Kobe Shoin Women’s University Repository
Title Immolation" in the sacrifice and the woman-priest
Author(s) Paul Kinichi Yashiro
Citation キリスト教論藻，No.6：1-10
Issue Date 1972
Resource Type Bulletin Paper / 紀要論文
Resource Version
URL
Right
Immolation"
in the sacrifice
and the woman-priest
Paul Kinichi Yashiro
The writer went to England stayed about one year for the further trainning at the House of the Sacred Mission, Kelham from 1952 to 53. The writer had many chances to be invited to the home dinner. What was impressed very much was the scene that a papa cut and sliced meat and distributed pieces to each one's plate, while a mama distributed the
veget-ables to each plate. This manner of table looked very ceremonial. The writer first thought that meant the man's sub-ordinate state. Because in Japan the mama or eledest sister disttributes usually rice to each one's
vowel and also distributes a soup to each cup. Yet the writer noticed man of senior rank also authoritatively disributed pieces of meat at the monast-ory, boys schools, ships and the military camps. Thus the writer came to the conclusion the right of distribution of food might have some connection with power and authority of patriarch or matriarch.
I. The Lambeth Report on "Woman Priest"
Ordinuation of Women to the Priesthood
34. The Conference affirms its opinion that the theological arguments as at present presented for and against the ordination
of women to the priesthood are inconclusive.
35. The Conference requests every national and regional Church or province to give careful study to the question of the
tion of women to the priesthood and to report its findings to the
Anglican Consultative Council (or Lambeth Consultative Body)
which will make them generally available to the Anglican munion.
36. The Conference requests the Anglican Consultative Council (or Lambeth Consultative Body)
(a) to initiate consultations with other Churches which have women in their ordained ministry and with those which have not.
(h) to distribute the information thus secured throughout the Anglican Communion.
37. The Conference recommends that, before any national or regional Church or province makes a final decision to ordain
women to the priesthood, the advice of the Anglican Consulative
Council (or Lambeth Consultative Body) be sought and carefully
considered.
38. The Conference recommends that. in the meantime, tional or regional Churches or provinces should be encouraged to
make canonical provision, where this does not exist, for duly
qualifed women to share in the conduct of liturgical worship, to
preach, to baptize, to read the epistle and gospel at the
Holy Communion, and to help in the distribution of the elements_
These are what the Lambeth Conference of 1968 reports on the ordination of women and woman-priesthood.
Reaction has been various. Bp. Baker of Hongkong actually created new examples by ordaining two women to the order of priesthood, apart from one case also in Hongkong during the second world war time.
On the other hand "the Anglican Digest", the Ameriean Episcopal magazine of catholic side specially issues quotation from the article by C.S. Lewes, a famous poet, the devoted Anglican layman. Lewes specially
sists the point that priesthood represents God, and then he proceeds from the point of layman's feeling.
To us a priest is primarily a representative, a double presentative, who represents us to God and God to us. Our very
eyes teach us that in church. Suppose the reformer stops
saying that a good woman may be like God and begins saying that God is like a good woman. Suppose he says that we might
just as well pray to ""Our Mother which art in heaven" as to
"O
ur Father". Suppose he suggests that the Incarnation might just as well have taken a female as a male form, and the
Second Person of the Trinity be as well called the Daughter as
the Son. Suppose. finally. that the mystical marriage were
ersed, that the Church were the Bridegroom and Christ the
Bride. All this. as it seems to me. is involved in the claim that
a woman can represent God as a priest does.
Now it is surely the case that. if all these supposals were ever carried into effect we should be embarked on a different
religion. Goddesses have, of course, been worshipped: many
ligions have had priestesses, but they are religions quite
ent in character from Christianity. The point is that unless
"equal" means "interchangeahle"
,equality makes nothing for the priesthood of women, and the kind of equality which implies
that the equals are interchangeable (like counters or identical
machines) is, among humans, a legal fiction.
Bp. Kilmer Myers of California also made his address specially on the new
2 idea of woman priest at his Diocesan Convention, October, 1971.
Both Bp. Myers and Lewes offer their interesting views on the idea of woman priest. Their views cannot be ignored within the Anglican circle.
And the writer intends to raise his arguement from the
animal-sacrifice of pastoral nomads and wants to come to the conclusion also against the idea of woman priest. The writer ought to confess this essay is partly theological and partly non-theological. Two purely non-theological books gave to the writer a motive of writing this essay.
IMMOLATION IS A PRIEST'S TASK
There is no book as r 11 *A. 39' -A' Ai ("The Japanese and the Jews") by Isiah BenDason which has captivated the Japanese readers since
its first edition in the early 1970.
In the book, BenDason describes the difference of common sense held by the pastoral nomads and the agricultural people. He concludes that a Jewish priest's task was that of a work performed by the untouchable
Japanese class.
As an example of the difference of this common sense between the pastoral nomads and the agricultural people, BenDason gives a reaction of the Japanese to a popular newspaper criticism of England that "the Japanese treat dogs cruelly". The Japanese counter by saying "what prev-ention of cruelty against animals is there by eating bloody steaks". BenDason states that because "they eat bloody steaks they have prevention of cruelty against animals".
The Japanese cannot fully comprehend the history and customs. and food habits of the pastoral nomads because they have spent till the modern age without experiencing lives of the pastoral nomads_ It seems that the Japanese understand cattle's milk to be cow's milk, To the pastoral nomads milk of an animal can be that of sheep, cow, camel, donkey or any other domesticated animals. Stringy meat, entrails, and bones become food. Wool becomes clothes; hide turns to various commodities like tents, rope and string, string for musical instrumerts as well; shoulder bones and back
bones become printing plates, and hide becomes paper. That is, the past-oral nomads were fully dependent on their cattle for their livelihood, say a sheep. The sheep were then their only source of livelihood and the cattle came to be regarded as sacred. On the other hand, the Japanese considered rice to he sacred and handled it as such, but treated the cattle as unclean. They could not think of living with their animals under the same roof.
When the Japanese treated the cattle as unclean, they segregated those employed in handling the dead animals as untouchable people. In Japan, the samurais (warriors) raised horses as powerful weapon in preparation for wars. Their nacessary armour and helmet was from leather, and the un-touchable people in the leather industry was indispensable.
BenDason states the following.
"The
pastoral nomads thought of their cattle as religiously sacred and immolation was a priest's holy ministry. In Israel,
ordinary people were allowed to slaughter animals at the time of
King Josiah of Deutronomy Reformation of about B.C. 640.
bably in the old days just like a Japanese village shinto shrine,
there were holy places in the remote areas of Israel. Animals
were brought to these holy places and after going through the
regulated religious ceremony, they were slaughtered. However,
when these local holy places were amalgamated at the Temple
in Jerusalem local slaughtering was no longer possible.
E. IMMOLATION OF ANIMALS IS MAN'S OFFICE
IN the preceding chapter, BenDason's descriptions were offered and here interesting views of witigatm (Horse-riding pastoral nornade) by &CI (Goto, Tornio) are presented.
First Goto, Tomio desribes his personal view obtained by being invit-ed to a dinner of the upper class Mongol Pastoral Normads. He says,
"Immolation was profoundly related to a sacrifice
, and it played an
5 ant ritual rite in a liturgical festival."
Goto, Tornio continues on to say:
"Even today in slaughtering a sheep there are strict regulations . A sheep's head must be facing west while it is laid on the back. A slaughterer must not ride on the animal's back. The Mother Earth must not be fouled by blood. To these people, a banquet is a meal that which is shared by god
6 and men, and to this date this meaning still prevails."
Furthermore, Goto Tomio goes on to state what BenDason does not mention. He gives a reason for women's weak economic position among the pastoral nomads.
"Immolation of animals and castration are both never performed by
7 women's hand.
It may be stated that ownership of cattle by men resulted in patriarchate of the Turkish Mongol pastoral nomads. Goto Tomio while stating Friedlich Engels' "Family, private Property and the Origin of State" concludes as followingly:
"The
right to the cattle which may be regarded as sole treasure of the pastoral nomads belonged to men. This ownership of the valuable treasure
8 by men brought about women's subordination."
After having given Owen Lattimore's view on slaughter, Goto Tomio claims:
"While slaughtering is an economic process of obtaining meat
, it is also looked upon as a liturgy of a sacred deed of sacrifice which is deeply relat-ed to faith and ritual. It must be seen as having a significant meaning upon the spiritual and materialistic life of the pastoral nomads. An import-ant meaning lies in the fact that it was men who were given this work of
Li
slaughtering."
1V The Old Testament Saerifies and the Eucharist
The Epistie to the Hebrews makes its comment on our Lord's Pas-sion, Death on the Cross and Resurrection with the meaning of Old
Testa-ment sacrifice. Thus this Epistle gives to the readers the good interpretation on the Cross of our Lord.
However the purpose of writing this essay is not to investigate the whole Christian doctrine on our Lord's sacrifice and the eucharistic sacrifice, but to pay attention on "immolation". So the writier here quotes some parts from Dr. Moss's "The Christian Faith", S.P.C.K.
(1) The "drawing near" of the sacrificer with the victim.
(2) The laying of the sacrificer's hands on the victim's head, by which he identified himself with the victim.
(3) The slaying of the victim by the sacrificer.
(4) The entry of the priest into the sanctuary, carrying the blood.
(5) The burning of the flesh of the victim, which was thereby ormed and carried into the Divine life.
(6) The feast of the offerers on part of the flesh (but not on the Day of Atonement, since these offerings were too holy to to be
io
eaten)
These are the six stages of the Old Testament sacrifce shown by Dr. Moss. The ideas of sacrifices in the ceremonies were the removal of sin and re-conciliation with God. And the purpose of sacrifice was effected by Christ, our Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ is at once sacrificer (S. John x. 17), Vicitm (I Cor. V. 7; Heb. ix 12), and Priest (Heb. v. 10, vi. 20, vil. 26). Moreover Moss affirms three corresponding points between the sacrifice of Christ and that of Old Testament. First, His death on the Cross
corresponds to the slaying of the victim. His perpetual self-offering in Heaven began with His Ascension corresponds to the entry of the High Priest into the Holy of Holies, carrying the blood of the sin-offering, on the Day of Atonement. The third is the Holy Eucharist, corresponding to the sacrifcial feast (peace-offering.)
And Moss says "The sacrifice of Christ is one, and cannnot be re-peated The Holy Eucharist is not a repetition of Christ's death on
2 the Cross or of His offering in Heaven."
Dr. Hicks also concludes against repetitition of "immolation" after quoting Peter Lombard (d. 1160).
Hicks dislikes the idea of "sacrifice.' to be limited only in the sense of "death"
.
At all events the Anglican theologians agree to say that the Euchar-istic sacrifice does not repeat "immolation" of Christ.
Then question may arise? Since the Eucharist ceases to repeat "immolation"
, may a woman take the position of priest and offerer?
Before discussing this question the writer likes to present here some
parts on ANAMNESIS" from the ANGLICAN-CATHOLIC STATEMENT
ON THE EUCHARIST" by the Anglican-Roman Catholic commission.
"Th e notion of memorial as understood in the Passover celebration at
the time of Christ – i.e., the making effective in the present of an event
in the past—has opened the way to a clearer understanding of the
tionship between Christ's sacrifice and the eucharist.. The eucharistic
memorial is no mere calling to mind of a past event or of its cance, but the church's effectual proclamation of God's mighty acts.
Christ instituted the eucharist as a memorial (anamnesis) of the
ty of God's reconciling action in him. In the eucharistic prayer the
church continues to make a perpetual memorial of Christ's death; and
his members, united with God and one another, give thanks for all his
mercies, entreat the benefits of his passion on behalf of the whole church, participate in these benefits and enter into the movement of his
I 4
self-offering."
Fr. Gabriel- Hebert, SSM taught at his class on "the Epistle to the Hebrews" that the broken bread meant symbol for the crucified Body of
I 5
our Lord. So it may be said that the eucharist certainly does not repeat "immolation" but it has "anamnesis" for immolation of our Lord by
Him-self. Then the question of woman-priest becomes difficult. The woman-pri-est cannot be thinkable and acceptable according to the common sense of most pastoral nomads since the woman is avoid to do immolation in the sacrifice. And this is the historical fact that the Mighty God chose only nomadic tribe, the Israelites, from many nomads and constantly revealed Himself to the Israelites during the centuries before Christ our Lord . Of course after the birth of our Incarnated Lord civilization advanced from the stage of pastoral nomads, then to the stage of agriculture and finally to the stage of heavy industrialization. Yet the writer thinks that Christianity hardly escapes from the background Old Testament and from the sort of commen sense of the nomad people of Israel, It is not easy for Christianity to indiginize to the heart of the the Japanense who never had experience of pastoral nomad life in the past, if BenDasan is quite right to say about the Japanese. The goddess and woman-priest are both the production of fertile religion embraced by the agricultural people. The Old Testament shows the vivid picture of prophets' conflict against the Canaanite fertile religion. Or Apostle Paul's trouble with the goddess Diana is recorded in the Acts of Apostles. (xix)
In the past history of Japan there are the several Empresses or the women-emperers at the dynastic list. These women-emperers are more accurately to be called as the women high priests in Shintoism .
Probably the existence of woman priest may make Christianity somehow
more easy in the mind of Japanese. Yet the writer still has the feeling of hesitation to agree with the appearence of woman-priest.
The writer ought to express his gratitude to Mr. Satoru J. HAMADA, B.A., the graduate of Cornel University, U.S.A. and the President of S. Michacl's School Almuni Body. Without his help of translation of some parts it might take a long time by the
ordered date for printing. Indeed the writer appreciate Mr. Hamada's kindness.
1 THE ANGLICAN DIGEST, IV QUARTER A.D. 1971, Eureka Springs, Arkansas 72632 pp. 16-8
2 STATEMENT ON THE PROPOSED ORDINATION OF WOMEN TO THE 122ND DIOCESAN CONVENTION BY THE RT. REV. C. KILMER MYERS, BISHOP OF CALIFORNIA
3 Japanese Edition p. 26. 4 Ibid., pp. 28-29.
5 17kMtM j (Horse-riding pastoral normads by Goto, Tomio), p. 63. 6 Ibid.
7 Ibid., p. 104. 8 Ibid., p. 106. 9 Ibid., p. 113.
10 The Christian Faith, by C.B. Moss, p. 174. 11 The Christian Faith, C.B. Moss, p. 369. 12 Ibid, p. 369.
13 The Fullness of Sacrifice, F.C.N. Hicks, pp. 308 and 314.
14 The writer quotes from "CANADIAN CHURCHMAN" dated on Feb. 19, 1972. 15 The writer received the post-ordination trainning at Kelham from 1951 to 2 and took
the Lecture of Fr. Hebert, SSM.
