Interpretation of the Revealed Word by the Tradition of the Church – the Issue of Subordination of Woman to Man in the Saint Paul’s Letter to the Ephesians (Eph 5 : 21–33)

Abstract

The main objective of the present lecture is to provide, by the means of the Church tradition, the interpetation of a serious social problem which the Apostle Paul introduced in his letters, especially in the Letter to the Ephesians (Eph 5 : 21–33) – the issue of the subordination of woman to man.

The article has three parts:

1. Paul’s view on the suborditation of female to male in the historical circumstances of the first century of Christianity.

2. The view of the Church tradition on the relation between men and women from the post-apostolic era to the 21st century popes.

3. Concluding summary in the context of current views on the status of women in modern society.

In the first and principal part of the article we point to Paul’s understanding of the relationship of Christ and the Church which he himself describes as a great secret. Also the relationship of man and woman in marriage he considers a “mystery” that represents “mysterium salutis” (mystery of salvation) in the world. Paul judges human marriage in the context of Christ and the Church which means that it is an image of the covenant between God and the chosen people as well as the covenant between Jesus Christ and his Church. It is thus the image of “the new and eternal covenant”, i.e. the paschal one. With this reasoning (Eph 5 : 21–33) Paul refers to the mystical grandeur of marriage.

The issues of the subordination of woman to man based on the Christological and soteriological argument of the Letter to the Ephesians gains a new dimension – it is not about a superficial subordination of women, but about mutual subordination between husband and wife. Here we can see a brilliant illustration of mutual relations between spouses which are neither discriminatory nor egalitarian but complementary. They atribute to man and woman equality and equal dignity. At the same time, they atribute to them their own, specific, distinct and irreplaceable roles given to them by God. 

Paul’s teaching about the subordination of woman to man had caused considerable problems in the tradition of the Church. The Holy Spirit, however, led her over the centuries and shifted understanding of the relationship between man and woman in marriage:

• from the unacceptable pagan and Judaic concepts that discriminate women,
• through the attitudes of the Church Fathers, which declared the same dignity of man and woman through the redemptive work of the Son of God; however, the value of women in the Church and society was not appreciated sufficiantly;
• to the ingenious doctrine of St. Pope John Paul II. in his theology of the body: the relationship between man and woman in marriage is a relationship of mutual subordination in love, reflecting God’s love and symbolizing the relation between Christ and the Church. This relationship is inherently “communio personarum” (communion of persons) in which the dissimilarity of women and men is mutually complemented and creates harmony.

In this article we wanted to highlight the fact that a return to the inspired biblical texts explained by the Magisterium is a reliable means of obtaining true knowledge even of the thorny issue of conjugal and family life.