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November 26, 2012
Church of England Denies Female Bishops
The historic decision came in a narrow vote.
Last Tuesday, the Church of England's General Synod narrowly failed to pass a motion to allow women to serve the church as bishops. The move, supported by outgoing Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, was hotly debated. Concerns regarding the practical specifics of the measure sapped some support from those sympathetic to the cause.
The resulting vote defeated the measure by only six votes. This is far too close to settle the question of women's leadership in the church, widening the divide between traditional and egalitarian factions in English Anglicanism. It will be five years before the Synod can vote on this issue again.
More details at Christianity Today.
I'd like to hear your reaction. Is female ordination an inevitable reality throughout the church, or will denominations continue to split over the question? And is this an issue worth fighting--a "slippery slope" toward more troublesome compromises as some believe?
Comments
Seeing how the Church of England has gotten absolutely evicerated in the media over this, I don't see how this can't be an issue for the next several decades.
For American evangelicals female ordination isn't a done deal. Though the mainline denominations (all of which are crumbling) have given way, most free church denominations have not allowed female ordination and remain resistant to it. Honestly the egalitarian position has a hard time when it comes to a thorough biblical justification. (I'll await the flames to my post) What is really interesting, and this is somewhat ad hoc, is that the younger churches which are growing and reaching large segments of unchurch & dechurched millennials continue to have male senior leaders/pastors.
However, in these churches women thankfully have positions of influence and leadership. (Just because one is complementarian doesn't mean that they believe women shouldn't have a voice or infuence.) It seems that the most senior leadership positions are reserved for men. Ordination still seems to be, at least in what we're seeing, reserved for men in evangelical churches.
Though many younger evangelicals wouldn't put up a fight over female ordination they also usually don't have paradigms of seeing women ordained either.
Posted By: RobertA | November 26, 2012 9:50 AM
I think this issue is important because it impacts a large majority of the church. As I read about this whole issue, it doesn't make a lot of sense to have female priests, but not female bishops. Why stop there? It has created not a glass ceiling, but an actual ceiling for women to progress within in the denomination. Women won't only suffer, but the entire anglican see.
Posted By: Nithin Thompson | November 26, 2012 10:20 AM
I agree with N.T. Wright, "It’s About the Bible, not Fake Ideas of Progress"
http://www.fulcrum-anglican.org.uk/page.cfm?ID=759
Posted By: Julie | November 27, 2012 9:12 AM
NT Wright is a strong supporter of women pastors and leadership. Here's his paper defending his position from a biblical standpoint.
http://ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Women_Service_Church.htm
Posted By: Anonymous | December 11, 2012 7:28 AM
NT Wright is a strong supporter of women pastors and leadership. Here's his paper defending his position from a biblical standpoint.
http://ntwrightpage.com/Wright_Women_Service_Church.htm
Posted By: Anonymous | December 11, 2012 7:29 AM
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