Women and Holy Orders

Being the Report of a Commission appointed by
the Archbishops of Canterbury and York
Published by the Church Information Office, London. Dec. 1966

CHAPTER VII

A Third View

74 A third position is also held. It is that, whereas no conclusive theological reasons can be adduced for the view that women are inherently incapable of receiving ordination to the priesthood, there are powerful reasons why they should not be so ordained.

75 These who hold this position do not regard the discussion as foreclosed by such arguments as:

(a) since Christ was a man, the priesthood must be male;

(b) since Christ appointed no female Apostle, a woman can never be a priest;

(c) because St Paul imposed restrictions upon the liturgical ministry of women, such restrictions must apply today.

76 Nevertheless, though no specific theological impediments to a course of action may be seen, it does not necessarily follow that the action is wise or desirable. The upholders of this view would not all agree about the importance to be attached to the various considerations set out: but cumulatively they present a case of some weight against the ordination of women to the priesthood.

77 There are four considerations to be borne in mind:

(a) The Church of England does not stand alone. At a time when there is a growing understanding between Churches, it would be unwise for any one communion to take unilateral action which could well set back the cause of union.

(b) It departs from tradition. Whereas it may be agreed with Article XXXIV that ‘ it is not necessary that Traditions and Ceremonies be in all places one ,and utterly like ‘, yet it is equally sure that tradition is not to be lightly set aside. The Church of England should not take action which would be contrary to the Anglican tradition unless it carried the agreement of the rest of the Anglican Communion. Indeed it should not take action in disregard of the Catholic tradition of the West, nor of the Orthodox tradition of the East, nor of some traditions in the Reformed Churches, unless there is either some vital point of principle at issue or a real probability that the changes would be admitted into those same traditions. Nor should it do so until it has given very careful consideration to the consequences of a reversal of its own tradition that only men may be priests or bishops.

(c) Needless controversy would be caused. The ordination of women is an issue which, rightly or wrongly, arouses strong feelings and stirs deep-seated emotions, often of an irrational nature. However this may be regretted, it is a fact which it would be wrong to disregard. Undoubtedly the ordination of women would cause wide dissension, and the experience of the Church of Sweden does not encourage the hope that such dissension would easily be healed. There is no widespread demand in the Church for the ordination of women, and it would be theologically wrong— and not merely inexpedient—to plunge the Church into the bitter controversy which would follow so radical a change in the pattern of the Church’s ministry.

(d) It diverts attention from more urgent questions. Many would hold that to ask why women should not be ordained to the priesthood is to ask the wrong question at this time. The focussing of attention upon the ordination of women would divert the thought of the Church from the more important question of the ministry of the whole Church, and might have the effect of blurring the real issues which must be faced. Furthermore, many are concerned with the divorce between the worship of the Church and the common life of the work-a-day world. The divorce between worship and work finds expression in the alleged gulf between the ordained ministry and the laity. To add some woman priests to the decreasing number of clergymen would do nothing to advance the integration of Christian worship and Christian service in the in the world.

78 Although therefore there may be no absolute impediments to the ordination of women to the priesthood, either on the ground that women are inherently incapable of receiving this grace or on the ground that it is inherent in the very nature of the Christian faith that the priesthood should be exclusively male, nevertheless there are strong reasons why it should not in fact be done. To introduce so radical a change in the pattern of the Church’s ministry would have far-reaching and unpredictable consequences. It is certain that such changes would result in alteration in the character of the Church itself. It may be that the Holy Spirit is leading the Church to such changes. But they should not be embarked upon without the most careful consideration, and a greater unanimity between Churches and within the Church of England itself than exists at present.

Why not join ‘CIRCLES’? Women’s Ongoing Internet Consultation

Please, credit this document
as published by www.womenpriests.org!