Roles of men and women

[Mary J.]

In the first chapter of Genesis it says:
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.

Clearly, the distinctiveness of men and women is important in the understanding of the Church. It is a man and woman who are joined in the sacrament of marriage; only men can be priests.

I have always found the topic of gender very confusing, however. What is it that distinguishes men and women? What are their particular vocations? How do they compliment one another?

I would be interested to read the insights of anyone who has thought about these questions.

[M.C. Steenberg]

Dear Mary,

Firstly, if I haven't said so already, welcome to the Discussion Community.

You wrote:


Clearly, the distinctiveness of men and women is important in the understanding of the Church. It is a man and woman who are joined in the sacrament of marriage; only men can be priests.

I have always found the topic of gender very confusing, however. What is it that distinguishes men and women? What are their particular vocations? How do they compliment one another?

You're correct that these are important questions, and so it perhaps won't surprise you that they have been discussed here to some degree in other threads - though this is far from saying that there aren't still many aspects to be discussed! However, you might find some interesting 'background reading' in a few of these existing threads.

The following, in particular, might be of interest to you:

Men, women, and equality in the Church (http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?t=5428) (2008)

Women and leadership (http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2542) (2003-2008)

Women teaching and having authority in the Church (http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3220) (2006-2007)

Nature and gender - St John of Damascus (http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?t=2073) (2004)

There are, to my recollection, some quite good contributions in each of these threads (though there are also some not-so-good; such is always the case when threads gain a great deal of activity). You may or may not have noticed that there is also a current thread that touches on your topic: Gendered image vs. gender in reality (http://www.monachos.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6355); though that thread is perhaps a little too abstract and hypothetical for what sound like your interests.

It strikes me that a discussion on what the Fathers have to say about the particular vocations of women and men, as you put it, would be particularly fruitful -- perhaps much moreso than the modern-day fascination with definitions of men and women.

INXC, Dcn Matthew