The way of celebrating March 8 proves the ideal of Orthodox woman is revived in Russia, a priest believes

Deputy Chairman of the Moscow Patriarchate Department for External Church Relations Archpriest Vsevolod Chaplin approves of congratulating women on the Women's Day on March 8, but urges not to break the fast for this day. "This year the secular Women's Day coincides with church Feast of Orthodoxy, the first festival day during the Lent. An Orthodox Christian can express his kind attitude to all sisters in Christ, to women in his family, in his staff and so on," the priest has told Interfax-Religion on Friday.

At the same time, he urged to mind the Lent and said "any congratulations and celebrations shouldn't lead to breaking it."

Fr. Vsevolod further said that it's necessary to remember that "women are worthy of our attention not only on this day and even not only at the week of the Myrrh-bearing Women, when Orthodox tradition praises women."

"Tradition of celebrating March 8 is a commonplace, but Orthodox people haven't forgotten and won't forget that it refers to revolutionary movements that brought many sufferings to people, to women as many of them glorified the Church suffering for Christ," the interviewee of the agency said.

According to him, "life itself denied the ideas this movement was famous for as it strived to equal women and men in their social roles."

The priest pointed out that women and men have different nature, "but the Church respects both of them as they are God's image." He noted that both man and woman "are extremely valuable before God."

"Today we see that society starts realizing the difference between man's and woman's roles while their civil rights are equal. Pathos of struggling for domination between women and men doesn't fill March 8 celebrations any more. It means that our society again has an ideal of Orthodox woman - a wife, a mother, a socially-active person, who though doesn't sacrifice love and family for the sake of money, career and fame," Fr. Vsevolod summed up.

Source: Interfax religion