wfn.org | Church of England to consider women bishops

[Worldwide Faith News <wfn@igc.org>]

ACNS 3743	    |		ENGLAND 	    |		16 JANUARY
2004

Church of England to consider women bishops;
third non-geographical province unlikely

by Matthew Davies

Several reports in the British press over the past two weeks have suggested 
the possibility of a third non-geographical province, in addition to 
Canterbury and York, being introduced to the structure of the Church of 
England in response to the possible ordination of women bishops in the 
province.

The Rt Revd Michael Nazir-Ali, Bishop of Rochester, England, has chaired 
the working party on the Theology of Women in the Episcopate since it was 
created in July 2000, and the culmination of its work has resulted in a 
report being drafted for consideration. The House of Bishops of the Church 
of England met this week in the lead up to the annual February gathering of 
the General Synod in London, and one of the items on their agenda was the 
discussion of this draft report.

Head of Media Relations for the Church of England, Mr Steve Jenkins, said 
that the House of Bishops had been asked by the General Synod to produce a 
report on the theological issues, considering all possibilities, as a 
background document to any future debate. "At the end of the report there 
is a table that represents all possible pastoral arrangements," he said. 
"At one extreme there is the option of no episcopal oversight, and at the 
other extreme there is the possibility of a third non-geographical 
province. The likelihood of one of these extremes being adopted is
improbable.

Bishop Michael Nazir-Ali last reported to General Synod in 2002 saying 
that, in considering the place of women in the Church, the working party 
has had to reflect on women in society generally. Here we have tried to 
come to an understanding of women and men in creation which respects both 
their difference and their common creation in the image of God, as well as 
their common mission in God's World (Gen 1 : 26-28), he said. Our views 
are likely to be rooted in whether we see the common mission of men and 
women as more fundamental or the distinction in role which comes from 
difference in gender.

The primary task of the working party has been to identify and examine the 
theological issues involved in the ordination of women to the episcopate. 
It may bethat arising out of this, the working party will also be able to 
make practical recommendations, said Bishop Michael. It is, of course, 
for General Synod to consider the findings of the working party and to make 
appropriate decisions in the light of such findings."

Christina Rees, a member of General Synod and Chair of WATCH (Women and the 
Church) - an organisation which works for an inclusive Church and wants to 
see women taking their place alongside men at every level in the Church - 
met with some of the bishops of the Church of England after the House met. 
The report of the working party will most likely be discussed at General 
Synod in November 2004 or February 2005, she said. In the meantime, the 
draft needs to be amended and then returned to the House of Bishops for 
their meeting in July this year.

The working party, which includes people with vastly differing views, has 
taken four years to complete its work; a great deal longer than originally 
anticipated. When people ask me - is the Church of England ready to move 
forward? - my answer is unequivocally: absolutely! she said. When we 
look at the figures we find that at least 4 out of 5 laity and 3 out of 4 
clergy are ready to accept women as bishops. She added that there are only 
a small number of bishops who would be averse to this. The Church is more 
than ready!

The first female priest in the Anglican Communion, the Revd Florence Lei 
Tim Oi, was ordained in Hong Kong in 1944. During the 1960s and 70s there 
was a movement in many countries across the world towards the ordination of 
women as priests. In 1974 there was an irregular ordination of 11 women in 
the United States, and the Episcopal Church in the United States authorised 
women's priestly ordination two years later.

On 11 November 1992, the General Synod of the Church of England voted to 
open the priesthood to women, five years after women were first ordained to 
the diaconate. This vote came after 70 years of formal discussion and 
debate in the Anglican Communion, which began in 1920 when the Lambeth 
Conference first considered the issue. Currently, one in five Church of 
England priests is female.

At present, only the Anglican/Episcopal Churches of the USA, Canada, New 
Zealand, Ireland and Southern Africa have approved legislation for the 
ordination of women as bishops. However, the General Synod of the Scottish 
Episcopal Church (SEC) ended centuries of tradition when they met in 
Edinburgh last year and made an historic decision by voting to accept women 
in the episcopate.

In March 2003, Church leaders in the Diocese of Ripon and Leeds voted by a 
large majority to allow women to become bishops. This is just one of many 
diocesan synods that have put pressure on the Church of England to speed up 
the process.

The Revd Dr Sr Teresa, Editor of Distinctive News of Women in Ministry and 
member of the Church of England General Synod 1995-2000, said, Having 
women, as well as men as bishops, would enrich the church, especially in 
its pastoral work for both lay and ordained women.