Tag Archives: deaconess

Of Subtitles and Menstruation

by Brian Patrick Mitchell Posted on February 10, 2024

Keen customers have noticed that The Disappearing Deaconess appears with different subtitles on different online vendors (Amazon, Alibris, etc.). Is it the same book? It is, except for the subtitle. Some vendors are slow in updating changes in their listings, … Continue reading →

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Were Deaconesses Really Apostolic?

by Brian Patrick Mitchell Posted on February 7, 2024

Those pushing deaconesses on the Orthodox Church rely heavily on the argument that since deaconesses were apostolic there is nothing wrong with them. But there are good reasons for believing deaconesses were not apostolic, and also good reasons for making … Continue reading →

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The Good and the Bad of Ancient Faith’s Deaconess Documentary

by Brian Patrick Mitchell Posted on January 31, 2024

Ancient Faith’s long and long-awaited audio documentary on deaconesses aired last night to the relief of some and the dismay of others. Overall, it turned out better than I expected, with its hosts, Fr. Thomas Soroka and Ancient Faith’s founder … Continue reading →

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The Mein Kampf of Orthodox Feminism

by Brian Patrick Mitchell Posted on January 29, 2024

While in prison for his part in the 1923 Munich “beer hall putsch,” Adolf Hitler wrote a book setting forth his vision of Germany, past, present, and future. Ever since then people have pointed to his book, Mein Kampf (“My … Continue reading →

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Talking Points on Deaconesses

by Brian Patrick Mitchell Posted on December 4, 2023

The argument over deaconesses in the Orthodox Church tends to center around past history and present needs, but the history of deaconesses is obscure, easily distorted, and not always relevant. After all, history is not tradition; it only becomes tradition … Continue reading →

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Book Review: Church of Whose Granddaughters?

by Brian Patrick Mitchell Posted on July 31, 2023

How is one to understand a scholar—a theologian no less—who writes a book accusing the Orthodox Church of not living up to its own theology in its treatment of women while ignoring everything in Holy Scripture, Holy Tradition, and the … Continue reading →

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My latest book, just released: The Disappearing Deaconess

by Brian Patrick Mitchell Posted on March 29, 2021

“The whole Church has never had a tradition of having deaconesses, but the whole Church has had a tradition of not having them.” — The Disappearing Deaconess examines not just the history of deaconesses but also patristic teaching on male … Continue reading →

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The Church once had deaconesses. So what?

by Brian Patrick Mitchell Posted on January 18, 2018

For many people, the fact that the Orthodox Church once had deaconesses, somewhere at sometime, is enough to justify having them again. After all, they say, we Orthodox believe in tradition, and deaconesses are part of the tradition. Are they … Continue reading →

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Orthodox Deaconesses?

by Brian Patrick Mitchell Posted on October 11, 2017

Remarks by Protodeacon Brian Patrick Mitchell At the St. Phoebe Center Conference on “Renewing the Male and Female Diaconate” Irvine, California October 7, 2017 Thanks, Helen [Theodoropoulos], for the introduction, and thanks also to AnnMarie Mecera and everyone else at … Continue reading →

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