The union of a kneeling with a sceptred love

Left as a comment on a brother's blog…

…the Word of God teaches the man, the stronger partner, to protect the woman, the weaker partner, and to lay down his life for her. The Word does not say anything like this to the woman, only to the man. Where does this put the equality of the sexes? Nowhere, actually. The sexes are not equal or even equivalent in any sense except being equal heirs to the life of salvation. The original order is not thereby set aside, as the world has done, and as even the churches of today are wont to do. No, man was created first, woman after. Woman was taken out of man, not man out of woman. Woman is enclosed in man, her whole function is to be man’s help, to bear the offspring of his seed, to care for it, and to create and keep the inner world. Man is the covering of woman, his whole function is to shelter and provide for all needs, including safety and even salvation, and together with his brothers to create and keep the outer world.

A newly wed Orthodox couple is crowned with literal crowns, blessed with all the scriptural blessings from Adam and Eve down through all the patriarchs and matriarchs, Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca, Jacob and Rachel. Later, they are presented with gold- and silver-covered icons of Christ in His first and second comings. The woman receives the icon of His first coming, it portrays Mary with the infant Jesus in her bosom. The man receives the icon of Christ’s second coming, Jesus holding the Book of the Gospels. The meaning is this: Woman conceives and bears what man begets—children. Man conceives and bears what woman begets—wisdom. In each case there is seed, and the seed is of God, planted paradoxically. The man who is the more spiritual plants a carnal seed to beget offspring according to the flesh. The woman who is the more material plants a spiritual seed to beget offspring according to the spirit. These are the gates into the mysterion of marriage, according to the Word of God. It is by the devil’s envy, that woman now seeks to be as man, and man surrenders his headship to woman.

The truths of scripture are so plain that we in the pride of our false knowledge exchange the fruit for leaves, the silver for dross, and our wine is watered.

Go back and learn what the Word teaches, and be bearers of the Word, and to one another submit as it was written in the beginning, in the Garden, while you wait for readmittance to partake forever of the Bread of Life, lovely Jesus nailed to the Tree.