![JeffertsSchori](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/51/JeffertsSchori.JPG)
The ordination of women to
ministerial or
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
ly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary
major religious groups
The world's principal religions and spiritual traditions may be classified into a small number of major groups, though this is not a uniform practice. This theory began in the 18th century with the goal of recognizing the relative levels of c ...
.
It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "
ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...
" (the process by which a person is understood to be
consecrated
Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...
and set apart by God for the administration of various religious
rite Rite may refer to:
* Ritual, an established ceremonious act
* Rite of passage, a ceremonious act associated with social transition
Religion
* Rite (Christianity), a sacred ritual or liturgical tradition in various Christian denominations
* Catho ...
s) was often a traditionally male dominated profession (except within the
diaconate
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
and early heretical movement known as
Montanism
Montanism (), known by its adherents as the New Prophecy, was an early Christian movement of the late 2nd century, later referred to by the name of its founder, Montanus. Montanism held views about the basic tenets of Christian theology simil ...
).
In some cases, women have been permitted to be ordained, but not to hold higher positions, such as (until July 2014) that of
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
in the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
.
Where laws prohibit
sex discrimination in employment, exceptions are often made for clergy (for example, in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
) on grounds of
separation of church and state
The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular sta ...
. The following aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the ordination of women from ancient to contemporary times. Religious groups are ordered alphabetically, while subgroups may be ordered chronologically (e.g. Christian denominations).
Ancient pagan religions
Sumer and Akkad
![Sumerian_Cylinder_Seal_of_King_Ur-Nammu](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/Sumerian_Cylinder_Seal_of_King_Ur-Nammu.jpg)
*
Sumer
Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...
ian and
Akkadian Akkadian or Accadian may refer to:
* Akkadians, inhabitants of the Akkadian Empire
* Akkadian language, an extinct Eastern Semitic language
* Akkadian literature, literature in this language
* Akkadian cuneiform
Cuneiform is a logo- syllabi ...
''
EN'' were top-ranking priestesses distinguished by special ceremonial attire and holding equal status to high priests. They owned property, transacted business, and initiated the ''
hieros gamos
''Hieros gamos'', hieros (ἱερός) meaning "holy" or "sacred" and gamos (γάμος) meaning marriage, or Hierogamy (Greek , "holy marriage"), is a sacred marriage that plays out between a god and a goddess, especially when enacted in a symb ...
'' ceremony with priests and kings.
[Sarah Dening (1996), ]
The Mythology of Sex
'', Macmillan, . Ch.3. Enheduanna
Enheduanna ( sux, , also transliterated as , , or variants) was the priestess of the moon god Nanna (Sīn) in the Sumerian city-state of Ur in the reign of her father, Sargon of Akkad. She was likely appointed by her father as the leader of th ...
(2285–2250 BC), an Akkadian princess, was the first known holder of the title "EN Priestess".
* ''Ishtaritu'' were temple prostitutes who specialized in the arts of dancing, music, and singing and served in the temples of
Ishtar
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, divine justice, and political power. She was originally worshiped in S ...
.
*
Puabi
Puabi (Akkadian: 𒅤𒀀𒉿 ''Pu-A-Bi'' "Word of my father"), also called Shubad or Shudi-Ad due to a misinterpretation by Sir Charles Leonard Woolley, was an important woman in the Sumerian city of Ur, during the First Dynasty of Ur (c. 260 ...
was a ''
NIN'', an Akkadian priestess of
Ur in the 26th century BC.
* ''
Nadītu
Nadītu, or Naditu, is the designation of a legal position for women in Babylonian society and for Sumerian temple slaves. The latter were primarily involved in business activities and were allowed to own property.
''Nadītu'' were mainly particu ...
'' served as priestesses in the temples of
Inanna
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...
in the ancient city of
Uruk
Uruk, also known as Warka or Warkah, was an ancient city of Sumer (and later of Babylonia) situated east of the present bed of the Euphrates River on the dried-up ancient channel of the Euphrates east of modern Samawah, Al-Muthannā, Iraq.Harm ...
. They were recruited from the highest families in the land and were supposed to remain childless; they owned property and transacted business.
* In Sumerian epic texts such as
Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta
''Enmerkar and the Lord of Aratta'' is a legendary Sumerian account, preserved in early post-Sumerian copies, composed in the Neo-Sumerian period (ca. 21st century BC).
It is one of a series of accounts describing the conflicts between Enmerkar, ...
, ''Nu-Gig'' were priestesses in temples dedicated to
Inanna
Inanna, also sux, 𒀭𒊩𒌆𒀭𒈾, nin-an-na, label=none is an List of Mesopotamian deities, ancient Mesopotamian goddess of love, war, and fertility. She is also associated with beauty, sex, Divine law, divine justice, and political p ...
, or may be a reference to the
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
herself.
[Jeremy Black (1998), ''Reading Sumerian Poetry'', ]Cambridge University Press
Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press
A university press is an academic publishing hou ...
, . pp 142
Reading Sumerian poetry (pg. 142)
* ''Qadishtu'', Hebrew ''Qedesha'' (קדשה) or ''Kedeshah'',
derived from the root
Q-D-Š
''Q-D-Š'' is a triconsonantal Semitic root meaning " sacred, holy", derived from a concept central to ancient Semitic religion. From a basic verbal meaning "to consecrate, to purify", it could be used as an adjective meaning "holy", or as a s ...
,
[ Blue Letter Bible]
Lexicon results for ''qĕdeshah'' (Strong's H2181)
incorporating Strong's Concordance
''The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible'', generally known as ''Strong's Concordance'', is a Bible concordance, an index of every word in the King James Version (KJV), constructed under the direction of James Strong. Strong first published h ...
(1890) and Gesenius's Lexicon (1857).[Also transliterated ''qĕdeshah'', ''qedeshah'', ''qědēšā'' ,''qedashah'', ''kadeshah'', ''kadesha'', ''qedesha'', ''kdesha''.] are mentioned in the
Hebrew Bible
The Hebrew Bible or Tanakh (;["Tanach"](_blank)
''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''. Hebrew: ''Tān ...
as
sacred prostitutes usually associated with the goddess
Asherah
Asherah (; he, אֲשֵׁרָה, translit=Ăšērā; uga, 𐎀𐎘𐎗𐎚, translit=ʾAṯiratu; akk, 𒀀𒅆𒋥, translit=Aširat; Qatabanian language, Qatabanian: ') in ancient Semitic religion, is a fertility goddess who appears in a ...
.
Ancient Egypt
![Sarg der Priesterin Iset-en-heb Liebieghaus 1653](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Sarg_der_Priesterin_Iset-en-heb_Liebieghaus_1653.jpg)
In
Ancient Egyptian religion
Ancient Egyptian religion was a complex system of polytheistic beliefs and rituals that formed an integral part of ancient Egyptian culture. It centered on the Egyptians' interactions with many deities believed to be present in, and in control ...
,
God's Wife of Amun
God's Wife of Amun (Egyptian: ''ḥm.t nṯr n ỉmn'') was the highest-ranking priestess of the Amun cult, an important religious institution in ancient Egypt. The cult was centered in Thebes in Upper Egypt during the Twenty-fifth and Twenty ...
was the highest ranking
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
ess; this title was held by a daughter of the
High Priest of Amun
The High Priest of Amun or First Prophet of Amun ('' ḥm nṯr tpj n jmn'') was the highest-ranking priest in the priesthood of the ancient Egyptian god Amun. The first high priests of Amun appear in the New Kingdom of Egypt, at the beginning ...
, during the reign of
Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut (; also Hatchepsut; Egyptian: '' ḥꜣt- špswt'' "Foremost of Noble Ladies"; or Hatasu c. 1507–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the second historically confirmed female pharaoh, aft ...
, while the capital of
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
was in
Thebes during the second millennium BC (circa 2160 BC).
Later,
Divine Adoratrice of Amun
The Divine Adoratrice of Amun (Egyptian: '' dwꜣt nṯr n jmn'') was a second title – after God's Wife of Amun – created for the chief priestess of the ancient Egyptian deity Amun. During the first millennium BCE, when the holder of this ...
was a title created for the chief priestess of
Amun
Amun (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as (Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → (Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egyptian ...
. During the first millennium BC, when the holder of this office exercised her largest measure of influence, her position was an important appointment facilitating the transfer of power from one
pharaoh
Pharaoh (, ; Egyptian: ''pr ꜥꜣ''; cop, , Pǝrro; Biblical Hebrew: ''Parʿō'') is the vernacular term often used by modern authors for the kings of ancient Egypt who ruled as monarchs from the First Dynasty (c. 3150 BC) until the an ...
to the next, when his daughter was ''adopted'' to fill it by the incumbent office holder. The Divine Adoratrice ruled over the extensive temple duties and domains, controlling a significant part of the ancient Egyptian economy.
Ancient Egyptian priestesses:
*
Gautseshen
Gautseshen (her name means 'bouquet of lotuses') was an ancient Egyptian priestess, the singer of Montu. She lived during the Twenty-first Dynasty of Egypt.
Description
Her father was Menkheperre, High Priest of Amun; her mother was Princess Ise ...
*
Henutmehyt
*
Henuttawy
Henuttawy (or Henttawy, Henuttaui) (''ḥnw.t-t3.wỉ'', “Mistress of the Two Lands Egypt, from ''ḥnw.t'', 'mistress' and ''t3.wỉ'', dual for ''t3'', 'land') is the name of several royal ladies from Ancient Egypt.
* Henuttawy (19th dynast ...
*
Hui
The Hui people ( zh, c=, p=Huízú, w=Hui2-tsu2, Xiao'erjing: , dng, Хуэйзў, ) are an East Asian ethnoreligious group predominantly composed of Chinese-speaking adherents of Islam. They are distributed throughout China, mainly in the n ...
*
Iset
Iset or Aset is an Ancient Egyptian name, meaning "(She) of the throne". It was the name of the goddess better known by her Greek name Isis. For its etymology see Isis – Etymology.
Its notable bearers were:
* Iset, mother of Thutmose III
* ...
*
Karomama Meritmut
Karomama Meritmut (prenomen: ''Sitamun Mutemhat'') was an ancient Egyptian high priestess, a God's Wife of Amun during the 22nd Dynasty., p.219
She is possibly identical with Karomama, a daughter of Pharaoh Osorkon II, who was depicted in the ...
*
Maatkare Mutemhat
Maatkare ''(Mutemhat)'' was an ancient Egyptian high priestess, a God's Wife of Amun during the 21st Dynasty., p.206
History
She was the daughter of High Priest of Amun Pinedjem I, who was the ''de facto'' ruler of Southern Egypt from 1070 BCE ...
*
Meritamen
Meritamen (also spelled ''Meritamun, Merytamen, Merytamun, Meryt-Amen''; ancient Egyptian: ''Beloved of Amun'') was a daughter and later Great Royal Wife of Pharaoh Ramesses the Great.
Family
Meritamen was a daughter of Ramesses and one o ...
*
Neferhetepes
Neferhetepes (''nefer-hetep-es''; '' nfr-ḥtp- s,'' "Her Peace/Grace Is Beautiful") was an ancient Egyptian princess of the 4th Dynasty; a daughter of Pharaoh Djedefre who ruled between his father Khufu and his brother Khafre. Her mother was He ...
is the earliest attested
priestess of Hathor Priestess of Hathor or Prophetess of Hathor was the title of the Priestess of the goddess Hathor in the Temple of Dendera in Ancient Egypt.
Title
The title is known to be given during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, and was at that point very powerful ...
.
*
Neferure
Neferure (or Neferura) was an Ancient Egypt, Egyptian princess of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. She was the daughter of two pharaohs, Hatshepsut and Thutmose II. She served in high offices in the government and the religious administration of ...
*
Tabekenamun
Tabekenamun (Tabakenamun) was a Nubian queen dated to the Twenty-fifth Dynasty of Egypt.Aidan Dodson & Dyan Hilton: The Complete Royal Families of Ancient Egypt. Thames & Hudson, 2004, , p.234-240
Tabekenamun was a daughter of King Piye and may ...
a
priestess of Hathor Priestess of Hathor or Prophetess of Hathor was the title of the Priestess of the goddess Hathor in the Temple of Dendera in Ancient Egypt.
Title
The title is known to be given during the Old Kingdom of Egypt, and was at that point very powerful ...
as well as a
priestess of Neith.
Ancient Greece
![Piglet carrier Louvre MNB1714](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/Piglet_carrier_Louvre_MNB1714.jpg)
In
ancient Greek religion
Religious practices in ancient Greece encompassed a collection of beliefs, rituals, and mythology, in the form of both popular public religion and cult practices. The application of the modern concept of "religion" to ancient cultures has been ...
, some important observances, such as the
Thesmophoria
The Thesmophoria ( grc, Θεσμοφόρια) was an ancient Greek religious festival, held in honor of the goddess Demeter and her daughter Persephone. It was held annually, mostly around the time that seeds were sown in late autumn – though ...
, were made by women. Priestesses,
Hiereiai
Hiereiai (singular: ''hiereia'') was the title of the female priesthood or priestesses in ancient Greek religion, being the equivalent of the male title '' Hierei''. Ancient Greece had a number of different offices in charge of worship of gods a ...
, served in many different cults of many divinities, with their duties varying depending on the cult and the divinity in which they served.
Priestesses played a major role in the
Eleusinian Mysteries
The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are the " ...
, in which they served on many levels, from the
High Priestess of Demeter
The Priestess of Demeter and Kore, sometimes referred to as the High Priestess of Demeter, was the High Priestess of the Goddesses Demeter and Persephone (Kore) in the Telesterion in Eleusis in Ancient Athens. It was one of the highest religious ...
and
Dadouchousa Prietess
The Eleusinian Mysteries ( el, Ἐλευσίνια Μυστήρια, Eleusínia Mystḗria) were initiations held every year for the cult of Demeter and Persephone based at the Panhellenic Sanctuary of Elefsina in ancient Greece. They are the "m ...
to the
Panageis and
Hierophantides. The
Gerarai
''Gerarai'' ( grc-gre, Γεραραί), also known by the latinized form ''Gerarae'', were priestesses (Hiereiai) of Dionysus in ancient Greek religion.
They presided over sacrifices and participated in the festivals of Theoinia and Iobaccheia ...
were priestesses of
Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
who presided over festivals and rituals associated with the god.
A body of priestesses might also maintain the cult at a particular holy site, such as the
Peleiades Peleiades (Greek: , "doves") were the sacred women of Zeus and the Mother Goddess, Dione, at the Oracle at Dodona. Pindar made a reference to the Pleiades as the "peleiades" a flock of doves, but the connection seems witty and poetical, rather th ...
at the oracle of
Dodona
Dodona (; Doric Greek: Δωδώνα, ''Dōdṓnā'', Ionic and Attic Greek: Δωδώνη, ''Dōdṓnē'') in Epirus in northwestern Greece was the oldest Hellenic oracle, possibly dating to the second millennium BCE according to Herodotus. Th ...
. The ''
Arrephoroi An ''Arrephoros'' ( grc, Ἀρρήφορος) was a girl acolyte in the cult of Athena Polias on the Athenian Acropolis. They were seven to eleven years old. According to Pausanias,Pausanias1.27.3./ref> two ''Arrephoroi'' lived for a year on the Acr ...
'' were young girls ages seven to twelve who worked as
servants
A domestic worker or domestic servant is a person who works within the scope of a residence. The term "domestic service" applies to the equivalent occupational category. In traditional English contexts, such a person was said to be "in service ...
of
Athena Polias
Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...
on the
Athenian Acropolis
The Acropolis of Athens is an ancient citadel located on a rocky outcrop above the city of Athens and contains the remains of several ancient buildings of great architectural and historical significance, the most famous being the Parthenon. Th ...
and were charged with conducting unique rituals under the surveillance of the
High Priestess of Athena Polias The High Priestess of Athena Polias held the highest religious office in Ancient Athens. She enjoyed great prestige and played an official role which was otherwise uncommon in Ancient Athens. Several occasions are mentioned when she made her influe ...
. The
Priestess of Hera at Argos
The Priestess of Hera at Argos was the High Priestess of the Goddess Hera, the protective city deity of Ancient Argos, on the Heraion of Argos in Argos.
It was the highest religious office in Ancient Argos, and its official enjoyed great presti ...
served at the
Heraion of Argos
The Heraion of Argos ( el, Ἡραῖον Ἄργους) is an ancient temple in Argos, Greece. It was part of the greatest sanctuary in the Argolid, dedicated to Hera, whose epithet "Argive Hera" (Ἥρη Ἀργείη ''Here Argeie'') appears ...
and enjoyed great prestige in all Greece.
At several sites women priestesses served as
oracle
An oracle is a person or agency considered to provide wise and insightful counsel or prophetic predictions, most notably including precognition of the future, inspired by deities. As such, it is a form of divination.
Description
The word '' ...
s, the most famous of which is the
Oracle of Delphi
Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed in English as the Pythoness ...
. The priestess of the Temple of Apollo at
Delphi
Delphi (; ), in legend previously called Pytho (Πυθώ), in ancient times was a sacred precinct that served as the seat of Pythia, the major oracle who was consulted about important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. The oracle ...
was the
Pythia
Pythia (; grc, Πυθία ) was the name of the high priestess of the Temple of Apollo (Delphi), Temple of Apollo at Delphi. She specifically served as its oracle and was known as the Oracle of Delphi. Her title was also historically glossed i ...
, credited throughout the
Greco-Roman world
The Greco-Roman civilization (; also Greco-Roman culture; spelled Graeco-Roman in the Commonwealth), as understood by modern scholars and writers, includes the geographical regions and countries that culturally—and so historically—were di ...
for her
prophecies
In religion, a prophecy is a message that has been communicated to a person (typically called a ''prophet'') by a supernatural entity. Prophecies are a feature of many cultures and belief systems and usually contain divine will or law, or prete ...
, which gave her a prominence unusual for a woman in male-dominated
ancient Greece
Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...
. The
Phrygian Sibyl
In the extended complement of sibyls of the Gothic and Renaissance imagination, the Phrygian Sibyl was the priestess presiding over an Apollonian oracle at Phrygia, a historical kingdom in the west central part of the Anatolian highlands. She was ...
presided over an oracle of Apollo in
Anatolia
Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...
n
Phrygia
In classical antiquity, Phrygia ( ; grc, Φρυγία, ''Phrygía'' ) was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now Asian Turkey, centered on the Sangarios River. After its conquest, it became a region of the great empires ...
. The inspired speech of divining women, however, was interpreted by male priests; a woman might be a mantic ''(mantis)'' who became the mouthpiece of a deity through possession, but the "prophecy of interpretation" required specialized knowledge and was considered a rational process suited only to a male '"prophet" (''prophētēs'').
Ancient Rome
![VestalisMaxima](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/VestalisMaxima.jpg)
The Latin word ''
sacerdos'', "priest", is the same for both the
grammatical gender
In linguistics, grammatical gender system is a specific form of noun class system, where nouns are assigned with gender categories that are often not related to their real-world qualities. In languages with grammatical gender, most or all nouns ...
s. In
Roman state religion, the
Vestal Virgins
In ancient Rome, the Vestal Virgins or Vestals ( la, Vestālēs, singular ) were priestesses of Vesta, virgin goddess of Rome's sacred hearth and its flame.
The Vestals were unlike any other public priesthood. They were chosen before puberty ...
were responsible for the continuance and security of Rome as embodied by the sacred fire that they were required to tend on pain of extreme punishment. The Vestals were a
college
A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...
of six ''sacerdotes'' (plural) devoted to
Vesta,
goddess
A goddess is a female deity. In many known cultures, goddesses are often linked with literal or metaphorical pregnancy or imagined feminine roles associated with how women and girls are perceived or expected to behave. This includes themes of s ...
of the hearth, both the focus of a private home ''(
domus
In Ancient Rome, the ''domus'' (plural ''domūs'', genitive ''domūs'' or ''domī'') was the type of town house occupied by the upper classes and some wealthy freedmen during the Republican and Imperial eras. It was found in almost all the ma ...
)'' and the
state hearth that was the center of communal religion. Freed of the usual social obligations to marry and rear children, the Vestals took a vow of
chastity
Chastity, also known as purity, is a virtue related to temperance. Someone who is ''chaste'' refrains either from sexual activity considered immoral or any sexual activity, according to their state of life. In some contexts, for example when mak ...
in order to devote themselves to the study and correct observance of state rituals that were off-limits to the male colleges of priests.
They retained their religious authority until the Christian emperor
Gratian
Gratian (; la, Gratianus; 18 April 359 – 25 August 383) was emperor of the Western Roman Empire from 367 to 383. The eldest son of Valentinian I, Gratian accompanied his father on several campaigns along the Rhine and Danube frontiers and wa ...
confiscated their revenues and his successor
Theodosius I
Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...
closed the
Temple of Vesta
The Temple of Vesta, or the aedes (Latin ''Aedes Vestae''; Italian: ''Tempio di Vesta''), is an ancient edifice in Rome, Italy. The temple is located in the Roman Forum near the Regia and the House of the Vestal Virgins. The Temple of Vesta hous ...
permanently.
The Romans also had at least two priesthoods that were each held jointly by a married couple, the ''
rex'' and ''
regina sacrorum
In ancient Roman religion, the ''rex sacrorum'' ("king of the sacred things", also sometimes ''rex sacrificulus'') was a senatorial priesthood reserved for patricians. Although in the historical era, the '' pontifex maximus'' was the head of Rom ...
'', and the ''
flamen
A (plural ''flamens'' or ''flamines'') was a priest of the ancient Roman religion who was assigned to one of eighteen deities with official cults during the Roman Republic. The most important of these were the three (or "major priests"), who ser ...
'' and ''
flaminica Dialis
In ancient Roman religion, the was the high priest of Jupiter. The term ''Dialis'' is related to ''Diespiter'', an Old Latin form of the name ''Jupiter''. There were 15 '' flamines'', of whom three were ''flamines maiores'', serving the thre ...
''. The ''regina sacrorum'' ("queen of the sacred rites") and the ''flaminica Dialis'' (high priestess of
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the List of Solar System objects by size, largest in the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass more than two and a half times that of all the other planets in the Solar System combined, but ...
) each had her own distinct duties and presided over public sacrifices, the ''regina'' on the
first day of every month, and the ''flaminica'' every
nundinal cycle
The nundinae (), sometimes anglicized to nundines,. were the market days of the ancient Roman calendar, forming a kind of weekend including, for a certain period, rest from work for the ruling class (patricians).
The nundinal cycle, market w ...
(the Roman equivalent of a week). The highly public nature of these sacrifices, like the role of the Vestals, indicates that women's religious activities in ancient Rome were not restricted to the private or domestic sphere.
So essential was the gender complement to these priesthoods that if the wife died, the husband had to give up his office. This is true of the flaminate, and probably true of the ''rex'' and ''regina''.
The title ''sacerdos'' was often specified in relation to a deity or temple,
such as a ''
sacerdos Cereris Sacerdos Cereris, ''sacerdos Cerealis'' or sacerdos Cereris publica was the title of the Priestess of the goddess Ceres (mythology), Ceres in Ancient Rome. It was one of two Roman state cults to include female priests (the other being the Vestal V ...
'' or ''Cerealis'', "priestess of
Ceres
Ceres most commonly refers to:
* Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid
* Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture
Ceres may also refer to:
Places
Brazil
* Ceres, Goiás, Brazil
* Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...
", an office never held by men.
Female ''sacerdotes'' played a leading role in the sanctuaries of Ceres and
Proserpina
Proserpina ( , ) or Proserpine ( ) is an ancient Roman goddess whose iconography, functions and myths are virtually identical to those of Greek Persephone. Proserpina replaced or was combined with the ancient Roman fertility goddess Libera, whos ...
in Rome and throughout Italy that observed so-called "Greek rite" (''
ritus graecus
The vocabulary of ancient Roman religion was highly specialized. Its study affords important information about the religion, traditions and beliefs of the ancient Romans. This legacy is conspicuous in European cultural history in its influence o ...
''). This form of worship had spread from Sicily under Greek influence, and the
Aventine cult of Ceres in Rome was headed by male priests.
[Spaeth, ''The Roman Goddess Ceres'', pp. 4–5, 9, 20 (historical overview and Aventine priesthoods), 84–89 (functions of plebeian aediles), 104–106 (women as priestesses): citing among others ]Cicero
Marcus Tullius Cicero ( ; ; 3 January 106 BC – 7 December 43 BC) was a Roman statesman, lawyer, scholar, philosopher, and academic skeptic, who tried to uphold optimate principles during the political crises that led to the estab ...
, ''In Verres'', 2.4.108; Valerius Maximus
Valerius Maximus () was a 1st-century Latin writer and author of a collection of historical anecdotes: ''Factorum ac dictorum memorabilium libri IX'' ("Nine books of memorable deeds and sayings", also known as ''De factis dictisque memorabilibus'' ...
, 1.1.1; Plutarch
Plutarch (; grc-gre, Πλούταρχος, ''Ploútarchos''; ; – after AD 119) was a Greek Middle Platonist philosopher, historian, biographer, essayist, and priest at the Temple of Apollo in Delphi. He is known primarily for his ''P ...
, ''De Mulierum Virtutibus'', 26. Only women celebrated the rites of the
Bona Dea
Bona Dea (; 'Good Goddess') was a List of Roman deities, goddess in Religion in ancient Rome, ancient Roman religion. She was associated with chastity and fertility in Women in ancient Rome, Roman women, healing, and the protection of the SPQR, st ...
("Good Goddess"), for whom ''sacerdotes'' are recorded.
[Hendrik H. J. Brouwer, ''Bona Dea: The Sources and a Description of the Cult'' (Brill, 1989), pp. 371, 377. One title for a ''sacerdos'' of the Bona Dea was '' damiatrix'', presumably from ''Damia'', one of the names of ]Demeter
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, Demeter (; Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over crops, grains, food, and the fertility of the earth. Although s ...
and associated also with the Bona Dea. The Temple of Ceres in Rome was surved by the Priestess of Ceres,
Sacerdos Cereris Sacerdos Cereris, ''sacerdos Cerealis'' or sacerdos Cereris publica was the title of the Priestess of the goddess Ceres (mythology), Ceres in Ancient Rome. It was one of two Roman state cults to include female priests (the other being the Vestal V ...
, and the Temple of Bona Dea by the Priestess of Bona Dea,
Sacerdos Bonae Deae {{Expand Swedish, Sacerdos Bonae Deae, date=January 2021
Sacerdos Bonae Deae or Damatrix was the title of the Priestess of the goddess Bona Dea in Ancient Rome
In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the fo ...
. Other Priestesses were the
Sacerdos Liberi {{Expand Swedish, Sacerdos Liberi, date=October 2021
Sacerdos Liberi or sacerdos Liberi publica was the title of the Priestess of the god Liber and the goddess Libera in Ancient Rome.Meghan J. DiLuzio :A Place at the Altar: Priestesses in Republ ...
,
Sacerdos Fortunae Muliebris
'' Sacerdos'' is Latin for "priest".
Sacerdos may also refer to:
*Quintus Tineius Sacerdos (c. 160 – aft. 219), Roman politician
*Marius Plotius Sacerdos (3rd century), Roman grammarian
*Sacerdos of Limoges (670–c. 720), French saint
*Sacerdo ...
and the
Sacerdos Matris Deum Magnae Idaeae
''Glossary of ancient Roman religion#sacerdos, Sacerdos'' is Latin for "priest".
Sacerdos may also refer to:
*Quintus Tineius Sacerdos (c. 160 – aft. 219), Roman politician
*Marius Plotius Sacerdos (3rd century), Roman grammarian
*Sacerdos of L ...
; sacerdos also served as priestesses of the Imperial cult.
![Inscription in D](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/eb/Inscription_in_D._Diogo_de_Sousa_Museum_%2815%29.JPG)
From the
Mid Republic onward, religious diversity became increasingly characteristic of the city of Rome. Many religions that were not part of Rome's earliest state religion offered leadership roles as priests for women, among them the imported
cult
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
of
Isis
Isis (; ''Ēse''; ; Meroitic: ''Wos'' 'a''or ''Wusa''; Phoenician: 𐤀𐤎, romanized: ʾs) was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingd ...
and of the ''
Magna Mater
Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible foreru ...
'' ("Great Mother", or
Cybele
Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forer ...
). An
epitaph
An epitaph (; ) is a short text honoring a deceased person. Strictly speaking, it refers to text that is inscribed on a tombstone or plaque, but it may also be used in a figurative sense. Some epitaphs are specified by the person themselves be ...
preserves the title ''sacerdos maxima'' for a woman who held the highest priesthood of the Magna Mater's temple near the current site of
St. Peter's Basilica
The Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican ( it, Basilica Papale di San Pietro in Vaticano), or simply Saint Peter's Basilica ( la, Basilica Sancti Petri), is a church built in the Renaissance style located in Vatican City, the papal en ...
.
Inscriptions for the
Imperial era
The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings around the Mediterr ...
record priestesses of
Juno Populona and of
deified women of the Imperial household.
Under some circumstances, when cults such as
mystery religions
Mystery religions, mystery cults, sacred mysteries or simply mysteries, were religious schools of the Greco-Roman world for which participation was reserved to initiates ''(mystai)''. The main characterization of this religion is the secrecy ass ...
were introduced to Romans, it was preferred that they be maintained by women. Although it was Roman practice to incorporate other religions instead of trying to eradicate them,
Jörg Rüpke Jörg Rüpke (born 27 December 1962 in Herford, West Germany) is a German scholar of comparative religion and classical philology, recipient of the Gay-Lussac Humboldt Prize in 2008, and of the Advanced Grant of the European Research Council in 20 ...
, "Roman Religion – Religions of Rome", ''A Companion to Roman Religion'' (Blackwell, 2007), p. 4. the secrecy of some mystery cults was regarded with suspicion. In 189 BCE, the
senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
attempted to suppress the
Bacchanals, claiming the secret rites corrupted morality and were a hotbed of political conspiracy. One provision of the
senatorial decree was that only women should serve as priests of the
Dionysian religion, perhaps to guard against the
politicizing of the cult,
Jean MacIntosh Turfa
Jean MacIntosh Turfa (born 1947 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) is an American archaeologist and authority on the Etruscan civilization.
Jean MacIntosh graduated from Abington High School in Philadelphia and then earned her bachelor's degree at Gw ...
, "Etruscan Religion at the Watershed: Before and After the Fourth Century BCE", in ''Religion in Republican Italy'' (Cambridge University Press, 2006), p. 48. since even
Roman women who were citizens lacked the right to vote or hold political office. Priestesses of
Liber
In ancient Roman religion and mythology, Liber ( , ; "the free one"), also known as Liber Pater ("the free Father"), was a god of viticulture and wine, male fertility and freedom. He was a patron deity of Rome's plebeians and was part of the ...
, the
Roman god
Roman mythology is the body of myths of ancient Rome as represented in the literature and visual arts of the Romans. One of a wide variety of genres of Roman folklore, ''Roman mythology'' may also refer to the modern study of these representat ...
identified with Dionysus
In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...
, are mentioned by the 1st-century BC scholar
Varro
Marcus Terentius Varro (; 116–27 BC) was a Roman polymath and a prolific author. He is regarded as ancient Rome's greatest scholar, and was described by Petrarch as "the third great light of Rome" (after Vergil and Cicero). He is sometimes calle ...
, as well as indicated by epigraphic evidence.
Other religious titles for Roman women include ''magistra'', a high priestess, female expert or teacher; and ''ministra'', a female assistant, particularly one in service to a deity. A ''magistra'' or ''ministra'' would have been responsible for the regular maintenance of a cult. Epitaphs provide the main evidence for these priesthoods, and the woman is often not identified in terms of her marital status.
Buddhism
![Pema chodron 2007](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ce/Pema_chodron_2007.jpg)
The tradition of the ordained monastic community in Buddhism (the
sangha
Sangha is a Sanskrit word used in many Indian languages, including Pali meaning "association", "assembly", "company" or "community"; Sangha is often used as a surname across these languages. It was historically used in a political context t ...
) began with the Buddha, who established an order of monks.
[Macmillan ''Encyclopedia of Buddhism'' (Volume One), page 352] According to the scriptures,
[''Book of the Discipline'', ]Pali Text Society
The Pali Text Society is a text publication society founded in 1881 by Thomas William Rhys Davids "to foster and promote the study of Pāli texts".
Pāli is the language in which the texts of the Theravada school of Buddhism are preserved. The Pā ...
, volume V, Chapter X later, after an initial reluctance, he also established an order of nuns. Fully ordained Buddhist nuns are called
bhikkhunis.
Mahapajapati Gotami
Mahāpajāpatī Gotamī (Pali; Sanskrit: महाप्रजापती गौतमी, ''Mahāprajāpatī Gautamī'') or Pajapati was the foster-mother, step-mother and maternal aunt (mother's sister) of the Buddha. In Buddhist tradition, s ...
, the aunt and foster mother of Buddha, was the first bhikkhuni; she was ordained in the sixth century B.C.E.
Prajñādhara
Prajñātārā, also known as Keyura, Prajnadhara, or Hannyatara, was the twenty-seventh patriarch of Indian Buddhism according to Chan Buddhism, and the teacher of Bodhidharma.
Life According to The Transmission of the Lamp
Little independent i ...
is the
twenty-seventh Indian Patriarch of
Zen
Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...
Buddhism
Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and gra ...
and is believed to have been a woman.
In the
Mahayana
''Mahāyāna'' (; "Great Vehicle") is a term for a broad group of Buddhist traditions, texts, philosophies, and practices. Mahāyāna Buddhism developed in India (c. 1st century BCE onwards) and is considered one of the three main existing bra ...
tradition during the 13th century, the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
Mugai Nyodai
Mugai Nyodai ( ja, 無外如大, 1223–1298), was one of the first Zen abbesses and the first female Zen master in Japan. A disciple of Mugaku Sogen, she organized convents and spread the lessons of Rinzai
The Rinzai school ( ja, , Rinzai-sh ...
became the first female
Zen master
Zen master is a somewhat vague English term that arose in the first half of the 20th century, sometimes used to refer to an individual who teaches Zen Buddhist meditation and practices, usually implying longtime study and subsequent authorizat ...
in Japan.
However, the bhikkhuni ordination once existing in the countries where
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
is more widespread died out around the 10th century, and novice ordination has also disappeared in those countries. Therefore, 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 Buddhist men in their countries. These "precept-holders" live in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, and Thailand. In particular, the governing council of Burmese Buddhism has ruled that there can be no valid ordination of women in modern times, though some Burmese monks disagree. However, in 2003, Saccavadi and Gunasari were ordained as bhikkhunis in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
, thus becoming the first female Burmese novices in modern times to receive higher ordination in Sri Lanka.
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 training than their precept-holder sisters elsewhere, and can even become Zen priests.
In Tibet there is currently no bhikkhuni ordination, but the
Dalai Lama
Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...
has authorized followers of the Tibetan tradition to be ordained as nuns in traditions that have such ordination.
The bhikkhuni ordination of Buddhist nuns has always been practiced in East Asia.
In 1996, through the efforts of
Sakyadhita Sakyadhita International Association of Buddhist Women is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization founded in 1987 at the conclusion of its first conference and registered in California in the United States in 1988. Sakyadhita holds an international confere ...
, an International Buddhist Women Association, ten Sri Lankan women were ordained as bhikkhunis in Sarnath, India.
Also, bhikkhuni ordination of Buddhist nuns began again in Sri Lanka in 1998 after a lapse of 900 years.
In 2003 Ayya Sudhamma became the first American-born woman to receive bhikkhuni ordination in Sri Lanka.
Furthermore, on February 28, 2003,
Dhammananda Bhikkhuni
Dhammananda Bhikkhuni ( th, ธัมมนันทา; ), born Chatsumarn Kabilsingh ( th, ฉัตรสุมาลย์ กบิลสิงห์; ) or Chatsumarn Kabilsingh Shatsena ( th, ฉัตรสุมาลย์ กบิ ...
, formerly known as Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, became the first Thai woman to receive bhikkhuni ordination as a
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
nun (Theravada is a school of Buddhism).
Dhammananda Bhikkhuni was ordained in Sri Lanka.
Dhammananda Bhikkhuni
Dhammananda Bhikkhuni ( th, ธัมมนันทา; ), born Chatsumarn Kabilsingh ( th, ฉัตรสุมาลย์ กบิลสิงห์; ) or Chatsumarn Kabilsingh Shatsena ( th, ฉัตรสุมาลย์ กบิ ...
's mother Venerable Voramai, also called Ta Tao Fa Tzu, had become the first fully ordained Thai woman in the Mahayana lineage in Taiwan in 1971.
A 55-year-old Thai Buddhist 8-precept white-robed maechee nun, Varanggana Vanavichayen, became the first woman ordained as a monk in Thailand, in 2002.
Since then, the Thai Senate has reviewed and revoked the secular law passed in 1928 banning women's full ordination in Buddhism as unconstitutional for being counter to laws protecting freedom of religion. However Thailand's two main Theravada Buddhist orders, the Mahanikaya and Dhammayutika Nikaya, have yet to officially accept fully ordained women into their ranks.
In 2009 in Australia four women received bhikkhuni ordination as Theravada nuns, the first time such ordination had occurred in Australia.
It was performed in Perth, Australia, on 22 October 2009 at Bodhinyana Monastery. Abbess Vayama together with Venerables
Nirodha
In Buddhism, nirodha, "cessation," "extinction," or "suppression," refers to the cessation or renouncing of craving and desire. It is the third of the Four Noble Truths,_stating_that_suffering_(dukkha.html" ;"title="Four Noble Truths: BUDDHIST P ...
, Seri, and Hasapanna were ordained as Bhikkhunis by a dual Sangha act of Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis in full accordance with the Pali Vinaya.
In 1997 Dhamma Cetiya Vihara in Boston was founded by Ven. Gotami of Thailand, then a 10 precept nun; when she received full ordination in 2000, her dwelling became America's first Theravada Buddhist bhikkhuni vihara. In 1998 Sherry Chayat, born in Brooklyn, became the first American woman to receive transmission in the Rinzai school of Buddhism.
[Encyclopedia of women and religion in North America, Volume 2](_blank)
By Rosemary Skinner Keller, Rosemary Radford Ruether, Marie Cantlon (pg. 642) In 2006
Merle Kodo Boyd
Merle Kodo Boyd (December 23, 1944 – February 20, 2022) was an American Zen Buddhism, Zen Buddhist nun. She was the first African-American woman to receive Dharma transmission in Zen Buddhism, as a Dharma heir of Wendy Egyoku Nakao in the White ...
, born in Texas, became the first African-American woman ever to receive Dharma transmission in Zen Buddhism.
Also in 2006, for the first time in American history, a Buddhist ordination was held where an American woman (Sister Khanti-Khema) took the
Samaneri
A sāmaṇera (Pali); sa, श्रामणेर (), is a novice male monastic in a Buddhist context. A female novice is a ''śrāmaṇerī'' or ''śrāmaṇerikā'' (Sanskrit; Pāli: ''sāmaṇerī'').
Etymology
The ''sāmaṇera'' is a ...
(novice) vows with an American monk (
Bhante Vimalaramsi
Bhante Vimalaramsi (born 1946) is an American Buddhist monk and currently the Abbot of the Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center in Annapolis, Missouri.
Biography
Born Marvel Logan, Bhante Vimalaramsi studied with Anagarika Munindra in 1977 and became ...
) presiding. This was done for the Buddhist American Forest Tradition at the Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center in Missouri.
In 2010 the first Tibetan Buddhist nunnery in America (Vajra Dakini Nunnery in Vermont) was officially consecrated. It offers novice ordination and follows the
Drikung Kagyu
Drikung Kagyü or Drigung Kagyü ( Wylie: 'bri-gung bka'-brgyud) is one of the eight "minor" lineages of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. "Major" here refers to those Kagyü lineages founded by the immediate disciples of Gampopa (1079-1153) ...
lineage of Buddhism. The abbot of the Vajra Dakini nunnery is Khenmo Drolma, an American woman, who is the first bhikkhuni in the
Drikung Kagyu
Drikung Kagyü or Drigung Kagyü ( Wylie: 'bri-gung bka'-brgyud) is one of the eight "minor" lineages of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. "Major" here refers to those Kagyü lineages founded by the immediate disciples of Gampopa (1079-1153) ...
lineage of Buddhism, having been ordained in Taiwan in 2002.
She is also the first westerner, male or female, to be installed as an abbot in the
Drikung Kagyu
Drikung Kagyü or Drigung Kagyü ( Wylie: 'bri-gung bka'-brgyud) is one of the eight "minor" lineages of the Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. "Major" here refers to those Kagyü lineages founded by the immediate disciples of Gampopa (1079-1153) ...
lineage of Buddhism, having been installed as the abbot of the Vajra Dakini Nunnery in 2004.
The Vajra Dakini Nunnery does not follow
The Eight Garudhammas
The Eight Garudhammas (Sanskrit: ,here "garu" or "guru" is used as an adjective, the wikilink points to the associated sanskrit noun.See The Pali Text Society's Pali-English dictionary entry for "garu": https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/app/pali ...
.
Also in 2010, in Northern California, 4 novice nuns were given the full bhikkhuni ordination in the Thai
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
tradition, which included the double ordination ceremony.
Bhante Gunaratana
Bhante Henepola Gunaratana is a Sri Lankan Theravada Buddhist monk. He is affectionately known as Bhante G. Bhante Gunaratana is currently the abbot of the Bhavana Society, a monastery and meditation retreat center that he founded in High View ...
and other monks and nuns were in attendance. It was the first such ordination ever in the Western hemisphere.
The following month, more bhikkhuni ordinations were completed in Southern California, led by Walpola Piyananda and other monks and nuns. The bhikkhunis ordained in Southern California were Lakshapathiye Samadhi (born in Sri Lanka), Cariyapanna, Susila, Sammasati (all three born in Vietnam), and Uttamanyana (born in Myanmar).
The first bhikkhuni ordination in Germany, the
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
bhikkhuni ordination of German nun Samaneri Dhira, occurred on June 21, 2015 at Anenja Vihara.
[Bhikkhuni Happenings - Alliance for Bhikkhunis](_blank)
. Bhikkhuni.net. Retrieved on 2015-06-28.
The first
Theravada
''Theravāda'' () ( si, ථේරවාදය, my, ထေရဝါဒ, th, เถรวาท, km, ថេរវាទ, lo, ເຖຣະວາດ, pi, , ) is the most commonly accepted name of Buddhism's oldest existing school. The school' ...
ordination of bhikkhunis in Indonesia after more than a thousand years occurred in 2015 at Wisma Kusalayani in Lembang, Bandung.
Those ordained included Vajiradevi Sadhika Bhikkhuni from Indonesia, Medha Bhikkhuni from Sri Lanka, Anula Bhikkhuni from Japan, Santasukha Santamana Bhikkhuni from Vietnam, Sukhi Bhikkhuni and Sumangala Bhikkhuni from Malaysia, and Jenti Bhikkhuni from Australia.
Christianity
In the liturgical traditions of
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
, including the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
,
Eastern
Eastern may refer to:
Transportation
*China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai
*Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways
*Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991
*Eastern Air Li ...
and
Oriental Orthodoxy
The Oriental Orthodox Churches are Eastern Christian churches adhering to Miaphysite Christology, with approximately 60 million members worldwide. The Oriental Orthodox Churches are part of the Nicene Christian tradition, and represent ...
,
Lutheranism
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
and
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of the ...
, the term ordination refers more narrowly to the means by which a person is included in one of the orders of
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
s,
priest
A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...
s or
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
s. This is distinguished from the process of consecration to
religious order
A religious order is a lineage of communities and organizations of people who live in some way set apart from society in accordance with their specific religious devotion, usually characterized by the principles of its founder's religious practi ...
s, namely
nun
A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
s and
monk
A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...
s, which are typically open to women and men. Some Protestant denominations understand ordination more generally as the acceptance of a person for pastoral work.
Historians Gary Macy, Kevin Madigan and Carolyn Osiek claim to have identified documented instances of ordained women in the
early Church
Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...
.
In 2021, excavations at the site of a 1600-year-old
Byzantine
The Byzantine Empire, also referred to as the Eastern Roman Empire or Byzantium, was the continuation of the Roman Empire primarily in its eastern provinces during Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, when its capital city was Constantinopl ...
basilica
In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building gave its name ...
revealed mosaics that provided evidence of women serving primarily as
diaconal minister
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
s in early Christendom (though there has been speculation of other religious leaders or ministers being leaders of
convent
A convent is a community of monks, nuns, religious brothers or, sisters or priests. Alternatively, ''convent'' means the building used by the community. The word is particularly used in the Catholic Church, Lutheran churches, and the Anglican ...
s). Additionally, Paul's
letter to the Romans
The Epistle to the Romans is the sixth book in the New Testament, and the longest of the thirteen Pauline epistles. Biblical scholars agree that it was composed by Paul the Apostle to explain that salvation is offered through the gospel of Je ...
, written in the first century AD, mentions a woman deacon.
In the late second century AD, the
Montanist movement ordained women priests and bishops.
In AD 494, in response to reports that women were serving at the altar in the south of Italy,
Pope Gelasius I
Pope Gelasius I was the bishop of Rome from 1 March 492 to his death on 19 November 496. Gelasius was a prolific author whose style placed him on the cusp between Late Antiquity and the Early Middle Ages.The title of his biography by Walter Ullma ...
wrote a letter condemning female participation in the celebration of the
Eucharist
The Eucharist (; from Greek , , ), also known as Holy Communion and the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite that is considered a sacrament in most churches, and as an ordinance in others. According to the New Testament, the rite was instit ...
.
However according to some contemporary scholars, its meaning and significance are not absolutely clear. Because of several textual ambiguities and silences, the letter is open to more than one interpretation modern researchers argue. Not surprisingly, scholars have been polarized about its meaning. Roger Gryson asserts that it is ‘difficult to form an idea of the situation which Pope Gelasius opposed’ and observes that ‘it is regrettable that more details’ about the situation are not available.
The Protestant Reformation introduced the dogma that the authority of the Bible exceeds that of Roman Catholic popes and other church figures. Once the Roman Catholic hierarchy was no longer accepted as the sole authority, some denominations allowed women to preach. For example,
George Fox
George Fox (July 1624 – 13 January 1691) was an English Dissenter, who was a founder of the Religious Society of Friends, commonly known as the Quakers or Friends. The son of a Leicestershire weaver, he lived in times of social upheaval and ...
founded the
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
movement after stating he felt the "
inner light
The inward light, Light of God, Light of Christ, Christ within, That of God, Spirit of God within us, Light within, and inner light are related phrases commonly used within the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) as metaphors for Christ's li ...
" of Christ living in the believer was discovered in 1646.
He believed that the inner light worked in women as well as in men, and said:
The ordination of women has once again been a controversial issue in more recent years with societal focus on
social justice
Social justice is justice in terms of the distribution of wealth, opportunities, and privileges within a society. In Western and Asian cultures, the concept of social justice has often referred to the process of ensuring that individuals fu ...
movements.
Still, some Christians believe that, though men and women are equal, they are not identical and, since
New Testament
The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...
scripture outlays a division between roles of men and women in the Christian Church, it would be inappropriate to assign women the role or responsibilities of a pastor in a New Testament church.
For example, in reference to Anglicanism, some
Anglo-Catholics
Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches.
The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...
or
Evangelicals
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
, while theologically very different, may share opposition to female ordination in the presbyterate and episcopacy.
Evangelical Christians who place emphasis on the
infallibility of the Bible base their opposition to women's ordination partly upon the writings of the
Apostle Paul
Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...
, such as , , and , which appears to demand male leadership in the Church. Some Evangelicals also look to the
Levitical priesthood and
historic rabbinate. Other
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
denominations officially authorize the full ordination of women in churches. Catholics may allude to
Jesus Christ
Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
's choice of disciples as evidence of his intention for an exclusively male
apostolic succession
Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bish ...
, as laid down by early Christian writers such as
Tertullian
Tertullian (; la, Quintus Septimius Florens Tertullianus; 155 AD – 220 AD) was a prolific early Christian author from Carthage in the Roman province of Africa. He was the first Christian author to produce an extensive corpus of L ...
and reiterated in the 1976 ''
Vatican Declaration on the Question of the Admission of Women to the Ministerial Priesthood''.
Supporters of women's ordination may point to the role of notable female figures in the Bible such as
Phoebe,
Junia Junia may refer to:
*Three daughters of Servilia, mistress of Caesar, sisters or half sisters of Marcus Junius Brutus
*:Junia Prima
*: Junia Secunda
*:Junia Tertia
*Junia Calvina, Roman noblewoman of 1st century
*Junia Lepida, another Roman noble ...
(considered an
apostle
An apostle (), in its literal sense, is an emissary, from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (''apóstolos''), literally "one who is sent off", from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (''apostéllein''), "to send off". The purpose of such sending ...
by Paul) and others in , the
female disciples of Jesus
In Christianity, disciple primarily refers to a dedicated follower of Jesus. This term is found in the New Testament only in the Gospels and Acts. In the ancient world, a disciple is a follower or adherent of a teacher. Discipleship is not the ...
, and the
women at the crucifixion The presence of a group of female disciples of Jesus at the crucifixion of Jesus is found in all four Gospels of the New Testament. There have been different interpretations how many and which women were present. Although some Christian traditions h ...
who were the first witnesses to the
Resurrection of Christ
The resurrection of Jesus ( grc-x-biblical, ἀνάστασις τοῦ Ἰησοῦ) is the Christian belief that God raised Jesus on the third day after his crucifixion, starting – or restoring – his exalted life as Christ and Lord. ...
, as supporting evidence of the importance of women as pastoral or episcopal leaders in the early Church. They may also rely on disputed
exegetical
Exegesis ( ; from the Greek , from , "to lead out") is a critical explanation or interpretation of a text. The term is traditionally applied to the interpretation of Biblical works. In modern usage, exegesis can involve critical interpretation ...
interpretations of scriptural language related to gender.
Roman Catholic
The teaching of the
Roman Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, as emphasized by
Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...
in the apostolic letter ''
Ordinatio sacerdotalis
''Ordinatio sacerdotalis'' ( en, Priestly Ordination, italic=yes) is an apostolic constitution issued by Pope John Paul II on 22 May 1994 in which he discussed the Catholic Church's position requiring "the reservation of priestly ordination to men ...
'', is "that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgement is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful".
This teaching is embodied in the current
canon law
Canon law (from grc, κανών, , a 'straight measuring rod, ruler') is a set of ordinances and regulations made by ecclesiastical authority (church leadership) for the government of a Christian organization or church and its members. It is th ...
(1024)
and the ''
Catechism of the Catholic Church
The ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' ( la, Catechismus Catholicae Ecclesiae; commonly called the ''Catechism'' or the ''CCC'') is a catechism promulgated for the Catholic Church by Pope John Paul II in 1992. It aims to summarize, in book for ...
'' (1992), by the canonical statement: "Only a baptized man (
Latin
Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
: ''vir'') validly receives sacred ordination."
[''Codex Iruis Canonici'' canon 1024, c.f. ''Catechism of the Catholic Church'' 1577] Insofar as priestly and episcopal ordination are concerned, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that this requirement is a matter of divine law; it belongs to the deposit of faith and is unchangeable.
["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]
In English
an
In Latin
In 2007, the
Holy See
The Holy See ( lat, Sancta Sedes, ; it, Santa Sede ), also called the See of Rome, Petrine See or Apostolic See, is the jurisdiction of the Pope in his role as the bishop of Rome. It includes the apostolic episcopal see of the Diocese of Rome ...
issued a
decree
A decree is a legal proclamation, usually issued by a head of state (such as the president of a republic or a monarch), according to certain procedures (usually established in a constitution). It has the force of law. The particular term used for ...
stating that attempted ordination of a woman would result in automatic
excommunication
Excommunication is an institutional act of religious censure used to end or at least regulate the communion of a member of a congregation with other members of the religious institution who are in normal communion with each other. The purpose ...
for the women and bishops attempting to ordain them,
and in 2010, that attempted ordination of women is a "grave delict".
An official Papal Commission ordered by
Pope Francis
Pope Francis ( la, Franciscus; it, Francesco; es, link=, Francisco; born Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 17 December 1936) is the head of the Catholic Church. He has been the bishop of Rome and sovereign of the Vatican City State since 13 March 2013. ...
in 2016 was charged with determining whether the ancient practice of having female deacons (
deaconess
The ministry of a deaconess is, in modern times, a usually non-ordained ministry for women in some Protestant, Oriental Orthodox, and Eastern Orthodox churches to provide pastoral care, especially for other women, and which may carry a limited ...
es) is possible, provided they are non-ordained and that certain reserved functions of ordained male permanent or transitional deacons—proclaiming the Gospel at Mass, giving a homily, and performing non-emergency baptisms—would not be permitted for the discussed female diaconate. In October 2019, the
Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region
The Synod of Bishops for the Pan-Amazon region (), commonly referred to as the Amazon synod (), met in Rome from 6 to 27 October 2019. Pope Francis announced on 15 October 2017 that a special assembly of the Synod of Bishops would work "to identif ...
called for "married priests, pope to reopen women deacons commission." Pope Francis later omitted discussion of the issue from the ensuing documents.
Mariavites
![Felicjanów3](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/79/Felicjan%C3%B3w3.jpg)
Inspired by a mystically inclined nun,
Feliksa Kozłowska, the
Mariavite
The Mariavite Church is today one of two independent Christianity, Christian Church body, churches collectively known as Mariavites who first emerged from the religious inspiration of Polish noblewoman and nun, Feliksa Kozłowska (1862-1921) in ...
movement originally began as a response to the perceived corruption of the Roman Catholic Church in the
Russian Partition
The Russian Partition ( pl, zabór rosyjski), sometimes called Russian Poland, constituted the former territories of the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth that were annexed by the Russian Empire in the course of late-18th-century Partitions of Po ...
of 19th century Poland. The Mariavites, so named for their devotion to the Virgin Mary, attracted numerous parishes across
Mazovia
Mazovia or Masovia ( pl, Mazowsze) is a historical region in mid-north-eastern Poland. It spans the North European Plain, roughly between Łódź and Białystok, with Warsaw being the unofficial capital and largest city. Throughout the centurie ...
and the region around
Łódź
Łódź, also rendered in English as Lodz, is a city in central Poland and a former industrial centre. It is the capital of Łódź Voivodeship, and is located approximately south-west of Warsaw. The city's coat of arms is an example of canti ...
and at their height numbered some 300,000 people. Fearing a
schism
A schism ( , , or, less commonly, ) is a division between people, usually belonging to an organization, movement, or religious denomination. The word is most frequently applied to a split in what had previously been a single religious body, suc ...
, the established church authorities asked for intervention from the
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
. The Mariavites were eventually excommunicated by
Papal Bull in 1905 and 1906. Their clergy, cut loose from the Catholic Church, found sanctuary with the
Old Catholic Church
The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...
and in 1909 the first Mariavite bishop,
Michael Kowalski, was consecrated in Utrecht. Twenty years later, the now constituted
Mariavite Church
The Mariavite Church is today one of two independent Christian churches collectively known as Mariavites who first emerged from the religious inspiration of Polish noblewoman and nun, Feliksa Kozłowska (1862-1921) in the late 19th-century. In ...
was riven by policy differences and a leadership struggle. Nevertheless, Archbishop Kowalski ordained the first 12 nuns as priests in 1929. He also introduced priestly marriage. The split in the church took effect, in part, over the place of the feminine in theology and the role of women in the life of the church. By 1935, Kowalski had introduced a "universal priesthood" that extended the priestly office to selected members of the laity. The two Mariavite churches survive to this day. The successors of Kowalski, who are known as the
Catholic Mariavite Church
The Catholic Mariavite Church is an independent Old Catholic denomination in Poland resulting from a schism in 1935 within the Old Catholic Mariavite Church.
Origins
Originally, the ''Mariavite movement'' emerged as a call for renewal within ...
and are based in the town of
Felicjanów in the
Płock
Płock (pronounced ) is a city in central Poland, on the Vistula river, in the Masovian Voivodeship. According to the data provided by GUS on 31 December 2021, there were 116,962 inhabitants in the city. Its full ceremonial name, according to the ...
region of Poland, are headed by a bishop who is a woman, although their numbers are dwarfed by the adherents of the more conventionally patriarchal Mariavites of Płock.
Dissenters
Various Catholics have written in favor of ordaining women.
Dissenting groups advocating women's ordination in opposition to Catholic teaching
include Women's Ordination Worldwide, Catholic Women's Ordination,
Roman Catholic Womenpriests Roman Catholic Womenpriests (RCWP) is an independent international organization that claims a connection to the Roman Catholic Church. It is descended from the Danube Seven, a group of women who assert that they were ordained as priests in 2002 by ...
,
and
Women's Ordination Conference
The Women's Ordination Conference is an organization in the United States that works to ordain women as deacons, priests, and bishops in the Catholic Church.
Founded in 1975, the conference was seeded from an idea the year before, when Mary B. Ly ...
.
Some cite the alleged ordination of
Ludmila Javorová
Ludmila Javorová (born 31 January 1932 in Brno) is a Czech Roman Catholic woman who worked in the underground church during the time of communist rule in Czechoslovakia and served as a vicar general of a clandestine bishop. She was one of a n ...
in
Communist
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, a s ...
Czechoslovakia
, rue, Чеськословеньско, , yi, טשעכאסלאוואקיי,
, common_name = Czechoslovakia
, life_span = 1918–19391945–1992
, p1 = Austria-Hungary
, image_p1 ...
in 1970 by Bishop
Felix Davídek
Felix may refer to:
* Felix (name), people and fictional characters with the name
Places
* Arabia Felix is the ancient Latin name of Yemen
* Felix, Spain, a municipality of the province Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, ...
(1921–1988), himself clandestinely consecrated due to the shortage of priests caused by state persecution, as a precedent.
The Catholic Church treats attempted ordinations of women as invalid and automatically excommunicates all participants.
Eastern Orthodox
The
Eastern Orthodox Church
The Eastern Orthodox Church, also called the Orthodox Church, is the second-largest Christian church, with approximately 220 million baptized members. It operates as a communion of autocephalous churches, each governed by its bishops via ...
follows a line of reasoning similar to that of the Roman Catholic Church with respect to the ordination of bishops and priests, and does not allow women's ordination to those orders.
Thomas Hopko
Thomas John Hopko (March 28, 1939 – March 18, 2015) was an Eastern Orthodox Christian priest and theologian. He was the Dean of Saint Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary from September 1992 until July 1, 2002 and taught dogmatic theology ...
and Evangelos Theodorou have contended that female deacons were fully ordained in antiquity.
K. K. Fitzgerald has followed and amplified Theodorou's research. Metropolitan
Kallistos Ware
Kallistos Ware (born Timothy Richard Ware, 11 September 1934 – 24 August 2022) was an English bishop and theologian of the Eastern Orthodox Church. From 1982, he held the titular bishopric of Diokleia in Phrygia ( gr, Διόκλεια Φρυ ...
wrote:
[ as quoted in ]
On October 8, 2004, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece voted to permit the appointment of monastic deaconesses, that is, women to minister and assist at the liturgy within their own monasteries. The document however does not use the term χειροτονία (ordination) although the rites that are to be used are rites of ordination of clergy.
There is a strong monastic tradition, pursued by both men and women in the Orthodox Church, where monks and nuns lead identical spiritual lives. Unlike
Latin Rite
Latin liturgical rites, or Western liturgical rites, are Catholic rites of public worship employed by the Latin Church, the largest particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church, that originated in Europe where the Latin language once ...
Catholic religious life, which has myriad traditions, both contemplative and active (see
Benedictine
, image = Medalla San Benito.PNG
, caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal
, abbreviation = OSB
, formation =
, motto = (English: 'Pray and Work')
, foun ...
and
Cistercian monks
The Cistercians, () officially the Order of Cistercians ( la, (Sacer) Ordo Cisterciensis, abbreviated as OCist or SOCist), are a Catholic religious order of monks and nuns that branched off from the Benedictines and follow the Rule of Saint B ...
,
Dominican friars
The Order of Preachers ( la, Ordo Praedicatorum) abbreviated OP, also known as the Dominicans, is a Catholic mendicant order of Pontifical Right for men founded in Toulouse, France, by the Spanish priest, saint and mystic Dominic of Cal ...
,
Franciscan friars
The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...
,
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...
), that of Orthodoxy and the
Christian East generally has remained exclusively
ascetic
Asceticism (; from the el, ἄσκησις, áskesis, exercise', 'training) is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from sensual pleasures, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their p ...
and
monastic
Monasticism (from Ancient Greek , , from , , 'alone'), also referred to as monachism, or monkhood, is a religion, religious way of life in which one renounces world (theology), worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work. Monastic ...
, relying principally upon the early
Syriac tradition, the
Desert Fathers
The Desert Fathers or Desert Monks were early Christian hermits and ascetics, who lived primarily in the Scetes desert of the Roman province of Egypt
, conventional_long_name = Roman Egypt
, common_name = Egypt
, subdivision = Province
, na ...
, and the
Rule of Saint Benedict
The ''Rule of Saint Benedict'' ( la, Regula Sancti Benedicti) is a book of precepts written in Latin in 516 by St Benedict of Nursia ( AD 480–550) for monks living communally under the authority of an abbot.
The spirit of Saint Benedict's Ru ...
of Nursia.
Protestant
Many Protestants believe female ministry is justified by the fact that
Mary Magdalene
Mary Magdalene (sometimes called Mary of Magdala, or simply the Magdalene or the Madeleine) was a woman who, according to the four canonical gospels, traveled with Jesus as one of his followers and was a witness to crucifixion of Jesus, his cru ...
was chosen by Jesus to announce his resurrection to the apostles.
A key
theological
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
doctrine for Reformed and most other
Protestants
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century against what its followers perceived to b ...
is the
priesthood of all believers
The priesthood of all believers or universal priesthood is a biblical principle in most Protestant branches of Christianity which is distinct from the institution of the ''ministerial'' priesthood ( holy orders) found in some other branches, incl ...
—a doctrine considered by them so important that it has been dubbed by some as "a clarion truth of Scripture".
[Hagopian, David]
"Trading Places: The Priesthood of All Believers"
The Center for Reformed Theology and Apologetics (CRTA), 1990. Accessed 21 Jan 2013
Most Protestant denominations require pastors, ministers, deacons, and elders to be formally ordained. The early Protestant reformer
Martin Bucer
Martin Bucer ( early German: ''Martin Butzer''; 11 November 1491 – 28 February 1551) was a German Protestant reformer based in Strasbourg who influenced Lutheran, Calvinist, and Anglican doctrines and practices. Bucer was originally a me ...
, for instance, cited Ephesians 4 and other Pauline letters in support of this.
While the process of ordination varies among the denominations and the specific church office to be held, it may require preparatory training such as
seminary
A seminary, school of theology, theological seminary, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called ''seminarians'') in scripture, theology, generally to prepare them for ordination to serve as clergy, ...
or
Bible college
A Bible college, sometimes referred to as a Bible institute or theological institute, is an evangelical Christian or Restoration Movement Christian institution of higher education which prepares students for Christian ministry with theological educ ...
, election by the congregation or appointment by a higher authority, and expectations of a lifestyle that requires a higher standard. For example, the ''Good News Translation'' of James 3:1 says, "My friends, not many of you should become teachers. As you know, we teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others."
![AssemblyOfQuakers](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/AssemblyOfQuakers.jpg)
Usually, these roles were male preserves. However, Quakers have ordained women from their founding in the mid-17th century. Women's ministry has been part of Methodist tradition in the UK for over 200 years. In the late 18th century in England, John Wesley allowed for female office-bearers and preachers.
["The question of the ordination of women in the community of churches"](_blank)
. ''Anglican Theological Review
The ''Anglican Theological Review'' is the "unofficial journal of the seminaries of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada." Issues include peer-reviewed articles, poetry submissions, and book reviews. The jo ...
'', Viser, Jan. Summer 2002. Accessed September 18, 2007 The
Salvation Army
Salvation (from Latin: ''salvatio'', from ''salva'', 'safe, saved') is the state of being saved or protected from harm or a dire situation. In religion and theology, ''salvation'' generally refers to the deliverance of the soul from sin and its c ...
has allowed the ordination of women since its beginning in 1865, although it was a hotly disputed topic between William and Catherine Booth.
[William Collier, ''The General Next to God'' (Fount, 1975)] The fourth, thirteenth, and nineteenth
Generals of the Salvation Army
General is the title of the international leader and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Salvation Army, a Christian denomination with extensive charitable social services that gives quasi-military rank to its ministers (who are therefore known ...
were women.
Similarly, the
Church of the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene is an evangelical Christian denomination that emerged in North America from the 19th-century Wesleyan-Holiness movement within Methodism. It is headquartered in Lenexa within Johnson County, Kansas. With its members co ...
has ordained women since its foundation in 1908, at which time a full 25% of its ordained ministers were women.
Many Protestant denominations are committed to congregational governance and reserve the power to ordain ministers to local congregations. Because of this, if there is no denomination-wide prohibition on ordaining women, congregations may do so while other congregations of the same denomination might not consider doing likewise.
Since the 20th century an increasing number of Protestant Christian denominations have begun ordaining women. The
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
appointed female lay readers during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
. Later the
United Church of Canada
The United Church of Canada (french: link=no, Église unie du Canada) is a mainline Protestant denomination that is the largest Protestant Christian denomination in Canada and the second largest Canadian Christian denomination after the Catholi ...
in 1936 (
Lydia Emelie Gruchy
Lydia Emelie Gruchy (September 5, 1894 – April 9, 1992) was a French-born Canadian who became the first woman ordained to the ministry of the United Church of Canada. She was the first woman to enroll in theological studies, to graduate from a P ...
) and the American
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
in 1956 also began to ordain women.
The first female
Moderator of the United Church of Canada
The Moderator of the United Church of Canada is the most senior elected official within the United Church of Canada. He or she may be a lay person or a member of the Order of Ministry and is elected to a three-year term by commissioners attend ...
—a position open to both ministers and laypeople—was the Rev.
Lois Miriam Wilson
Lois Miriam Wilson (born Lois Freeman; April 8, 1927) is a retired United Church Minister who was the first female Moderator of the United Church of Canada, from 1980 to 1982. She was ordained a United Church minister in 1965, her husband hav ...
, who served 1980–1982.
In 1918,
Alma Bridwell White
Alma Bridwell White (June 16, 1862 – June 26, 1946) was the founder and a bishop of the Pillar of Fire Church. In 1918, she became the first woman bishop of Pillar of Fire in the United States. She was a proponent of feminism. She also ass ...
, head of the
Pillar of Fire Church
The Pillar of Fire International, also known as the Pillar of Fire Church, is a Methodist Christianity, Christian denomination with headquarters in Zarephath, New Jersey. The Pillar of Fire Church affirms the Articles of Religion (Methodist), Meth ...
, became the first woman to be ordained bishop in the United States.
Today, over half of all American Protestant denominations ordain women,
[ Sociology"> Sociology](_blank)
by Beth B. Hess, Elizabeth Warren Markson, Peter J. Stein 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.
[David William Kling. ]
The Bible in history: how the texts have shaped the times
'' (p. 272)
Church of the Nazarene
The Church of the Nazarene has ordained women since its foundation as a denomination in 1908, at which time fully 25% of its ordained ministers were women. According to the Church of the Nazarene Manual, "The Church of the Nazarene supports the right of women to use their God-given spiritual gifts within the church, affirms the historic right of women to be elected and appointed to places of leadership within
the Church of the Nazarene, including the offices of both elder and deacon."
Lutheranism
The
Church of Denmark
The Evangelical-Lutheran Church in Denmark or National Church, sometimes called the Church of Denmark ( da, Folkekirken, literally: "The People's Church" or unofficially da, Den danske folkekirke, literally: "The Danish People's Church"; kl, ...
became the first Lutheran body to ordain women in 1948. The largest Lutheran churches in the United States and Canada, The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC), have been ordaining women since 1970. The
Lutheran Church Missouri Synod
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
, which also encompasses the Lutheran Church-Canada, does not ordain women; neither do the
Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod
The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS), also referred to simply as the Wisconsin Synod, is an American Confessional Lutheran denomination of Christianity. Characterized as theologically conservative, it was founded in 1850 in Milwaukee ...
or the
Evangelical Lutheran Synod
The Evangelical Lutheran Synod (ELS) is a US-based Protestant Christian denomination based in Mankato, Minnesota. It describes itself as a conservative, Confessional Lutheran body. The ELS has 130 congregations and has missions in Peru, Chile, ...
.
Anglican
In 1917 the Church of England licensed women as lay readers called
bishop's messenger A bishop's messenger was a woman appointed a lay reader by the Church of England during the First World War due to the shortage of male clergy. Messengers were first appointed in 1917 in many dioceses of the Church of England.
Meanwhile, women were ...
s, many of whom ran churches, but did not go as far as to ordain them.
From 1930 to 1978 the
promoted the ordination of women in the Church of England.
Within Anglicanism the majority of provinces now ordain women as deacons and priests.
The first three women ordained as priests in the Anglican Communion were in
Hong Kong
Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...
:
Li Tim-Oi
Florence Li Tim-Oi (; 5 May 1907 in Hong Kong – 26 February 1992 in Toronto) was the first woman to be ordained to the priesthood in the Anglican Communion, on 25 January 1944.
Biography
In 1931, Florence Li was present at the ordination of ...
in 1944 and Jane Hwang and
Joyce M. Bennett
Joyce Mary Bennett (; 22 April 1923 – 11 July 2015) was the first Englishwoman to be ordained a priest in the Anglican Communion in 1971.
Biography
Bennett was born in London. She was educated at Burlington school, Westminster, which was eva ...
in 1971.
On July 29, 1974, Bishops
Daniel Corrigan
Daniel N. Corrigan, born as Daniel Pink (October 25, 1900 – September 21, 1994) was an American prelate of the Episcopal Church, who served as Suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Colorado, from 1958 to 1970. He was known for his progre ...
,
Robert L. DeWitt
Robert Lionne DeWitt (March 12, 1916 - November 21, 2003) was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, serving as diocesan from 1964 to 1973. He became known for fighting against the Vietnam War and racism, as well as working for social j ...
, and
Edward R. Welles II
Edward Randolph Welles II (April 20, 1907 – April 15, 1991) was the fourth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri, serving from 1950 to 1972.
Early life and education
Welles was born on April 20, 1907 in Cincinnati, Ohio, the son of th ...
of the
U.S. Episcopal Church, with Bishop Antonio Ramos of Costa Rica, ordained eleven women as priests in a ceremony that was widely considered "irregular" because the women lacked "recommendation from the standing committee", a canonical prerequisite for ordination. The "
Philadelphia Eleven
The Philadelphia Eleven are eleven women who were the first women ordained as priests in the Episcopal Church on July 29, 1974, two years before General Convention affirmed and explicitly authorized the ordination of women to the priesthood.
Ba ...
", as they became known, were Merrill Bittner,
Alison Cheek
Alison Mary Cheek (April 11, 1927 – September 1, 2019) was an Australian-born American religious leader. She was one of the first women ordained in the Episcopal Church in the United States and the first woman to publicly celebrate the Eucharis ...
, Alla Bozarth (Campell),
Emily C. Hewitt
Emily Clark Hewitt (born May 26, 1944) is a former judge and chief judge of the United States Court of Federal Claims.
Early life
Hewitt was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She graduated from the Roland Park Country School in Baltimore and in 1966, ...
,
Carter Heyward
Isabel Carter Heyward (born 1945) is an American feminist theologian and priest in the Episcopal Church, the province of the worldwide Anglican Communion in the United States. In 1974, she was one of the Philadelphia Eleven, eleven women whose ...
, Suzanne R. Hiatt (d. 2002), Marie Moorefield,
Jeannette Piccard
Jeannette Ridlon Piccard ( ; January 5, 1895 – May 17, 1981) was an American high-altitude balloon (aircraft), balloonist, and in later life an Episcopalianism, Episcopal priest. She held the women's altitude record for nearly three decades, an ...
(d. 1981),
Betty Bone Schiess Betty Bone Schiess (April 2, 1923 – October 20, 2017) was an American Episcopal priest. She was one of the first female Episcopal priests in the United States, and a member of the Philadelphia Eleven: leaders of the movement to allow the ordinati ...
, Katrina Welles Swanson (d. 2006), and Nancy Hatch Wittig.
Initially opposed by the House of Bishops, the ordinations received approval from the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in September 1976. This General Convention approved the ordination of women to both the priesthood and the episcopate.
Reacting to the action of the General Convention, clergy and laypersons opposed to the ordination of women to the priesthood met in convention at the
Congress of St. Louis The September 14-16, 1977 Congress of St. Louis was an international gathering of nearly 2,000 Anglicans in St. Louis, Missouri, united in their rejection of theological changes introduced by the Anglican Church of Canada and by the Episcopal Church ...
and attempted to form a rival Anglican church in the US and Canada. Despite the plans for a united North American church, the result was division into several Continuing Anglican churches, which now make up part of the
Continuing Anglican movement
The Continuing Anglican Movement, also known as the Anglican Continuum, encompasses a number of Christian churches, principally based in North America, that have an Anglican identity and tradition but are not part of the Anglican Communion.
The ...
.
The first woman to become a bishop in the Anglican Communion was
Barbara Harris, who was elected a suffragan bishop in the
Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.
History
Massachusetts was founded by Puritans who did not accept such aspects of the Church of England as bish ...
in 1988 and ordained on February 11, 1989. The majority of Anglican provinces now permit the ordination of women as bishops,
[Women bishops in the Church of England?](_blank)
By Church of England. House of Bishops (pg. 279) and as of 2014, women have served or are serving as bishops in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
New Zealand
New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...
,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
,
South Africa
South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
,
South India
South India, also known as Dakshina Bharata or Peninsular India, consists of the peninsular southern part of India. It encompasses the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Telangana, as well as the union territo ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...
, and in the
extra provincial Episcopal Church of Cuba
The Episcopal Church of Cuba ( es, Iglesia Episcopal de Cuba) is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States (ECUSA or TEC). The diocese consists of the entire country of Cuba. From 1966 to 2020, it was an extra-provincial diocese unde ...
.
Libby Lane
Elizabeth Jane Holden Lane (born 8 December 1966) is a British Anglican bishop and Lord Spiritual. Since February 2019, she has served as Bishop of Derby in the Church of England, the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Derby. From January 2015 t ...
became the first woman consecrated a bishop of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
in 2015.
It had ordained 32 women as its first female priests in March 1994.
In 2015
Rachel Treweek
Rachel Treweek (née Montgomery; born 4 February 1963 at Broxbourne, Hertfordshire) is an Anglican bishop who sits in the House of Lords as a Lord Spiritual.
Since June 2015, she has served as Bishop of Gloucester, the first female diocesan bis ...
was consecrated as the first female diocesan bishop in the Church of England (Diocese of Gloucester).
["First female diocesan bishop in C of E consecrated"](_blank)
. Anglicannews.org. Retrieved on 2015-07-23. She and
Sarah Mullally
Dame Sarah Elisabeth Mullally, (''née'' Bowser; born 26 March 1962) is a British Anglican bishop, Lord Spiritual and former nurse. She has been Bishop of London since 8 March 2018. , Bishop of Crediton, were the first women to be consecrated and ordained bishop in
Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christian structures in England. It forms part of a World Heritage Site. It is the cathedral of the Archbishop of Canterbury, currently Justin Welby, leader of the ...
.
Also that year Treweek became the first woman to sit in the House of Lords as a
Lord Spiritual
The Lords Spiritual are the bishops of the Church of England who serve in the House of Lords of the United Kingdom. 26 out of the 42 diocesan bishops and archbishops of the Church of England serve as Lords Spiritual (not counting retired archbi ...
, thus making her at the time the most senior ordained woman in the Church of England.
On June 18, 2006, the Episcopal Church became the first Anglican province to elect a woman, the Most Rev.
Katharine Jefferts Schori
Katharine Jefferts Schori (born March 26, 1954) is the former Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the United States. Previously elected as the 9th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, she was the first woman elected ...
, as a primate (leader of an Anglican province), called the "Presiding Bishop" in the United States.
Methodism
Methodist views on the ordination of women in the
rite Rite may refer to:
* Ritual, an established ceremonious act
* Rite of passage, a ceremonious act associated with social transition
Religion
* Rite (Christianity), a sacred ritual or liturgical tradition in various Christian denominations
* Catho ...
of
holy orders are diverse.
Today some
Methodist
Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's b ...
denominations practice the ordination of women, such as in the
United Methodist Church
The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...
(UMC), in which the ordination of women has occurred since its creation in 1968, as well as in the
Free Methodist Church
The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan–Arminian in theology.
The Free Methodist Church has members in over 100 ...
(FMC), which ordained its first woman elder in 1911,
in the
Methodist Church of Great Britain
The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestantism, Protestant List of Christian denominations, Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodism, Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, an ...
, which ordained its first female
deacon
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
in 1890 and ordained its first female elders (that is,
presbyter
Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros,'' which means elder or senior, although many in the Christian antiquity would understand ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning as ...
s) in 1974,
and in the
Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection
The Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection (AWMC), originally the Wesleyan Methodist Church (Allegheny Conference), and also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church (WMC), is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement pri ...
, which ordained its first female elder in 1853,
as well as the
Bible Methodist Connection of Churches
The Bible Methodist Connection of Churches is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement.
History
The movement which would become Bible Methodist Connection of Churches began in the mid-18th century within the Church o ...
, which has always ordained women to the presbyterate and diaconate.
Other Methodist denominations do not ordain women, such as the
Southern Methodist Church
The Southern Methodist Church is a conservative Protestant Christian denomination with churches located in the southern part of the United States. The church maintains headquarters in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
The church was formed in 1940 by ...
(SMC),
Evangelical Methodist Church of America
The Evangelical Methodist Church of America (or Evangelical Methodist Conference) Christian denomination based in the United States. Ardently Fundamental, the denomination has its roots in a movement of churches that broke away from Mainline Me ...
,
Fundamental Methodist Conference, Evangelical Wesleyan Church (EWC), and Primitive Methodist Church (PMC), the latter two of which do not ordain women as Elder (Methodism), elders nor do they license them as pastors or Methodist local preacher, local preachers;
the EWC and PMC do, however, consecrate women as deaconesses.
Independent Methodist parishes that are registered with the Association of Independent Methodists do not permit the ordination of women to holy orders.
Religious Society of Friends
From their founding in the mid-17th century, Quakers allowed women to preach. They believed that both genders are equally capable of inspiration by the Holy Spirit and thus there is a tradition of women preachers in Quaker Meetings from their earliest days.
In order to be a preacher, a Friend had to obtain recognition by a Quaking Meeting. In the eighteenth century, ministers typically sat at the front of the meeting house, with women on one side and men on the other, all on the same raised platform.
Women ministers were active from the earliest days. In 1657, Mary Howgill, one of the Valiant Sixty (an early group of Quaker preachers), rebuked Oliver Cromwell for persecuting Quakers, saying, "When thou givest account of all those actions, which have been acted by thee, ... as my soul lives, these things will be laid to thy charge." Later, in 1704, Esther Palmer of Flushing, Long Island, and Susanna Freeborn of Newport, Rhode Island, set out on a 3,230 mile journey across eight colonies of North America, including visits to preach in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.
Other well-known Quaker women preachers were Mary Lawson of Philadelphia, Mary Bannister of London, England, Mary Ellerton of York, England, Rachel Wilson of Virginia, Catharine Payton of Pennsylvania, Ann Moore of New York, Susanna Hatton of Delaware, and Mary Dyer of Boston.
Baptist
American Clarissa Danforth, a member of the Free Will Baptist tradition, was ordained a pastor in 1815, being the first Baptist woman to be in holy orders. In 1882, the National Baptist Convention, USA ordained women, and the Progressive National Baptist Convention in 1961.
Pentecostal
In 1975, in the International Church of the Foursquare Gospel, founded by female evangelist Aimee Semple McPherson, the ordination of women began. Prior, the Assemblies of God of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
accepted women's ordination in 1927. Other Pentecostal churches have also very different positions on this issue with some of them accept women pastors and others not.
Seventh-day Adventist
According to its Working Policy, the Seventh-day Adventist Church, Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church restricts certain positions of service and responsibility to those who have been ordained to the gospel ministry. The General Conference (GC) in session, the highest decision-making body of the church, has never approved the ordination of women as ministers, despite the significant foundational role and ongoing influence of a woman, Ellen G. White. Adventists have found no clear mandate or precedent for or against the practice of ordaining women in Scripture or in White's writings. In recent years the ordination of women has been the subject of heated debate, especially in North America and Europe. In the Adventist church, candidates for ordination are recommended by local conferences (which usually administer 50–150 local congregations) and approved by union conferences (which administer 6–12 local conferences). The church's Fundamental Beliefs and its worldwide practice as set forth in its Church Manual, including the worldwide qualifications for ordination currently restricted to men, can be revised only at a GC session.
In 1990, the GC session voted against a motion to establish a worldwide policy permitting the ordination of women.
In 1995, GC delegates voted not to authorize any of the 13 world divisions to establish policies for ordaining women within its territory.
After a delegate at the 2010 GC session recommended it, the GC administration on September 20, 2011 established the Theology of Ordination Study Committee, which included representatives from each of its 13 world division biblical research committees, to study the issue and prepare a recommendation for 2015 GC session.
In October 2011 at its Annual Council meeting, the GC Executive Committee voted 167-117 against a request from the North American Division (NAD) -- supported by the Trans-European Division -- to permit persons (including women) with commissioned minister credentials to serve as local conference presidents. Later that month, the NAD ignored the GC action and voted to permit women with commissioned minister credentials to serve as conference presidents.
In the wake of the Annual Council vote, a small group of Adventists in the Southeastern California Conference (SECC) organized the Ordination Political Action Committee (OPAC) with the goal of bringing political pressure on the SECC leadership to unilaterally adopt the policy of pastoral ordination without regard to gender. The group launched the OPAC on January 1, 2012 with the stated intention of achieving its objective by March 31, 2012. After creating a comprehensive web site, a widely distrubuted petition, and a presence on various social media platforms and after holding multiple meetings with various groups, including SECC officials, the OPAC reached its goal on March 22, 2012 when the SECC Executive voted 19-2 to immediately implement the policy of ordaining pastors without regard to gender.
Meanwhile, early in 2012, the GC issued an analysis of church history and policy, demonstrating that worldwide divisions of the GC do not have the authority to establish policy different from that of the GC.
However, in their analysis, the GC confirmed that the "final responsibility and authority" for approving candidates for ordination resides at the union conference level. Several union conferences subsequently voted to approve ordinations without regard to gender.
After achieving its initial objective in the SECC, the OPAC shifted its focus to the Pacific Union Conference (PUCon), which, by policy, must review and act on all ordination recommendations from its local conferences. For many years the PUCon had supported the concept of ordaining women pastors. It took up the matter again on March 15, 2012 but tabled any action until May 9, 2012, when it voted 42-2 to begin processing ministerial ordinations without regard to gender as soon as it could amend its bylaws. The vote also included the call for a constituency meeting on August 19, 2012, when it would consider such a bylaws change. The PUCon constituents voted 79% (334-87) to support this recommendation and amend the bylaws accordingly. Some local conferences within the PUCon began to implement the new policy immediately.
By mid-2013, about 25 women had been ordained to the ministry in the Pacific Union Conference,
No doubt stimulated, at least in part, by the international reach of the OPAC and even before it achieved its ultimate objective with the PUCon, other church administrative entities took similar actions. On April 23, 2012, the North German Union voted to ordain women as ministers
but by late 2013 had not yet ordained a woman. On July 29, 2012, the Columbia Union Conference voted to "authorize ordination without respect to gender".
On May 12, 2013, the Danish Union voted to treat men and women ministers the same and to suspend all ordinations until after the topic would be considered at the next GC session in 2015. On May 30, 2013, the Netherlands Union voted to ordain female pastors, recognizing them as equal to their male colleagues
and ordained its first female pastor on September 1, 2013.
When Sandra Roberts was elected president of the SECC on October 27, 2013,
she became the first SDA woman to serve as president of a local conference, However, the GC never recognized her in that role. Eight years later, Roberts was elected executive secretary of the Pacific Union Conference on August 16, 2021. On September 12, 2021, the Mid-America Union Conference Constituency voted 82% to authorize the ordination of women in ministry, becoming the third union conference in the NAD to do so.
At the 60th GC session in San Antonio on July 8, 2015,
["Delegates Vote 'No' on Issue of Women's Ordination"](_blank)
. ''Adventist Review Online'' (July 8, 2015). Retrieved on July 23, 2015. Seventh-day Adventists voted not to permit regional church bodies to ordain women pastors.
The List of Presidents of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, President of the GC, Ted N. C. Wilson, opened the morning session on the day of the vote with an appeal for all church members to abide by the vote's outcome and underscored before and after the vote that decisions made by the GC in session carry the highest authority in the Adventist Church. Prior to the GC vote, dozens of delegates spoke for and against the question: "After your prayerful study on ordination from the Bible, the writings of Ellen G. White, and the reports of the study commissions; and after your careful consideration of what is best for the church and the fulfillment of its mission, is it acceptable for division executive committees, as they may deem it appropriate in their territories, to make provision for the ordination of women to the gospel ministry?"
By secret ballot, the delegates passed the motion 1,381 to 977, with 5 abstentions, thus ending a five-year study process characterized by open, vigorous, and, sometimes, acrimonious debate.
["Delegates Vote 'No' on Issue of Women’s Ordination"](_blank)
. ''Adventist News Network'' (July 8, 2015). Retrieved on July 23, 2015.
Philippine Independent Church
The Philippine Independent Church is an Independent Catholicism, independent Catholic church in the Philippines founded in 1902. It has approved women's ordination since 1996. In 1997 it ordained its first female priest in the person of Rev. Rosalina Rabaria. As of 2017, it has 30 women priests and 9 women deacons. On May 5, 2019, the church consecrated its first female bishop in the person of Right Reverend Emelyn G. Dacuycuy and installed her as an ordinary of Batac Diocese, Ilocos Norte. According to Bishop Maximo XIII Rhee Timbang, the ordination of women has enabled the church to become more relevant to its time and to society.
Jehovah's Witnesses
Jehovah's Witnesses consider Baptism#Jehovah's Witnesses, qualified public baptism to represent the baptizand's Ordination#Jehovah's Witnesses, ordination, following which he or she is immediately considered an Minister (Christianity)#JW, ordained minister. In 1941, the Supreme Court of Vermont recognized the validity of this ordination for a female Jehovah's Witness minister.
["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."] The majority of Witnesses actively preaching from door to door are female.
["Letting All Men See Jehovah’s Victory Processions", ''The Watchtower'', July 1, 1968, page 413] Women are commonly appointed as full-time ministers, either to evangelize as "Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses#Pioneer, pioneers" or missionaries, or to serve at Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses#Branch offices, their branch offices.
["Happy Full-Time Servants", ''Our Kingdom Ministry'', May 1980, page 6] Nevertheless, Witness Ministerial servant, deacons ("Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses#Ministerial servants, ministerial servants") and Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses#Elders, elders must be male, and only a baptized adult male may perform a Jehovah's Witness baptism, funeral, or wedding.
["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."] 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 Christian headcovering#Jehovah's Witnesses, head covering.
["Head Coverings—When and Why?", ''Keep Yourselves in God's Love'', 2008, 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."]
Latter Day Saint movement
Community of Christ
The Community of Christ adopted the practice of women's ordination in 1984,
which was one of the reasons for the schism between the Community of Christ and the newly formed Restoration Branches movement, which was largely composed of members of the Community of Christ church (then known as the RLDS church) who refused to accept this development and other doctrinal changes taking place during this same period. For example, the Community of Christ also changed the name of one of its priesthood offices from evangelist-patriarch to evangelist, and its associated sacrament, the patriarchal blessing, to the evangelist's blessing. In 1998, Gail E. Mengel and Linda L. Booth became the first two women apostles in the Community of Christ.
["RLDS Church calls 2 women to serve among 12 apostles"](_blank)
, ''Deseret News'', 1998-03-21. At the 2007 World Conference of the church, Becky L. Savage was ordained as the first woman to serve in the First Presidency (Community of Christ), First Presidency.
[Stephen M. Veazey]
"Letter of Counsel Regarding the Presiding Quorums"
2012-05-07. In 2013, Linda L. Booth became the first woman elected to serve as president of the Council of Twelve.
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church) does not ordain women. Some (most notably former LDS Church members D. Michael Quinn and September Six#Paul Toscano, Margaret Toscano) have argued that the church ordained women in the past and that therefore the church currently has the power to ordain women and should do so;
however, there are no known records of any women having been ordained to the priesthood.
Women do hold a prominent place in the church, including their work in the Relief Society, which is one of the largest and longest-lasting women's organizations in the world.
Women thus serve, as do men, in unpaid positions involving teaching, administration, missionary service, humanitarian efforts, and other capacities.
Women often offer prayers and deliver sermons during Sunday services. Ordain Women, an activist group of mostly LDS Church women founded by feminist Kate Kelly (feminist), Kate Kelly in March 2013, supports extending priesthood ordinations to women.
Liberal Catholic
Of all the churches in the Liberal Catholic movement, only the original church, the Liberal Catholic Church under Bishop Graham Wale, does not ordain women. The position held by the Liberal Catholic Church is that the Church, even if it wanted to ordain women, does not have the authority to do so and that it would not be possible for a woman to become a priest even if she went through the ordination ceremony. The reasoning behind this belief is that the female body does not effectively channel the masculine energies of Christ, the true minister of all the sacraments. The priest has to be able to channel Christ's energies to validly confect the sacrament; therefore the sex of the priest is a central part of the ceremony hence all priests must be male. When discussing the sacrament of Holy Orders in his book ''Science of the Sacraments'', Second Presiding Bishop Leadbeater also opined that women could not be ordained; he noted that Christ left no indication that women can become priests and that only Christ can change this arrangement.
Old Catholic
On 19 February 2000, Denise Wyss became the first woman to be ordained as a priest in the
Old Catholic Church
The terms Old Catholic Church, Old Catholics, Old-Catholic churches or Old Catholic movement designate "any of the groups of Western Christians who believe themselves to maintain in complete loyalty the doctrine and traditions of the undivide ...
.
Hinduism
Bhairavi Brahmani is a guru of Sri Ramakrishna. She initiated Ramakrishna into Tantra. Under her guidance, Ramakrishna went through sixty four major tantric sadhanas which were completed in 1863.
[Neevel, pp. 74–77]
In 2014 an all-female akhada (group of sadhus) was formed; it is believed to be the first such group in India.
Ramakrishna Sarada Mission is the modern 21st century monastic order for women. The order was conducted under the guidance of the Ramakrishna monks until 1959, at which time it became entirely independent. It currently has centers in various parts of India, and also in Sydney, Australia.
There are two types of Hinduism, Hindu priests, purohits and pujaris. Both women and men are ordained as purohits and pujaris.
Chanda Vyas, born in Kenya, was Britain's first female Hindu priest.
Furthermore, both men and women are Hindu gurus.
Shakti Durga, formerly known as Kim Fraser, was Australia's first female guru.
Islam
Although Islam, 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.
Women's mosques, called nusi, and female imams have existed since the 19th century in China and continue today.
In 1994, Amina Wadud, (an Islamic studies professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, born in the United States), became the first woman in South Africa to deliver the jum'ah khutbah (Friday sermon), which she did at the Claremont Main Road Mosque in Cape Town, South Africa.
In 2004 20-year-old Maryam Mirza delivered the second half of the ''Eid al-Fitr'' khutbah at the Etobicoke mosque in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, run by the United Muslim Association.
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.
This is the first recorded occasion in modern times where a woman led a congregation in prayer in a mosque.
On March 18, 2005, Amina Wadud 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.
Another woman, Suheyla El-Attar, sounded the call to prayer while not wearing a headscarf at that same event.
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.
This was the first known time that a woman had led a mixed-gender Muslim congregation in prayer in American history.
In April 2005, Raheel Raza, born in Pakistan, 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.
On July 1, 2005, Pamela Taylor, co-chair of the New York-based Progressive Muslim Union and 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.
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 disability.
In October 2005, Amina Wadud led a mixed gender Muslim congregational prayer in Barcelona.
[Amina Wadud Leads Mixed Gender Friday Prayer in Barcelona](_blank)
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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.
On 17 October 2008, Amina Wadud became the first woman to lead a mixed-gender Muslim congregation in prayer in the United Kingdom when she performed the Friday prayers at Oxford's Wolfson College.
In 2010, Raheel Raza became the first Muslim-born woman to lead a mixed-gender British congregation through Friday prayers.
In 2014, Afra Jalabi, a Syrian Canadian journalist and peace advocate delivered ''Eid ul-Adha'' khutbah at Noor cultural centre in Toronto, Canada.
Judaism
There has been one female Hasidic Judaism, Hasidic rebbe, Hannah Rachel Verbermacher, also known as the Maiden of Ludmir, active in the 19th century. In 1935 Regina Jonas was ordained privately by a German rabbi and became the world's first female rabbi. Sally Priesand became the first female rabbi in Reform Judaism in 1972;
Sandy Eisenberg Sasso became the first female rabbi in Reconstructionist Judaism in 1974; Lynn Gottlieb became the first female rabbi in Jewish Renewal in 1981;
Amy Eilberg became the first female rabbi in Conservative Judaism in 1985;
and Tamara Kolton became the very first rabbi of either sex (and therefore, since she was female, the first female rabbi) in Humanistic Judaism in 1999. Women in Conservative, Reform, Reconstructionist, Renewal, and Humanistic Judaism are routinely granted semicha (meaning ordination) on an equal basis with men.
In June 2009, Avi Weiss ordained Sara Hurwitz with the title "maharat" (an acronym of ''manhiga hilkhatit rukhanit Toranit'') rather than "Rabbi". In February 2010, Weiss announced that he was changing Maharat to a more familiar-sounding title "Rabba". The goal of this shift was to clarify Hurwitz's position as a full member of the Hebrew Institute of Riverdale rabbinic staff. The change was criticised by both Agudath Yisrael and the Rabbinical Council of America, who called the move "beyond the pale of Orthodox Judaism". Weiss announced amidst criticism that the term "Rabba" would not be used anymore for his future students. Also in 2009, Weiss founded Yeshivat Maharat, a school which "is dedicated to giving Orthodox women proficiency in learning and teaching Talmud, understanding Jewish law and its application to everyday life as well as the other tools necessary to be Jewish communal leaders". In 2015 Yaffa Epstein was ordained as Rabba by the Yeshivat Maharat. Also in 2015, Lila Kagedan was ordained as Rabbi by that same organization, making her their first graduate to take the title Rabbi. Hurwitz continues to use the title Rabba and is considered by some to be the first female Orthodox rabbi.
In the fall of 2015 Rabbinical Council of America passed a resolution which states, "RCA members with positions in Orthodox institutions may not ordain women into the Orthodox rabbinate, regardless of the title used; or hire or ratify the hiring of a woman into a rabbinic position at an Orthodox institution; or allow a title implying rabbinic ordination to be used by a teacher of Limudei Kodesh in an Orthodox institution." Similarly in the fall of 2015 Agudath Israel of America denounced moves to ordain women, and went even further, declaring Yeshivat Maharat, Yeshivat Chovevei Torah, Open Orthodoxy, and other affiliated entities to be similar to other dissident movements throughout Jewish history in having rejected basic tenets of Judaism.
Only men can become Hazzan, cantors (also called hazzans) in most of Orthodox Judaism, but all other types of Judaism allow and have female cantors. In 1955 Betty Robbins, born in Greece, became the world's first female cantor when she was appointed cantor of the Reform congregation of Temple Avodah in Oceanside, New York, in July.
Barbara Ostfeld-Horowitz became the first female cantor to be ordained in Reform Judaism in 1975.
Erica Lippitz and Marla Rosenfeld Barugel became the first female cantors in Conservative Judaism in 1987.
However, the Cantors Assembly, a professional organization of cantors associated with Conservative Judaism, did not allow women to join until 1990. In 2001 #Judaism, Deborah Davis became the first cantor of either sex (and therefore, since she was female, the first female cantor) in Humanistic Judaism, although Humanistic Judaism has since stopped graduating cantors. Sharon Hordes became the first cantor of either sex (and therefore, since she was female, the first female cantor) in Reconstructionist Judaism in 2002. Avitall Gerstetter, who lives in Germany, became the first female cantor in Jewish Renewal (and the first female cantor in Germany) in 2002. Susan Wehle became the first American female cantor in Jewish Renewal in 2006; however, she died in 2009. The first American women to be ordained as cantors in Jewish Renewal after Susan Wehle's ordination were Michal Rubin and Abbe Lyons, both ordained on January 10, 2010.
In 2019, Jewish Orthodox Feminist Alliance created an initiative to support the hiring of female Jewish spiritual leaders and has released a statement supporting the ordination and hiring of women with the title Rabbi at Orthodox synagogues. Open Orthodoxy, Open Orthodox Jewish women can become cantors and rabbis.
Ryukyuan religion
The Ryukyuan religion, indigenous religion of the Ryukyuan Islands in Japan is led by female priests; this makes it the only known official mainstream religion of a society led by women.
Shinto
In Shintoism, ''Saiin (priestess), Saiin'' (斎院, saiin?) were unmarried female relatives of the Emperor of Japan, Japanese emperor who served as high priestesses at Ise Grand Shrine from the late 7th century until the 14th century. Ise Grand Shrine is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the goddess Amaterasu, Amaterasu-ōmikami. ''Saiin'' priestesses were usually elected from royalty (内親王, ''naishinnō'') such as princesses (女王, ''joō''). In principle, ''Saiin'' remained unmarried, but there were exceptions. Some ''Saiin'' became consorts of the Emperor, called Nyōgo in Japanese. According to the Man'yōshū (The Anthology of Ten Thousand Leaves), the first ''Saiō'' to serve at Ise Grand Shrine was Princess Ōku, daughter of Emperor Tenmu, during the Asuka period of Japanese history.
Female Shinto priests were largely pushed out of their positions in 1868.[Nelson, John K. (1996). ''A Year in the Life of a Shinto Shrine.'' pg. 123. Seattle and London: University of Washington Press. .] The ordination of women as Shinto priests arose again during World War II. See also Miko.
Sikhism
Sikhism does not have priests, which were abolished by Guru Gobind Singh, as the guru had seen that institution become corrupt in society during his time. Instead, he appointed the Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, as his successor as Guru instead of a possibly fallible human. Due to the faith's belief in complete equality, women can participate in any religious function, perform any Sikh ceremony or lead the congregation in prayer. A Sikh woman has the right to become a ''Granthi'', ''Ragi (Sikhism), Ragi'', and one of the ''Panj Piare'' (5 beloved) and both men and women are considered capable of reaching the highest levels of spirituality.
Taoism
Taoism, Taoists ordain both men and women as priests. In 2009 Wu Chengzhen became the first female ''fangzhang'' (principal abbot) in Taoism's 1,800-year history after being enthroned at Changchun Temple in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, in China. ''Fangzhang'' is the highest position in a Taoist temple.
Wicca
In Wicca, as many women are ordained as men. Many traditions elevate the importance of women over that of men and women are frequently leaders of covens. Members are typically considered Priests and Priestesses when they are given the rite of Initiation within the coven, though some may choose to undergo additional training to become High Priestess who often has the final say in matters and who may choose who can be her High Priest. Some, who have gone through enough experience, may leave to create their own coven.
Yoruba
The Yoruba people of western Nigeria practice an Yoruba religion, indigenous religion with a religious hierarchy of priests and priestesses that dates to 800–1000 CE. Ifá Oracle priests and priestesses bear the titles ''Babalawo'' and ''Iyanifa'' respectively. Priests and priestesses of the varied ''Orisa, Orisha'', when not already bearing the higher ranked oracular titles mentioned above, are referred to as ''babalorisa'' when male and ''iyalorisa'' when female. 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''.
Zoroastrianism
Zoroastrianism, Zoroastrian priests in India are required to be male. However, women have been ordained in Iran and North America as mobedyars, meaning women mobeds (Zoroastrian priests). In 2011 the Tehran Mobeds Anjuman (Anjoman-e-Mobedan) announced that for the first time in the history of Iran and of the Zoroastrian communities worldwide, women had joined the group of mobeds (priests) in Iran as mobedyars (women priests); the women hold official certificates and can perform the lower-rung religious functions and can initiate people into the religion.
See also
* Buddhist feminism
* Christian views of women
* Christian feminism
* Deaconess
* Feminist theology
* Islamic feminism
* Jewish feminism
* List of ordained Christian women
* List of the first 32 women ordained as Church of England priests
* Mormon feminism
* Ordination of women in Protestant denominations
* Timeline of women hazzans in America
* Timeline of women hazzans
*Timeline of women in religion
* Timeline of women in religion in the United States
* Timeline of women rabbis in America
* Timeline of women rabbis
* Women as imams
* Women as theological figures
* Women in the Bible
* Women in Judaism
* Women rabbis
References
Further reading
* Canon Law Society of America. ''The Canonical Implications of Ordaining Women to the Permanent Diaconate,'' 1995. .
* J. G. Davies, Davies, J. G. "Deacons, Deaconesses, and Minor Orders in the Patristic Period," ''Journal of Ecclesiastical History,'' 1963, v. 14, p. 1-23.
* Ute E. Elsen, Elsen, Ute E. ''Women Officeholders in Early Christianity: Epigraphical and Literary Studies,'' Liturgical Press, 2000. .
*
* Wayne Grudem, Grudem, Wayne. ''Evangelical Feminism and Biblical Truth: An Analysis of Over 100 Disputed Questions'', Multnomah Press, 2004. 1-57673-840-X.
* Roger Gryson, Gryson, Roger. ''The Ministry of Women in the Early Church,'' Liturgical Press, 1976. . Translation of: ''Le ministère des femmes dans l'Église ancienne,'' J. Duculot, 1972.
* Jean LaPorte, LaPorte, Jean. ''The Role of Women in Early Christianity,'' Edwin Mellen Press, 1982. .
* Kevin Madigan, Madigan, Kevin, and Carolyn Osiek. ''Ordained Women in the Early Church: A Documentary History,'' Johns Hopkins University Press, 2005. .
* Aimé Georges Martimort, Martimort, Aimé Georges, ''Deaconesses: An Historical Study,'' Ignatius Press, 1986, . Translation of: ''Les Diaconesses: Essai Historique,'' Edizioni Liturgiche, 1982.
* McGrath, Elsie Hainz (Editor), Meehan, Bridget Mary (Editor), and Ida Raming, Raming, Ida (Editor). ''Women Find a Way: The Movement and Stories of Roman Catholic Womenpriests,'' Virtualbookworm.com Publishing, 2008. .
* Patricia Cox Miller, Miller, Patricia Cox. ''Women in Early Christianity: Translations from Greek Texts,'' Catholic University America Press, 2005. .
* Pamela Nadell, Nadell, Pamela. ''Women Who Would Be Rabbis: A History of Women's Ordination, 1889–1985,'' Beacon Press, 1998. .
* Susan Sered, Sered, Susan. ''Women of the Sacred Groves: Divine Priestesses of Okinawa,'' Oxford University Press, 1999. .
* Barbette Spaeth, Spaeth, Barbette Stanley. ''The Roman goddess Ceres'', University of Texas Press, 1996.
* Sallie Tisdale, Tisdale, Sallie. ''Women of the Way: Discovering 2,500 Years of Buddhist Wisdom,'' HarperOne, 2006.
* Mary Jo Weaver, Weaver, Mary Jo. ''New Catholic Women,'' Harper and Row, 1985, 1986. .
* John Wijngaards, Wijngaards, John, ''The Ordination of Women in the Catholic Church. Unmasking a Cuckoo's Egg Tradition'', Darton, Longman & Todd, 2001. ; Continuum, New York, 2001. .
* John Wijngaards, Wijngaards, John. ''Women Deacons in the Early Church: Historical Texts and Contemporary Debates,'' Herder & Herder, 2002, 2006. .
NO WOMEN IN HOLY ORDERS? The women deacons of the Early Church
* Miriam Winter, Winter, Miriam. ''Out of the Depths: The Story of Ludmila Javorova, Ordained Roman Catholic Priest,'' Crossroad General Interest, 2001. .
* Phyllis Zagano, Zagano, Phyllis. ''Holy Saturday: An Argument for the Restoration of the Female Diaconate in the Catholic Church,'' Herder & Herder, 2000. {{ISBN, 978-0-8245-1832-5.
* Phyllis Zagano, Zagano, Phyllis. "Catholic Women Deacons: Present Tense," '' Worship'' 77:5 (September 2003) 386–408.
Ordination of women,
Priestesses
Women's rights in religious movements