Kristina Kljajic
BBC journalist
I still remember a conversation I overheard a few years ago before a service in front of a Orthodox Church in Serbia.
"I'm on my period, I can't go inside," a female voice said.
"Come in, it doesn't matter," I heard the reply.
I was confused.
This casual conversation concealed numerous questions about the position of women in the church, but also the boundaries that remain invisible, even when there is no formal ban.
What is the position of women in the Serbian Orthodox Church (SPC)?
What is allowed and what is not?
Are there any specific rules?
"The position of women is similar in all Orthodox churches and they cannot be priests, nor can they hold the position of bishop or patriarch," Rastko Jović, a professor at the Faculty of Theology in Belgrade, told BBC Serbian.
In Christian churches, a bishop is responsible for governing a specific church area.
Patriarch is the supreme head of the Orthodox churches.
Women "still have certain roles within the church system," Jović points out.
"There are nuns and abbesses who run monasteries, as well as religious teachers who work with children and young people," she adds.
'I just accepted the existing order'
Mila Ilić is 45 years old and has been going to church since childhood.
"I don't think about who is behind the altar and who can't approach it," says this believer.
In the altar, a special part of the Orthodox church behind the iconostasis, only men - priests and assistants - reside, and only rarely women, and only in monasteries.
"The abbess has authority over the community, spiritual and administrative power."
"They, like many nuns, enter the altar," says Jović.
While Orthodox priests can be married and start a family, monks live celibate lives in separate monastic communities.
The possibility of a woman being part of the church hierarchy at all never seemed realistic to Milli.
"I never thought about it, I just accepted the existing order."
"I would find it strange to see a woman in one of those positions," he adds.
Orthodox priests They deal with spiritual and administrative affairs within the church.
They serve liturgy and sacred mysteries, such as baptism, wedding or communion.
Communion in the Orthodox Church is one of the most important Christian practices in which believers partake of bread and wine - symbols of the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
Men who graduate from seminary can become priests, while women with the same education can work in schools and teach religious education.
Women and the structure of the church
Although certain developments can be observed in contemporary theology, partly as a result of dialogue, they do not question the basic hierarchy of the church, explains Professor Jović.
Those who oppose the ordination of women to the rank of priests and bishops argue that this has never happened in the history of the church, theologian Vukašin Milićević tells BBC Serbian.
However, on this issue, the Orthodox "church is somewhat more open than the Catholic one."
"There is no possibility for women to hold the position of deaconess there," adds Milićević.
In mid-December, Vatican rejects proposal to allow women to become deaconsand - the lowest of the three priestly ranks.
The Anglican Church, however, is more progressive.
In October 2025, Sarah Mallory appointed Archbishop of Canterbury, becoming the first woman in the history of the Anglican Church to hold that position.
There is no unequivocal theological justification for excluding women from the church hierarchy, says Dušan Maljković from the Center for Queer Studies, where the lecture was organized. From deaconess to matriarch - An (impossible) (r)evolution or Orthodox feminism.
In that case, there is a struggle between the interpretation of canon and tradition, he adds.
"It is precisely through these interpretations that deep-rooted misogyny is often revealed," says Maljković.
The issue of women's ordination is "not only a theological, but also a pragmatic issue of power, because including women in the church hierarchy would necessarily mean sharing symbolic and institutional power that has been exclusively male for centuries," he explains to the BBC in Serbian.
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There were deaconesses before.
A photo of a woman in a white and gold robe in front of Orthodox icons administering communion to believers in the spring of 2024 has been circulating online.
It featured Anđelika Molen - first deaconess in Africa who was ordained to this rank by the Metropolitan of Zimbabwe.
Deacons assist priests and bishops in worship and church affairs.
The ordination of women to the rank of deaconess is not new in church tradition; even in early Christianity, women assisted in worship, says Milićević.
"There have been several attempts to revive the practice, so this latest attempt is also commendable," he adds.
In the Orthodox Church, deaconesses were ordained not only during the Byzantine era, but also in more recent times, the study says. The service of women deacons in the Church theologians Kyriaki Karidoyannis Fitzgerald.
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Why is entering the altar important?
The iconostasis, as a physical boundary, is simultaneously symbolic.
Only on exceptional occasions can women be found inside, while more often not only men but also boys are found helping them during the liturgy.
"Abbess and nuns who serve in monasteries have the blessing to enter the altar, and there are examples of priests' daughters being allowed to help," says Jović.
The canonical prohibition that is often cited dates back to the seventh century.
No one is allowed to enter the altar except those who are actively participating in the service, the professor points out.
Therefore, Jović adds, this rule can be interpreted differently, not as a prohibition based on gender, but as a question of liturgical function and role in the ritual itself.
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Woman as mother
Although she describes herself as religious, Milica Janković often "disagrees with the way the church views women."
"I've always been annoyed by the idea of a woman as quiet, obedient, and meek, whose only function is to bear children."
"That description is so degrading, and many priests insist on that," says the dark-haired girl.
That doesn't stop her from "fasting and occasionally going to church," she says.
"I separated some things in my head, institutionalized religion is different from individual faith," she says.
The Serbian Orthodox Church has made a kind of conservative turn, Milićević points out.
"It wouldn't necessarily be bad to talk about a woman as a mother, if it weren't put in some radical patriarchal context," he adds.
Motherhood is then not "the embodiment of divine love, but is subordinate to the upbringing of soldiers who will serve the state, encouraged by the church," he points out.
Communion during the menstrual cycle
Milica also receives communion during her menstrual cycle.
"The priest at the church I go to pointed me to it, and I don't think it's necessarily a bad thing," she says.
"The belief that women should not receive communion during menstruation does not come from Christianity, but from Judaism," explains Jović.
Period-related ritual impurity refers to a concept in traditional and religious beliefs where menstrual blood, although natural, is considered impure for performing certain religious rites.
"These ideas have entered religious practice over time, although there is no solid theological foundation for them."
"These are cultural and historical layers that were taken over from previous religious systems and customs," says Milićević.
Interpretations of canonical texts have differed over the centuries, and in contemporary theological thought there is an increasingly present understanding that bodily biological processes cannot be an obstacle to spiritual life, he explains.
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Women who are silent
Women in the Bible and Christian tradition are viewed through the story of Adam and Eve.
According to this tradition, the first people were expelled from paradise after they broke God's commandment.
They were forbidden to take the fruits from tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
The serpent tricked Eve into taking the fruit and eating it, and she then gave it to Adam.
The first woman was expelled from paradise for disobedience, which shaped the course of history for centuries. the perception of women as beings prone to sin.
At the same time, women are often identified with a maternal, nurturing role, such as that of the so-called Virgin Mary - who is believed to have given birth to Jesus Christ.
Thus, there is a contrast between "obedient, pure" women and "sinful" Eve.
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There are rare places in the Bible where the Virgin Mary speaks, says theologian Jelena Vojinović for BBC Serbian.
"One of them is when an angel tells her that she will give birth to Jesus, the son of God, she humbly accepts God's will."
"It's different in the biblical story of the wedding at Cana, when the wine runs out," he adds.
Then the Virgin Mary communicates this to Jesus and initiates the first miracle in the Christian tradition - the transformation of water into wine.
"Still, we can't help but wonder why her voice was taken away."
"The female voice in Christianity was often hidden, but it had the power to shape the course of events, even when it was not loud enough," adds Vojinović.
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