ORDINATION OF WOMEN IN DIFFERENT PERSPECTIVE

1. ORDINATION OF
WOMEN

2. ORDINATION …
• Is the process of someone becoming a leaderin the eyes of the
church.
• Once ordained they can carry out Rites of Passage and religious
festivals and ceremonies.
• Priests are seen as God’s vessel on Earth to pass on ‘the word of
God’.
• Gives person responsibilities and powers
• Preach, counsel, “pastor”
• Can consecrate sacraments

3. SOME HISTORICAL PRECEDENTS
• Unusually spiritual, perhaps marginal forms of Christianity
• Quakers, Shakers: women can speakwith inspiration of Holy Spirit
• Congregationalists (1853)
• Holiness and Pentecostal female preachers (late 19th/early 20th c)
• Early 20th century: possible but rare
• Presbyterians (1922 as deacon, 1956 as minister)
• Methodists (1926 as elder, 1956 as minister)
• Second Wave Feminism: Possible and more frequent
• Lutherans (1970)
• But note more conservative Lutheran denominations do not ordain women
• ReformJudaism(1972)
• Conservative Judaism (1985)
• Episcopal Church (1976) and Church of England (1992)

4. BIBLICAL VIEW
• Old Testament Example
• Women were mostly in a subservient role, but a number of women are
mentioned as leaders and prophets of Israel, including Miriam (Exodus
15:20), Deborah (Judges 4:4-5), Esther (Esther 4:15-17), Huldah (2 Kings
22:14) and Athaliah (2 Chronicles 22:10-12).
• The New Testament
• Jesus' Example
• Jesus chose only men as His twelve apostles (Mark 3:13-19), and that is
sometimes cited as a reason that only men should be appointed to church
leadership roles. However, Jesus sent His apostles out to spread the gospel
to the world, seeking food and shelter where they could find it, facing great
danger and ultimately martyrdom. This would not have been considered an
appropriate role for a woman in Biblical times, just as it would not be
considered appropriate today.

5. BIBLICAL VIEW- “NO” CONCLUSION
• Women Cannot Be Ministers or Priests
• Many people interpret the fact that Jesus appointed only male
apostles, and the New Testament passages cited above as an
absolute prohibition of a ministerial role for women. It is the natural
order, decreed by God, that women should forever be subservient to
men. Based on inerrancy of the Bible, these passages must be taken
at face value, and women must forever be barred from roles in
ministry.

6. BIBLICAL VIEW- “YES” CONCLUSION
• Women Can Be Ministers and Priests
• Many others view the New Testament prohibitions simply as practical advice to
preserve the sanctity and tranquility of the church and to avoid scandal. Although
the New Testament writers passively accepted slavery, few people would argue that
we should return to the horrors of slavery. In the same way, although the New
Testament writers passively accepted the oppression of women, it does not imply
that a leadership role for a woman would be wrong in today's very different society.
Some of the great leaders and prophets of Israel were women, so God could not
have intended to exclude women from spiritual and political leadership. Paul's
proclamation of equality and Jesus' willingness to defy convention and accept
women into his larger circle of disciples should be the guiding principles rather than
the customs of the Roman Empire in the first century. Women took as large a role in
the early Church leadership as was allowed by the conventions of that society, so
women today should be able to serve the Church in whatever positions they are
qualified to fill.

7. CHURCHVIEW- ROMAN CATHOLIC
• The Roman Catholic Church doctrine on the ordination of women, as
expressed in the current canon law and the catechism of the Catholic
Church, is that: "Only a baptized man (in Latin, vir) validly receives
sacred ordination." The Church teaches that this requirement is a
matter of divine law, and thus doctrinal. The question of whether only
males can receive ordination to the diaconate has been proposed as
still open to discussion, although there is a fundamental unity between
deacon, priest, and bishop in the single sacrament of Holy Orders,
meaning that women cannot validly be ordained as deacons. Pope
Francis has more recently stated that "with regards to the ordination of
women, the church has spoken and says no...That door is closed."

8. CHURCHVIEW- PROTESTANT
• Clergy in Protestant faiths can be many things to their congregations.
They may preach and interpret lessons from the Bible to guide the
everyday lives of the people hearing their sermons. They may offer
counseling during times of trouble, and serve as spiritual guides and
moral compasses for members of their congregations. They may fulfill
ceremonial functions — performing weddings or baptisms. Their
support and leadership take many forms — and it is the role the clergy
play in church members’ lives that is one of the defining
characteristics of Protestant denominations.

9. CATHOLIC’S ARGUMENTS AGAINST…
• Jesus was a man
• God is ‘he’ / ‘father’
• Jesus only had male disciples
• Jesus is representation of God on Earth
• If Priests are God’s vessel then how can they be women?
• The Bible states that woman should be subject to her husband.

10. MORE ARGUMENT’S AGAINST
• Women have babies and would need to spend time looking after their
children when they should be looking after their congregation.
• Women are more emotional than men and could not cope.
• Women would not have the same respect as men.
• Women should not be in charge of men.
• It’s easier for a man to advise a woman then a woman to advise a
man.

11. ARGUMENT’S FOR
ORDINATION OF WOMEN
• Women were obviously very important to Jesus as he first appeared
to Mary Magdalene
• In Jesus time Women were subordinate so he would not have been
as respected / believed if he gave women more of a role and would
therefore not have had the same status. Women have a different role
today from the one they had back then.
• Women are better careers and have shown that they make good
ministers.

12. MORE ARGUMENTS FOR
• Women get a ‘calling’ too. Surely this means God wants them to be
ministers.
• Jesus helped men and women equally therefore there is no difference
in God’s eyes.
• Women had a high place in the early church before the priesthood
was formed.
• Women were amongst the followers of Jesus.
• Women are now leaders in ways that they were not before.

13. INSIGHTS
For me as a Catholic, it is fine to live by the norms, that priests remain
as men, as long as these men have a pure heart to do what they are tasked to
do, and as long as women are not barred from preaching and spreading the
word of God. Either be biblical or cultural, living with the norms will not do us
bad as long as humanity themselves do their part on contributing for the
betterment of the society and the world in general. There may be plenty of
passages in the bible that talked about men being ordained and how worthy
they are to be ordained. Plenty of examples where man is told to be more
superior than women. But we also have to take into considerations that there
are also instances when women was told to lead and were trusted by God to
do so. That is why I am not saying that there is absolutely no chance for
women to be priests. It will take a lot of courage to change these things. Time
is changing, so as the people, the needs, and the situations. All we have to
think of is what is best for everyone not only physically but also mentally,
emotionally and most of all, spiritually.