Women in the Orthodox Tradition: Feminism, Theology, and Equality

Women in the Orthodox Tradition brings feminist insights into dialogue with Orthodox Christianity to theologically identify and respond to challenges of gender equality.

Orthodox Christianity places great importance upon tradition, from doctrinal formulas and sainted teachings to festal commemorations and a hymnic liturgy. But what does this mean for women who are often missing, misrepresented, or outnumbered in the androcentric historical tradition? Women in the Orthodox Tradition engages with feminist insights to argue that ignoring this bias in Christian tradition is theologically problematic for Orthodox faith. By critically examining the spiritual values that shape Orthodoxy, the commemorations of women saints within it, and liturgical and doctrinal expressions that shape it, author Ashley Marie Purpura makes the case that it is theologically necessary to unsay the patriarchal limits of tradition and seek a more inclusive approach instead.

In acknowledging the messy entanglement between tradition, theology, and historical patriarchal values, Women in the Orthodox Tradition advocates for women’s voices, contributions, and diverse humanity within the church.

Ashley Marie Purpura is an associate professor of religion in the School of Interdisciplinary Studies at Purdue University. She is the author of God, Hierarchy, and Power: Orthodox Theologies of Authority from Byzantium, and co-editor of Orthodox Tradition and Human Sexuality and Rethinking Gender in Orthodox Christianity.