Bishops Endorse, In Principle, Women as Priests, Bishops
Diocesan Press Service. November 3, 1972 [72161]
NEW ORLEANS, La. (DPS) -- Should women be permitted to become priests and bishops in the Episcopal Church in the United States?
This issue appeared to override all- other deliberations of the October 29 - November 3, 1972, meeting of the Episcopal House of Bishops at the Fontainebleau Motor Hotel in New Orleans, La.
However the Episcopal Church answers this question at its fall 1973 General Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, the decision will not derive from anything its Bishops did or did not do at their interim meeting.
A roll call vote to register current opinions revealed that "the mind of the House " (as the resolution read) is clearly a mind divided.
The tally: 61 Bishops said no, 74 said yes, five refrained from voting.
In the opinion of many people, a more conclusive vote by the Bishops might have caused the lay and clerical 1973 Convention Deputies to think either that the issue has all but been decided, or that they must rally forces to counter the Bishops' expressed view.
The vote came at the end of nearly two hours of debate during which 29 Bishops spoke. Several of them questioned, then and later, whether the limit of four minutes per speech represented procedure commensurate with the profundity of the matter.
Consideration of the long-controversial issue began with receipt of a 23-page report of a House ad hoc committee, which showed the committee itself to be divided in opinion. At the committee's invitation, the Rev. Miss Carol Anderson, deacon on the staff of St. James' Church, New York City, spoke to the House briefly.
Key pleas of the debaters:
-- Disruption within the Church may result, if this change is made, among persons who cannot in conscience accept it -- and, if it is not made, among women currently seeking postulancy to be come priests.
-- Psychosexual factors can aggravate today's sexual role confusion.
-- God continues to reveal his truth in history. Jesus Christ chose no female apostles, nor does Holy Scripture say anything about women (or men) in holy orders. But neither does the Bible deal specifically with other issues -- for one, slavery -- on which the Christian Church has taken strong stands. Arguments against the full ordination of women strongly resemble those used against full personhood for people of minority races in the U.S.
-- Full ordination of women by this Church could damage current Anglican dialogues with the Roman Catholic Church and with the Orthodox.
-- Action must not be taken in haste, and more theological study would provide grounds for a wise decision.
-- Certain cultures would have little difficulty accepting female priests and bishops: the matriarchal Navajo nation in the Southwest, the people of Taiwan, Latin Americans. Yet the Dakota nation and their fellow Episcopalians in South Dakota sent word via their Bishop that they do not favor such ordination.
-- Priesthood, a gift of God, derives from the Great High Priesthood of Christ; yet any person feeling truly called to priestly office must have that call declared valid by the Church through its Bishops and diocesan Standing Committees.
The depth of the Bishops' diversity of views is clearly conveyed in the accompanying summary of their discussions in small groups.
The House set in motion the preparation of such canonical and constitutional changes as would be required, should the 1973 General Convention decide in favor of full ordination of women.
The House asked Bishops Myers of California, Vogel of West Missouri, and Atkins of Eau Claire to prepare papers on the theological aspects of this issue, for members of the House to study in advance of General Convention. It also requested Presiding Bishop Hines to consult with the Primates of the Anglican Provinces and other Churches with whom this one is in communion, about the impact within their areas, should the U.S. Church allow full ordination of women. The Presiding Bishop will share these views with his fellow Bishops before Convention in 1973.
This and three other matters given prime attention were handled by a process new to the House: a 15-minute presentation to a plenary session by the appropriate committee, then an hour of exploration in sections of 12 to 15 men, then the report of these findings to the committee which prepared resolutions based on the discussions.
The second most important debate revolved around revision of the Book of Common Prayer.
The Church will not be asked to choose between traditional and contemporary language, but rather to approve a Prayer Book containing both -- in the Eucharist, for example, three rites largely resembling the current three Services for Trial Use.
The House endorsed a timetable proposed by the Standing Liturgical Commission which would enable the Church to revise its Prayer Book no later than 1979.
The Commission estimates its writing task will see completion by 1976. If the 1973 General Convention decides on a two-year (rather than a three-year) interval between Conventions, the draft revised Prayer Book can be acted on first in 1977, finally in 1979. The House agreed with the Commission's recommendation that at least two full Convention days be designated for initial consideration of this special order of business.
(The Bishops expressed the hope the biennial Convention schedule will be adopted; they took this action independent of the Prayer Book agenda item.)
The proposed Initiatory Rite, which combines Holy Baptism, the Laying on of Hands, and the reception of Holy Communion in a single service received prime attention in New Orleans.
Nearly a full morning of debate began with a major presentation by the Rev. Dr. Massey Shepherd on the theological aspects of the proposed rite. He said it is intended to make visible "the whole of the Paschal Mystery" and to restore the practice which prevailed across Christendom until the fifth century.
The Bishop would be the "normative " celebrant, although he could delegate to the priest the right to officiate -- an extension of the present practice whereby the Bishop as chief maker of Eucharist allows the priest to act for him most weeks of the year.
Dr. Shepherd said an additional rite will be proposed, by which a person makes public avowal of his intention to follow Christ, a service "to be seen clearly not as the completion of Baptism" but rather as an occasion for an episcopal blessing as the person moves through " a critical state" in his life. The rite, if desired, could be received more than once.
A dozen or more Bishops joined in debate and opinion was far from unanimous. Applause followed the final speaker's insistence that the separate rite of Confirmation, instead of falling into obscurity or disuse, should be enriched and given more prominence.
The Bishops agreed that, within the limitations stated by the 1970 General Convention, they would engage in study and trial use of the rite entitled Holy Baptism with the Laying on of Hands, during the coming twelve months.
No one knew in advance what to expect concerning the October 19 announcement by Presiding Bishop John E. Hines of his intention to resign his office "late in 1973," in order to allow a younger and more vigorous man to succeed him.
Bishop Hines asked his fellow Bishops only to set in motion the process by which he proposes to make the change: the naming now of a nominating committee. To this the House agreed. (Attached is the list of persons, two from each Province, the Bishops appointed by the Presiding Bishop in consultation with the House's vice-president, Bishop Robert Gibson -- the lay and other clerical members named by the House of Deputies' president, the Rev. Dr. John B. Coburn.) This committee will begin work at once. The Bishops expressed the hope that the search will involve grassroots opinion as each Diocese in its own way chooses names to submit to the Nominating Committee.
The Bishops approved a scheme for orderly transition which allows the new Presiding Bishop to select his own supporting staff.
A related action suggested by a consultation committee on The Office of Presiding Bishop won House approval -- the recommendation that Bishop Hines' successor engage a similar committee to aid him to evaluate his performance in the multiple roles he must assume, that all Bishops consider forming similar committees for their own benefit, that the Dioceses be urged to provide sabbaticals or significant study leaves for their Bishops at least every five years, and that similar provisions be made for the Presiding Bishop.
The House reviewed and endorsed the 13-year-old Pastoral Development program for Bishops which has burgeoned noticeably in the past few years under the full- time leadership of Bishop David Richards. Its purpose: to provide Bishops with support systems designed to foster personal growth and professional development. The program has moved beyond attempts to deal with vocational emergencies to ways of preventing such crises.
About the Church's work overseas, the House:
-- Chose as Bishop-elect of the Diocese of Guatemala the Rev. Anselmo Carral of the Diocese of Panama and the Canal Zone; he has accepted, subject to consents of diocesan Standing Committees. Guatemala had failed in an attempt to elect its own Bishop. The House has in process proposed canon changes providing that a Bishop for an overseas jurisdiction shall be elected by its Province or by the House of Bishops only when the jurisdiction is unable to arrive at a choice itself.
-- Approved division of the Church's work in Mexico into three interdependent Dioceses, looking toward the day when the Church in Mexico will become autonomous.
-- Wondered if the Church should be working toward the formation of a Joint Commission on World Mission.
-- Sent a message of concern to the three Philippine Islands Bishops, absent because of political turmoil there.
In advance of the House's session, the Overseas Bishops met for one full day with the domestic Bishops of Coalition 14. Each group spent another full day dealing with its own concerns -- ways for the Coalition to deepen its growing interdependence, and ways for the Overseas Bishops to adopt and/or adapt the Coalition Bishops' pattern of disclosing all financial resources, challenging program/budget patterns of one another, and receiving a lump-sum appropriation from the whole Church for support, deciding themselves its distribution among the several Dioceses.
In other actions, the House of Bishops:
-- Adopted "a pastoral word to their people on five continents," which is to be sent to all clergy, together with full texts of the House's background documents on the ordination of women and Prayer Book revision. The Pastoral Letter proclaims God's constancy amid the turbulence and uncertainties of the times, and sharing the ways they see their leadership roles within the Church's life. "The House of Bishops is a body whose lack of uniformity has in no way imperiled its unity," they said; "We pray for that same unity throughout our Church."
-- Learned that Presiding Bishop Hines will name, as soon as possible, two Deputies for Clergy, to serve as an extension of his pastoral office. One will be located east and one west of the Mississippi.
-- Refused to concur, after debate at length, with a resolution decrying the celebration of Holy Communion "as part of a political protest," as on a courthouse step during the trial of the Harrisburg Seven and in Pentagon corridors.
-- Admitted as a collegial member, with seat and voice, Bishop C. Edward Crowther, Assistant Bishop of California.
-- Greeted 15 Bishops consecrated during the past year.
-- Learned that canon and constitution changes are in preparation, for consideration in Louisville, to "legitimize" the position of Assistant Bishop and to clarify further the use and role of Suffragan Bishops.
-- Divided its Committee on Social and International Affairs into two; Bishop Robert DeWitt of Pennsylvania will chair the Committee on Christian Social Relations, while Bishop John Krumm of Southern Ohio heads the other, on National and International Affairs.
-- Named Bishop William Mead of Delaware to its Court for Trial of a Bishop, and Bishop Francis William Lickfield of Quincy to the Court of Review, each to fill a vacancy until 1973.
-- Consented to the following resignations, all for reason of age: Bishop Edward R. Welles, West Missouri (December 31, 1972); Bishop Richard S.M. Emrich, Michigan (March 11, 1973); Bishop Francis William Lickfield, Quincy (June 30, 1973); Bishop Thomas H. Wright, East Carolina (December 31, 1972).
-- Approved requests from the Diocese of Pennsylvania and the Diocese of Erie to elect Bishops Coadjutor; consented to the election (subject to Standing Committees' approval) of Bishop Albert Van Duzer as Coadjutor of New Jersey, Bishop Robert Rusack as Coadjutor of Los Angeles, and Bishop Philip Smith as Coadjutor of New Hampshire.
-- Requested copies of the meditations Presiding Bishop Hines gave at daily noontime Eucharists.
-- Decided to decide next year where to meet in 1974.
-- Named the Very Rev. Perry Williams, dean of Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, Ohio, to fill a vacancy on the General Board of Examining Chaplains.
-- Heard Bishop Philip McNairy of Minnesota comment on the current Trail of Broken Treaties Caravan, who have come to Washington, D.C., to call the country's attention to "discriminatory acts and prejudicial attitudes " which deny them full personhood. Bishop McNairy said some among the caravan will use "headline-getting language deliberately, while others wish only to stand and plead." The Church's National Committee on Indian Work has given modest financial aid to this effort "because their need is real," the Bishop continued. "The caravan is intended as a parable, a means to make us angry about the plight of our Indian people, and finally to respond."
-- At the adjournment, heard the Presiding Bishop term this "a very constructive session, evidencing both the harmony and the diversity which I have always regarded as essential characteristics of this House, in Christ. "