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from Ordination of Women in Ecumenical
Perspective:
Workbook for the Church's Future
edited by Constance F. Parvey
Faith and Order Paper
105
World Council of Churches, Geneva, 1980, pp. 7-19
Conference participants, 18 women and 12 men, (1) came from 14
countries and represented Protestant, Orthodox, Anglican, Old Catholic and
Roman Catholic churches. They met in plenary sessions in the stone-walled
cellar of the chateau, gathered around long tables in the dining room, held
planning and group meetings in a library of beautifully bound books and, during
their free time, walked along the canal and through the lovely gardens. They
explored a broad range of ecumenical questions raised by the ordination of
women.
A. The process of finding the partners
The
participants were as different as the various aspects of the topic. Some came
from churches that now ordain women, churches which have already been through a
process of theological study that has led them to this decision and are now
tired of talking about the debate. Although they tried to understand why other
churches do not ordain women, they did not question what they had come to
believe is appropriate for their church. Others came from churches that are in
the midst of the struggle, and still others from churches that feel the issue
is being forced upon them from the outside. Those representing churches that do
not ordain women were firm in their position, and those from churches that do
were equally firm, stating that they could not consider union with churches
which could not recognize the validity of their ministry, including their
ordained women.
The
following quotations from participants present vividly some of the different
perspectives on the issue:
a)
Church of England: “In England, we have had a tremendous struggle over the
question of ordaining women. And though it’s been approved in principle,
in the interests of unity the Church of England has decided not to ordain at
this time.”
b)
Orthodox: “I don’t believe there is a movement within the Orthodox
Church in the United States to ordain women. However, because of the American
scene, Orthodox women are asking why the Orthodox Church does not ordain women.
These questions do not reflect a movement from within the church, but pressure
from outside it.”
c)
Protestant: “We hear a lot about how the churches which do not ordain
women would have serious problems discussing recognition of ministries or union
with churches that do ordain women. But I think it should be pointed out that
those churches which do ordain women will have equally serious problems with
churches that exclude women from ordained ministry. It is not just the Catholic
and Orthodox churches that will decide whether or not to accept us, but as a
reformed church we will also have to decide whether or not to accept
them.”
d) Old
Catholic: “There is one view of sacramental ministry which I think
precludes women from being ordained. I have never heard it adequately countered
by those in favour of women’s ordination. It is that if God is Creator and
Redeemer, then the sign of sexual difference, so obvious and essential in the
Creation, must also be evident again in the eucharist which is the symbol of
the Redemption. We have a sign of the importance of sexual differences in the
celebration of the eucharist if we assume that those receiving communion are
regarded as God’s Church, the bride, and therefore as female. It then
follows that the ministering priest who represents Christ, the bridegroom, must
be male. How can we express a sign of the importance of this sexual difference
in God the Redeemer if women are ordained in an equal manner as
men?”
e)
Orthodox: “There are fourteen denominations in my country and none of them
is interested in these problems. Against the threat of atheism, why be occupied
with such a problem?”
It was
clear from the beginning of the consultation that the questions surrounding the
ordination of women are painful for the churches when seen from the perspective
of the ecumenical movement. The issue touches a nerve in the churches and in
some it is highly charged. A number of churches fear internal division over
this question; others fear setbacks in unity discussions.
B. Positions of the churches
Within
the ecumenical movement no detailed surveys of official church positions on
women’s ordination exist as yet, although a number of good summaries have
been made. (2)
A WCC
survey of 1975 showed that just over a third of the member churches ordain
women. The majority of these churches are in the traditions of the Reformation
— Lutheran, Presbyterian, Methodist, United Churches, Baptists, and some
evangelical and pentecostal groups. They are concentrated predominantly in the
North Atlantic (western) cultures of East and West Europe and North America.
Women can enter ordained ministries in some churches in Asia, the Pacific, the
Caribbean, Latin America and Africa, but opportunities for appropriate
theological education and acceptance into the ordained ministry are less
frequent. (3)
Since
the early 1970s many sectors of the Anglican Communion have been actively
debating this issue. Some Anglican churches have approved women’s
ordination and are incorporating women into their ministry of priesthood. Some
have approved women’s ordination in principle, but have not implemented
the decision because of church legislation, local and ecumenical
considerations, etc. Others have decided against ordaining women, and still
others have not, as yet, discussed the issue. (4)
The
Roman Catholic and Old Catholic churches do not ordain women to the priesthood.
Official, authoritative statements are firm in maintaining this position. (5)
However, in the United States and western Europe there are a growing number of
voices in the Roman Catholic Church that are challenging this policy and
calling for its open reconsideration.
Orthodox churches have consistently taken positions against the
ordination of women. (6) Within the Orthodox family, the issue is largely
unraised, with some exceptions in North America. The practice of male
priesthood is unchallenged, but specialized roles for women in ministry are
beginning to be explored, particularly the reactivation of the ancient order of
the ordained diaconate for women. (7)
C. Reports from participants
The
consultation began by trying to obtain an overall view of the discussion within
the various churches. The question was asked: What is the situation regarding
ordination of women in your ecclesial context? What follows is a summary of the
widely varied responses — Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, Anglican, Orthodox
and Protestant.
A
theme that can be heard throughout this exchange is that in the practical,
organized life of the churches, there is a much richer participation of women
than is acknowledged by the forms of ministry open to them. Much of the
ministry of women at local levels, in instruction, service, worship and
preaching is accomplished outside of established models, and new models are
being formed as a result of pioneer experiences created by changing
circumstances of mission and human need.
1. Roman Catholic
Four
Roman Catholic participants were present — two from North America and two
from Europe, a man and a woman from each area. In addition there was a
consultation guest, a Roman Catholic sister from a nearby community. All of the
Roman Catholic participants were lay people. None represented the official
position of the Church, and the official participant who had been invited was
unable to attend. All were recognized theologians in their various countries;
however, their perspectives were not those of the magisterium. As one person
said: “I speak from the liberal wing of the Roman Catholic Church since
Vatican II.”
In the
United States as well as in Europe, the context in which women’s
ordination is raised emerges from the post Vatican II church. For the Roman
Catholic Church in the United States this means that there is institutional
unity, yet practical and theological diversity. “There is as much
diversity in the Roman Catholic Church today”, said one participant,
“as there is across the ecumenical spectrum, yet there is little dialogue
within the Church between the conservative and radical wing. They function as
parallel tracks that rarely meet.” This is a major factor affecting the
question of ordination of women. As one participant put it: “Ninety
percent of the publishing Roman Catholic theologians are in favour of
ordination of women. They represent attitudes in Roman Catholic liberal
thought, not attitudes of those in official positions.” In addition, many
Roman Catholic women find themselves in a new situation today as more women are
studying theology at Roman Catholic and non-Roman Catholic seminaries. A major
sign of this new situation was the first conference on the ordination of women,
held in Detroit in autumn 1975. The result of a joint effort by many Roman
Catholic organizations, the conference was initiated by a Roman Catholic woman
with a Master of Divinity degree. Over a thousand people came; others were
turned away. A follow-up meeting took place in Baltimore in autumn
1979.
In
Europe, the St Joan’s International Alliance, founded in England in 1911,
continues its concern about equal justice for women in the Church. However, the
first initiative towards the ordination of women followed on the impact of
Vatican II. A Dutch theologian, Haye van der Meer, wrote a doctoral
dissertation under Karl Rahner which became a primary resource on this issue.
Gertrude Heinzelmann, a Swiss lay theologian, was the force behind an early
movement, organizing and bringing this issue to the attention of the
authorities in Rome already in the 1960s. “Since that time, there have
been, on the local level, more and more ‘small steps’, especially in
the universities where there are Roman Catholic faculties. However, even though
some bishops are favourable to women’s ordination, the bishops are not
ready to discuss the issue in public,” said one participant. This is the
official situation, but on local levels, many Roman Catholics are already
working “in an ordained way”, and there are moves towards an ordained
diaconate for women parallel to that for men. Such an initiative was started
already in 1970 by the Dutch Pastoral Council. It was passed on to Rome, but
has never been acted upon.
Another influence for the Roman Catholic Church in Europe is the
charismatic movement and, in some areas, the new experience of women in
ministry within this movement. As one person said: “The Spirit gives rise
to ministries that are given us and that ought to be recognized. In charismatic
groups, for example, women preach, which they are not officially allowed to
do.” This person also stated that “charisma is a gift listed by St
Paul and it will in some years end up as a consecrated ministry”. In fact,
in some charismatic circles already couples are being consecrated by the bishop
to work as missionaries under the title “evangelists”. One such
ceremony, including the laying on of hands, was described to the
meeting.
2. Old Catholic
Present at the consultation was an official representative of the Old
Catholic Church. This church does not ordain women. It is an issue “not
yet solved”, said this participant, “an issue which, on the one hand,
makes union talks difficult with those Anglican churches that do ordain and, on
the other hand, affects dialogue about unity in sacraments and ministry with
Roman Catholics and Orthodox that do not ordain women. Theologians in the Old
Catholic Church are studying the issue.”
3. Anglican
The
Anglican communion, which by the Bonn Agreement of 1931 is in full communion
with the Old Catholic Church, was represented at the consultation by the Church
of England, the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Anglican Church of Canada and
the Episcopal Church of the United States. Among Anglicans also, the question
of women’s ordination to the priesthood is an issue not yet fully solved.
The official position of the Church of England is that they have no theological
objections; however, the action to ordain women has not been agreed upon in the
church. Although there is support, it is feared that the issue will cause
division. According to one participant the House of Bishops seems to be
primarily in favour of ordination of women and the House of Clergy primarily
against it. It was acknowledged that the attitude and policies of the Church of
England are not the same as those of other Anglican communions around the
world, some of which already ordain women and whose representatives were
present at this meeting.
Schism
over the issue of women’s ordination was said to have been a major cause
for concern in the Episcopal Church in the United States. It was reported that
the extent of the schism had been greatly exaggerated, especially in the
British press. One US participant stated that over 200 women have now been
ordained in the Episcopal Church (USA), and that the overall result is
favourable. Opposition to the new prayerbook is considered a far greater
internal threat to unity than the ordination of women.
4. Orthodox
The
Orthodox churches, western or oriental, do not ordain women: it does not seem
to be a question that is even raised. Ecumenical relations and bilateral
dialogues with other churches that do ordain women are causing some serious
reflection on this issue. However, in terms of the leadership of women, need is
being expressed within these churches to reflect anew theologically and
practically on men/women relationships and their implications regarding
equality of persons and the renewal of the Church.
The
chief reasons that are given for not ordaining women are related to biblical
interpretation and the weight of patristic traditions. Though deeply rooted in
its historical, cultural and social contexts, there is a growing awareness
within Orthodox traditions that Orthodox life and practice vary greatly,
depending on the context (Europe-East and West, the Middle East, North America
or Asia). Among the Orthodox present at the consultation was a representative
of the Coptic Orthodox Church in which, according to this participant, from the
beginning the ministry of women has been undisputed. “Even before
Pentecost, women participated in the life of the Church and in its service. The
four daughters of Philip were prophets. There were also deaconesses and widows.
The Church is continuous with this today. Women preach in Sunday schools. We
have deaconesses who aid the priest in the baptism of women and in other
duties.” He continued: “In the third and fourth centuries, some
heretical groups dared to ordain women, and the Church condemned them. Perhaps
the reason the issue is not raised today is that we live in an Arab society and
in Islam women have fewer rights.”
In
contrast, the Orthodox churches in the United States are exposed to the debate
because much has been written about it in recent years, particularly by Roman
Catholic and Anglican theologians, and much is reported in the press. Books are
now beginning to appear expressing Orthodox points of view. Said one North
American participant: “For us, the question is not so much one of
ordination of women, but one of the underlying theological issues at stake such
as anthropology, the nature of God as Trinity, the nature of Christ and the
Incarnation, the priesthood itself and its functions.” This participant
continued: “Among Orthodox women in the United States, there are extreme
poles. Some women suffer from superstitions regarding their uncleanness as
women, while others are able to teach classes in religion and even to
preach.” In some Orthodox churches in the United States, women can be
elected to local parish councils, but not to the general council (sober) of
bishops, priests and lay representatives that meet biannually and set much of
church policy and practice.
In the
United States, the roles of women in the Church are expanding both in
theological education and in lay education in the parishes. Along with other
Orthodox churches in the Middle East and the Soviet Union, women also play an
increasing role in liturgical choirs.
Another Orthodox participant pointed to the anthropological issues,
reminding the consultation of attitudes about women that were held in the
Church before the time of the separation of the churches: debates about whether
a woman had a soul, or whether she could be a saint, a martyr, and so on. He
said that the issues surrounding the ordination of women have to do with these
ancient human typologies set side by side with modern social research and the
women’s movements. He urged the Church to reflect on doctrinal issues,
particular christology, from the perspective of today’s
context.
Most
of the Orthodox agreed that the renewal of the diaconate for women is the place
to start. The rites for this office, in existence since the Second Council of
Chalcedon, are still valid today. It was urged that the issue of women and
ministry be seen within this larger framework of dogmatic history, conciliar
precedence and present-day realities regarding the partnership of women and men
in society and in the Church.
It was
an Orthodox participant who kept two key points always before the attention of
the meeting:
a)
There have always been a number of ministries in the Church and not merely one
ordained office.
b) It
is part of the Tradition of the Church to have unity within
diversity.
5. Protestant
Protestant churches from many parts of the world were represented by a
wide spectrum. Some Protestants from the United States came from churches that
have ordained women for over a hundred years, others from churches that began
ordaining women in the 1950s. All the churches represented had had considerable
experience with the role of ordained women in ministry. The theology of
ministry in each of these churches seemed to stress more the variety of gifts
and to see ministry primarily in terms of service and mission. With regard to
theological education, all of them reported that many more women are studying
theology: 30 to 40% of the theological students in denominational and
interdenominational seminaries are women. Women pastors, however, still
comprise a small percentage of the total number of clergy. Where women are
fully called and ordained, they tend to serve as local parish pastors, pastors
in urban teams and special rural ministry, directors of religious education,
hospital chaplains, etc. In the Christian Church Disciples of Christ,
two-thirds of the women pastors are married, and there are a growing number of
clergy couples seeking positions as co-pastors.
In
this same church, it was reported that the work of women ministers is being
accepted by the people in the parish, but that women ministers had considerable
difficulty in being accepted by their peers in ministry. This was also reported
by other churches. There is more acceptance of married couples in ministry and,
contrary to some other churches, certain prejudice was noted against single
women as pastors, or a woman as the head of a parish. All churches mentioned
that women ministers found it hard to adjust to the masculine shape of the
ordained role and its male-oriented expectations. It is not a work that women
walk into easily. Women keep stressing that they are still searching for styles
of ministry that will give them full identity in expressing and using their
talents and gifts.
In
Canada, the United Church of Canada, which has been ordaining women since 1936,
began by ordaining only single women. Twenty years later, when it agreed to
ordain married women, it provoked considerable new debate. Now there is an
effort to place couples and/or to enable married women to fulfil their ministry
and not be separated from their husbands.
Many
Protestant churches in Europe have a long experience with ordained women. In
both the German Democratic Republic and the Federal Republic of Germany, most
evangelical churches ordain women. Among Lutherans in the FRG, the celibacy
clause for women was removed only ten years ago. Since then, some churches have
begun to give part-time ministries to women, and there is a new emphasis in
some areas on “the ministry of parenthood”, making it possible for a
husband and wife both to be involved and recognized in a shared ministry. In
Austria, the celibacy clause for women pastors has recently been
removed.
The
situation in Switzerland is somewhat similar. It is still easier for a single
woman to find placement than for a couple who are both trained pastors. Married
partnership in ministry, with both sharing tasks equally, is a step not yet
taken in most of the cantons of the Swiss Protestant Church Federation. One
French pastor remarked: “What impressed me in my work was the readiness of
lay people to accept the ministry of couples. We must look to women and men
together as an important new style of ministry.”
The
Church of Sweden, not represented at the consultation but sending a report, has
been ordaining women since 1958. Recently it has undergone a widely publicized
new debate against this 1958 decision. As a consequence of this internal
opposition, a new set of rules for cooperation within the church has been
prepared by a joint committee of representatives of different positions. These
new rules have helped communication between the different groups in the church
and have also established procedures for solving concrete problems. Of the
almost three hundred women priests in the Church of Sweden, many serve as heads
of local parishes as well as in new tasks of mission.
Participants from Third World churches agreed that the issue of
ordination of women depends on the position of the “mother church”.
If the European or American church — linked through missionary history
— ordains women, then the church in the Third World is likely to do the
same. Among the exceptions is the Batak Church in Indonesia where cultural
factors work against women’s ordination, though the western partner
churches ordain women. Some other churches in Indonesia do ordain women (about
70 were ordained as of 1979). The factors against it are primarily cultural,
and relate to the Islamic context and the inheritance laws wherein family
inheritance goes through the sons, giving them a special status in both family
and society. The situation appears to be changing, as evidenced by the fact
that some of these churches now open their pulpits to women as
preachers.
In
Nigeria, there is an indigenous form of church order not known in the West.
Based on former tribal customs, some churches have both a “father of the
church” and a “mother of the church”. Originally, this was a lay
order, but now that person is ordained and it is usually a man who becomes both
father and mother. However, said an African participant, this tradition could
offer new possibilities for women as they receive theological training. In
Africa, not many women are studying theology as yet. Most women with an
interest in the subject go to the university and the departments of religion;
they do not become ordained. If their interest in theology and religion
develops, it is because they are attracted to it, but up to now they have not
been encouraged by the churches to follow professional theological training.
There are few women in the church-run seminaries, but this is beginning to
change. It was also reported that there is some mythology about the leadership
of women in the African independent churches. It is true that women can play a
large role. They can own a church and can found a church, but they cannot
preside at the Lord’s Supper. For this they need to be ordained and few of
the independent African churches as yet ordain women (one exception mentioned
was the Christian Stone Apostolic Church).
In
Latin America, women are accepted into the ministry by those churches that
ordain them (Methodist, Waldensian and Baptist) and many of them work in teams
with a man, or in a group team with three or four persons. There is an
increasing number of women theological students, but still very few ordained
women. Within the ecumenical community there is acceptance of each other’s
ministry on working levels. Some Protestant women pastors have even preached in
Roman Catholic churches but, as yet, there is no ecumenical discussion on the
subject.
In the
Caribbean, several Protestant churches ordain women and two synods of the
Anglican Church have agreed to do so. Most other churches are discussing it,
with the exception of the Roman Catholic Church. Ordained women are generally
favourably received in the congregations, but there are still pockets of
resistance. It was reported that women are more accepted as “local
preachers” but they begin having trouble when they become “full
ministers in charge of a congregation”. In addition, “more churches
are moving towards the services of women, especially in mission work”.
Among Roman Catholics, sisters assume more and more leadership. As one
participant said: “They are vibrant. They do everything, but consecrate.
The real mission outreach of the Roman Catholic Church in the Caribbean lies
with the nuns.”
D. Identifying the partners
The
ecumenical partners in this issue seem to gather in three
categories:
a)
those churches which are against the ordination of women and where the issue
has not emerged, except in an ecumenical and/or societal context;
b)
those churches which have been ordaining women for some time, and which are no
longer interested in the question of whether or not women should be ordained,
but are concerned about issues of placement, style of ministry, and renewal and
unity of the Church; for them, the ordination of women is settled, established
practice;
c)
those churches whose views on the ordination of women are not yet settled, and
where there are movements from within to change their policies.
This
means that there is little dialogue at present between (a) those partners who
say they will never ordain women, and (b) those who say that they will never
not ordain women. Both base their positions on tradition and experience.
Therefore, the dialogue focuses on the groups in the middle (c). Here, there is
both internal dialogue within those churches that do not ordain women, but
where the issue is being raised, and external dialogue between those churches
and their sister churches who, on the one side, want them not to ordain women
(a), and on the other, hope that they will ordain women (b).
The
interaction among these partners shapes the present ecumenical
discussion.
Ecclesiological issues and models of authority become more vivid as
there is questioning and protest. Episcopal, Presbyterian and Congregational
styles of institutional life are each distinct, yet over the decades of
ecumenical experience changes have occurred and new patterns have emerged which
give evidence of mutual influence, sharing and concerns of mission and unity
(e.g. the Church of South India).
Footnotes
(1) Since the central thrust of the Community of Women and Men in the
Church Study is to bring into ecumenical/theological dialogue the new
contributions coming from women, a guideline of the study is to have more women
than men participants at its meetings.
(2) An unpublished summary of a survey sponsored by the
Sub-unit on Women in Church and Society, was prepared by Helen Spaulding in
1975, entitled “The Ordination of Women”. Of the 295 member churches
of the WCC, 104 reported that they do ordain women, and 57 that they do not.
The remainder did not report; of those, 17 more were “known or
assumed” to ordain women. A similar survey of 1970, published in What Is
Ordination Coming To? (WCC) showed that of the 215 WCC member churches at that
time, 72 ordained women.
(3) See John E. Lynch, “The Ordination of Women:
Protestant Experience in Ecumenical Perspective”, Journal of Ecumenical
Studies, 12, spring 1975, pp. 173-197: a detailed summary of the WCC discussion
on this issue prior to the Accra meeting of the Faith and Order Commission in
1974. In addition there are summaries regarding the status of this issue in
various Protestant churches. See also 1979 National Council of Churches, USA,
survey on Women in Ministry.
(4) See the full report prepared by Christian Howard for the General
Synod of the Anglican Communion, GS. Misc. 88, Ordination of Women: a
Supplement to the Consultative Document GS 104, August 1978, Church Information
Office, London.
(5) In the United States, the Women’s Ordination Conference has
held two national conferences on this subject. The proceedings of the first are
published in Women and Catholic Priesthood: an Expanded Vision, Paulist Press,
New York, 1976. The Leadership Conference of Women Religious has already voted
in favour of the ordination of women to the priesthood. For information on
changes in attitude in favour of women priests, see Women Priests (Paulist
Press, 1978), p. 3, showing increases in France and in the US since the Vatican
“Declaration on the Admission of Women to the Ministerial
Priesthood”, 15 October 1976 (made public 27 January 1977). No similar
large movement exists in Europe, but in Germany and England groups are
beginning to emerge.
(6) One recent example is that noted under Fr Kallistos Ware, “The
Ordination of Women: the Orthodox Position”, Report of the Special Meeting
of the Anglican/Orthodox Joint Doctrinal Commission, Athens, 13-18 July 1978,
§ 3: statement by the Orthodox members of the Commission (unpublished
report).
(7) See Orthodox Women: Their Role and Participation in the Orthodox
Church, Agapia, Romania, September 1976, WCC, Geneva, 1977: presentations by
Metropolitan Emilianos, Dr Evangelos Theodorou and Dr Elisabeth Behr-Sigel.
Contents of “Ordination of
Women in Ecumenical Perspective”
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