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Could Christ have been a woman?
(continued)
The three-dimensional, larger-than-life Basil Pennington who greeted
us at St. Joseph's Abbey in Spencer, Massachusetts, was rather different
from the soft-spoken priest his voice on the telephone had led me
to imagine. A huge bear of a man attired in the traditional Cistercian
monk's habit-white robe, black tunic and a brown leather belt-he
had the snowy hair and full white beard of the archetypal patriarchs
he'd met in his travels, and his clear blue eyes radiated dignity,
humor and a timeless and palpable peace.
Father Pennington had recently returned to St. Joseph's after seven
years in residency at a Cistercian monastery in Lantao, China, during
which, as has been his custom for the past three decades, he'd also
traveled extensively to lead retreats and workshops on the contemplative
practice known as Centering Prayer. Along with Father Thomas Keating,
he has become one of the world's best-loved teachers and exemplars
of the Western revival of this ancient Orthodox practice. Father
Pennington is also, like fellow Cistercian the late Thomas Merton,
a prolific writer, with over fifty books to his credit, many of
which describe his own direct experience of-and his profound appreciation
for-the teachers and teachings of traditions other than his own.
We fully expected that a man of Father Pennington's renowned erudition
and open-mindedness would have much to say about the relevance of
gender and sexual orientation to the pursuit of true spiritual freedom,
and we weren't disappointed. It was obvious from the start that
his responses were animated by an infinite reverence for the revelation
and example of the historical Christ, as well as an earnest conviction
that God had introduced Jesus into humanity's midst when He did,
and as He did, for very specific reasons. But this only made Father
Pennington's independence of thought, and the consistency with which
his views reflected his own deeply considered personal experience,
all the more striking. Throughout our talk, he demonstrated a breadth
of perspective and a flexibility in his approach to this most challenging
of subjects that clearly stretched (and sometimes strained against)
the limits of his tradition. "These are wonderful questions!"
he exclaimed. "Looks like you're going to have a very interesting
issue!" How right he was.
© Moksha
Press
2002-2003
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