Religious History – Sharing History

On March 12, 1994, The Church of England ordained female priests for the first time. The ordination of these 32 women was so controversial that hundreds of male priests and thousands of church members left the church in protest. Despite the exodus, today, approximately 30% of the clergy of the Church of England are women.

In 1992, the General Synod of the Church of England (their governing body), agreed to ordain women to the priesthood of the church for the first time since the church’s birth in the 16^th century. For some church members, the announcement was met with excitement, gratitude, and relief. Angela Berners-Wilson, the first woman ordained as a priest on March 12, 1994, said, “it [is] the greatest privilege to finally be able to live out my calling . . .” Christine Clarke, another woman ordained that day said, “It’s been a long wait, but now there is a sense of everything coming together. There is a feeling that for this I was born. Now we are walking right into the central structure of the church.” The Archbishop of Canterbury at the time, George Carey, was known to have said, “It is the humanity of Christ which is important, not his maleness.” While those who attended the ordination at the Bristol cathedral applauded the 32 women who made such an historic leap, there were thousands who left the church over it.

As a result of this ordination, several bishops and approximately 700 priests left the Church of England in favor of the Catholic Church, which still doesn’t ordain women to their priesthood. Thousands of church members followed them feeling that the ordination of women was, as Reverend Malcolm Widdecombe said, “against the tradition of the church and the teaching of Scripture.” To appease those who were unhappy with the change, the Church of England put several restrictions in place. Women could be ordained priests but not bishops (though this changed in 2015). “Traditionalist” bishops were assigned to each area so that those opposed to the ordination of women could have access to them instead.

There are now approximately 6,000 women ordained to the priesthood in the Church of England. Between over the last decade, almost half of new bishops appointed in the church were women. Despite this, female members of clergy continue to face discrimination from other clergy members and parishioners alike. The Church of England has created a group that studies “how women and men experience ministry differently in a range of contexts.”

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Tag: Religious History

The Church of England’s First Female Priests