Anglican Consultative Council Action on the Ordination of Women to the Priesthood Gives Encouragement to Anglican Communions
Diocesan Press Service. August 9, 1973 [73196]
Barbara R. Rathel, Editor, Washington Diocese
Groups Organize to Prepare for General Convention Action
Encouragement has been given proponents for ordaining women to the Episcopal priesthood by the Anglican Consultative Council's 50-2 vote, with three abstentions, which recommends continuing fellowship and union for " and autonomous province in the Anglican Communion" deciding to ordain women to the priesthood and episcopate. The statement was adopted July 26 during the Council's meeting in Dublin, Ireland. The Council adopted a similar statement in 1971, but by a slim 24-22 margin.
The recent statement also acknowledged that ordination of women to the priesthood would likely have "ecumenical repercussions" which ought to be considered, but added, "The churches of the Anglican Communion must make their own decisions."
The Council, which meets biennially between sessions of the Lambeth Conference, includes representatives of 26 independent Anglican bodies throughout the world. Although it serves an advisory role, it is looked to for leadership. When Presiding Bishop John Hines, at the request of the House of Bishops, consulted other primates about the effect Episcopal Church ordination of women would have on fellowship and union with others, responses indicated several provinces were waiting for the Council's advice.
However, not all provinces waited for the Council action. The General Synod of Canada has taken steps toward ordaining women to the priesthood. Anglican Churches in Seoul, Southeast Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Central and South Africa, Kenya and Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and Bogazaire have, at the very least, maintained they would remain in fellowship and union with provinces opening full ordination to women. Ugandian Archbishop Sabiti noted that action by large provinces was a welcome challenge to small churches and he was glad to see the step taken.
Primates in Tanzania and Wales, where studies are underway, and in Spain, where the matter seems premature, responded favorably to the principle. Great caution was hoped for from Bishop Kratz, primate of Brazil, where a study is also underway. In the responses to Bishop Hines, only the Polish National Catholic Church expressed the opinion that fellowship and union would be seriously affected by admitting women to Holy Orders.
The Church of England's General Synod authorized a procedure (required by the Constitution) to obtain the opinion of all the member dioceses about "whether they accept the principle and consider consequent action to be desirable at the present time. " A few days later the Archbishop of Canterbury, titular head of the Anglican Communion, was among those affirming the Anglican Consultative Council statement.
The Rev. Dr. Henry Rightor, a Virginia Theological Seminary professor who attended the Synod sessions, noted that there was no action taken against women's ordination and no talk of breaking off communion with Hong Kong (where two women have been ordained) or any other church that may decide to do so.
"They are convinced their ecclesiastical and civil laws require the lengthy process they have adopted, " Dr. Rightor said. "Also, there is no sense of urgency in England as there is in the United States where a number of highly qualified women would be eligible if the doors were open. "
There are in the Episcopal Church 97 female deacons. Of these, 24 would be eligible for ordination to the priesthood by January 1974. They have been ordained to the diaconate, are well qualified in terms of education and have the support of their bishops. Others have retired, lack some of the prerequisites or are not actively seeking priest status. Eighty-two women were enrolled in 10 accredited Episcopal seminaries during the 1972-73 term, an increase of 32 over the previous academic year. There are also Episcopal women studying in other seminaries.
The 1973 General Convention in Louisville is being asked to decide now whether these women and others to follow will be allowed to realize their vocation fully. The door began to open in 1970 when the Convention amended canons to permit ordination of women to the diaconate. Twenty-six dioceses have voted in favor of women priests; 13 have voted against. In the fall of 1972, the House of Bishops approval of the principle of ordination of women to the priesthood, although by a small majority, gave impetus to the movement.
Several groups have organized to work toward this common goal. These include the Episcopal Women's Caucus, Priests for the Ministry of the Church, groups within several theological seminaries, clergy associations, Episcopal Church Women's organizations, and ad hoc committees of bishops and General Convention deputies.
In June at the invitation of the Rt. Rev. William Creighton, Bishop of Washington, representatives of these groups met in Washington to form the National Committee of Episcopal Clergy and Laity for the Ordination of Women to the Priesthood. The Committee's goal is to win General Convention approval for ordination of women as deacons, priests and bishops. It was at this meeting that a decision was made to seek a canonical amendment rather than pursue a more laborious and time-consuming constitutional change. Forwarded to the Secretary of General Convention in mid-July, the proposed amendment bore the signatures of 50 deputies from 27 dioceses.
Proposed Canonical Amendment to Facilitate the Ordination of Women Resolved, the House of . .. concurring, that a new Section 1 of Title III. Canon 9, be adopted, with the renumbering of the present Sections 1 and following, the said new Section 1 to read as follows:
"Sec. 1. The provisions of these Canons for the admission of Postulants and Candidates, and for ordination to the three Orders of Bishops, Priests and Deacons, shall be equally applicable to men and women."
The Committee's efforts are helping to gather, tally and coordinate support and to supply pertinent facts. One accomplishment is a carefully compiled collection of information sent to bishops, deputies and ECW Triennial delegates early in September. A covering letter advocates the ordination of women as "theologically sound and vocationally correct" and invites serious consideration and support. A booklet includes frequently asked questions answered by official. Anglican bodies and notable churchmen. Another feature is an article by the Rev. Dr. J. Robert Wright, professor of church history at General Theological Seminary. Dr. Wright is also a member of both the Orthodox -Anglican and Anglican - Roman Catholic Consultations. The mailing also contains a chronology of actions concerning women's professional role in the Church since 1862 when the Order of Deaconesses was restored in the Anglican Communion.
Opportunities are being provided through Committee efforts for people in the church to meet with female deacons, hear their stories and discuss the issue. Plans are also being made for a booth at General Convention where deputies and guests will have additional opportunities to ask questions and meet some of the women who want to become priests and their supporters. It is hoped that a taped interview about women's ordination conducted by the Rt. Rev. John Walker, Suffragan Bishop of Washington, for his "Overview" television program will be available for viewing at the booth.
But the opposition persists, and the outcome is still in doubt. There is, as mentioned earlier, concern about ecumenical repercussions, particularly with Orthodox and Roman Catholic Communions. One recent statement by Orthodox Christians acknowledges that ordination of women to Anglican priesthood would have a " decisively negative " effect on the issue of recognition of Anglican orders and upon future dialogue.
Another argument against ordaining women is the cherished 2,000-year tradition of male priesthood. Until 1971 when two women were ordained to the priesthood in Hong Kong, only one female, a Chinese woman during World War II, the laying on of hands has always happened to men.
The American Church Union, a largely clerical association of Catholic-minded Episcopalians, is in the forefront of those strenuously objecting to the ordination of women. The Anglican Women's Alliance has invited the participation of women who "do not support the move to ordain women to the priesthood or consecrate them to the Episcopate." Another group organized to oppose ordination of women is the Committee for the Apostolic Ministry.
The 1973 General Convention which begins Sept. 29 will face several major decisions, and the question of ordaining women to the priesthood is not least among them.