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“Wives are to submit to their husbands in
everything in recognition of the fact that husbands are head of the
family,” rector MacLeay said. (Google)
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CAIRO – A Church of
England priest has urged women to “submit” to their husbands, raising
the ire of women as keeping with “dark ages”, reported the Guardian on
Saturday, February 13.
“Wives are to submit to their husbands in
everything in recognition of the fact that husbands are head of the
family as Christ is head of the church,” reads a leaflet issued by
rector Angus MacLeay.
“This is the way God has ordered their
relationships with each other and Christian marriage cannot function
well without it.”
MacLeay, a member of the General Synod,
also urged women to keep “silent” when asked questions that could be
answered by their husbands.
“It would seem that women should remain
silent … if questions could legitimately be answered by their husbands.”
The comments were backed by MacLeay’s
curate, who blamed the behavior of “modern” women for the high divorce
rate in Britain.
“We know marriage is not working. We only
need to look at figures – one in four children have divorced parents,”
curate Mark Oden told worshippers on Sunday congregation.
“Wives, submit to your own husbands.”
Anger
The comments drew ire of women
parishioners, who described them as keeping with “dark ages”.
“How can they talk that way in the 21st
century?” a female parishioner said.
“No wonder the Church is losing touch if
this is the kind of gobbledegook they want us to believe it.”
The parishioner vowed to shun the Church
until it reconsiders its position.
“I will not be going back to that church
and will have to seriously consider my faith if this is the nonsense
they are spouting now.”
The Church of England preachers were also
accused of having a “medieval” mentality.
“What kind of medieval sermon is that? We
are not in the 15th Century?” said another woman parishioner.
“I have already cancelled my direct debit
to the church.”
But the Church of England preachers
rejected the accusations.
“I am passionate about helping people to
have healthy marriages,” said Oden, a married father of three.
“I did not set out to unnecessarily offend
people, but I stand by what God has said in his word, the Bible.”
MacLeay, the Church Vicar, also defended
his position.
“There are times when the Bible challenges
modern society,” he said.
“It recognizes that women are fully equal
to men, but it also recognizes that in certain areas of life they may
have different roles.”
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