There are significant cultural and liturgical hurdles involved in converting to orthodoxy. The latter are perhaps fairly easily addressed if congregations and their clergy were to convert to Western Rite Antiochian.
However, the real problem for the LutheranCORE folks and their parallel movements has been quite crudely put as “what about the girls?” There are some truly outstanding female clergy in the leadership of this organization: read Pr. Erma Wolf’s closing sermon to the gathering at Fishers.
There are many fine MALE clergy who have vowed not to go anywhere without their Ordained sisters. Unfortuntely, that stance rules out , Orthodoxy, Anglican Use Catholic, LC-MS—three of the best options out there, in that order.
Origen and Tertullian were stellar theologians but they failed to accept core Christian beliefs and strayed into heresy.
These "ordained" women "clergy" you mention may also be fine theologians, but they are not "there yet" so to say, since they obviously do not understand, or worse yet, understand but refuse to accept their role in the Church.
The Church of Christ, the catholic and apostolic Church, did a lot for recognizing women and elevating womanhood and motherhood to a level unseen in the ancient world, but clergy was not their role in the Church.
Arguing with that or rejecting it is like arguing with God that it's not fair that women get pregnant and not men also. God does not mandate fairness, just compassion. These feminists and their allies ignore their own scripture and create their own justice.
But that does not explain why the rest of the Lutherans don't convert to Orthodoxy and be done with it.
“Western Rite Antiochian.”
You know Father, that’s a real non starter. One of the best aspects of Orthodoxy is that it is what it is, glory and warts together. We traditionally don’t go to some non-Orthodox land and pretend we are the same as the local traditional “denomination” but with an Eastern accent. Take us as we are, as counter-cultural as we are. That’s what Christianity is, Father counter-cultural, especially here in America.
“There are some truly outstanding female clergy in the leadership of this organization: read Pr. Erma Wolf’s closing sermon to the gathering at Fishers.”
Among the very holiest people I know are the nuns, including my cousin, at the monastery outside my maternal village down in Greece. The majority of them, probably 80%, were professional women in the world. Their holiness humbles me...and Father, they have neither the desire nor the compulsion to be something they can never, properly, be, priests. They are something better, true spiritual Olympians!