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 | "I've often thought of my ministry as a wedge plowing a field that is hard, leaving behind something softer that's ready for new life." Bishop Geralyn Wolf of Rhode Island, the first female dean of an Anglican cathedral |
Concerning the Anglican Communion itself:
The total membership of the worldwide Anglican Communion is approximately 76 million. Each of the 38 national or multi-national churches, called "provinces," has wide powers of self-government. They independently decide who is eligible for ordination. The leader of each province -- the Primate -- and the bishops meet every ten years at the Lambeth Conference. They attempt to reach general agreement on basic matters of faith and social policy. The next meeting is scheduled for 2008.
In 1998, the General Assembly of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (Anglican Church in Japan) voted to accept female priests. With this development, the majority of provinces will now consider women for ordination. Some provinces have consecrated women as bishops; most still refuse.
The gradual acceptance of female ordination within the Anglican Communion :
There has historically been a threefold ministry in the church, consisting of deacons, priests and bishops. Prior to the mid-20th century, all provinces in the Anglican Communion had refused to consider female candidates as eligible for ordination to the priesthood, no matter what their qualifications. There was little discussion on the matter. However, in the 1960s, the evolving feminist movement began to have an impact on the Anglican Communion, particularly in the developed world. Discussions of the unthinkable began. By 1974, the first female priests were ordained in the U.S. By 1998, debate had been confined to the sizeable minority of provinces which still banned the ordination of women. However, progress has not been uniform. Even in 2008, the Church in Wales refused to allow female ordination.
The important stages of this controversy are worth considering, because they could form a model for the Communion's consideration of the role of homosexuals in church life:
| During the 1960s: There was a growing acceptance in western cultures of the need to give women equal opportunity as a moral imperative. This was largely driven by secular groups, very liberal religious groups, and individuals. Debate intensified within the Anglican Communion concerning female ordination as priests and even their consecration as bishops. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1968 Lambeth Conference: Five resolutions were passed concerning
the ordination of women:
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1974: Three bishops of the Episcopal Church, USA irregularly ordained eleven women. Massive outrage surfaced in the Church and throughout the rest of the Communion. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1975: The Anglican Church of Canada authorized female ordination. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1976: The Episcopal Church, USA passed a resolution declaring that "no one shall be denied access" to ordination into the three orders of ministry: as deacons, priests or bishops, on the basis of their sex. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1978 Lambeth Conference:
The situation had degenerated into a crisis. Some wondered if the Communion
could survive intact.
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1980s: Additional provinces started to ordain qualified women to the priesthood. Debate intensified within some provinces over whether female bishops should be consecrated as bishops. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1988 Lambeth Conference: This was a critical time for the
Anglican Communion. Female ordination remained a hot topic. There was a concern
that the Episcopal Church, USA might shortly consecrate a woman as bishop.
| ||||||||||||||||
| 1989: The fear of the first female Anglican bishop materialized when the Anglican Church of New Zealand consecrated Penny Jamieson as the seventh Bishop of Dunedin. Later that year, the Episcopal Church, USA consecrated Barbara Harris, an African-American woman, as bishop. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1994: Three official reports of the Eames Commission were published in one volume, "The Eames Commission, The Official Reports." The Commission was disbanded, but was replaced by the Eames Monitoring Group which continued to observe the female ordination issue in the Communion. | ||||||||||||||||
| 1997: Eames Monitoring Group report: The
Eaves Monitoring Group issued a report. It said that the Communion wanted to "...uphold
legitimate provincial autonomy while at the same time fostering a care and
consideration for those ...." who opposed female
ordination. The commission felt that their "...guidelines ...have helped
Anglicans maintain the highest degree of communion with those who, with
integrity, hold quite opposite views about the ordination of women."
They estimated that there were "well over 4,000" female
priests in the Communion, as well as "10 women bishops of which 6 are diocesan bishops."
The provinces of Australia, Burundi, England, Kenya, Philippines, Scotland, Uganda, Wales, West
Africa, and West Indies accepted women as deacons or priests. Brazil, Ireland, Mexico, and Southern Africa had
accepted, in principle, women to all three ministries of the church:
as deacons, priests and bishops. The provinces of Aotearoa, New Zealand and
Polynesia had joined Canada and the US by actually having women functioning in all three
levels. They reported that some English groups which are: "...opposed to women's ordination continue to feel marginalized. Others believe the Church of England went too far in accommodating conscientious dissent....The reports from the Provinces indicate occasional or even more general attitudes of contempt for opponents on both sides of the continuing debate. Communion in diversity requires charity and respect." The Province of the Anglican Church in South East Asia continued its opposition to ordaining women. They said, "It is wrong to consider the open process of reception where the principle is wrong and not accepted...there is no debate where scripture, tradition and common sense are clear." 4 | ||||||||||||||||
| 1998: By this date, a slim majority of the provinces had decided
to ordain women. There was little controversy at that year's Lambeth Commission
concerning female deacons and priests.
Female ordination had become almost a non-issue. In South Africa, for example, Bishop Duncan Buchanan of
Johannesburg noted that of the two bishops in that province who strongly opposed women
priests, one has retired and the other is about to retire. "On the whole it has
been a huge and wonderful non-issue and I mean that in the best way. It is not that people
have gone the same way, but that people have respected each other's point of view...Those
of us who have ordained women to the priesthood have done so supported by an enormously
loving brethren also in the episcopate who have disagreed with us."
Eleven female bishops attended the 1998 Lambeth Conference. 8 were from the US, 2 from Canada, 1 from New Zealand. All but one had been ordained as priests between 1978 and 1984. They were thus pioneers from the beginning of their ordained ministries as deacons and priests. "Nearly all can tell tales of painful marginalization, even, in a few cases, of being spat upon, shouted at, verbally abused...With each bishop, however, such tales are told only rarely and then reluctantly, and usually, only to illustrate how much progress has been made." 3 A few conservative bishops protested. Almost 50 bishops planned to hold a parallel meeting. Others decided to attend the main conference, but not participate in liturgies or Bible studies where female bishops are present. At least one decided to not pose for the official group photograph if female bishops are included. Most of the protesting bishops were members of the Episcopal Synod of America (ESA), a conservative-reform group which has serious theological concerns over female ordination. Barbara Harris, an African-American, is the bishop suffragan of Massachusetts (USA) and the second female bishop consecrated in the Anglican Communion. She had received death threats during her consent process. At the 1998 Lambeth Conference, she commented: "The people who are unappreciative of our presence here are probably just avoiding us...People have been very solicitous and kind." A group of women bishops and conservative male bishops prepared a resolution on female ordination. It stated that bishops should not be compelled to act against their conscience by ordaining or licensing female priests. It was moved by Bishop Penny Jamieson of Dunedin (Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia). She commented: "During our discussions there were deep and real disagreements. Our small group began by being suspicious of each other, but as trust between us began to grow it became our prayer that we could agree on an amendment that we could offer to this Communion as a way of deepening our communion in the heart of God while and because of our respect for our differences." The resolution was approved by the conference on 1998-AUG-6. Included in the resolution was a call to the provinces that they allow "appropriate Episcopal ministry" as needed. This apparently refers to a practice in which a parish that was opposed to women priests could "declare themselves out of communion with ordained women and those who recognize their orders." 4 These congregations could then be cared for by a second bishop who is male -- often called a "flying bishop" -- rather than by their own diocesan bishop. He would serve congregations upon request, either in addition to or as an alternative to the diocesan bishop. This is a radical departure from Anglican tradition which had always recognized the authority of only a single bishop within each diocese. | ||||||||||||||||
| Status in 2004:
| ||||||||||||||||
| 2008-MAY-22: Australia consecrated its first female bishop: Kay Goldsworthy, 51. The sex discrimination commissioner welcomed the action as a "... turning point for the church and the nation as a whole." Twenty one Anglican bishops from Australia and New Zealand were among the 800 persons in the congregation to show their support. But opponents to sexual equality, including Archbishop Peter Jensen of Sydney and David Mulready of Northwest Australia were notably absent. The Diocese of Sydney will not recognize her as a legitimate bishop. Bishop Goldsworthy said: ""We have been a while catching up in Australia. Twenty years ago we weren't yet ordaining women as priests, but the time has come and I know that the great majority of Australian Anglicans warmly welcome this day, and the fact that there is no longer any discrimination against women in pastoral leadership." 11,12 |
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When some Anglican provinces started to ordain women as priests:
We are unaware of any Anglican denomination in recent history which has stopped their practice of ordaining women. However, many have gone in the opposite direction. A partial list with the approximate dates of either:
| the approval of female ordination in principle or |
| the ordination of their first women as deacons or priests |
appears below. We are attempting to add to this list and firm up the dates shown:
| 1942: Anglican communion, Hong Kong. Florence Li Tim Oi was ordained as a priest on an emergency basis. Some sources report 1943 or 1944. |
| 1968: The Lambeth Conference recommended that women be ordained as deacons. |
| 1971: Anglican communion, Hong Kong. Joyce Bennett and Jane Hwang were the first regularly ordained priests. |
| 1974: Episcopal Church: 11 women were ordained as priests in Philadelphia. |
| 1975: Four women are ordained as priests in Washington |
| 1976: The General Convention of the Episcopal Church, USA votes to allow female ordination; the 15 illegal ordinations are regularized. |
| 1976: Six female priests are ordained by the Anglican Church in Canada. |
| 1977: Five female priests are ordained by the Anglican Church of New Zealand. |
| 1983: A woman priest is ordained in Kenya |
| 1983: Three women priests are ordained in Uganda. |
| 1987: Women are ordained as deacons in Australia. |
| 1987: A woman deacon is ordained in England. |
| 1990: Women are ordained as priests in Ireland. |
| 1992: Church of England voted to allow the ordination of women. About 470 male clergy left the church in protest; 58 subsequently returned. 5 |
| 1992: Australia ordains ten female priests. |
| 1992: Anglican Church of South Africa ordains a female priest. |
| 1992: Women are ordained as priests in the Philippines. |
| 1994-MAR-12: The first female priests of the Church of England were ordained in Bristol Cathedral. |
| 1998: General Assembly of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (Anglican Church in Japan) approves female ordination to the priesthood. |
| 2000: There remained about 1,000 congregations in the Church of England who refused to accept the authority of women priests. 6 |
When some Anglican provinces started to consecrate women priests as bishops:
Currently, only the Anglican churches in Canada, U.S., Polynesia, New Zealand, and Scotland allow women as bishops. The Anglican Church in Ireland has authorized women bishops in principle, but has yet to appoint one. As of 2004-OCT, there are 11 female bishops in the Anglican Communion.
| 1989: Anglican Church of New Zealand. Penny Jamieson was elected as the seventh Bishop of Dunedin, the first diocesan bishop to be elected in the Anglican Communion. She was consecrated as bishop on 1990-JUN. The head of New Zealand's Anglicans at the time, Bishop Whakahuihui Vercoe, refused to attend her ordination. In an interview, he said it was not then, and still was not, culturally the right time to have a female bishop. She commented that her challenge to be the only bishop in a traditionally male hierarchy was "very much a call from God, and God has never lacked courage". She retired in mid-2004. No more female bishops have been elected in the province. 7 |
| 1988-SEP-24: The Episcopal Church of the U.S.A. elected Bishop Barbara Clementine Harris as suffragan bishop of Massachusetts. She was consecrated as bishop on 1989-FEB-11. - the first woman in the Anglican Communion to attain this office. She had been ordained as a priest in 1980-OCT. 8 Some objected to her consecration as bishop because of her gender; others objected on educational grounds -- she had extensive experience in public relations but only a few years of college before she was ordained. Some may have objected because of her race; she is black and only about 5% of Episcopalians share her race. But the latter is not obvious from the accounts at the time. (Sources differ greatly as to dates; the above appear to be accurate). |
| 1995: The Anglican Church of Canada elected its first woman bishop: Victoria Matthews, as suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Toronto, ON. She was later translated (elected bishop for a second time) as diocesan bishop in Edmonton, AB, becoming the first woman bishop in the Anglican Communion to be translated. |
| 1998: Women bishops appeared for the first time at the Lambeth Conference. There was some sullen non-cooperation, but little overt hostility from the male bishops. 9 |
| 2002: The Episcopal Church of the U.S.A. ordained Carol Joy Gallagher as suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Southern Virginia. She was the first indigenous woman to join the episcopate of the Anglican Communion. |
| 2003: The Scottish Episcopal Church became the first province in the UK to allow female bishops. |
| 2008: |
Status in 2008-APR:
| Provinces in Canada, Ireland, Scotland, New Zealand, and the United States have authorized the consecration of female bishops. |
| The Church in Wales considered but rejected consecration, as noted below. |
| The Church of England is considering consecration. |
A vote in the Church in Wales to reject female bishops -- this time:
| 2007-DEC: More than 100 clergy signed a letter that was submitted to Britain's Church Times newspaper. They warned that they would not accept women as bishops. A spokesperson, Rev. Alan Rabjohns, explained that the matter was a question of authority and whether the Church in Wales had the right to overturn two millennia of precedence. He noted that Christ was a male and that he chose only male disciples. (Actually, according to the Gospels, he enlarged his initial 12 disciples to total 70, and their gender makeup is unknown.) |
| 2008: The Church in Wales considered but rejected the
consecration of female priests as bishops. As in most Anglican provinces,
the bishops, priests and laity must independently agree to major changes by
a two-thirds majority. In the case of the Church in Wales, on 2008-APR-02,
the bishops voted unanimously in favor, the House of Laity backed the bill
52 to 19, but the House of Clergy voted only 27 to 18 in favor -- 60%. The
clergy vote was three short for the measure to become canon law.
The Archbishop of Wales, Barry Morgan issued a statement saying: |
"Like this bill, the bill to ordain women to the priesthood (in Wales) was initially defeated but it came back to the governing body, and was passed 11 years ago. This is not the end for this bill either. It will not go away and it will not be ignored; it is something the Church in Wales will have to grapple with. But it saddens me that we will have to go through the whole process and all the work involved again." 10
Related essays on this web site:
| Female ordination:
| ||||||
| Treatment of sexually active gays and lesbians:
|
References used:
The following sources were used in the preparation of this essay. Some of the hyperlinks have probably become broken since.
- Jan Nunley, "Women's ordination mandatory, but opponents' rights respected," Episcopal News Service, 1997-AUG-7. Available at: http://www.wfn.org/
- Louie Crew, "Female Priests in the Episcopal Church," at: http://newark.rutgers.edu/
- Katie Sherrod, "First female bishops find warm welcome at Lambeth Conference," Anglican Communion News Service, Note 1705, 1998-AUG-3.
- "The Eames Monitoring Group Report," 1997-AUG, at: http://www.anglicancommunion.org/
- "Anglican Church of England Synod considers women bishops; Could be further obstacle to future union of Christians," Archbishops.org, 2000, at: http://archbishops.org/church.htm
- Stephen Bates, "Church of England Takes Cautious Step Toward Female Bishops. England's Anglican branch has resisted the trend toward women bishops accepted in the U.S., Canada, and New Zealand," Guardian Unlimited, 2000-JUL-10, at: http://www.beliefnet.com/
- "Queen's Birthday Honours: Right Rev Dr Penny Jamieson," The New Zealand Herald, 2004-JUL-06, or 2004-JUN-07; who knows? See: http://www.nzherald.co.nz/
- "Yale Bulletin & Calendar: Honorary Degrees," 1999-May 31-June 21, at: http://www.yale.edu/opa/
- Katie Sherrod, "First female bishops find warm welcome at Lambeth Conference," Anglican Communion News Service, 1998-JUL-30, at: http://www.anglicancommunion.org
- "Church in Wales says 'no' to women bishops," Ecumenical News International, 2008-APR-03, at: http://www.anglicanjournal.com/
- "Australia to get its first female bishop," Earth Times, 2008-APR-11, at: http://wwrn.org/
- "Australia appoints woman bishop," British Broadcasting Corporation, 2008-MAY-22, at: http://wwrn.org/
See our news feed on women's issues. It shows 20 current news items, and is updated every 15 minutes.
Copyright © 1996 to 2008 by Ontario Consultants on
Religious Tolerance
Latest update: 2008-MAY-24
Author: Bruce A. Robinson
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