Q&A Home > W > Women/Women in the Church Why do we not allow women priests in our church? God has created the entire universe in harmony and order. He appointed to each seed the order and fashion by which it is to grow. He chose the habitation for each livestock as is suitable for it to thrive. He also designated specific roles for men and women. Of all God's freedom and generosity to Adam, only one tree he was forbidden to eat from. It is a commonplace that the human desire to seize and achieve the unintended will continue. His Holiness Pope Shenouda III addressed this issue using examples from the Holy Bible. He said that we have examples of many admirable women, but none of any woman who ever held the office of priest. Some women were simple, like Jochebed, the mother of Moses, Aaron the Priest, and Miriam the Prophetess, or Hannah, the mother of Samuel. Some women were prominent such as Queen Esther, Deborah the Judge, and Anna the Prophetess. Other women such as Priscilla worked diligently, along with her husband, Aquila, in the service with St. Paul. In the Old Testament, God chose His priests from the sons of Levi. In the New Testament, although women worked in the service, Our Lord chose men for the establishment and continuation of the new order of priesthood. Of all the female righteous or martyrs, no woman is to have the office of priest, because it is not in God's good will for them to do so. Each of God's children has a distinct calling, role, and purpose. "Walk worthy of the calling with which you were called, with all lowliness and gentleness..." (Ephesians 4:1-6).
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