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ORDINATION OF WOMEN IN THE ANGLICAN COMMUNITY AND THE OFFICIAL
THEOLOGICAL DEBATE WITHIN IT: A CRITICAL EVALUATION FROM AN ORTHODOX VIEWPOINT
VASILIKI STATHOKOSTA
Abstract: The issue of the ordination
of women as deaconesses in the first place and as priests and bishops later on
troubles the Anglican Communion since the previous century. Developments in England, Asia, USA and elsewhere, provoked serious
reactions. It is most worthy to recall the ones during the 1990’s, when groups
of members of the Anglican Church, who were opposite to the ordination of
women, were leaving their Church.
Studying official statements of the Anglican Communion, Ass. Prof. Dr V.
Stathokosta, the Scientific Advisor on Ecumenical Affairs of the Greek Orthodox
Patriarchate of Alexandria and All Africa, examines different levels the
official discussion inside the Anglican Communion has been held. There is no
doubt that the whole issue is a theological one and it is greatly linked to
Anglican theology and ecclesiology. That discussion has an impact on a) the
inter-Anglican relations and, b) inter-Christian dialogues.
The paper moves on with a critical evaluation of the debate itself and
its impact on the bilateral Anglican-Orthodox theological dialogue from an
Orthodox viewpoint. If at the 1970’s, developments in the Anglican Communion
caused doubt to the Orthodox whether this “genuine dialogue” should go on,
today there is no such issue. The dialogue is going on with extremely
significant, from a theological point of view, achievements. Last, she concludes
in an evaluation of the whole discussion from an Orthodox viewpoint, taking this
chance to pose critical questions for the Orthodox concerning previous
decisions on encouraging ordination of deaconesses; and reopen these issues vis
a vis the needs of the Orthodoxy in lands of mission and Orthodoxy in Diaspora
nowadays.
Firstly, I would like to express heartfelt thanks to
the organizers of the Conference, the Theological School of Thessaloniki, the Theological School
of the Holy Cross in Boston and the Center of Ecumenical, Missiological and
Environmental Studies "Metropolitan Panteleimon Papageorgiou". I
would like to express my deep gratitude to the former Rector and current
Emeritus Professor of the Faculty of Theology of the University of Athens,
Evangelos Theodorou, for his valuable contribution to the discipline of
Theology and his diakonia in the Orthodox Church. The emergence of the position
of women in the Church is largely due to his persistent and strenuous efforts
and erudite studies; and it is important that this Conference is held in his
honor.
I. Introduction
The topic of my paper is "Ordination of women in
the Anglican Community and the Official Theological Debate within it: A
critical evaluation from an Orthodox viewpoint". Orthodox Theology and
Ecumenical Movement is my specialization and my discipline in the Department of
Theology in the University
of Athens where I serve
and I will stay in this theoretical framework.
These developments in the Anglican Communion are a
subject of interest from an Orthodox viewpoint, as it is part of the broader family
of Christianity, counting more than eighty-five million believers. This
interest is related to the bilateral theological dialogue between Orthodox and
Anglican and its future prospects. It is a genuine theological dialogue that
has its roots centuries ago, namely in the 17th c., and has a brilliant course
of discussions of a high theological level. Prominent Greek theologians have been
involved and participated as representatives of the Orthodox Church, such as
the deceased professors Alivizatos, Karmiris, Trempelas, father Romanidis and
Skouteris. The emeritus professor Galitis has been another one. Since 2010 and
onwards, the representative of the Church
of Greece in the bilateral theological
dialogue between Orthodox and Anglicans is Prof. Dr. Miltiadis Konstantinou,
dean of the Theology
School of the Aristotle
University of Thessaloniki.
My interest in the theological debate within
the Anglican Church, on the occasion of the ordination of women, and its
consequences on ecumenical relations, dates back in the early 1990's. At that
time, a brief study of mine, named "The ordination of women: a unity
factor of the Churches?" had been published in the periodical "Kath'
Odon" (en route). Since then, many things have changed as the ordination
of women at all levels of priesthood has been largely accepted within the
Anglican Community. At that time however, groups of dissident Anglican
faithful, clergy and laity, a) abandoned their churches and b) joined mainly
the Roman Catholic Church and less the Orthodox Church. The following paradox
was happening: the ordination of women was working in two contradictory ways,
as a division factor in the first case and as a peculiar unity factor in the
second case. To date, the ordination of women remains a thorny issue within all
the Anglican Churches, in the relations between Orthodox and Anglicans but
also, and more widely, in the ecumenical movement.
The
following clarifications are necessary:
·
Usually, when we
talk about the Anglican Church, we refer not only to the Church of England but
to all Churches that belong to the Anglican ecclesiastical tradition and are
located throughout the world. Some of them, in fact, are named Episcopal
Churches. Together they make up the Anglican Communion and are in communion
with the Archbishop of Canterbury. The term Anglican Communion began to be used
in the mid-19th century, when, the believers had spread beyond the boundaries
of the United Kingdom,
around the world.
·
The Lambeth
Conference, about which we speak of, is the deliberative body of all Churches
that belong to the Anglican Communion, that is, the Pan-Anglican congress, with
representatives of the bishops, priests and laity. The first conference was
held in 1867 and since then it is held every ten years.
ΙΙ. The beginnings
of women’s involvement in the Anglican Church and the reactions
The involvement of women in the ecclesiastical life of
the Anglican Church is originally connected to a) the establishment of sisterhoods
in the Church of England and b) the desire of women to offer as deaconesses to
the Church.
The establishment of the Community of Saint Mary the
Virgin[1]
in 1848 and the Community of Saint Andrew in 1861, in the area of London in the mid-19th
c., made noticeable the feminine dynamic and offer to the parish work and care
for women, children and sufferers; to preaching and teaching[2].
Spiritually related to the Oxford movement and originating from the
Anglo-Catholic tradition, the sororities were dealt with disbelief. Despite the
objection that their actions bore features that originate from Roman Catholic
orders, their work has been carried and was officially recognized by the
Lambeth Conference and the Anglican Communion (1897)[3].
At the same
time, there was a request for the revival of the order of the deaconesses as a
return to the tradition of the period of the New Testament and the early
Church. This was not just a request of the females, but a desire of the
Anglican Communion, which, despite the initial reaction, was positively
expressed in 1920 at the Conference of Lambeth. It is recorded in the minutes
that "The time has come when, in the interests of the Church at large, and
in particular of the development of the ministry of women, the diaconate of
women should be restored formally and canonically, and should be recognized
throughout the Anglican Communion"[4].
In the following years, however, bewilderment prevailed, as male officers faced
particular difficulties to understand how the deaconesses could be integrated
within the broader framework of the liturgical life of the Church and how they,
themselves, could consort with them. Still, there were questions about whether
the role and duties of deaconesses would be like those of deacons, that is,
whether they would belong to the ranks of the clergy or not[5].
Ten years later (1930), the next Lambeth Conference replied that the ministry
of deaconesses is different from that of the deacons. The institution of deaconesses
was designated as one of its kind and it was clarified that it should not be
linked to the ordination of priests or deacons. However it is integrated within
the Church[6],
which means that it is a "sui generis"[7]
office. However, other questions remained unanswered, such as, for example,
what exactly were the liturgical duties of deaconesses and whether or not they
should be unmarried. Eventually, it is officially recorded that the first
deaconesses began in the Church of England in 1935[8].
In fact, women developed an active role in the liturgical
life ever since the First World War[9],
ministering even as readers. At this point, we should point out that women in
fact, had to assume the service of liturgical needs and preaching. The factor
that emerged the female participation in the liturgical life of the Church as a
necessity was the absence of men due to their participation in the two world
wars. Inevitably, women were found to be deaconesses, readers, to engage in
missionary work and coordinate the parish work in general[10].
At the same time, changes in the society of England signaled the changing role
of women in general. These developments had an impact on the Church, which
gradually "recognized that the Holy Spirit has endowed women with
charisma, to use it in officially recognized offices of the laity in the Church
of England"[11].
However, the official recognition of women in the position of the reader in the
same way as men was made by the Church of England only in 1969[12].
III: The ordination of women as priests in the
Anglican Communion in the 20th and 21st c.
More rapid were the developments in Churches of the
wider Anglican Communion beyond the boundaries of Great Britain. These developments
were not simply about ordination of women as deaconesses, but also as priests.
The Church of England was negative and its reactions were intense.
In 1944 the first woman was ordained as a priest in Hong Kong by the Anglican Bishop Ronald Hall[13].
This happened during the Japanese occupation so that the faithful would not
deprive, due to the absence of male priests, the liturgical life and mysteries
of the Church[14]. But
that was not the only reason. Ronald Hall himself believed in the charisma and
abilities of Florence Li Tim Oi and also that her contribution would be better
exploited in a position of responsibility, such as the one of the priest. The
reaction of the Church of England was initially expressed by the Archbishops of
York and Canterbury,
but the outcry was general. In fact, the ordination of Florence Li Tim Oi was
described as ultravires, an excess of
power[15].
The first female priest retired from her office after the war, in order to
avoid tension and confrontations, but without losing her ordination[16].
Officially, the eighth Pan-Anglican Lambeth Conference in 1948, declared that
the ordination of women was contrary to the Anglican tradition and order and
warned that it "could gravely affect the internal and external relations
of the Anglican Communion"[17],
which means that it would be detrimental to the unity of the Anglican Communion
as well as to its relations with the Churches that participate in the
ecumenical movement.
However, despite the reactions, the request of the
ordination of women gained even more ground, which occurred in the '60s and
peaked when the tenth in the row Lambeth Conference (1968) recognized that the
arguments against the ordination of women were "inconclusive"[18].
Under the pressure of national and local churches, the Conference decided to
hold a consultation among the Anglicans. For that purpose, it set up the
"Anglican Consultative Council"[19]
to which the churches were required to address to before deciding to ordain
women[20].
The "Anglican Consultative Council" with the participation of
bishops, clergy and laity from all over the Anglican Communion, gathered
relevant studies from each province. At its first meeting in 1971, it was
decided that if Hong Kong proceeded to
ordinations of women, the Council would accept them and that this “will use its
good offices to encourage all Provinces of the Anglican Communion to continue
in communion with these dioceses”[21].
That was the time when Florence Li Tim Oi was officially recognized as the
first woman priest, while two more female priests were ordained in Hong Kong (1971).
Soon, despite the reactions, the practice of
ordination of women was followed by other Churches of the Anglican Communion.
In 1974 in
the United States eleven
women were ordained (Philadelphia/Pennsylvania) and another four in 1975 (Washington). However,
they did not have the official approval of the Episcopal Church, but it was
soon released. A year later (1976) the Episcopal Church approved the ordination
of women not only as priest but as bishops too[22].
Almost simultaneously, in 1975, the Anglican Church of
Canada approved the ordination of women and in 1976 proceeded to the first
ordination. The Anglican Church of New Zealand (1977), Kenya, Uganda
(1983) and Australia
(1992) followed.
These developments were
consistent with the eleventh Lambeth Conference (1978) which was positive to
the ordination of women and resulted in the recognition of the right of each
province to follow its own practice either for or against the ordinations[23].
More general, however, was the concern of a possible schism in the body of the
Anglican Communion. For this reason, the Conference hastened to explain that
"the holding together of diversity within a unity of faith and worship is
part of the Anglican heritage"[24],
that, in other words, the decision is based on theology and ecclesiology of
Anglicanism. That means that the various differences on the issue of ordination
of women were officially recognized; that it was considered as possible to
preserve the unity of faith and worship, and that the communion among the
faithful and among the Churches of the Anglican Communion might not be
disturbed[25].
This statement, however, was understood differently by the bishops, as others
had the impression that the problem was solved and others that it was not
solved[26].
At the same time, fears about the consequences of this decision on the
relations with the Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic and the Old Catholics,
were expressed[27].
At the same time, and rather unexpectedly for European
standards, let alone for those of the Orthodox Church, the first enthronement
of a female bishop took place, that of Barbara Harris, in 1989 in Boston. This cleared the way for the
enthronement of other female bishops in New
Zealand (1991) and in other Anglican Churches of the USA (1992)[28].
***
Returning to Old Albion, the Church of England
remained an observer towards developments and ordinations of women which occurred
in the Anglican Communion.
In the decades of 1970’s and 1980’s and while outside
Great Britain, Anglican Churches continued to ordain women, in the Church of
England women were mainly active in the field of theological education. Until
the 1970’s the theological education of women did not differ at all from that
of men who were about to be ordained as priests, meaning that a great success
was achieved.
The claim of the request for ordination went on along
with writing books, articles and studies inside the broader framework of the
"Movement for the Ordination of Women" which was established in 1975.
It is realized that the issue of the ordination of women was developed not
individually, but in function, and as a part of a broader thematic about the
position of women in Church, the participation of women in priesthood, the
ordination in relation to the gender of Christ, women in the Bible and church
tradition, gender stereotypes in Church and society, the role of the clergy and
laity, etc. Inevitably, in the discussion, references about the Trinitarian
doctrine and particularly in Christology, in anthropological issues in relation
to the Creation and the Fall as well as questions in soteriology and
ecclesiology were made. In other words, the issue of the ordination of women
has raised a number of theological and particularly ecclesiological issues that
the Churches were called to respond to and communicate with each other and that
was not easy. It is understandable that this thematic occupied the member-Churches
of the WCC in an attempt to overturn stereotypes and restore the position of
women in church life[29].
Finally, after many discussions at an ecumenical and
local level, the General Synod of the Church of England, in 1987, accepted the
ordination of women in the first degree of priesthood, the deaconate, just as
it applies to men. Many years of discussions, disagreements and confrontations
followed until the Church of England approved the ordination of women to the order
of priest. The decision was made only on the 11th of November, 1992
but remained on paper for two more years until it was ratified by the head of
the Anglican Church, Queen Elisabeth (February 24, 1994), and was applied in
practice[30]. The
year 2014 was the twentieth anniversary of the first ordination of woman in the
Church of England (1994-2014)[31].
The procedures for the acceptance of women to the rank
of bishop were slower, mainly in the Church of England. If in the US the first
female bishop assumed office in 1989, in the Church of England, the century had
to change to create the appropriate conditions.
***
V:
Management of the crisis in the Anglican Communion
It is certain that the issue of the ordination of
women caused tremors both within the Anglican Church and in the ecumenical
dialogues. To treat this problem, the Anglican Church moved at two levels:
a) Within the Anglican Communion (inter-Anglican
relations)
The need for an assessment of the experience of the ordination of women
in the wider Anglican Communion was expressed. The Lambeth Conference of 1988
introduced a specific method for the acceptance of the new practice of
ordination of women on behalf of the believers. This method is the introduction
of an open and continuous dialogue 1) among the members of the Anglican
Communion, 2) between Anglican faithful who had opposing views while receiving
parallel pastoral care, and 3) between the Anglican Communion and the other
Churches[32]. In
other words, an "open process of reception"[33]
was launched to achieve the highest possible degree of communion with those who
had a different view[34].
The conference established a committee to prepare pastoral directive in order
to avoid tensions or breakaways of believers from the Church. The next step was
the formal acceptance of the different practices which applied to the
ordination of women. The goal was always to avoid schisms and to ensure the
unity and communion[35].
In an ultimate effort the Lambeth Conference of 1988 was led to the following
decision: "each province should respect the decision and the attitudes of
other provinces" for the ordination of women as priests and bishops
"without such respect necessarily indicating acceptance of the principles
involved"[36].
There is no doubt that the acceptance of this novel
practice of the ordination of women has not been easy. This was found by the
next Lambeth Conference in 1998, while patience was recommended, because the
acceptance of the practice of the ordination of women is a "long and
spiritual process". The need for unity had to be emphasized, but also the
confirmation that both sides, the proponents and the opponents of the
ordination of women, are equally good faithful Anglicans. For pastoral reasons,
a fairly original solution was adopted, that of the institution of the
Provincial Episcopal Visitor, also known as "flying bishop", who
ministers in wherever female priests are not accepted. These are assistant
bishops who are determined by the bishops. What this might mean in terms of
ecclesiology, at least from an Orthodox viewpoint, is rather obvious. It
certainly fits the ecclesiology of Anglicanism, which according to the
principle of "comprehensiveness", can accept and absorb a variety of
outlooks and attitudes in ecclesiastical life, but it is unacceptable in
Orthodox ecclesiology. Of course, if one considers that in Orthodoxy, in the
countries of Diaspora, there might be more than one bishop in the same area in
order to serve the different national groups of Orthodox believers, we should
not be surprised.
b) In the inter-Christian dialogues
Fears the eleventh Lambeth Conference (1978)[37]
had expressed, that the decision to ordain women would have negative
consequences in the relations with the Orthodox Church, the Roman Catholic and
the Old Catholics, were confirmed very soon. Especially in respect to the
Orthodox, the reaction was intense. It is sufficient to note that the bilateral
dialogue between Orthodox and Anglicans is a representative sample that the
ordination of women is an ecumenical problem: It officially began in 1973 and
suffered a heavy blow in 1978 when the Lambeth Conference decided the admission
of women to the clergy of the Anglican Church. In the very same year (1978) the
issue of the ordination of women was officially raised during a meeting of the Joint
Doctrinal Commission at Monastery of Pendeli, Athens. The Orthodox representatives stated
that they could not regard it as an internal issue of the Anglican Communion and
addressed a dramatic call to the Anglicans not to proceed with the
implementation of the decision to ordain women in order to avoid putting
obstacles in the theological dialogue between them[38].
But not just that. It was preceded by the reaction of Father Alexander
Schmemann, that the ordination of women is for the priesthood "a threat of
an irreversible and irreparable act, which, if it is realized, will result in a
new division among Christians, which I am convinced that it would be final, and
it will mean, at least for the Orthodox, the end of the dialogues"[39].
To deal with all these situations and in the "process
of reception", which means the procedure of acceptance, the Anglican
Church introduced (1987), a working group with representatives from all over
the Anglican Communion and launched an evaluation of the concerns[40]
that had been expressed about the ordination of women. The Metropolitan of
Pergamos, Ioannis Zizioulas from the Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic
Bishop, Pierre Duprey participated in the discussion[41].
***
Despite all the efforts to accept the new practice,
for unity and abidance of balance in inter-Anglican relations and interchurch
dialogues, the problems did not stop.
No matter what, when
considering the issue within the Anglican Communion, we realize that it
required years of discussions, confrontations and tensions, to crystallize and
finally establish a wide range of concepts. These vary from complete denial to
the complete acceptance of the ordination of women, in the various local
Churches throughout the world. So today, in the 21st century, certain Churches
of the Anglican Community fully accept the ordination of women as deaconesses,
priests and bishops (e.g. the Episcopal Church in the USA, Anglicans in New
Zealand, Australia,
Canada,
etc.). Others accept the ordination of deaconesses, priests but not bishops,
and other, while they have lifted the relevant prohibitions, have not yet
proceeded to the ordination of women.
What is certain is that in
the 21st century, the Church of England is divided about the issue of
acceptance of women to the order of bishop. I will not discuss it any further. Besides,
these facts are very recent and we all, more or less, have read about them in
the church or civic press. Newspapers and blogs regularly have informed us
about the developments in the Church of England over the last decade,
culminating in the developments in 2012, 2013 and 2014. It is worth noticing
that in November 2012, while the general climate in the General Synod of the
Church of England was in favor of the acceptance of women in the Episcopal
throne, the decision that was taken was negative. The following year, however,
in 2013, the decision was overturned by another one which was voted by the
General Meeting and approved the ordination of women as bishops. The decision
was finally validated in 2014, and it was applied to England what applies to the other
Anglican churches. Since December 17th, 2014[42],
and after almost a century of consultations and forty years of canonical
regulations, the issue is considered closed.
IV. Evaluations
In the 1970’s, the developments in the Anglican Communion
have caused doubts to the Orthodox side, concerning if the "genuine
theological dialogue" with the Anglicans had, till that time, any
significance. Today, the bilateral theological dialogue continues and proceeds
normally. Complaints are heard from individual circles, which are either out of
ignorance or because of other reason and do not take into account that the
issue of the ordination of women has come out of the list of issues of the
bilateral theological dialogue between Orthodox and Anglicans, so it cannot be
an obstacle to the dialogue.
As research shows, the
treatment of this issue by the Anglican Church was on a theological basis.
Certainly, social developments and the general structures of Western societies
favored and accelerated the developments. But they did not set them. From the
first statements of Ronald Hall in Hong Kong,
to those of the Lambeth Conference, the arguments raised do not lack
theological content.
What is particularly
interesting for the Orthodox Church is the development of the official
theological debate in the Anglican Communion and its ending to the acceptance
of both the ordination of deaconesses and the ordination of women as priests
and bishops. Among other things, we have to consider this: the issue of
acceptance, or more accurately the restoration
of an ancient practice, that is the institution of deaconesses, in
the contemporary ecclesiastical life. As the case of the Anglican Church shows,
that is not easy. From the Orthodox point of view only one more concern can be
expressed, for the fact that, while the Inter-Orthodox Theological Conference
in Rhodes (1988) had decided the preparation
of the revival of the institution of deaconesses, there has not been any
progress so far[43]. Some
possible answers could either be that "things are still fresh for such a
decision" or that it did not eventually emerge such a necessity in the
life of the Orthodox Church, which means, that the living conditions of the
late 20th century and the early 21st century canceled both the desire of some
Orthodox women and the need to restore the institution of deaconesses. However,
the issue is not so simple. An indication of its complexity is the fact that
there are Orthodox Churches that see the need for deaconesses and this is
something that cannot be disregarded in the discussions. For example, the
Patriarchate of Alexandria has expressed its intention to pose again the issue
of deaconesses due to pastoral needs in the area of mission, the work of catechesis
and baptism of adult women. That means that today the institution of deaconess
is "necessary and imperative" once again[44].
The issue is not going to concern the future Holy and Great Synod of the
Orthodox Church that is going to be held in 2016. It is not excluded, however,
that in the near future, to concern some Patriarchates or autocephalous Churches,
the Orthodoxy of mission or that of Diaspora, where a strong desire to revive
the institution is recorded and the developments may be rapid.
Certainly, the theology and ecclesiology of the
Anglican Church allows the practice of the ordination of women at all levels of
priesthood. Whether, the Anglican case may be a miniature version of what will
happen in the Orthodox Church is a big question and should be answered in a
following study of ours.
[1] See, Community
of St Mary the Virgin, at http://en.wikipedia.org/
[2] Cf. J. Field-Bibb, Women
Towards Priesthood: Ministerial Politics and Feminist Praxis, p. 67-75.
[3] See, Community
of St Andrew, at http://en.wikipedia.org/
[4] See, Resolution 47 of the Lambeth Conference 1920.
See also, Roger Coleman (ed.), Resolutions of the Twelve Lambeth Conferences
1867-1988, Anglican Book Centre, Ontario
1992, pp. 59, 60.
[5] Mary Tanner, “Il Movimento Per I diritti delle donne
nella Chiesa d’ Inghilterra”, at
Marinella Perroni e Hervé Legrand (eds), Avendo
qualcosa da dire, Teologhe e teologi rileggono il Vaticano II”, publishing
Paoline Editoriale Libri, 2014, pp. 159-177.
[6] See Resolution 68 of the Lambeth Conference 1930
[7] See Mary Tanner, “Il Movimento Per I diritti delle
donne nella Chiesa d’ Inghilterra»
[8] See indicatively Mary Tanner, “Il Movimento Per I
diritti delle donne nella Chiesa d’
Inghilterra”, ibid.
[9] See indicatively Women
bishops in the Church of England? A report of the House of Bishops’ Working
Party on Women in the Episcopate, publishing Church House Publishing,
London 2004.
[10] See indicatively, Women
bishops in the Church of England?, pp 116-117.
[11] Mary Tanner, “Il Movimento Per I diritti delle donne
nella Chiesa d’ Inghilterra” ibid.
[12] See indicatively Women
bishops in the Church of England?, ibid, pp 122.
[13] See Edmund B. Der, Florence Tim Oi Li: Pioneer &
Mentor of the Women Priests’ Movement at http://www.anglican.ca/faith/worship/resources/li-tim-oi/li-tim-oi-der/
[14] See indicatively http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Li_Tim-Oi
[15] See analytically Mary Tanner, “Il Movimento Per I
diritti delle donne nella Chiesa d’ Inghilterra” ibid.
[16] See indicatively Mary Frances Schjonberg, Communion to celebrate first woman priest Li
Tim-Oi on anniversary of birth, at http://archive.episcopalchurch.org/79425_85617_ENG_HTM.htm
[17] See, Resolution 113 of the Lambeth Conference of 1948
at http://www.lambethconference.org/
[18] See, Resolution 34 of the Lambeth Conference 1968
[19] See, Resolution 35 of the Lambeth Conference 1968
[20] See, Resolution 37 of the Lambeth Conference 1968
[22] In this Church, the previous ordinations were
recognized. However, the first ordination took place on January 1st 1977.
[23] See, Resolution 21 of the Lambeth Conference 1978
[24] See, Resolution 21 of the Lambeth Conference 1978
[25] See, Resolution 21 of the Lambeth Conference 1978
[26] See, the relevant assessment of Mary Tanner, “Il
Movimento Per I diritti delle donne nella Chiesa d’ Inghilterra”, ibid.
[27] See, Resolution 21 of the Lambeth Conference 1978.
[28] In the Anglican Church of America the ordination of
women was accepted by: The Episcopal Church in the USA and was denied by the
following:
• Anglican Catholic Church
• Anglican
Province of Christ the
King
• Christian Episcopal Church
• Southern Episcopal Church
• United Episcopal Church
[29] See the relevant study of Constance Parvey (ed.), The Community of Women and Men in the
Church: The Sheffield Report, WCC, Geneva
1983.
[30] A few days later, the decision was materialized, on
March 13th, 1994 and 32 women were ordained in the Cathedral of Bristol, in the
presence of audience, leaders of the Ecumenical Movement of the W.C.C, and the
media. See, V. Stathokosta The Ordination of Women as a unity factor of the
Churches? The case of England,
at "Kath' Odon" 6 (Sept-Dec. 1993), pp 147-149.
[31] The legitimacy of the ordination of women was
questioned at the Court of Law by the Anglican priest Paul Williamson and his
obsession to seek justice ended up having him declared vexatious litigant and
he was no longer allowed to litigate in the UK. See, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Williamson_(priest).
[32] See, Resolution 1 of the Lambeth Conference 1988.
[33] See, Mary Tanner, «Il Movimento Per I diritti delle
donne nella Chiesa d’ Inghilterra».
[34] See, Resolution 1 of the Lambeth Conference 1988 as
follows: “... maintaining the highest possible degree of communion with the
provinces which differ”.
[35] See, Resolution 1 of the Lambeth Conference 1988. See
also, The Ordination of Women to the Priesthood: A Second Report by the House
of Bishops of the General Synod of the Church of England, GS 829, 1988.
[36] See, Resolution 1 of the Lambeth Conference 1988.
[37] See, Resolution 21 of the Lambeth Conference 1978.
[38] See, V. Stathokosta, Relations between the Orthodox and the Anglicans in the Twentieth
Century: A Reason to Consider the Present and the Future of the Theological
Dialogue in “Ecclesiology” 8 (2012) 350–374 (369-370).
[39] Alexander Schmemann, Concerning Women's Ordination. A Letter to an Episcopal Friend in “St.Vladimir's
Theological Quarterly” 3(1973), pp. 239-243
[40] A report was published and was filled to the Lambeth
Conference. See, Women and the
Episcopate: Report of the Working Party Appointed by the Primates of the
Anglican Communion, ACC, London,
1987.
[41] The Truth Shall
Set You Free: Report of the 1988 Lambeth Conference,
Anglican Consultative Council, 1988.
[43] Archimandrite Genadios Lymouris, "The position of women in the Orthodox
Church and the ordination of women" (Rhodes, October 30th -
November 7th 1988), ed. Tertios. Katerini 1994.
[44] Is is about a request which is expressed by the
current Metropolitan of Zimbabwe, Seraphim (Kykkotis), that the Orthodox Church
should consider: "the restoration of the institution of deaconesses with
the well-documented and responsible biblical and theological outlook of our
dear professor Mr. Evangelos Theodorou, which was applied as much by Apostles
as the Fathers of the Church and the contemporary top Orthodox Hierarchs, and
even Primates". See A letter of the Metropolitan of
Johannesburg Seraphim at Romfea.gr on the Ordination of Women, at
http://www.romfea.gr/ieres-mitropoleis/8955-5920 and
http://www.tovima.gr/politics/article/?aid=280498
