British Parliament Approves Ordination of Women to the Priesthood
Episcopal News Service. November 4, 1993 [93189]
James Rosenthal, Director of Communication for the Anglican Consultation Council in London.
With no more hurdles to overcome, women will likely be ordained priests in the Church of England by early next spring -- perhaps in time for Easter.
In separate votes, both houses of the British Parliament have given overwhelming approval to the legislation permitting the ordination of women priests that was passed by the Church of England's General Synod on November 11, 1992.
Following often heated and bitterly contested proceedings, the House of Commons voted 215 to 21 on October 29 to accept the legislation. Just four days later, a favorable vote of 135 to 25 in the House of Lords settled the fate of the legislation.
In presenting the measure to the House of Lords, Archbishop of Canterbury George Carey referred to the legislation as "one of the most significant pieces of church legislation ever to be presented to the House." As leader of the worldwide Anglican Communion, Carey also paid tribute to the positive experience with women priests in other provinces of the communion, noting that there were more than 1,000 Anglican women priests around the world.
In reference to the theological dispute at the heart of the debate, Carey emphasized that "it is the humanity of Christ which is important, not his maleness" and that having women celebrate the Eucharist "would indicate the inclusiveness of all humanity in the person who celebrates the Eucharist."
"The church now longs to concentrate on promoting the Gospel of Christ to a society in great need," Carey added. "We have well over 1,000 women deacons who are offering their skills and gifts to their service of Christ and many of them see this legislation as offering the fulfillment of their ministry," he said. "I am confident they will enrich the priestly ministry of our church."
Lord Robert Runcie, former archbishop of Canterbury, supported the measure, declaring, "It is high time to breathe spiritual life back into a church which is weighted down by bureaucracy."
Runcie commended the ordination of women, asserting that women priests might effectively model "the Good Shepherd, rather than the successful graduate of the management training school."
Bishop David Hope of London, an outspoken opponent of the ordination of women to the priesthood, insisted that the issue of ordaining women as priests "remains a disputed question theologically," but also asserted that attempts of some dioceses to declare themselves "no-go areas" for women priests was unworkable. Hope also said that justice demanded equal opportunity for women and that their gifts and graces were needed in the church's public ministry.
An attempt led by parliamentary opponents of the measure to delay the legislation failed. On the eve of the debate in Parliament, a last-ditch effort by a conservative evangelical group to halt the legislation also failed. After two minutes of deliberation, High Court judges dismissed claims by the Church Society that only Parliament -- not the General Synod -- was entitled to make "fundamental changes" in church teaching.
The legislation permitting the ordination of women priests is expected to be promulgated during a special session of the General Synod in February and then it will be sent to the queen for royal assent. The archbishop's own diocese -- Canterbury -- has scheduled the first ordinations for women priests on May 8, 1994. Some observers have said that women could be legally ordained as early as March.