If it’s good enough for presidents, why not patriarchs?

I spent the weekend on Zlatar, what I would call a big hill, in Southern Serbia. I had a work seminar on ‘Warning Signs of Fundamentalism and Feminist Responses.’ It was a lovely place – rolling green hills with villages about. It was nice to escape the sweltering city for a bit. Even the water tasted sweeter there. (Which was nice, as the food at the hotel was terrible. I ate mostly cheese and bread for four days.)

I gave my now-routine talk about the religious left. Look, now that we’ve spent days talking about religious fundamentalism, I am going to tell you that religion isn’t all bad. It went well. As always, the Q&A afterwards was interesting.

Someone asked me about the hierarchy in my church, how leaders are chosen. ‘We have an election,’ I replied. ‘The term lasts for four years.’ People were surprised by that, which, in turn, surprised me. Electing the leader of a denomination is a standard practice in Protestantism. Even the Southern Baptists, not known for their progressive views, elect their leaders. That is not how it is done in Orthodoxy. I hadn’t really thought about that before. Yes... I know its obvious, but I hadn't formed the thought before.