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Who we are

1950 - 2000 AD

from a perspective of women in the Church

Timeline

before Christ
0-100 AD
100-200
200-300
300-400
400-500
500-600
600-700
700-800
800-900
900-1000
1000-1100
1100-1200
1200-1300
1300-1400
1400-1500
1500-1600
1600-1700
1700-1800
1800-1900
1900-1950
1950-2000
2000-2050

The second half of the twentieth century brought a break-through for the ordination of women.

This mainly happened in the Anglican Union. It affected the UK, the USA, Australia and Canada but also many countries in Africa and Asia. For a survey see here.

A new dawn seemed to light up the Roman Catholic Church too when 3000 bishops travelled to Rome to attend the Second Vatican Council. A new vision was outlined in groundbreaking documents dealing with:

* church organization
* the church's place in the modern world
* the interpretation of sacred scripture
* ecumenism
* individual freedom of conscience

Unfortunately, reactionary forces, initiated from within the Vatican itself, soon began to stifle attempts at real reform. In the 1970's this revealed itself in a series of disciplinary measures that sought to stamp out any movement towards the ordination of women.

The resulting situation is a blatant abuse of authority in the highest ranks of the Roman Catholic Church.

Rev. Joanna Hollis of St James Anglican Church in Sandys.

Read the story of Rev. Rose Hudson-Wilkin

The decade of post-war recovery

Social Emancipation of women 1950 to 1959
Women banned from reading BBC news	January - 1951
"Average UK housewife works 15 hour day"	July - 1951
Education pioneer Maria Montessori dies	May - 1952
Commons votes for women's equal pay	May - 1952
Eva Peron dies, Argentina's heroine	July - 1952
First publicised sex change : Christine	December - 1952
First woman to win Welsh Bardic Crown	August - 1953
First woman as Tory minister, Horsbrugh	September - 1953
Equal pay for women civil servants	January - 1955
Burnham committee - equal teachers' pay	March - 1955
UK Lords reforms : life peers and women	October - 1957
Bishop: working mothers "enemy of the family"	March - 1958
Christabel Pankhurst, suffragist, dies	March - 1958
14 women life peers	July - 1958
Warnings on overuse of sedatives for women	November - 1958
Women lead Cato Manor unrest, South Africa	June - 1959
New MPs Margaret Thatcher, Judith Hart	October - 1959

The decade that held hope & promise . . .

Women's Ordination Documentation 1960 - 1969 . . .

	CHURCH		THEOLOGIANS
1962	Pope John XXIII	Opening of the Second Vatican Council to reform the Catholic Church
1964		We Won't Keep Silence Any Longer!	Gertrude Heinzelman (RC)
1964	Episcopal Church in USA	General Convention changes deaconess canon to read "ordered" rather than "appointed"
1965	Pope Paul VI	Close of the Second Vatican Council
1965	Episcopal Church in USA	Deaconess Phyllis Edwards recognized as deacon by Bishop James Pike, San Francisco
1966	Episcopal Church in USA	Progress Report to the House of Bishops from the Committee to study the Proper Place of Women in the Ministry of the Church,
1966	Church of England	Women and Holy Orders
1966	Episcopal Church	The Proper Place of Women in the Ministry of the Church
1967		*The Question of Women and the Priesthood*	Sister Vincent Hannon
1968	Church of England	Working Party, ‘Women in Ministry: a Study
1968	Anglican Church	Lambeth agrees that deaconesses are within the diaconate, but refers the ordination of women back to member churches for further study. Hong Kong, Kenya, Korea and Canada begin ordaining women to diaconate.
1969	Episcopal Church in USA	Special General Convention (South Bend) changes canon so that women may be licensed to be lay readers and to administer the chalice

This timeline could not include the important research papers & journalistic articles written during this period

	Social Emancipation 1960 to 1969
1960	Mrs Bandaranaike, first woman premier
1960	Suffragist Estelle Sylvia Pankurst dies
1961	Contraceptive pill goes on sale in UK
1961	First Mothercare shop opens, UK
1961	Birth control pill available on NHS, UK
1962	First woman judge in High Court, UK
1963	Tereshkova (USSR) first woman in space
1963	Woman broadcaster reads TV news in Wales
1964	Woman completes solo round-world flight
1964	Death of Nancy Astor, first UK woman MP
1965	First woman High Court judge, UK
1966	First woman to train racehorses, UK
1966	Twiggy is rising fashion star
1967	The Abortion Bill becomes law, UK
1968	Ford machinists strike for equal pay for women, UK
1968	Epidural promises painless childbirth
1968	Pregnancy Advisory Service launched, UK
1968	First abortion clinic opens in London
1969	Women workers at Ford (UK) win equal pay
1969	Lloyd's of London to admit women

The decade when sparks began to fly . . .

Women's Ordination Documentation and Events 1970 - 1979 . . .

date	CHURCH		THEOLOGIANS
1970	World Council of Churches	What is ordination coming to? Report of a Consultation on the Ordination of Women
1970	American Lutheran Church	Report on Ordination of Women
1970	Lutheran Church in America	The Ordination of Women (1970)
1970	Episcopal Church in USA	Report of the Joint Commission on Ordained and Licensed Ministries, n.b. Report rejected by narrow margin in the clergy order in the House of Deputies
1970	Episcopal Church in USA	At General Convention: women admitted as lay deputies after 50-year struggle. Women included in canon on deacons, eligible for Clergy Pension Fund; authorization for ordination of women to priesthood approved by laity but narrowly defeated by clerical deputies.
1971	Anglican Church	Anglican Consultative Council (world Anglican body of clergy and laity meeting between Lambeth Conferences) declares it is "acceptable" for a bishop to ordain a woman if his national church or province approves.
1971	Pope Paul VI	During the Bishops’ Synod in Rome, Cardinal Flahiff and the Canadian Bishops Conference ask for a study on women’s ministries
1971	Anglican Church	The Revs Jane Hwang and Joyce Bennett are ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Gilbert Baker of Hong Kong; Florence Li Tim-Oi's orders are recognized in absentia
1971	Episcopal Church in USA	House of Bishops refers women's ordination for further study. Episcopal women begin to be ordained deacon alongside men
1972		‘Why Not? Priesthood & the Ministry of Women’	M. Bruce & G. E. Duffield
1972		Women Priests?	E. L. Mascall
1972		Women in a Man's Church	Arlene Swidler (RC)
1972		Women in Ministry: a Sisters' View	National Assembly of Women Religious
1973	Episcopal Church in USA	General Convention rejects ordination of women to priesthood. Women deacons presented alongside men for ordination to priesthood in New York, but bishop refuses
1973	American Lutheran Church	Can Women Serve in the Ordained Ministry?
1973		Against Nature and God	Joan Morris (RC)
1973		Women Priests in the Catholic Church?	Haye van der Meer (RC)
1973		Women in Christian Tradition	George Tavard (RC)
1973	Pope Paul VI	The Pope appoints a Special Commission on the Function of Women in Society and in the Church (FWSC). During meetings of the FWSC a group of women members protests about lack of freedom of expression. ‘Our views are being systematically suppressed.’ Read the story of Rie Vendrik, one of the participants.
1974		Women & Orders	Robert Heyer (ed. RC)
1974	Episcopal Church in USA	July 29: Eleven women deacons ordained to priesthood by two retired and one resigned bishop in Philadelphia. July 30: Some women priests inhibited by their bishops from priestly functions, some from deacon's service; others agree voluntarily to refrain from priestly ministry. July 31: Presiding Bishop John Allin calls emergency meeting of House of Bishops. Aug 15: Bishops meet in Chicago, decry the four bishops' "violation of collegiality," refuse to talk with women, and assert the ordinations were not valid. Women reject bishop's action; Charles Willie resigns as vice president of House of Deputies in protest. Aug: Ecclesiastical charges are filed against the Philadelphia bishops. Oct: House of Bishops reaffirms endorsement of ordaining women but votes almost unanimously not to act until General Convention approves. Oct 27: The Revs. Alison Cheek, Carter Heyward and Jeannette Piccard publicly celebrate an Episcopal Eucharist at New York City's Riverside Church.
1975	Pope Paul VI	The Pontifical Biblical Commission reports that there are no scriptural objections to ordaining women to the priesthood. The Vatican suppresses the report, but its contents are leaked and become known.
1975	United States Anglican-Roman Catholic consultation, Cinncinnati June 1975	Pro & Con on Ordination of women
1975	All India Catholic Consultation on New Ministries	The Ministry of Women and Social Myth	John Wijngaards
1975		Women Priests? Yes - Now!	Harold Wilson (ed.)
1975		To be a priest	Robert E. Terwilliger and Urban T. Holmes (eds.)
1975		Can Women be Priests?	Paul Lakeland (RC)
1975		The Ordination of Women: Pro and Con	Michael P.Hamilton and Nancy S.Montgomery (eds)
1975	Church of England	Letter of Donald Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury, to Pope Paul VI
1975	Pope Paul VI	10-14 November 1975 A Working Group on the Ordination of Women set up by ARCIC (the Anglican/Roman Catholic International Consultation) meets in Assisi. The two Roman Catholic theologians appointed by the Vatican, Frs. Hervé Legrand and Eric Doyle, both express support for the ordination of women. The report is suppressed by the Vatican, but published by ARCIC. Read the paper Eric Doyle submitted at the meeting: ‘The Ordination of Women. The State of the Question in the Roman Catholic Church’.
1975	Pope Paul VI	30 November 1975 Letter of Pope Paul VI to Donald Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury, asserting the Catholic stance against the ordination of women
1976		Toward a New Theology of Ordination: Essays on the Ordination of Women.	Marianne H. Micks & Charles R. Price (eds.)
1976		‘Women Priests, Yes or No?’	E. C. Hewitt & S.R.Hiatt
1976		‘A Priest Forever’	C. Heyward
1976	Church of England	Letter of Donald Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury to Pope Paul VI
1976	Pope Paul VI	Letter of Pope Paul VI to Donald Coggan, Archbishop of Canterbury
1976	Pope Paul VI	Inter Insigniores, Declaration of the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the question of the admission of women to the ministerial priesthood
1977	Pope Paul VI	Commentary by the Sacred Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith on the Declaration Inter Insigniores
1977	Anglican Church of Canada	Begins ordaining women
1977	Episcopal Church in USA	Women ordained in Philadelphia and Washington begin to be "regularized" and regular ordinations of women to the priesthood begin with 100 ordained by year's end
1977	Anglican Church in New Zealand	Begins ordaining women to priesthood
1977		Did Christ Rule Out Women Priests?	John Wijngaards (RC)
1977		Women Priests: A Catholic Commentary on the Vatican Declaration	Leonard Swidler & Arlene Swidler (eds. RC)
1977		And Sarah Laughed	John H.Otwell
1977		Sexism and Church Law: Equal Rights and Affirmative Action	James Coriden (ed. RC)
1978		Yes to Women Priests,	Hugh Montefiori (ed.)
1978		Women and Priesthood: Future Directions	Carroll Stuhlmueller (ed. RC)
1978		Man, Woman, and Priesthood	Peter Moore (ed.)
1978		New Woman, New Church, New Ministry	Proceedings of the Second Conference on the Ordination of Roman Catholic Women
1979		Woman in the Church	Louis Bouyer (RC)

This timeline could not include the important research papers & journalistic articles written during this period

The decade of consolidating positions . . .

Women's Ordination Documentation and Events 1980 - 1989 . . .

	CHURCH		THEOLOGIANS
1980		Women and Ministry in the New Testament	Elisabeth M. Tetlow
1980		‘Ordination of Women in Ecumencial Perspective’	C. F. Parvey (ed. RC)
1981		‘Equal but other’ and the ordination of women	Ida Raming (RC)
1981	Church of England	Women accepted as deacons
1982		Women and Church Leadership	E. Margaret Howe
1982		The Role of Women in Early Christianity	Jean LaPorte (RC)
1983	Pope John Paul II	Code of Church Law, The exclusion of women from ordination again entered into law.
1984	Pope John Paul II	Letter of Pope John Paul II to Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury
1985	Church of England	Church of England in the UK decides to ordain women as deacons
1985		Feminist Interpretation of the Bible	Letty Russell (RC)
1985		What is Right with Feminism, Ch. 6. Women and the church, Ch.10. Polarisation : Christianity against Feminism,	Elizabeth Storkey
1985		Freeing the Feminine	Elspeth and Gordon Strachan
1985	Church of England	Letter of Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury, to Pope John Paul II
1985	Church of England	Letter of Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury to Cardinal Jan Willebrands, President of the Vatican Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity
1986	Pope John Paul II	Letter of Cardinal Jan Willebrands, President of the Vatican Secretariat for Promoting Christian Unity, to Robert Runcie, Archbishop of Canterbury
1987		The Church: Learning and Teaching	Ladislas Örsy
1987	Church of England	UK synod votes in favour of women's ordination
1988	Church of England	The final plan for women's ordination was submitted in June. It passed the Synod in July and the House of Bishops in August
1988	Pope John Paul II	Women's participation in the life and mission of the Church, from Christifideles Laici
1988	Episcopal Church of the USA	First woman bishop elected
1988	Pope John Paul II	Mulieris Dignitatem, On the Dignity and Vocation of Women

This timeline could not include the important research papers & journalistic articles written during this period

The decade of confrontation . . .

Church documents on women 1990 - 1999 & theological discussion

	CHURCH		THEOLOGIANS
1990		After Eve	Janet Martin Soskice
1991		Where can we find her? Searching for women's identity in the new church	Marie-Eloise Rosenblatt (ed.)
1992		Is the ordination of women an ecumenical problem?	Anne Jensen (RC)
1993		The Representation of Christ, Ecclesiastical Office, and Presiding at the Eucharist	Anne Jensen (RC)
1994	Pope John Paul II	Ordinatio Sacerdotalis, Apostolic Letter on Reserving Priestly Ordination to Men Alone
1994	Pope John Paul II	The Catechism of the Catholic Church, on women's ordination
1995	Pope John Paul II	Letter to Women, papal letter to women issued in preparation for the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing
1995	Pope John Paul II	Responsum ad Dubium, Concerning the Teaching Contained in Ordinatio Sacerdotalis
1995	Pope John Paul II	Letter of October 28, 1995, Regarding the SCDF Responsum on Ordinatio Sacerdotalis
1996		Freedom From Sanctified Sexism - Women Transforming the Church	Mavis Rose
1997		Papal Power on the abuse of papal authority	Paul Collins (RC)
1998	Pope John Paul II	Ad Tuendam Fidem
1998	Pope John Paul II	Commentary on Ad Tuendam Fidem. Contains the judgment that those who hold women can be ordained priests, are ‘no longer be in full communion with the Catholic Church’
1998	RC Belgian Bishops' Conference	Who May Dwell Within your Tent?, commission on “Woman and the Church”
1998		'Why I resign from the priestly ministry'	John Wijngaards
1999		‘The New is Elsewhere’: Women’s Leadership in Community-Profit Organisations	Patricia Marlette Black
1999		FOUNDATION OF WWW.WOMENPRIESTS.ORG

This timeline could not include the important research papers & journalistic articles written during this period

1950 - 2000 AD

from a perspective of women in the Church

The second half of the twentieth century brought a break-through for the ordination of women.

The decade of post-war recovery

Social Emancipation of women 1950 to 1959

The decade that held hope & promise . . .

Social Emancipation 1960 to 1969

The decade when sparks began to fly . . .

Women's Ordination Documentation and Events 1970 - 1979 . . .

The decade of consolidating positions . . .

Women's Ordination Documentation and Events 1980 - 1989 . . .

The decade of confrontation . . .

Church documents on women 1990 - 1999 & theological discussion

Women's Ordination
Documentation and Events 1970 - 1979 . . .

Women's Ordination
Documentation and Events 1980 - 1989 . . .

Church documents on women 1990 - 1999
& theological discussion