oh ok. thanks you have explained it well.
hey did Jesus say anywhere that women priests are fobidden? because i feel called to prophetic ministry?
I realize this wasn't asked toward me, but if I might take a stab at answering, keep in mind that I will be speaking from a Lutheran point of view:
In the Lutheran tradition we maintain that it is the Church that calls and ordains pastors. Because we reject the concept of sacerdotalism, i.e. we reject the idea that clergy are a special class of believers, vested with special authority from God, etc. Rather we teach that all Christians are priests (Greek
hiereis Latin
sacerdotes) of God. The English word "priest" however can be confusing, as it is used to translate these Greek and Latin words, but is also used to refer to the Greek presbyteros (Latin presbyter, from whence comes to us through older forms of English as prestor, prest, and finally priest); that is "priest" refers to presbyters (often translated as "elders" in English Bibles).
That is to say we believe that God gave the Office of the Keys to the entire Church, the giving of the Keys to St. Peter wasn't to the exclusivity of Peter (and his successors), but is indeed properly the possession of the entire Church. And it is the Church which calls and ordains persons to exercise the Office of the Keys, and to minister to the flock through the preaching of the Word and the administering of the Sacraments. The Apostolic ministry was not lost to time, nor are new apostles called out from the ether; rather the Apostles themselves established bishops to shepherd the churches in their stead, and so those whom the Church calls and ordains as ministers of the Gospel are acting in the same apostolic authority. It is likewise prophetic, for the gift of prophecy is the gift of preaching the Word and edifying the Body of Christ.
Thus those who teach a multitude of "offices" are teaching contrary to Scripture and to the historic praxis of the Church.
God has vested the authority to call and ordain to His Church. Some might say they feel called to ministry, there's nothing wrong with that of course, but ultimately it's not their call to make, but the Church's. Which is why St. Paul when he speaks of those ordained as clergy says they shouldn't be neophytes (new converts), to be someone entrusted with the responsibility for the spiritual well-being of Christ's people is something to be treated seriously, that is why catechetical schools, universities, and seminaries have been set up by the Church since antiquity. The Lord says, "To whom much has been given, much is required"--pastors are to be educated, trained, and made prepared for their sacred duties.
Now, after all of that, can a woman be a priest? Well, as a member of the universal priesthood of all believers, of course, every baptized Christian is that already by virtue of being a Christian. Can a woman be a pastor? That's a question with two competing answers depending on who you ask:
1) The traditional answer is no, primarily because women have never traditionally been ordained to the pastorate. It has nothing to do with a woman's ability or inability, but simply because many traditionalists don't see a precedent which permits it.
2) On the other hand there are many who see no reason to prohibit women from serving in the Divine Ministry of the Church, as there are no prohibitions against it in Scripture, and the case has been argued that the presence of female deacons and apostles (St. Phoebe and St. Junia respectively) in Scripture does establish precedent of women serving in the ministry of Word and Sacrament.
Now, and this is important: Regardless of which side one comes down on on the matter of ordaining women, the Church has never forbade women from being preachers, lay-ministers, or filling many other important roles and sacred duties in the Church and thus sharing in the Church's ministry overall. By "preacher" I mean one who preaches, the history of the Church is filled with many women who preached, such as St. Thecla who tradition says was one of St. Paul's missionary companions, we have St. Junia as mentioned already, we also have St. Mary Magdalene who like the Apostles traveled and preached the Gospel; there's St. Felicity of Rome who suffered a martyr's death for preaching the Gospel, and many many more.
-CryptoLutheran