Complementarian theology basically states that although male and female are both imbued with human dignity and worth, they are fundamentally different and therefore have different roles in both the world of forms and in spiritual life. This is nothing new, of course this is the line taken by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and many Protestant churches.
Using this traditionalist approach, which is linked to a literal, biblical interpretation of the Trinity and creation, men get to be priests because God is masculine. Ok, that's simplistic, but it's pretty close to the underlying principle.
One need not be a Gnostic heretic such as myself to see the gaping holes in this conception of the Trinity and the Church - not to mention spirituality in general. The Church has a nasty old habit of hiding the feminine side of the Trinity: the Holy Spirit, a fact which has not gone unnoticed by some very good Orthodox works such as Fr. Sergei Bugakov's "SOPHIA: WISDOM OF GOD". In Hebrew the word to describe this hypostasis is "Chokhmah ()." If the God the "Father" is the unmoved mover, pure intelligence contemplating itself, then the next step to articulation of this intelligence is what? The Word (Logos)? Nope. How about "breath." The Wisdom of God, then, even in an orthodox interepretation of the Trinity, must be in both the Father and the Son. Together, the dyad Logos/Sophia fully represent the One. This is curious, given that orthodoxy entangles itself with this "complementarianism", which is tantamount to spiritual discrimination along the lines of the old"separate but equal"euphamism.
The sexes have different roles in the flesh, but the ultimate spiritual unity from which they come is the One, Ineffable Godhead, which is pure thought encompassing everything, and emanating through the Logos/Sophia Syzygy. In the strictest sense then, the Almighty is only complete within the Trinity if both masculine and feminine hypostases are breathing and speaking. One need not look to scriptures to see this macrocosmic Being reproduced in our own microcosms, and yet this understanding of the Trinity also leaves room for a broader acceptance of sexual identity and orientation. If the Trinity contains a sexual dyad, what difference does it make what humans are or with whom they have sexual relations?
For the Eastern Rite, the nature of the Trinity was the reason why the "FILIOQUE" was never accepted. The Holy Spirit is not somehow demoted by the Word. A trinity is a trinity, not a lopsided masculine dyad (Father-Son) with a mysterious Spirit lurking below the Logos. In the words of Fr. Bulgakov, "The Father begets the Word and abides in him by the Holy Spirit." (39)
History and ecclesiology teach me that Church Fathers have been bending over backwards to deny the feminine aspect of the Divine. It comes as little surprise to me that this misogynistic tendency has had serious implications for both the spiritual and physical lives and welfare of women over the centuries. Thankfully, many orthodox and gnostic Christians recognize this lamentable history and have engaged in scholarship and praxis to better understand and live these divine mysteries.
Origin: mysteryvoodoo.blogspot.com
