostle was among the 70 apostles sent by Jesus Christ.
Furthermore, St. Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ had nothing to do with priesthood. How come we claim now that women today are of more value than saints like the virgin Mary, Mary, the sister of Moses and Aaron, Deborah the Judge, Huldah and Hannah the prophetesses, Queen Esther, Mary the Magdalene, Mary, the mother of Mark, Lydia saleswoman of purple, Aquila or daughters of Philip the evangelist?!
Priesthood is not a job, but a call and service that not all people are fit to practice. The High Priest Jesus Christ has delivered the Eucharist to twelve disciples who were all men. Those men received the Holy Spirit in the attic. Thus, we refuse the ordination of women as priests because it opposes the teachings of the bible. In fact, there were many deaconess like Phoebe and Olympias and others, but none of them was ordained priest.
Moreover, among many women who followed Jesus Christ, none was ordained a priest or had something to do with priesthood. Today, many people claim the right of women in priesthood out of curiosity and bargain, which is totally unacceptable.
Finally, the priesthood of women can not be negotiated as liberal or revolutionary calls. The truth is that such calls aim to attack the Holy Bible and refute its teachings.
