Canadian Anglicans Support 'In Principle' Ordination of Women to Priesthood
Diocesan Press Service. May 17, 1973 [73140]
REGINA, Sask., Canada -- The 26th General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada has approved "in principle " the ordination of women to the priesthood.
Priests and lay persons, both men and women, voted overwhelmingly in favor of the resolution. The bishops approved the resolution by a vote of 21 to 9. The resolution will be forwarded to the Anglican Consultative Council for discussion by representatives of all Anglican Churches at its meeting in Dublin, Ireland, July 17-27.
The motion included an amendment which delays implementation of the General Synod's action until the House of Bishops has worked out a plan for the Church that will include an "educational process."
Much of the two-hour debate, during which 23 delegates spoke, centered around the issue of whether or not the Church was ready to accept such action, not whether or not the principle in itself was right.
Among Anglican Communion members, the Church of Burma and the Church of the Province of New Zealand have both approved the principle of ordination of women to the priesthood. The Diocese of Hong Kong has already ordained two women. The House of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States in the fall of 1972 approved "in principle " the ordination of women to the priesthood and the issue is expected to come up for action by the House of Bishops and the House of Deputies at the General Convention in Louisville, Ky., this fall.
In other action, the General Synod of the Anglican Church of Canada authorized the trial use of a new Christian initiation rite which unifies the separate acts of baptism and confirmation, permitting families to share in the celebration of the Eucharist. The General Synod also created an agency on public social responsibility that will try to change corporations' policies through stockholder resolutions.