[{"@context":"http:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki43\/ordination-of-women-in-protestant-denominations\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki43\/ordination-of-women-in-protestant-denominations\/","headline":"Ordination of women in Protestant denominations","name":"Ordination of women in Protestant denominations","description":"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy","datePublished":"2020-10-05","dateModified":"2020-10-05","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki43\/author\/lordneo\/#Person","name":"lordneo","url":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki43\/author\/lordneo\/","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9645c498c9701c88b89b8537773dd7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/c9645c498c9701c88b89b8537773dd7c?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Enzyklop\u00e4die","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/wiki4\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/download.jpg","url":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/wiki4\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/download.jpg","width":600,"height":60}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:CentralAutoLogin\/start?type=1x1","url":"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Special:CentralAutoLogin\/start?type=1x1","height":"1","width":"1"},"url":"https:\/\/wiki.edu.vn\/en\/wiki43\/ordination-of-women-in-protestant-denominations\/","wordCount":12622,"articleBody":"From Wikipedia, the free encyclopediaOrdination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies such as celebrating the sacraments. The process and ceremonies of ordination varies by denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is undergoing the process of ordination is sometimes called an ordinand. The liturgy used at an ordination is sometimes referred to as an ordinal.Ordination of women has been taking place in an increasing number of Protestant churches during the 20th century.While ordination of women has been approved in many denominations over the past half century, it is still a very controversial and divisive topic.Table of ContentsOverview of the theological debate[edit]By tradition[edit]Anabaptist[edit]Mennonite[edit]Anglican[edit]Baptist[edit]Lutheran[edit]Europe[edit]United States[edit]Africa[edit]Methodist[edit]Pentecostal[edit]Presbyterian, United or Reformed[edit]Scotland[edit]England\/Wales[edit]Ireland[edit]Netherlands[edit]Belgium[edit]Luxembourg[edit]France[edit]Switzerland[edit]Germany[edit]Eastern Europe[edit]North America[edit]Australia[edit]Pakistan[edit]Other Protestant[edit]Women as Protestant bishops[edit]Women as archbishops or denominational heads[edit]References[edit]Overview of the theological debate[edit]Most (although not all) Protestant denominations ordain church leaders who have the task of equipping all believers in their Christian service (Ephesians 4:11\u201313). These leaders (variously styled elders, pastors, or ministers) are seen to have a distinct role in teaching, pastoral leadership.Protestant churches have historically viewed the Bible as the ultimate authority in church debates (the doctrine of sola scriptura); as such, the debate over women’s eligibility for such offices normally centers around the interpretation of certain Biblical passages relating to teaching and leadership roles.  The main passages in this debate include 1 Cor. 11:2\u201316, 1 Cor. 14:34\u201335 and 1 Tim. 2:11\u201314, 1 Tim. 3:1\u20137, Tit. 1:5\u20139Increasingly however, supporters of women in ministry argue that the Biblical passages used to argue against women’s ordination might be read differently when more understanding of the unique historical context of each passage is available.[1] They further argue that the New Testament shows that women did exercise certain ministries in the apostolic Church (e.g., Acts 21:9, Acts 18:18, Romans 16:1\u20134, Romans 16:7; 1 Cor. 16:19, Philippians 4:2\u20133, and John 20:1\u201318. Often quoting Galatians 3:28,they argue that the good news brought by Jesus has broken down all barriers and that female ordination is an equality issue that Jesus would have approved of. They also quote John 20:17\u201318, and argue that in talking to Mary, Jesus is calling for women to evangelizeIn turn, those who argue for a male only ministry will say that the claims to contexts that change the apparent meaning of the texts at hand to one supporting female ordination are in fact spurious, that the passages that appear to show women in positions of authority do not in fact do so and the idea that the good news of Jesus brings equality before God only relates to salvation and not to roles for ministry.[citation needed]By tradition[edit]Anabaptist[edit]BrethrenMennonite[edit]Anglican[edit]The ordination of women in the Anglican Communion has been increasingly common in certain provinces since the 1970s. However, several provinces (such as the Church of Pakistan\u2014a united Protestant Church created as a result of a union between Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Presbyterians) and certain dioceses within otherwise ordaining provinces (such as the Diocese of Sydney in the Anglican Church of Australia), continue to ordain only men.[5][6] Disputes over the ordination of women have contributed to the establishment and growth of conservative separatist tendencies, such the Anglican realignment and Continuing Anglican movements.Some provinces within the Anglican Communion, such as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America, ordain women to the three traditional holy orders of bishop, priest and deacon. Other provinces ordain women as deacons and priests but not as bishops; others still as deacons only; and seven provinces do not approve the ordination of women to any order of ministry.[7]Baptist[edit]The very diverse organizations which employ the term Baptist in self-designation:The Baptist organizations in Germany and Switzerland (Bund Evangelisch-Freikirchlicher Gemeinden, Bund Schweizer Baptistengemeinden) ordain women.[8]The Southern Baptist Convention (the largest of the various Baptist denominations) does not support the ordination of women; however, some churches that are members of the SBC have ordained women.  Though each SBC church is autonomous and may choose whether or not to ordain women, the local associations and state conventions have the right to not seat messengers from those churches at the annual meetings, and some have done so.[citation needed]Baptist groups in the United States that ordain women include American Baptist Churches USA, Alliance of Baptists, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF), Missionary Baptist Conference, USA, National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. and Progressive National Baptist Convention.[9]The General Association of Baptists (mostly United States) (some would call these General Baptists, or Arminian Baptists) ordain women.[citation needed]The Okinawa Baptist Convention,[10] Japan ordains women to be Pastors of the church.The General Association of Regular Baptist Churches does not ordain women.[11]The Baptist Union of Great Britain ordains women.[12]The Baptist Federation of Canada which includes the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada (CBWC), the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (CBOQ), and the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada (CBAC) ordains women.The state associations of Victoria, South Australia and New South Wales in the Baptist Union of Australia ordain women[13]Lutheran[edit]Europe[edit]United States[edit]Africa[edit]Methodist[edit]The United Methodist Church ordains women. In 1880, Anna Howard Shaw was ordained by the Methodist Protestant Church; Ella Niswonger was ordained in 1889 by the United Brethren Church. Both denominations later merged into the United Methodist Church. In 1956, the Methodist Church in America granted ordination and full clergy rights to women. Since that time, women have been ordained full elders (pastors) in the denomination, and 21 have been elevated to the episcopacy. In 1967 Noemi Diaz is the first Hispanic woman ordained by an Annual Conference. The New York Annual Conference did the honors.[27][28][29] The first woman elected and consecrated Bishop within the United Methodist Church (and, indeed, the first woman elected bishop of any mainline Christian church) was Marjorie Matthews in 1980.[30]Leontine T. Kelly, in 1984, was the first African-American woman elevated to the episcopacy in any mainline denomination. In Germany Rosemarie Wenner is since 2005 leading bishop in the United Methodist Church. Bishop Karen Oliveto, currently serving, is the first openly lesbian bishop in The United Methodist Church.[31]The Primitive Methodist Church does not ordain women as elders nor does it license them as pastors or local preachers;[32] the PMC does consecrate women as deaconesses.[32]The Evangelical Wesleyan Church (EWC) does not ordain women as elders although it does commission women as deaconesses.[33]The Fundamental Methodist Conference does not ordain women.[citation needed]The Southern Methodist Church does not ordain women.[citation needed]The Free Methodist Church has ordained women since 1911.[34]The Bible Methodist Connection of Churches ordains women.[35]The Salvation Army ordains women and has done since its inception.  Catherine Booth was co-founder, with her husband William.The Church of the Nazarene ordains women, with the first women being ordained since 1908.[citation needed]The Wesleyan Methodist Church (which is now the Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection and Wesleyan Church) has ordained women as ministers since near its inception, and claims to be one of the first to ordain women in the modern era.[36]Pentecostal[edit]The Pentecostal church in Germany allows ordination of women.[37]The Pentecostal church in Sweden allows ordination of women.The Pentecostal Mission does not ordain women pastors.The occurrence of women pastors, often as co-pastors along with their husbands, is frequent in the Pentecostal movement especially in churches not affiliated with a denomination; they may or may not be ordained.  Notable women pastors include Paula White and Victoria Osteen.The Assemblies of God USA do ordain women and have women in leadership throughout the Church.Church of God in Christ (COGIC) does not ordain women as elder or bishopPresbyterian, United or Reformed[edit]Scotland[edit]Women were commissioned as deacons from 1935, and allowed to preach from 1949.In 1963 Mary Levison petitioned the General Assembly for ordination.Woman elders were introduced in 1966 and women ministers in 1968.The first female Moderator of the General Assembly was Dr Alison Elliot in 2004.England\/Wales[edit]Ireland[edit]Netherlands[edit]Belgium[edit]Luxembourg[edit]France[edit]Switzerland[edit]Germany[edit]Eastern Europe[edit]North America[edit]The National Presbyterian Church in Mexico, which is the largest Presbyterian church in all of the Americas with 2.8 million members, does not ordain women.The Presbyterian Church (USA). The PC(USA) was formed in 1983 by a merger of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS – southern church) and the United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA – northern church). The PC(USA) has always ordained women. With regards to its predecessor bodies – in 1893, Edith Livingston Peake was appointed Presbyterian Evangelist by First United Presbyterian of San Francisco.[41] Between 1907 and 1920 five more women became ministers.[42] The Presbyterian Church (USA) began ordaining women as elders in 1930, and as ministers of Word and sacrament in 1956. By 2001, the numbers of men and women holding office were almost equal.[43] The first woman to be ordained in the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS\/Southern Church) was Rev. Rachel Henderlite who was ordained by a predominantly African American congregation in Richmond, Virginia, in 1965.[44]The Presbyterian Church in America does not ordain women.[45] In 1997, the PCA even broke its fraternal relationship with the Christian Reformed Church over this issue.[46]The Reformed Church in the United States does not ordain women.The Free Reformed Churches of North America ordain men only.[citation needed]The Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In 1888 Louisa Woosley was licensed to preach. She was ordained in 1889. She wrote Shall Woman Preach.The Christian Reformed Church in North America began ordaining women in 1995.[47] As a result, several conservative congregations formed the United Reformed Churches in North America, and the CRC’s position as a member of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC) was suspended in 1997.[48] Several individual congregations continue to oppose women’s ordination and women are not seated at some Classes (regional assemblies).The Orthodox Presbyterian Church does not ordain women.[49]The Reformed Church in America began allowing for the ordination of women in 1979.[50]The United Church of Christ. Antoinette Brown was ordained as a minister by a Congregationalist Church in 1853, though this was not recognized by her denomination.[51] She later became a Unitarian. The Christian Connection Church, which later merged with the Congregationalist Churches to form the Congregational Christian Church, ordained women as early as 1810.  Women’s ordination is now non-controversial in the United Church of Christ.The Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians (ECO) ordains women as both Teaching Elders (pastors) and Ruling Elders.The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) allows individual congregations to determine whether or not they ordain women.The Presbyterian Church in Canada began ordaining women as elders and as ministers in 1966.[52][53]The United Church of Canada ordains women. The church was divided during the 1930s by this issue inherited from the churches it brought together, the United Church ordained its first woman minister, Reverend Lydia Emelie Gruchy, of Saskatchewan Conference in 1936. In 1953, Reverend Lydia Emelie Gruchy was the first Canadian woman to receive an honorary Doctor of Divinity.[54]Australia[edit]Pakistan[edit]Other Protestant[edit]The Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) do not ordain anyone but have had women in leadership roles such as Recorded Minister since they first started in 1652.  See Elizabeth Hooton and Mary Fisher[56][57] It was longer before women held leadership roles in decision-making bodies that were historically exclusively men (e.g. Mary Jane Godlee was the first woman to clerk the London Yearly Meeting in 1918) – though the separate women’s meetings did exercise significant authority.[58]‘Christian Connection Church: An early relative of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and the United Church of Christ, this body ordained women as early as 1810. Among them were Nancy Gove Cram, who worked as a missionary with the Oneida Indians by 1812, and Abigail Roberts (a lay preacher and missionary), who helped establish many churches in New Jersey. Others included Ann Rexford, Sarah Hedges and Sally Thompson.[citation needed]The Christian and Missionary Alliance in the US does not ordain women, but it does in other nations.  A female minister in Philippines, Ruth Tablada, has recently been ordained. The Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Canada also ordains women.[59][60][61]The Moravian Church ordains women.[62]The Czechoslovak Hussite Church ordains women.The Seventh-day Adventist Church officially does not ordain women in most of the world, but in regions of the United States, the Netherlands, parts of Germany, and China may occasionally ordain women. These ordinations are considered irregular and are not officially recognized in the church yearbook. In some parts of the world the Adventist Church, commissions women instead of ordaining. They can perform almost the same duties as an ordained minister but do not hold the title of ordained. This is because recent votes at the worldwide General Conference Sessions turned down a proposal to allow ordination of women. There was a strong polarization between nations, with Western countries and North Asia Pacific generally voting in support and other countries generally voting against. A further proposal to allow local choice was also turned down. In practice, there are numerous women working as ministers and in leadership positions. The most influential co-founder of the church, Ellen G. White, was a woman, but never ordained.[citation needed]Churches of Christ, because of their conservative stance, generally do not ordain women.[citation needed]The Christian Leaders Alliance allows women to serve as deacon ministers.[63]Women as Protestant bishops[edit]Some Protestant Churches, including those of the Lutheran, Hussite, Anglican, Methodist and Moravian traditions, have allowed women to become bishops:[51]Women as archbishops or denominational heads[edit]References[edit]^ “Women’s Service in the Church: The Biblical Basis by N.T. Wright”. Retrieved 14 March 2015.^ “Resolution on 50 Years of Women’s Ordination in the Church of the Brethren” (PDF). www.brethren.org. 9 March 2008. Retrieved 20 January 2020.^ http:\/\/www.mbconf.ca\/home\/products_and_services\/resources\/publications\/mb_herald\/vol_47_no_5\/people_and_events\/ordination_of_two_women_revives_discussion\/^ Brethren in Christ U.S. (28 August 2017). “Women in Ministry Leadership Statement” (PDF).^ Thompsett, Fredrica Harris (2014). Looking Forward, Looking Backward: Forty Years of Women’s Ordination. Church Publishing. ISBN\u00a09780819229236.^ Kalvelage, david (1998). The Living Church, Volume 217. Morehouse-Gorham Company. p.\u00a013.^ Jule, A. (2005). Gender and the Language of Religion. Springer. ISBN\u00a09780230523494.^ “Bund Evangelisch-Freikirchlicher Gemeinden in Deutschland K.d.\u00f6.R”.^ Glenn T. Miller, Piety and Plurality: Theological Education since 1960, Wipf and Stock Publishers, USA, 2014, p. 94^ “\u6c96\u7e04\u30d0\u30d7\u30c6\u30b9\u30c8\u9023\u76df”. www.okinawa-baptist.asia. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 14 March 2015.^ http:\/\/www.garbc.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/01\/The-Ordination-of-Women-1975.pdf[bare URL PDF]^ “Women, Baptists and Ordination”.^ Hughes, Philip J.; Cronshaw, Darren. “Baptists in Australia: A church with a heritage and a future”. p.\u00a030.^ Eroakirkosta.fi \u2013 Naispappeuskiista tuplannut kirkosta eroamisen^ “5.05 Naised vaimulikus ametis \u2013 Eesti Kirik”. www.eestikirik.ee. Retrieved 18 September 2016.^ “ELCA Facts”. ELCA.org. ELCA. Archived from the original on 20 September 2018. Retrieved 15 May 2017.^ “Presiding Bishop”. ELCA.org. ELCA. Retrieved 15 May 2017.^ “‘She is loose’: A historic group of female Lutheran bishops on #MeToo and the Holy Spirit”. Religion News Service. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 29 September 2018.^ “Women in the Church: Scriptural Principles and Ecclesial Practice”. lcms.org. LCMS. Retrieved 6 February 2023.^ “Becoming an LCMC Pastor 101 \u2013 LCMC”. www.lcmc.net. Retrieved 10 March 2019.^ “Constitution of the North American Lutheran Church” (PDF). 15 February 2016. p.\u00a03.06. Retrieved 22 January 2019.^ “Why no women pastors?”. wels.net. Retrieved 6 February 2023.^ “Roles of Men and Women in the Church”. els.org\/. Retrieved 6 February 2023.^ “The Position of Women in the Church”.^ “ELCT”. www.elct.org.^ Frank Imhoff (19 June 2000). “wfn.org \u2013 Lutheran pastor becomes Ethiopia’s first ordained woman”. archive.wfn.org. Retrieved 14 February 2019.^ Rev. Patricia J. thompson, Courageous Past\u2014Bold Future ISBN\u00a00-938162-99-3^ Paramore the digital agency. “United Methodist Church Timeline \u2013 GCAH”. www.gcah.org.^ “2010 New York Annual Conference Newsletter” (PDF).^ Communications, United Methodist. “Frequently Asked Questions about the Council of Bishops”. The United Methodist Church. Retrieved 5 December 2018.^ Communications, United Methodist. “Bishop Karen Oliveto”. The United Methodist Church. Retrieved 5 December 2018.^ a b “Discipline of the Primitive Methodist Church in the United States of America” (PDF). Primitive Methodist Church. Retrieved 31 May 2017.^ The Discipline of the Evangelical Wesleyan Church. Evangelical Wesleyan Church. 2015. p.\u00a0115.^ “FMC Statement on Women in Ministry”. Free Methodist Church. Archived from the original on 7 August 2017. Retrieved 31 May 2017.^ Sams, G. Clair (2017). “The Bible Methodist, Issue I, Volume 49” (PDF). Bible Methodist Connection of Churches. p.\u00a02. Retrieved 31 May 2017.^ “Women in Ministry Historical View”.^ “Dienst der Frau-Frauenordination eingef\u00fchrt”. 2004.^ Jacqueline Field-Bibb, Women Towards Priesthood: Ministerial Politics and Feminist Praxis (Cambridge University Press, 1991), p. 117.^ “Gereformeerde Bond | Gereformeerde Bond brengt brochure ‘Geroepen vrouw’ uit”.^ “Women pastors from 1900 to 1960 \u2013 Mus\u00e9e virtuel du Protestantisme”. Retrieved 14 March 2015.^ “Women’s Ordination Time Line”. Retrieved 20 March 2007.^ “Women’s Ordination Time Line (page 2)”. Retrieved 20 March 2007.^ What Presbyterians Believe Holper, J. Frederick, 2001 “What Presbyterians Believe about Ordination,” Presbyterians Today, May 2001, retrieved from on 21 August 2006^ Hunter, Rashell (24 May 2016). “PCUSA Celebrates 60 Years of Women Clergy”. PCUSA.org. PCUSA.org. Retrieved 8 June 2020.^ “The Authority of the Word and the Wisdom of the Church – byFaith Online”. Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 22 September 2009.^ “PCA: Press Release”.^ “Women in Ecclesiastical Office”. Archived from the original on 26 July 2013. Retrieved 14 June 2013.^ “NAPARC Votes, 6\u20131, to Suspend the Christian Reformed Church”. Retrieved 14 June 2013.^ “Orthodox Presbyterian Church”. Retrieved 14 March 2015.^ Stocker, Abby. “Reformed Church of America Prevents Opposition to Women’s Ordination”. News & Reporting. Retrieved 23 November 2019.^ a b “When churches started to ordain women”. Retrieved 14 March 2015.^ “Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Ordination of Women (1966\u20132016): The Discussion 1953-1966”. The Presbyterian Church in Canada Archives. 20 July 2016. Retrieved 21 February 2023.^ “Canadian Presbyterians to Ordain Women”. Christianity Today. 8 July 1966.^ Pound, Richard W. (2005). Fitzhenry and Whiteside Book of Canadian Facts and Dates. Fitzhenry and Whiteside.^ Scheme of Union Archived 3 April 2010 at the Wayback Machine of the Presbyterian Church of Australia.^ Calvo, Janis (1974). “Quaker Women Ministers in Nineteenth Century America”. Quaker History. 63 (2): 75\u201393. ISSN\u00a00033-5053. JSTOR\u00a041946743.^ Soderlund, Jean R. (October 1987). “Women’s Authority in Pennsylvania and New Jersey Quaker Meetings, 1680\u20131760”. The William and Mary Quarterly. 44 (4): 722\u2013749. doi:10.2307\/1939742. JSTOR\u00a01939742.^ Larsen, Timothy; Ledger-Lomas, Michael (28 April 2017). The Oxford History of Protestant Dissenting Traditions, Volume III: The Nineteenth Century. Oxford University Press. p.\u00a096. ISBN\u00a0978-0-19-150667-3.^ “Women in Ministry”. www.cmalliance.org.^ “camacop.org.ph”. camacop.org.ph.^ “Home” (PDF). CMACCD.^ “Women in ordained ministry”. Archived from the original on 15 April 2009.^ “Women Ministers Allowed”.^ “South Africa: Church Elects Woman Bishop”. www.allAfrica.com. 4 October 2012. Retrieved 14 March 2015.^ “interchurch.dk: Third woman bishop elected on Funen”. interchurch.dk. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2015.^ “Marianne Christiansen bispeviet i Haderslev”. folkekirken.dk. 4 March 2015. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2015.^ Central Communications Board of the General Synod). “Church of Ireland \u2013 A province of the Anglican Communion”. Retrieved 14 March 2015.^ a b “Presiding Bishop”. ELCA.org. 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