Ordination of women

Ordination in general religious use is the process by which a person is consecrated (set apart for the administration of various religious rites. The ordination of women is a controversial issue in those religions or denominations where either the rite of ordination, or the role that an ordained person fulfills, has traditionally been restricted to men because of cultural prohibitions, theological doctrines, or both.

Buddhism

The tradition of the ordained monastic community in Buddhism (the sangha) began with the Buddha, who established an order of Bhikkhus (monks).^[1] According to the scriptures,^[2] later, after an initial reluctance, he also established an order of Bhikkhunis (nuns or women monks).

The full ordination of Buddhist nuns (fully ordained Buddhist nuns are called Bhikkhunis [66]) has always been practiced in East Asia [67]. Also, recently full ordination of Buddhist nuns has begun again in Sri Lanka in 1998 after a lapse of 900 years [68]. Furthermore, on February 28, 2003, Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, formerly known as Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, became the first Thai woman to receive full ordination as a Theravada nun [69]. She was ordained in Sri Lanka [70].

However, the bhikkhuni ordination once existing in the countries where Theravada (the southern school of Buddhism) is most practiced died out around the 10th century. The lower novice ordination has also disappeared in these countries. Women who wish to live as nuns in those countries must do so by taking eight or ten precepts. Neither laywomen nor formally ordained, these women do not receive the recognition, education, financial support or status enjoyed by their male brethren. These "precept-holders" live in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, Thailand, and Vietnam. Japan is a special case as, although it has neither the bhikkhuni nor novice ordinations, the precept-holding nuns who live there do enjoy a higher status and better education than their precept-holder sisters elsewhere, and can even become Zen priests [71].

In 1988 Ahkon Norbu Lhamo, an American woman formerly called Catharine Burroughs, became the first Western woman to be named a reincarnate lama [72]. In 2010 the first Buddhist nunnery in North America (Vajra Dakini Nunnery) was established in Vermont, offering novice ordination ^[3]. It is a Tibetan Buddhist nunnery. The abbot of this nunnery is Khenmo Drolma, an American woman, who is the first bhikkhuni in the Drikung Kagyu tradition of Buddhism, having been ordained in Taiwan in 2002 ^[4] [73]. She is also the first westerner, male or female, to be installed as a Buddhist abbot, having been installed as the abbot of the Vajra Dakini Nunnery in 2004 ^[4].

Christianity in general

File:Izabela.JPG

Izabela Wiłucka-Kowalska - the first woman-bishop in Poland, was elected in 1929 in Old Catholic Mariavite Church

Within Christianity, women historically have been prevented from being ordained on the basis of certain New Testament scriptures often interpreted as prohibitions of female ordination [74]. An especially important consideration here is the way 1 Timothy 2:12 is translated and interpreted in the New Testament [75].

In the liturgical traditions of Christianity including the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, Lutheranism, and Anglicanism, ordination—distinguished from religious or consecrated life—is the means by which a person is included in one of the orders of bishops, priests, or deacons.

Many Protestant denominations understand ordination more generally as the acceptance of a person for pastoral work.

Anglicanism

Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori was elected in 2006 as the first female Presiding Bishop in the history of the Episcopal Church and also the first female primate in the Anglican Communion.^[5]

Within Anglicanism, the majority of Anglican provinces ordain women as deacons and priests.^[6]

The first three women priests ordained in the Anglican Communion were in the Anglican Diocese of Hong Kong and Macao: Li Tim-Oi in 1944 and Jane Hwang and Joyce Bennett in 1971.

Several Anglican provinces also permit the ordination of women as bishops,^[6]^[7] though, as of 2010, only four of the provinces have done so: the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican churches of Australia, Canada and New Zealand.^[8] Cuba, one of the extra-provincial Anglican churches, has done so as well.

In 1989, Barbara Harris was the first woman ordained as a bishop in the Anglican Communion, for the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.
In 1990, Penelope Ann Bansall Jaimeson was ordained a bishop for the New Zealand Anglican Diocese of Dunedin.
In 1993, Victoria Matthews was elected a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Toronto, Canada on 19 November, consecrated February 1994.^[9]
In 2007, Nerva Cot Aguilera was ordained a bishop in the Episcopal Church of Cuba.
In 2008, Kay Goldsworthy was ordained as an assistant bishop for the Anglican Diocese of Perth.^[10]

The Anglican church in Ireland has permitted the ordination of women as bishops since 1990 but none has yet occurred.^[11] The Anglican church in Scotland also permits the ordination of women as bishops since 2003, but none has yet been appointed.^[12]

In England the issue of women being ordained as bishops is contentious and under discussion as of summer 2010.^[13] The issue was voted down in 2008 by the Anglican Church in Wales.^[14]

On June 18, 2006, the Episcopal Church in the United States was the first Anglican province to appoint a woman, Katharine Jefferts Schori, as their Primate (the highest position possible in an Anglican province), called the "Presiding Bishop" in the United States.^[8]

Roman Catholic Church

The teaching of the Catholic Church, as emphasised by Pope John Paul II in the apostolic letter "Ordinatio sacerdotalis", is "that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful." [76] This teaching is embodied in the current canon law (specifically canon law 1024 [77]) and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, by the canonical statement: "Only a baptized man (in Latin, vir) validly receives sacred ordination."^[15] Insofar as priestly and episcopal ordination are concerned, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that this requirement is a matter of divine law, and thus doctrinal and unchangeable.^[16] In response to a "dubium" in October 1998, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith stated that the requirement that only men can receive ordination to the permanent diaconate has been promulgated as doctrinal by the Church's magisterium.^[17] In 1976, the international biblical experts of the Pontifical Biblical Commission concluded, with a majority of 12 to 5, that there were no scriptural objections to the priestly ordination of women; however, the Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith rejected this opinion and wrote its own statement (Inter Insigniores, 15 October 1976). [78] In 2007, the Vatican issued a decree saying that the attempted ordination of women would result in automatic excommunication for the women and priests trying to ordain them. [79] In 2010, the Vatican stated that the priest could also be laicized and that the ordination of women is a "grave delict". [80]

In opposition to the Church's teaching, a number of Catholic scholars (for example Father Robert W. Hovda, Professor Robert J. Karris, and Damien Casey) have written in favor of ordaining women.^[18] Furthermore, 12 groups have been founded throughout the world advocating for women's ordination in the Catholic Church.^[19] Women's Ordination Worldwide, founded in 1996 in Austria, is a network of national and international groups whose primary mission is the admission of Roman Catholic women to all ordained ministries, including but not limited to Catholic Women's Ordination (founded in March 1993 in the United Kingdom ^[20]), Roman Catholic Womenpriests (founded in 2002 in America ^[21]), Women's Ordination Conference (founded in 1975 in America ^[22]), and others.

Roman Catholic Womenpriests has attempted to ordain women as Catholic deacons, priests, and bishops,^[23] claiming that these ordinations are valid because the first ordinations were done by a validly ordained Catholic male bishop (Romulo Antonio Braschi, who left the Roman Catholic Church in 1975,^[24]) and therefore they are in the line of apostolic succession.^[23] However, these ordinations have been rejected by the Catholic Church as invlid (therefore no ordination took place) and all those involved have been excommunicated.^[25]

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses consider qualified public baptism to represent the baptizand's ordination, following which he or she is immediately considered an ordained minister. In 1941, the Supreme Court of Vermont recognized the validity of this ordination for a female Jehovah's Witness minister.^[26]

Nevertheless, Witness deacons ("ministerial servants") and elders must be male, and only a baptized adult male may perform a Jehovah's Witness baptism, funeral, or wedding.^[27] Within the congregation, a female Witness minister may only lead prayer and teaching when there is a special need, and must do so wearing a head covering.^[28]^[29]^[30]

Latter Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not and has never ordained women [81].

Orthodox Churches

The Orthodox Churches follow a similar line of reasoning as the Catholic Church with respect to ordination of priests, and does not allow women's ordination [82].

Professor Evangelos Theodorou argued that female deacons were actually ordained in antiquity.^[31] K. K. Fitzgerald has followed and amplified Professor Theodorou's research. Bishop Kallistos Ware wrote:^[32]

The order of deaconesses seems definitely to have been considered an "ordained" ministry during early centuries in at any rate the Christian East. ... Some Orthodox writers regard deaconesses as having been a "lay" ministry. There are strong reasons for rejecting this view. In the Byzantine rite the liturgical office for the laying-on of hands for the deaconess is exactly parallel to that for the deacon; and so on the principle lex orandi, lex credendi—the Church's worshipping practice is a sure indication of its faith—it follows that the deaconesses receives, as does the deacon, a genuine sacramental ordination: not just a [χειροθεσια] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (chirothesia) but a [χειροτονια] Error: {{Lang}}: text has italic markup (help) (chirotonia). However, the ordination of women in the Catholic Church does exist. Although it is not widespread, it is official by the Roman Catholic Church.

Even though Bishop Kallistos says this, the Roman Catholic Church has made it clear it will not ordain women to any canonical position such as priest, deacon, or bishop [83]. On October 8, 2004, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece voted to permit the ordination of monastic women deacons, that is, women deacons to minister and assist at the liturgy within their own monasteries.^[33]^[34] There is a strong monastic tradition, pursued by both men and women in the Orthodox churches, where monks and nuns lead identical spiritual lives. Unlike Western-rite Catholic religious life, which has myriad traditions, both contemplative and active (see Benedictine monks, Franciscan friars, Jesuits), that of Orthodoxy has remained exclusively ascetic and monastic.

Protestantism

A female Quaker preacher and her congregation.

A key theological doctrine for Reformed and most other Protestants is the priesthood of all believers—a doctrine considered by them so important that it has been dubbed by some as "a clarion truth of Scripture."

"This doctrine restores true dignity and true integrity to all believers since it teaches that all believers are priests and that as priests, they are to serve God—no matter what legitimate vocation they pursue. Thus, there is no vocation that is more 'sacred' than any other. Because Christ is Lord over all areas of life, and because His word applies to all areas of life, nowhere does His Word even remotely suggest that the ministry is 'sacred' while all other vocations are 'secular.' Scripture knows no sacred-secular distinction. All of life belongs to God. All of life is sacred. All believers are priests." Hagopian, David. "Trading Places: The Priesthood of All Believers."^[35]

However, most (although not all) Protestant denominations still ordain church leaders who have the task of equipping all believers in their Christian service.Eph. 4:11–13 These leaders (variously styled elders, pastors or ministers) are seen to have a distinct role in teaching, pastoral leadership and the administration of sacraments. Traditionally these roles were male preserves, but over the last century an increasing number of denominations have begun ordaining women. The Church of England appointed female lay readers during the First World War. Later the United Church of Canada in 1936 and the American United Methodist Church in 1956 also began to ordain women ^[36] [84].

Meanwhile, women's ministry has been part of Methodist tradition in Britain for over 200 years. In the late eighteenth century in England, John Wesley allowed for female office-bearers and preachers ^[37]

The Salvation Army has allowed the ordination of women since its beginning, although it was a hotly-disputed topic between William and Catherine Booth.^[38] The fourth General of the Salvation Army was a woman.

Today, over half of all American Protestant denominations ordain women [85], but some restrict the official positions a woman can hold. For instance, some ordain women for the military or hospital chaplaincy but prohibit them from serving in congregational roles. Over one-third of all seminary students (and in some seminaries nearly half) are female [86] ^[39].

Hinduism

There are two types of Hindu priests, purohits and pujaris. Both women and men are ordained as purohits and pujaris [87] [88].

Furthermore, both men and women are gurus (gurus are teachers of Hinduism but are not ordained) [89].

Indigenous and ethnic religions

Yeye Siju Osunyemi being initiated as a priestess of the deity Oshun in the Osun Shrine in Osogbo, Nigeria.

Africa

The Yoruba people of western Nigeria practice an indigenous religion with a religious hierarchy of priests and priestesses that dates to A.D. 800-1000. ^{[citation needed]} Ifá priests and priestesses bear the titles Babalowo for men and Iyanifa for females [90]. Priests and priestess of the varied Orisha are titled Babalorisa for men and Iyalorisa for women [91]. Initiates are also given an Orisa or Ifá name that signifies under which deity they are initiated; for example a Priestess of Oshun may be named Osunyemi and a Priest of Ifá may be named Ifáyemi. This ancient culture continues to this day as initiates from all around the world return to Nigeria for initiation into the traditional priesthood.

Islam

File:Amina Wadud.JPG

American imam Amina Wadud

Although Muslims do not formally ordain religious leaders, the imam serves as a spiritual leader and religious authority. There is a current controversy among Muslims on the circumstances in which women may act as imams—that is, lead a congregation in salat (prayer). Three of the four Sunni schools, as well as many Shia, agree that a woman may lead a congregation consisting of women alone in prayer, although the Maliki school does not allow this. According to all currently existing traditional schools of Islam, a woman cannot lead a mixed gender congregation in salat (prayer). Some schools make exceptions for Tarawih (optional Ramadan prayers) or for a congregation consisting only of close relatives. Certain medieval scholars—including Al-Tabari (838–932), Abu Thawr (764–854), Al-Muzani (791–878), and Ibn Arabi (1165–1240)—considered the practice permissible at least for optional (nafila) prayers; however, their views are not accepted by any major surviving group. Islamic feminists have begun to protest this.

In 2004 20-year-old Maryam Mirza delivered the second half of the Eid al-Fitr khutbah at the Etobicoke mosque in Toronto, Canada, run by the United Muslim Association.^[40]

Futhermore, in 2004 in Canada Yasmin Shadeer led the night 'Isha prayer for a mixed-gender (men as well as women praying and hearing the sermon) congregation [92]. This is the first recorded occasion in modern times where a woman led a congregation in prayer in a mosque [93].

Furthermore, on March 18, 2005, an American woman named Amina Wadud (an Islamic studies professor at Virginia Commonwealth University) gave a sermon and led Friday prayers for a Muslim congregation consisting of men as well as women, with no curtain dividing the men and women ^[41]. Another woman sounded the call to prayer while not wearing a headscarf at that same event ^[41]. This was done in the Synod House of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York after mosques refused to host the event ^[41]. This was the first time a woman led a mixed-gender Muslim congregation in prayer in American history [94].

Furthermore, in April 2005, Raheel Raza led Toronto's first woman-led mixed-gender Friday prayer service, delivering the sermon and leading the prayers of the mixed-gender congregation organized by the Muslim Canadian Congress to celebrate Earth Day in the backyard of the downtown Toronto home of activist Tarek Fatah [www.muslimcanadiancongress.org/20050423.pdf].

Furthermore, on July 1, 2005, Pamela Taylor, a Muslim convert since 1986, became the first woman to lead Friday prayers in a Canadian mosque, and did so for a congregation of both men and women [95]. Pamela Taylor is an American convert to Islam and co-chair of the New York-based Progressive Muslim Union [96]. In addition to leading the prayers, Taylor also gave a sermon on the importance of equality among people regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation, and/or disability [97].

Futhermore, in October 2005 Amina Wadud led a mixed gender congregational prayer in Barcelona.^[42].

Futhermore, in 2008, Pamela Taylor gave the Friday khutbah and led the mixed-gender prayers in Toronto at the UMA mosque at the invitation of the Muslim Canadian Congress on Canada Day ^[43].

Furthermore, on 17 October 2008, Amina Wadud became the first woman to lead a mixed-gender congregation in prayer in the United Kingdom, when she performed the Friday prayers at Oxford's Wolfson College [98].

Furthermore, in 2010 Raheel Raza became the first Muslim-born woman to lead a mixed-gender British congregation through Friday prayers [99].

Rabbi Regina Jonas, the world's first female rabbi, ordained in 1935 [64].

Judaism

Only men can become rabbis in Orthodox Judaism (although there has been one female Hasidic rebbe, Hannah Rachel Verbermacher, also known as the Maiden of Ludmir [100]); however all other types of Judaism allow and have female rabbis [101]. In 1935 Regina Jonas was ordained privately by a German rabbi and became the world's first female rabbi [102]. Sally Priesand became the first female rabbi in Reform Judaism in 1972,^[44] Sandy Eisenberg Sasso became the first female rabbi in Reconstructionist Judaism in 1974,^[45] Lynn Gottlieb became the first female rabbi in Jewish Renewal in 1981,^[46] Amy Eilberg became the first female rabbi in Conservative Judaism in 1985,^[47] and Tamara Kolton became the very first rabbi of either gender (and therefore, since she was female, the first female rabbi) in Humanistic Judaism in 1999.^[48] Women in these types of Judaism are routinely granted semicha (meaning ordination) on an equal basis with men.

Only men can become cantors in Orthodox Judaism, but all other types of Judaism allow and have female cantors [103]. Barbara Ostfeld-Horowitz became the first female cantor in Reform Judaism in 1975.^[49] Erica Lippitz and Marla Rosenfeld Barugel became the first female cantors in Conservative Judaism in 1987.^[49] The Cantors Assembly, a professional organization of cantors associated with Conservative Judaism, did not allow women to join until 1990^[50] Sharon Hordes became the first cantor of either gender (and therefore, since she was female, the first female cantor) in Reconstructionist Judaism in 2002.^[51] Avitall Gerstetter, who lives in Germany, became the first female cantor in Jewish Renewal in 2002. Susan Wehle became the first American female cantor in Jewish Renewal in 2004; however, she died in 2009.^[52]^[53] Three female Jewish Renewal cantors have been ordained after Susan Wehle's ordination—a German woman (born in Holland), Yalda Rebling, was ordained in 2007,^[54] an American woman, Michal Rubin, was ordained in 2010, and an American woman, Abbe Lyons, was ordained in 2010.^[55] In 2001 Deborah Davis became the first cantor of either gender (and therefore, since she was female, the first female cantor) in Humanistic Judaism; however, Humanistic Judaism has since stopped graduating cantors.^[56]

In 1993 Rebecca Dubowe became the first deaf woman to be ordained as a rabbi in the United States [104]. In 1999 Angela Warnick Buchdahl, born in Seoul, Korea, became the first Asian-American woman to be ordained as a cantor in the world and in 2001 she became the first Asian-American woman to be ordained as a rabbi in the world.^[57]^[58] Both ordinations were done by HUC-JIR, a United States seminary for Reform Judaism.^[59] In 2009 Tannoz Bahremand Foruzanfar, who was born in Iran, became the first Persian woman to be ordained as a cantor in the United States [105] [106]. Also, on June 6, 2009, Alysa Stanton, a former therapist from Colorado, became the first black woman to be ordained as a rabbi in the world. [107]

Shinto

The ordination of women as Shinto priests arose after the abolition of State Shinto in the aftermath of World War II.^[60] See also Miko.

Taoism

Taoists ordain both men and women as priests [108]. In 2009 Wu Chengzhen became the first female Fangzhang (meaning principal abbot) in Taoism's 1,800-year history after being enthroned at Changchun Temple in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, in China [109]. Fangzhang is the highest position in a Taoist temple [110].

Wicca

There are many different Wiccan traditions. All ordain women as priests (most also ordain men), and some were created by women [111] [112] [113].

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrian priests are required to be male [114].

Some dates concerning the ordination of women

A list with dates of important events in the history of women's ordination appears below:^[61]

circa 1770: Mary Evans Thorne was appointed class leader by Joseph Pilmore in Philadelphia, probably the first woman in America to be so appointed.^[62]
late 1700s: John Wesley allowed women to preach within his Methodist wing of the Church of England.
Early 1800s: A fundamental belief ^[63] of the Society of Friends (Quakers) has always been the existence of an element of God's spirit in every human soul [115]. Thus all persons are considered to have inherent and equal worth, independent of their gender, and this led naturally to an acceptance of female ministers [116]. In 1660, Margaret Fell (1614–1702) published a famous pamphlet to justify equal roles for men and women in the denomination, titled: "Women's Speaking Justified, Proved and Allowed of by the Scriptures, All Such as Speak by the Spirit and Power of the Lord Jesus And How Women Were the First That Preached the Tidings of the Resurrection of Jesus, and Were Sent by Christ's Own Command Before He Ascended to the Father (John 20:17). [117]." In the U.S., in contrast with almost every other organized religion, the Society of Friends (Quakers) has allowed women to serve as ministers since the early 1800s [118].
1807: The Primitive Methodist Church in Britain first allowed female ministers.
1815: Clarissa Danforth was ordained in New England. She was the first woman ordained by the Free Will Baptist denomination.
1853: Antoinette Brown Blackwell was the first woman ordained by a church belonging to the Congregationalist Church.^[64] However, her ordination was not recognized by the denomination [119]. She quit the church and later became a Unitarian [120]. The Congregationalists later merged with others to create the United Church of Christ, which ordains women [121] [122].
1861: Mary A. Will was the first woman ordained in the Wesleyan Methodist Connection by the Illinois Conference in the USA. The Wesleyan Methodist Connection eventually became The Wesleyan Church.
1863: Olympia Brown was ordained by the Universalist denomination in 1863, the first woman ordained by that denomination, in spite of a last-moment case of cold feet by her seminary which feared adverse publicity.^[65] After a decade and a half of service as a full-time minister, she became a part-time minister in order to devote more time to the fight for women's rights and universal suffrage [123]. In 1961, the Universalists and Unitarians joined to form the Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA).^[66] The UUA became the first large denomination to have a majority of female ministers.^[67]
1865: The Salvation Army was founded, which in the English Methodist tradition always ordained both men and women [124]. However, there were initially rules that prohibited a woman from marrying a man who had a lower rank [125].
1866: Helenor M. Davison was ordained as a deacon by the North Indiana Conference of the Methodist Protestant Church, probably making her the first ordained woman in the Methodist tradition.^[62]
1869: Margaret Newton Van Cott became the first woman in the Methodist Episcopal Church to receive a local preacher's license [126].
1869: Lydia Sexton (of the United Brethren Church) was appointed chaplain of the Kansas State Prison at the age of 70, the first woman in the United States to hold such a position.^[62]
1871: Celia Burleigh became the first female Unitarian minister [127].
1876: Anna Oliver was the first woman to receive the Bachelor of Divinity degree from an American seminary (Boston University School of Theology).^[62]
1879 The Church of Christ, Scientist was founded by a woman, Mary Baker Eddy.^[68]
1880: Anna Howard Shaw was the first woman ordained in the American Methodist Protestant Church, which later merged with other denominations to form the United Methodist Church.^[69]
1888: Fidelia Gillette may have been the first ordained woman in Canada [128]. She served the Universalist congregation in Bloomfield, Ontario, during 1888 and 1889 [129]. She was presumably ordained in 1888 or earlier [130].^{[original research?]}
1889: The Nolin Presbytery of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church ordained Louisa Woosley as the first female minister of the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, USA.^[70]
1889: Ella Niswonger was the first woman ordained in the American United Brethren Church, which later merged with other denominations to form the American United Methodist Church, which has ordained women with full clergy rights and conference membership since 1956 [131] ^[71]
1892: Anna Hanscombe is believed to be the first woman ordained by the parent bodies which formed the Church of the Nazarene in 1919 [132].
1894: Julia A. J. Foote was the first woman to be ordained as a deacon by the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church [133].
1909: The Church of God (Cleveland TN) began ordaining women in 1909 [134].
1911: Ann Allebach was the first Mennonite woman to be ordained [135]. This occurred at the First Mennonite Church of Philadelphia [136].
1914: The Assemblies of God was founded and ordained its first woman clergy in 1914 [137].
1917: The Church of England appointed female Bishop's Messengers to preach, teach, and take missions in the absence of men.
1917: The Congregationalist Church (England and Wales) ordained their first woman, Constance Coltman (née Todd) at the King's Weigh House, London [138]. Its successor is the United Reformed Church [139][140] (a union of the Congregational Church in England and Wales and the Presbyterian Church of England in 1972.) Since then two more denominations have joined the union: The Reformed Churches of Christ (1982) and the Congregational Church of Scotland (2000). All of these denominations ordained women at the time of Union and continue to do so. The first woman to be appointed General Secretary of the United Reformed Church was Roberta Rominger in 2008.
1920: The Methodist Episcopal Church granted women the right to become licensed as local preachers.^[62]
1920's: Some Baptist denominations started ordaining women [141].
1922: The Jewish Reform movement's Central Conference of American Rabbis stated that "...woman cannot justly be denied the privilege of ordination."^[72]
1922: The Annual Conference of the Church of the Brethren granted women the right to be licensed into the ministry, but not to be ordained with the same status as men [142].
1924: The Methodist Episcopal Church granted women limited clergy rights as local elders or deacons, without conference membership.^[62]
1929: Izabela Wiłucka-Kowalska was the first woman to be ordained by the Old Catholic Mariavite Church in Poland.
1930: A predecessor church of the Presbyterian Church (USA) ordained its first female as an elder [143].
1935: Regina Jonas was ordained privately by a German rabbi and became the world's first female rabbi.^[73]
1936: Lydia Gruchy became the first female minister in the United Church of Canada.^[36]
1944: Florence Li Tim Oi became the first woman to be ordained as an Anglican priest. She was born in Hong Kong, and was ordained in Guandong province in unoccupied China on January 25, 1944, on account of a severe shortage of priests due to World War II. When the war ended, she was forced to relinquish her priesthood, yet she was reinstated as a priest later in 1971 in Hong Kong. "When Hong Kong ordained two further women priests in 1971 (Joyce Bennett and Jane Hwang), Florence Li Tim-Oi was officially recognised as a priest by the diocese." ^[74] She later moved to Toronto, Canada, and assisted as a priest there from 1983 onwards.
1947: The Czechoslovak Hussite Church started to ordain women [144].
1948: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark started to ordain women [145].
1949: The Old Catholic Church (in the U.S.) started to ordain women [146].
1952: The Church of England consecrated Queen Elizabeth II as Supreme Governor of the Church of England [147] [148].
1956: Maud K. Jensen was the first woman to receive full clergy rights and conference membership (in her case, in the Central Pennsylvania Conference) in the Methodist Church^[75]
1956: The Presbyterian Church (USA) ordained its first female minister, Margaret Towner.^[76]
1957: In 1957 the Unity Synod of the Moravian Church declared of women's ordination "in principle such ordination is permissible" and that each province is at liberty to "take such steps as seem essential for the maintenance of the ministry of the Word and Sacraments;” however, while this was approved by the Unity Synod in 1957, the Northern Province of the Moravian Church did not approve women for ordination until 1970 at the Provincial Synod, and it was not until 1975 that the Rev. Mary Matz became the first female minister within the Moravian Church [149].
1958: Women ministers in the Church of the Brethren were given full ordination with the same status as men [150].
1959: The Reverend Gusta A. Robinette, a missionary, was ordained in the Sumatra (Indonesia) Conference soon after The Methodist Church granted full clergy rights to women in 1956. She was appointed District Superintendent of the Medan Chinese District in Indonesia becoming the first female district superintendent in the Methodist Church.^[62]
1960: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Sweden started ordaining women [151].
1964: Addie Davis became the first Southern Baptist woman to be ordained.^[77] However, the Southern Baptist Convention stopped ordaining women in 2000, although existing female pastors are allowed to continue their jobs.^[67]
1967: The Presbyterian Church in Canada started ordaining women [152].
1967: Margaret Henrichsen became the first American female district superintendent in the Methodist Church.^[62]
1967: The Northern Province of the Moravian Church approved women for ordination in 1970 at the Provincial Synod, but it was not until 1975 that the Rev. Mary Matz became the first female minister within the Moravian Church [153].
1970: On November 22, 1970, Elizabeth Alvina Platz became the first woman ordained by the Lutheran Church in America, and as such was the first woman ordained by any Lutheran denomination in America.^[78] The first woman ordained by the American Lutheran Church, Barbara Andrews, was ordained in December 1970 [154]. On January 1, 1988 the Lutheran Church in America, the American Lutheran Church, and the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches merged to form the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, which continues to ordain women [155] (The first woman ordained by the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, Janith Otte, was ordained in 1977 [156].)
1971: Joyce Bennett and Jane Hwang were the first regularly ordained priests in the Anglican Church in Hong Kong [157].
1972: Freda Smith became the first female minister to be ordained by the Metropolitan Community Church^[79]
1972: Sally Priesand became the first female rabbi to be ordained in Reform Judaism, and also the first female rabbi in the world to be ordained by any theological seminary.^[44]
1974: The Methodist Church in the United Kingdom started to ordain women again (after a lapse of ordinations.)
1974: Sandy Eisenberg Sasso became the first female rabbi to be ordained in Reconstructionist Judaism.^[80]
1975: Dorothea W. Harvey became the first woman to be ordained by the Swedenborgian Church.^[81]
1975: Barbara Ostfeld-Horowitz became the first female cantor in Reform Judaism.^[49].
1975: In 1975, the Rev. Mary Matz became the first female minister within the Moravian Church [158].
1976: The Anglican Church in Canada ordained six female priests [159].
1976: The Rev. Pamela McGee was the first female ordained to the Lutheran ministry in Canada [160].
1977: The Anglican Church in New Zealand ordained five female priests [161].
1977: The first woman ordained by the Association of Evangelical Lutheran Churches, Janith Otte, was ordained in 1977.^[82]
1977: On January 1, 1977, Jacqueline Means became the first woman ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church [162]. 11 women were "irregularly" ordained to the priesthood in Philadelphia on July 29, 1974, before church laws were changed to permit women's ordination.^[83] They are often called the "Philadelphia 11." Church laws were changed on September 16, 1976.^[84]
1979: The Reformed Church in America started ordaining women as ministers [163]. Women had been admitted to the offices of deacon and elder in 1972 [164].
1980: Marjorie Matthews, at the age of 64, was the first woman elected as a bishop in the United Methodist Church.^[85]
1981: Lynn Gottlieb became the first female rabbi to be ordained in the Jewish Renewal movement.^[46]
1983: An Anglican woman was ordained in Kenya [165].
1983: Three Anglican women were ordained in Uganda [166].
1984: The Community of Christ (known at the time as the Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints) authorized the ordination of women [167]. They are the second largest Latter Day Saint denomination [168].
1985: According to the New York Times for 1985-FEB-14: "After years of debate, the worldwide governing body of Conservative Judaism has decided to admit women as rabbis. The group, the Rabbinical Assembly, plans to announce its decision at a news conference...at the Jewish Theological Seminary... [169]" In 1985 Amy Eilberg became the first female rabbi to be ordained in Conservative Judaism.^[86]
1985: The first women deacons were ordained by the Scottish Episcopal Church [170].
1987: Erica Lippitz and Marla Rosenfeld Barugel became the first female cantors in Conservative Judaism.^[49]
1988: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland started to ordain women [171].
1988: Ahkon Norbu Lhamo, an American woman formerly called Catharine Burroughs, became the first Western woman to be named a reincarnate lama [172].
1988: The Episcopal Church elected Barbara Harris as its first female bishop.^[87]
1990: Penny Jamieson became the first female Anglican bishop in the world, as she was ordained bishop of the Anglican Church in New Zealand in June 1990 [173].
1990: Anglican women were ordained in Ireland [174].
1992: In March 1992 the first female priests in Australia were appointed; they were priests of the Anglican Church in Australia [175].
1992: Maria Jepsen became the world's first woman to be elected a Lutheran bishop when she was elected bishop of the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church in Germany, but she resigned in 2010 after allegations that she failed to properly investigate cases of sexual abuse [176]
1992: In November 1992 the General Synod of the Church of England approved the ordination of women as priests.^[88]
1992: The Anglican Church of South Africa started to ordain women [177].
1993: Rebecca Dubowe became the first Deaf woman to be ordained as a rabbi in the United States [178].
1993: Victoria Matthews was elected as the first female bishop of the Anglican Church of Canada; however she resigned in 2007, stating that “God is now calling me in a different direction [179].” In 2008, she was ordained as Bishop of Christchurch, becoming the first woman to hold that position. [180]
1994: The first women priests were ordained by the Scottish Episcopal Church [181].
1994: Rabbi Laura Geller became the first woman to lead a major metropolitan congregation, specifically Temple Emanuel in Beverly Hills [182].
1994: On March 12, 1994, the Church of England ordained 32 women as its first female priests.^[89]
1995: The Sligo Seventh-day Adventist Church in Takoma Park, MD, ordained three women in violation of the denomination's rules - Kendra Haloviak, Norma Osborn, and Penny Shell.^[90]
1995: The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Denmark ordained its first female bishop [183].
1995: The Christian Reformed Church voted to allow women ministers, elders and evagelicals [184]. In 1998-NOV, the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC) suspended the CRC's membership because of this decision [185].
1997: Christina Odenberg became the first female bishop in the Church of Sweden [186].
1998: The General Assembly of the Nippon Sei Ko Kai (Anglican Church in Japan) started to ordain women [187].
1998: The Guatemalan Presbyterian Synod started to ordain women [188].
1998: The Old Catholic Church in the Netherlands started to ordain women [189].
1998: On July 28, 1998, Ava Muhammad became the first female minister in the Nation of Islam, heading Muhammad's Mosque 15 in Atlanta, Ga., one of the largest mosques in the country [190] [191]. In addition to administering day-to-day affairs there she was named Southern Regional Minister, giving her jurisdiction over Nation of Islam mosque activity in Georgia, Alabama, Mississippi, and parts of Tennessee [192].
1998: Some Orthodox Jewish congregations started to employ women as congregational interns, a job created for learned Orthodox Jewish women. Although these interns do not lead worship services, they perform some tasks usually reserved for rabbis, such as preaching, teaching, and consulting on Jewish legal matters. The first woman hired as a congregational intern was Julie Stern Joseph, hired in 1998 by the Lincoln Square Synagogue of the Upper West Side.^[91]
1998: In 1998 Kay Ward became the first female bishop in the Moravian Church [193].
1998: After 900 years without such ordinations, Sri Lanka again began to ordain women as fully ordained Buddhist nuns, called bhikkhunis [194].
1999: The Independent Presbyterian Church of Brazil allowed the ordination of women as either clergy or elders [195].
1999: The first female bishop of the Czechoslovak-Hussite church was elected to a 7-year term of office in April 1999 [196].
1999: Tamara Kolton became the first rabbi of either sex (and therefore, because she was female, the first female rabbi) to be ordained in Humanistic Judaism.^[48]
1999: Angela Warnick Buchdahl, born in Seoul, Korea ^[92], became the first Asian-American woman to be ordained as a cantor in the world ^[57], as well as the first Asian-American person to be ordained as a cantor in North America ^[58], when she was ordained by HUC-JIR, a seminary for Reform Judaism ^[58]^[59].
2000: The Baptist Union of Scotland voted to allow their individual churches to make local decisions as to whether to allow or prohibit the ordination of women [197].
2000: In July 2000 Vashti McKenzie was elected as the first female bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church.^[93]
2000: The Mombasa diocese of the Anglican Church in Kenya began to ordain women [198].
2000: The Church of Pakistan ordained its first female deacons [199]. It is a united church which dates back to the 1970 local merger of Anglicans, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and other Protestant denominations [200].
2001: Angela Warnick Buchdahl, born in Seoul, Korea ^[92], became the first Asian-American woman to be ordained as a rabbi in the world ^[57], as well as the first Asian-American person to be ordained as a rabbi in North America ^[58], when she was ordained as a rabbi in 2001 ^[58] by HUC-JIR, a seminary for Reform Judaism ^[59].
2001: Deborah Davis became the first cantor of either sex (and therefore, since she was female, the first female cantor) in Humanistic Judaism; however, Humanistic Judaism has since stopped graduating cantors.^[56]
2002: Sharon Hordes became the very first cantor in Reconstructionist Judaism. Therefore, since she was a woman, she became their first female cantor.^[51]
2002: Avitall Gerstetter, who lives in Germany, became the first female cantor in Jewish Renewal.
2002: Khenmo Drolma, an American woman, became the first bhikkhuni (fully ordained Buddhist nun) in the Drikung Kagyu tradition of Buddhism, traveling to Taiwan to be ordained ^[4] [201].
2003: On February 28, 2003, Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, formerly known as Dr. Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, became the first Thai woman to receive full ordination as a Theravada nun [202]. She was ordained in Sri Lanka [203].
2004: Susan Wehle became the first American female cantor in Jewish Renewal in 2004 [204].
2004: Khenmo Drolma, an American woman, became the first westerner of either sex to be installed as a Buddhist abbot, being installed as the abbot of the Vajra Dakini Nunnery in Vermont (America's first Buddhist nunnery) in 2004 [205][206].
2005: The Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church, (LEPC) (GCEPC) in the USA elected Nancy Kinard Drew as its first female Presiding Bishop.
2006: The Episcopal Church elected Katharine Jefferts Schori as its first female Presiding Bishop, or Primate.^[94]
2007: The Worldwide Church of God, a denomination with about 860 congregations worldwide, decided to allow women to serve as pastors and elders [207]. This decision was reached after several years of study [208].
2007: The current Dalai Lama stated that the next Dalai Lama could possibly be a woman, remarking "If a woman reveals herself as more useful the lama could very well be reincarnated in this form [209]."
2007: Nerva Cot Aguilera became Latin America's first female bishop, as the bishop of the Episcopal Church of Cuba [210].
2007: The synod of the Christian Reformed Church voted 112-70 to allow any Christian Reformed Church congregation that wishes to do so to ordain women as ministers, elders, deacons and/or ministry associates; since 1995, congregations and regional church bodies called "classes" already had the option of ordaining women, and 26 of the 47 classes had exercised it before the vote in June.^[95]
2008: Mildred "Bonnie" Hines was elected as the first female bishop in the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church.^[96]
2008: Rev. Joaquina Filipe Nhanala was elected to oversee the Mozambique area for the United Methodist Church, thus becoming the first female United Methodist bishop in Africa [211].
2008: Kay Maree Goldsworthy became the first female bishop in Australia, as the bishop of the Anglican Church in Australia [212].
2009: The Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD) elected Margot Käßmann as its first female Presiding Bishop, or Primate; she received 132 out of 142 votes. However, she chose to resign in 2010, after she was caught drunk driving, although the Council of the EKD judged unanimously that it was not grounds for a resignation [213].
2009: Alysa Stanton, a former therapist from Colorado, became the world's first black female rabbi ^[97].
2009: The Rev Jana Jeruma-Grinberga became Britain's first female bishop, as the bishop of the Lutheran Church in Great Britain [214].
2009: Tannoz Bahremand Foruzanfar, who was born in Iran, became the first Persian woman to be ordained as a cantor in the United States [215] [216].
2009: In 2009 Wu Chengzhen became the first female Fangzhang (meaning principal abbot) in Taoism's 1,800-year history after being enthroned at Changchun Temple in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, in China [217]. Fangzhang is the highest position in a Taoist temple [218].
2010: The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland elected Irja Askola of the Diocese of Helsinki as its first female bishop.^[98]
2010: The International Rabbinic Fellowship, a fellowship of about 150 Orthodox rabbis, adopted a resolution stating that properly trained Orthodox Jewish women should have the opportunity to serve as "teachers of Torah", "persons who can answer questions and provide guidance to both men and women in all areas of Jewish law in which they are well-versed", "clergy who function as pastoral counselors", "spiritual preachers and guides who teach classes and deliver divrei Torah and derashot, in the synagogue and out, both during the week and on Shabbatot and holidays", "spiritual guides and mentors helping arrange and managing life-cycle events such as weddings, bar- and bat-mitzvah celebrations and funerals, while refraining from engaging in those aspects of these events that Halakha does not allow for women to take part in", and "presidents and full members of the boards of synagogues and other Torah institutions;" the resolution does not however mention whether these women should or can be ordained or what titles they can hold [219].

References

^ Macmillan Encyclopedia of Buddhism (Volume One), page 352
^ Book of the Discipline, Pali Text Society, volume V, Chapter X
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^ ^a ^b ^c [2]
^ http://www.journeyonline.com.au/showArticle.php?categoryId=2&articleId=733
^ ^a ^b http://www.religioustolerance.org/femclrg14.htm
^ http://books.google.com/books?id=cKv6WQVMnh8C&pg=PA279&lpg=PA279&dq=women+bishops+canonically+possible&source=bl&ots=fkAlzL-Foj&sig=wrKtLJGqcfoku72jxtfCfqwSwQw&hl=en&ei=rXVLTP7VGIGC8gaa49gy&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5&ved=0CCAQ6AEwBA#v=onepage&q=women%20bishops%20canonically%20possible&f=false
^ ^a ^b http://andromeda.rutgers.edu/~lcrew/bishops/0388.html
^ http://www.anglican.ca/search/faq/039.htm
^ http://www.episcopalchurch.org/79901_96404_ENG_HTM.htm
^ http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/opinion/2010/0716/1224274821543.html
^ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7004129/Scottish-priest-fails-in-bid-to-become-first-woman-bishop.html
^ http://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=6268
^ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/faith/article3670754.ece
^ Codex Iruis Canonici canon 1024, c.f. Catechism of the Catholic Church 1577
^ "The Catholic Church has never felt that priestly or episcopal ordination can be validly conferred on women", Inter Insigniores, October 15, 1976, section 1
^ [Cf. Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, "Response to a Dubium concerning the teaching contained in the Apostolic Letter 'Ordinatio Sacerdotalis'": AAS 87 (1995), 1114.]
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^ "Women—May They Be “Ministers”?", The Watchtower, March 15, 1981, page 19, "Several courts in the United States have recognized female Jehovah’s Witnesses, in carrying on the door-to-door evangelistic work, as ministers. For example, the Supreme Court of Vermont, in Vermont v. Greaves (1941), stated that Elva Greaves “is an ordained minister of a sect or class known and designated as ‘Jehovah’s Witnesses’.”"
^ "Applying the General Priesthood Principle", The Watchtower, February 1, 1964, page 86, "Among the witnesses of Jehovah any adult, dedicated and baptized male Christian who is qualified may serve in such ministerial capacities as giving public Bible discourses and funeral talks, performing marriages and presiding at the Lord’s evening meal or supper. There is no clergy class."
^ "Head Coverings—When and Why?", Keep Yourselves in God's Love, ©2008 Watch Tower, page 210-211, "Occasionally, though, circumstances may require that a Christian woman be called on to handle a duty normally performed by a qualified baptized male. For instance, she may need to conduct a meeting for field service because a qualified baptized male is not available or present. ..she would wear a head covering to acknowledge that she is handling the duty normally assigned to a male. On the other hand, many aspects of worship do not call for a sister to wear a head covering. For example, she does not need to do so when commenting at Christian meetings, engaging in the door-to-door ministry with her husband or another baptized male, or studying or praying with her unbaptized children."
^ "Questions From Readers", The Watchtower, July 15, 2002, page 27, "There may be other occasions when no baptized males are present at a congregation meeting. If a sister has to handle duties usually performed by a brother at a congregationally arranged meeting or meeting for field service, she should wear a head covering."
^ "Woman’s Regard for Headship—How Demonstrated?", The Watchtower, July 15, 1972, page 447, "At times no baptized male Witnesses may be present at a congregational meeting (usually in small congregations or groups). This would make it necessary for a baptized female Witness to pray or preside at the meeting. Recognizing that she is doing something that would usually be handled by a man, she would wear a head covering."
^ Orthodox Women and Pastoral Praxis | The St. Nina Quarterly
^ "Man, Woman and the Priesthood of Christ," in Women and the Priesthood, ed. T. Hopko (New York, 1982, reprinted 1999), 16, as quoted in Women Deacons in the Early Church, by John Wijngaards, ISBN 0–8245–2393–8.
^ America | The National Catholic Weekly--‘Grant Her Your Spirit’
^ http://www.orthodoxwomen.org/files/SCOBA_Women_Deacons.pdf
^ Hagopian, David. "Trading Places: The Priesthood of All Believers." Web: 10 Jul 2010.
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^ "The question of the ordination of women in the community of churches." Anglican Theological Review, Viser, Jan. Summer 2002 Accessed: 09-18-2007
^ William Collier, The General Next to God (Fount, 1975)
^ Thinking About Women's Ordination Wheaton Univ. Women's Review.
^ First Muslim woman delivers sermon
^ ^a ^b ^c [12]
^ Amina Wadud Leads Mixed Gender Friday Prayer in Barcelona
^ Woman-led prayer honours IWD
^ ^a ^b [13]
^ [14]
^ ^a ^b [15]
^ [16]
^ ^a ^b [17]
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^ [19]
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^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e http://www.centralsynagogue.org/index.php/about_central/clergy_senior_staff/
^ ^a ^b ^c http://www.forward.com/articles/129451/
^ Encyclopedia of Shinto—Home : Shrine Rituals : Gyōji sahō
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^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h [26]
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^ [28]
^ Unitarian Universalism
^ ^a ^b [29]
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^ [33].
^ [34]" However, the first woman in Reform Judaism to be ordained (Sally Priesand) was not ordained until 1972 [35]
^ [36].
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^ [38]
^ [39]
^ [40]
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^ [43]
^ [44]
^ [45]
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^ [47] [48]
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^ [52]
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External links

Buddhism

[220] Interview of the abbot of Bodhinyana Monastery in Australia, who argues for women's full ordination in Buddhism, called bhikkhuni ordination.