While in India Parsis say women are not permitted to be priests and elsewhere we limit the role they can play, Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde was elected the leader of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington D.C. She also had the temerity to offer counsel to the fascist and felon President of the United States of America Donald Trump during the National Prayer Service on January 21, 2025 at the Washington National Cathedral. The courageous clergywoman beseeched the malefactor "to show mercy and compassion toward vulnerable groups, including LGBTQ+ individuals and immigrants.” Trump and his Republican Party have targeted these communities and are now deporting immigrants who do not possess the necessary paperwork to continue living in the US. Trump alleges the immigrants were criminals, ate the pets of US citizens and that their countries of origin had emptied all their jails by sending their inmates to the US.
"In the name of our God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now,” the Bishop said. "There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives… The people who pick our crops and clean our office buildings, who labor in poultry farms and meat packing plants, who wash dishes after we eat in restaurants and work night shifts in hospitals, they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals… They pay taxes and are good neighbors. I ask you to have mercy Mr President, on those communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away.” Even Pope Francis in Rome called Trump’s plan of mass deportation "a disgrace.”
Trump characteristically responded by labeling Budde’s tone "nasty,” calling her a "Radical Left hard-line Trump hater” whose sermon was "boring” and "uninspiring.” He demanded an apology and accused Budde of bringing politics into the church in a very "ungracious” way when all she did was to ask for mercy for the disadvantaged. (Trump however did display mercy when he pardoned the over 1,500 individuals involved in the January 6, 2021 Capitol insurrection. Perhaps in that case he agreed with the British playwright William Shakespeare’s averment that mercy "blessed him/her that gives and him/her that takes… It becomes the throned monarch better than his crown.”)
It took a woman to demonstrate to the world that fear and capitulation need not be the norm when confronted with a bully and a demagogue. The bravery of the church leaders stands in sharp contrast to the self-serving sycophancy of the tech billionaires who not only donated millions to Trump’s Republican Party that once boasted of leaders like Abraham Lincoln, but also showed up at the inauguration to demonstrate their subservience. And we thought our Indian oligarchs were toadyish and spineless!
If women can be at the head of their religious congregations, what rationale can we have to deny them even admission to the Zoroastrian priesthood in India? For long the Parsi community in India has denied women their due. But by admitting we committed a grave injustice and discontinuing this discrimination we will not be disloyal to our faith. Instead, we will be reinforcing the triad of good thoughts, words and deeds. Just as religious practices, customs and traditions evolve, so does the role of women. It’s not an admission of defeat or wrongdoing but a duty bestowed on us to grant them equal status. We have to reverse a mindset that has outlived its "Best before” date. In Afghanistan, the Taliban may wish to set the clock back by limiting the role of women and restricting them to the home. But even the hard-line chauvinists will have to reverse their antediluvian outlook as no country can be economically self-reliant if half its population is not engaged in the work force. Similarly, when the sons of priests shun the priesthood, why would we "not permit” women to take up the calling?
A hue and cry was raised in the social media when a video showed the North American Mobeds Council (NAMC) head mentioning that anyone, athornan or behdin, male or female, could become a priest. At the 18th North American Zoroastrian Congress held in December 2024 in Houston, Texas, NAMC officially announced that any Zoroastrian could become an athravan, "a Zoroastrian clergy ordained to perform religious ceremonies and meet Zoroastrians’ spiritual, ritual and moral needs.” The nomenclature was used "in order to distinguish those initiated in North America from those initiated in India or Iran,” NAMC explained.
At one time hereditary priesthood was imposed to ensure a livable income for the clergy. But today, with a dearth of priests, the scenario has changed. Better emoluments are offered but takers are few. One can earn a decent wage in many professions and industries. The sons of athornans can also opt for many other professions rather than the priesthood even if they are not highly qualified. By permitting lay men or women to become priests the community is not denying athornan men a livelihood. The Dadar Athornan Institute has only 14 students of whom none may finally opt for the priesthood. The madressa at Andheri has already closed down. By permitting women to become priests we can better ensure the future of the religion. And if those priests follow Budde’s example, not only the Zoroastrian community but the world will be a better place.