Ordination Of Women In Protestant Denominations
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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 ...
is the process by which individuals are
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 ...
, that is, set apart as clergy to perform various religious rites and ceremonies such as celebrating the
sacrament A sacrament is a Christianity, Christian Rite (Christianity), rite that is recognized as being particularly important and significant. There are various views on the existence and meaning of such rites. Many Christians consider the sacraments ...
s. The process and ceremonies of ordination varies by denomination. One who is in preparation for, or who is undergoing the process of ordination is sometimes called an ordinand. The
liturgy Liturgy is the customary public ritual of worship performed by a religious group. ''Liturgy'' can also be used to refer specifically to public worship by Christians. As a religious phenomenon, liturgy represents a communal response to and partic ...
used at an ordination is sometimes referred to as an ordinal.
Ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...
has been taking place in an increasing number of
Protestant churches 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 ...
during the 20th century. While ordination of women has been approved in many denominations over the past half century, it is still a very controversial and divisive topic.


Overview of the theological debate

Most (although not all) Protestant denominations ordain church leaders who have the task of equipping all believers in their Christian service (). These leaders (variously styled ''elders'', ''pastors'', or ''ministers'') are seen to have a distinct role in teaching, pastoral leadership. Protestant churches have historically viewed the Bible as the ultimate authority in church debates (the doctrine of ''
sola scriptura , meaning by scripture alone, is a Christian theological doctrine held by most Protestant Christian denominations, in particular the Lutheran and Reformed traditions of Protestantism, that posits the Bible as the sole infallible source of au ...
''); as such, the debate over women's eligibility for such offices normally centers around the interpretation of certain Biblical passages relating to teaching and leadership roles. The main passages in this debate include , and , , Increasingly however, supporters of women in ministry argue that the Biblical passages used to argue against women's ordination might be read differently when more understanding of the unique historical context of each passage is available. They further argue that the New Testament shows that women did exercise certain ministries in the apostolic Church (e.g., , , , ; , , and . Often quoting ,they argue that the good news brought by Jesus has broken down all barriers and that female ordination is an equality issue that Jesus would have approved of. They also quote , and argue that in talking to Mary, Jesus is calling for women to evangelize In turn, those who argue for a male only ministry will say that the claims to contexts that change the apparent meaning of the texts at hand to one supporting female ordination are in fact spurious, that the passages that appear to show women in positions of authority do not in fact do so and the idea that the good news of Jesus brings equality before God only relates to salvation and not to roles for ministry.


By tradition


Anabaptist

Brethren * The
Church of the Brethren The Church of the Brethren is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the Schwarzenau Brethren (german: link=no, Schwarzenauer Neutäufer "Schwarzenau New Baptists") tradition that was organized in 1708 by Alexander Mack in Schwarzenau, Germa ...
has ordained women since 1958.


Mennonite

* The
Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches The Canadian Conference of Mennonite Brethren Churches (CCMBC) is a Mennonite Brethren denomination in Canada. It is a member of the Mennonite World Conference and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. Offices of the Canadian Conference of Men ...
' has ordained women. * The
Mennonite Church Canada Mennonite Church Canada is a Mennonite denomination in Canada, with head offices in Winnipeg, Manitoba. It is a member of the Mennonite World Conference and the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada. History The first Mennonites in Canada arrived from ...
ordains women. * The
Mennonite Brethren Church The Mennonite Brethren Church is an evangelical Mennonite Anabaptist movement with congregations. History The conference was established among Plautdietsch-speaking Russian Mennonites in 1860. During the 1850s, some Mennonites were influenced b ...
does not ordain women to be lead pastors. * The
Mennonite Church USA The Mennonite Church USA (MC USA) is an Anabaptist Christian denomination in the United States. Although the organization is a recent 2002 merger of the Mennonite Church and the General Conference Mennonite Church, the body has roots in the Radi ...
ordains women. * The
Brethren in Christ Church The Brethren in Christ Church (BIC) is a River Brethren Christian denomination with roots in the Mennonite church, Radical Pietism, and Wesleyan holiness. They have also been known as River Brethren and River Mennonites. The Canadian denominat ...
ordains women at all levels of leadership, including Bishop.


Anglican

The ordination of women in the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
has been increasingly common in certain provinces since the 1970s. However, several provinces (such as the
Church of Pakistan The Church of Pakistan is a united Protestant Church in Pakistan, which is part of the Anglican Communion and a member of the World Communion of Reformed ChurchesDatabase (9 February 2006)"Sialkot Diocese of the Church of Pakistan" Reformed Onl ...
—a
united Protestant Church A united church, also called a uniting church, is a church formed from the merger or other form of church union of two or more different Protestant Christian denominations. Historically, unions of Protestant churches were enforced by the state ...
created as a result of a union between Anglicans, Lutherans, Methodists and Presbyterians) and certain dioceses within otherwise ordaining provinces (such as the Diocese of Sydney in the
Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the R ...
), continue to ordain only men. Disputes over the
ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...
have contributed to the establishment and growth of conservative separatist tendencies, such the
Anglican realignment The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States ...
and
Continuing Anglican 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. Thes ...
movements. Some
provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
within the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
, such as the
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...
, ordain women to the three traditional holy orders of bishop, priest and deacon. Other provinces ordain women as deacons and priests but not as bishops; others still as deacons only; and seven provinces do not approve the ordination of women to any order of ministry.


Baptist

The very diverse organizations which employ the term Baptist in self-designation: * The Baptist organizations in Germany and Switzerland (Bund Evangelisch-Freikirchlicher Gemeinden, Bund Schweizer Baptistengemeinden) ordain women. * The
Southern Baptist Convention The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist denomination, and the largest Protestant and second-largest Christian denomination in the United States. The wor ...
(the largest of the various Baptist denominations) does not support the ordination of women; however, some churches that are members of the SBC have ordained women. Though each SBC church is autonomous and may choose whether or not to ordain women, the local associations and state conventions have the right to not seat messengers from those churches at the annual meetings, and some have done so. * Baptist groups in the United States that ordain women include
American Baptist Churches USA The American Baptist Churches USA (ABCUSA) is a mainline/evangelical Baptist Christian denomination within the United States. The denomination maintains headquarters in Valley Forge, Pennsylvania. The organization is usually considered mainli ...
,
North American Baptist Conference North American Baptists (NAB) is an association of Baptists in the United States and Canada, generally of German ethnic heritage with roots in Pietism. History The roots of the NAB go back to 1839, when Konrad Anton Fleischmann began work in New J ...
,
Alliance of Baptists The Alliance of Baptists is a Baptist Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The headquarters is in Raleigh, North Carolina. History The Alliance of Baptists was formed in 1987 as the Southern Baptist Alliance by liberal individ ...
,
Cooperative Baptist Fellowship The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship (CBF) is a Baptist Christian denomination in the United States. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance. The headquarters is in Decatur, Georgia. History The Cooperative Baptist Association has its or ...
(CBF),
Missionary Baptist Conference, USA A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
,
National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc. The National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., more commonly known as the National Baptist Convention (NBC USA or NBC), is a primarily African American Baptist Christian denomination in the United States. It is headquartered at the Baptist World Ce ...
and
Progressive National Baptist Convention The Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC), incorporated as the Progressive National Baptist Convention, Inc., is a mainline predominantly African-American Baptist denomination emphasizing civil rights and social justice. The headquarte ...
. *The General Association of Baptists (mostly United States) (some would call these
General Baptists General Baptists are Baptists who hold the ''general'' or unlimited atonement view, the belief that Jesus Christ died for the entire world and not just for the chosen elect. General Baptists are theologically Arminian, which distinguishes them from ...
, or
Arminian Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Re ...
Baptists) ordain women. * The Okinawa Baptist Convention, Japan ordains women to be Pastors of the church. * The
General Association of Regular Baptist Churches The General Association of Regular Baptist Churches (GARBC), established in 1932 is an Independent Baptist Christian denomination in United States, retaining the name "Regular Baptist". The association's home office is located in Arlington Height ...
does not ordain women. *The
Baptist Union of Great Britain Baptists Together (officially The Baptist Union of Great Britain) is a Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didcot. Hi ...
ordains women. *The Baptist Federation of Canada which includes the Canadian Baptists of Western Canada (CBWC), the Canadian Baptists of Ontario and Quebec (CBOQ), and the Canadian Baptists of Atlantic Canada (CBAC) ordains women. * The state associations of
Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...
,
South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories ...
and
New South Wales ) , nickname = , image_map = New South Wales in Australia.svg , map_caption = Location of New South Wales in AustraliaCoordinates: , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = Australia , established_title = Before federation , es ...
in the
Baptist Union of Australia Australian Baptist Ministries (formerly Baptist Union of Australia) is the oldest and largest national cooperative body of Baptists in Australia. The Baptist Union of Australia was inaugurated on 24 August 1926 at the Burton Street Church in ...
ordain women


Lutheran


Europe

* The Lutheran churches within the
Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed church, Reformed (Calvinism, Calvinist) and united and uniting churches, United ( ...
(EKD) ordain women and have women as bishops. * The
Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church The Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Church (german: Selbständige Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche, abbreviated SELK) is a confessional Lutheran church body of Germany. It is a member of the European Lutheran Conference and of the International ...
in Germany does not ordain women. * The
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Evaņģēliski luteriskā baznīca, or LELB) is a Lutheran Protestant church in Latvia. Latvia's Lutheran heritage dates back to the Reformation. Both the Nazi and communist regimes pe ...
reversed its earlier (1975) decision to ordain women as pastors. Since 1993 it no longer does so in practice. Since 2016 this principle has been affirmed in its constitution. * The
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
state churches in the
Nordic countries The Nordic countries (also known as the Nordics or ''Norden''; literal translation, lit. 'the North') are a geographical and cultural region in Northern Europe and the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic. It includes the sovereign states of Denmar ...
ordain women as pastors and have women as bishops. The first female pastors were ordained in 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, ...
in 1948, in
Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
in 1960,
Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...
in 1961, in
Iceland Iceland ( is, Ísland; ) is a Nordic island country in the North Atlantic Ocean and in the Arctic Ocean. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe. Iceland's capital and largest city is Reykjavík, which (along with its s ...
in 1974 and in
Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
in 1988. ** While the Church of Sweden ordained its first female pastors in 1960, there was a considerable debate in this church of the ordination of women, which led to marginalization of a vocal high-church minority, which successively subdivided into loyalist high-church adherents on one hand and the splinter group
Missionsprovinsen The Mission Province ( sv, Missionsprovinsen ) is a Swedish independent ecclesiastical province founded by members of the Church of Sweden who are opposed to the ordination of women to the priesthood and episcopate. The province, which aligns w ...
which was formed in 2003 but in 2005 was separated as a church body from the Church of Sweden. **Although the ordination of women was accepted by the Church of Finland in 1988, controversy over the issue occasionally surfaces among the more conservative wing of the church. Occasional debate on the matter has caused church membership resignations. * The
Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church The Estonian Evangelical Lutheran Church (EELC; Estonian: ''Eesti Evangeelne Luterlik Kirik'', abbreviated EELK) is a Lutheran church in Estonia. EELC is member of the Lutheran World Federation and belongs to the Community of Protestant Church ...
(EELC) began to ordain women in 1967 and 2004 all obstacles that forbade women to be consecrated as bishops were removed although none have yet been consecrated. * The
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in the Republic of Poland ( pl, Kościół Ewangelicko-Augsburski w Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej) is a Lutheran denomination and the largest Protestant body in Poland with about 61,000 members and ...
ordains women as pastors since 2022. 9 pastors are women. * The
Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia The Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Slovakia (in Slovak ''Evanjelická cirkev augsburského vyznania na Slovensku'', ECAV) is the only Lutheran church in Slovakia. The Church is a member of the Ecumenical Council of Churches in S ...
ordains women as pastors since 1951 and women can be elected bishops. * The
Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia The Slovak Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Serbia (Slovak: Slovenská evanjelická augsburského vyznania cirkev v Srbsku, abbreviated SEAVC) is a Lutheranism, Lutheran church in Serbia. This, the largest Protestant church in form ...
ordains women as pastors. Out of 20 pastors in Serbia, 6 are women.


United States

* The
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
(ELCA) is the largest Lutheran body in the USA. The church bodies that formed the ELCA in 1988 began ordaining women in 1970 when the
Lutheran Church in America The Lutheran Church in America (LCA) was an American and Canadian Lutheran church body that existed from 1962 to 1987. It was headquartered in New York City and its publishing house was Fortress Press. The LCA's immigrant heritage came mostly fr ...
ordained Elizabeth Platz. In 2017 about 27% of the rostered leaders were women and about 50% of the seminarians preparing for ministry were women. In 2013 the first female presiding bishop of the ELCA,
Elizabeth Eaton Elizabeth Amy Eaton (born April 2, 1955) is the fourth Presiding Bishop, and the first female Presiding Bishop, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). She was first elected to this post in 2013 and was re-elected for a second term ...
, was elected. In 2018 16 of the 65 synodical bishops (17 bishops including Presiding Bishop Eaton) in the ELCA were women * The
General Lutheran Church The General Lutheran Church, Inc. (GLC) is a small Lutheran denomination organized on March 9, 2014, and incorporated in the state of Indiana on October 26, 2017. The address of incorporation passed to Puerto Rico when the church changed leadershi ...
ordains women. * The
Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod The Lutheran Church—Missouri Synod (LCMS), also known as the Missouri Synod, is a traditional, confessional Lutheran denomination in the United States. With 1.8 million members, it is the second-largest Lutheran body in the United States. The LC ...
(LCMS), which is the second largest
Lutheran Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Catholic Church launched th ...
body in the United States, does not ordain women. *The
Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ Lutheran Congregations in Mission for Christ (LCMC) is an association of Lutheran congregations located primarily in the United States. It describes itself as an affiliation of autonomous Lutheran churches and not a denomination. It began in 2001 ...
(LCMC) also allows for the ordination of women. *The
North American Lutheran Church The North American Lutheran Church (NALC) is a Lutheran denomination with over 420 congregations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, counting more than 142,000 baptized members. The NALC believes all doctrines should and must be judged by th ...
, was founded in 2010 does ordain women. The NALC has established ecumenical dialog with a number of Lutheran bodies, both those that ordain women and those that do not. * 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 ...
does not ordain women. * 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, ...
does not ordain women. * The Church of the Lutheran Confession does not ordain women. *
The Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church The Evangelical Protestant Church (GCEPC) or The Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church (LEPC) is a mainline Protestant denomination under the General Conference of Evangelical Protestant Churches headquartered in Cayce-West Columbia, South Caroli ...
(GCEPC) has ordained women since its inception in 2000. Ordination of women is not a controversial issue in the LEPC/GCEPC. Women are ordained/consecrated at all levels, including deacon, priest, and bishop in the LEPC/GCEPC.


Africa

* The
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Tanzania (ELCT) is the federation of Lutheran churches in Tanzania and one of the largest Lutheran denominations in the world, with more than 6 million members, or 13% of the Tanzanian population. It is the secon ...
(ELCT) decided to ordain women in 1990, but does not have any women bishops. Some dioceses are still opposed to the ordination of women. * The
Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus The Ethiopian Evangelical Church Mekane Yesus (EECMY; also called Mekane Yesus Church) is a Lutheran denomination in Ethiopia. It is the largest individual member church of the Lutheran World Federation. It is a Lutheran denomination with some ...
(EECMY) began to ordain women in 2000 but doesn't continue this practice since confessional lutheranism has become stronger in this church body during recent years.


Methodist

* 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 ...
ordains women. In 1880,
Anna Howard Shaw Anna Howard Shaw (February 14, 1847 – July 2, 1919) was a leader of the women's suffrage movement in the United States. She was also a physician and one of the first ordained female Methodist ministers in the United States. Early life Shaw ...
was ordained by the
Methodist Protestant Church The Methodist Protestant Church (MPC) is a regional Methodist Christian denomination in the United States. It was formed in 1828 by former members of the Methodist Episcopal Church, remaining Wesleyan in doctrine and worship, but adopting ...
; Ella Niswonger was ordained in 1889 by the United Brethren Church. Both denominations later merged into the United Methodist Church. In 1956, the Methodist Church in America granted ordination and full clergy rights to women. Since that time, women have been
ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
full elders (pastors) in the denomination, and 21 have been elevated to the
episcopacy 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 1967 Noemi Diaz is the first Hispanic woman ordained by an Annual Conference. The New York Annual Conference did the honors. The first woman elected and consecrated Bishop within the United Methodist Church (and, indeed, the first woman elected bishop of any mainline Christian church) was
Marjorie Matthews Marjorie Swank Matthews (July 11, 1916 – June 30, 1986) was an American bishop of the United Methodist Church and the first woman to serve as a Methodist bishop. Early life She was born July 11, 1916 in Onaway, Michigan, to Jesse Alonzo a ...
in 1980.
Leontine T. Kelly Leontine Turpeau Current Kelly (March 5, 1920 – June 28, 2012) was an American bishop of the United Methodist Church. She was the second woman elevated to the position of bishop within the United Methodist Church, and the first African American ...
, in 1984, was the first African-American woman elevated to the
episcopacy 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 any mainline denomination. In Germany Rosemarie Wenner is since 2005 leading bishop in the United Methodist Church. Bishop
Karen Oliveto Karen Oliveto (born April 4, 1958) is an American bishop. She is the first openly lesbian bishop to be elected in the United Methodist Church. She was elected bishop on July 15, 2016, at the Western Jurisdictional conference. Her four-year term ...
, currently serving, is the first openly lesbian bishop in The United Methodist Church. * The
Primitive Methodist Church The Primitive Methodist Church is a Methodist Christian denomination with the holiness movement. It began in England in the early 19th century, with the influence of American evangelist Lorenzo Dow (1777–1834). In the United States, the Primit ...
does not ordain women as elders nor does it license them as pastors or local preachers; the PMC does consecrate women as
deaconesses 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 l ...
. * The
Evangelical Wesleyan Church The Evangelical Wesleyan Church, formerly known as the Evangelical Wesleyan Church of North America, is a Methodist denomination in the conservative holiness movement. The formation of the Evangelical Wesleyan Church is a part of the history of ...
(EWC) does not ordain women as elders although it does commission women as
deaconesses 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 l ...
. * The Fundamental Methodist Conference does not ordain women. * 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 b ...
does not ordain women. * 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 ...
has ordained women since 1911. * 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 ...
ordains women. * 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 ...
ordains women and has done since its inception. Catherine Booth was co-founder, with her husband William. * 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 ...
ordains women, with the first women being ordained since 1908. * The Wesleyan Methodist Church (which is now 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 ...
and
Wesleyan Church The Wesleyan Church, also known as the Wesleyan Methodist Church and Wesleyan Holiness Church depending on the region, is a Methodist Christian denomination in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, South Africa, Namibia, Sierra Leone, L ...
) has ordained women as ministers since near its inception, and claims to be one of the first to ordain women in the modern era.


Pentecostal

* The
Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement
church in Germany allows ordination of women. * The Pentecostal church in Sweden allows ordination of women. *
The Pentecostal Mission The Pentecostal Mission (TPM) or New Testament Church (NTC) in the United States or Universal Pentecostal Church (UPC) in the United Kingdom is a Pentecostal denomination which was founded in Colombo, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1923. The intern ...
does not ordain women pastors. * The occurrence of women pastors, often as co-pastors along with their husbands, is frequent in the Pentecostal movement especially in churches not affiliated with a denomination; they may or may not be ordained. Notable women pastors include
Paula White Paula Michelle White-Cain (née Furr; born April 20, 1966) is an American televangelist and a proponent of prosperity theology. White became chair of the evangelical advisory board in Donald Trump's administration. She delivered the invocation a ...
and Victoria Osteen. * The
Assemblies of God USA The Assemblies of God USA (AG), officially the General Council of the Assemblies of God, is a Pentecostal Christian denomination in the United States founded in 1914 during a meeting of white Pentecostal ministers at Hot Springs, Arkansas (with e ...
do ordain women and have women in leadership throughout the Church. *
Church of God in Christ The Church of God in Christ (COGIC) is a Holiness–Pentecostal Christian denomination, and the largest Pentecostal denomination in the United States. Although an international and multi-ethnic religious organization, it has a predominantly Bl ...
(COGIC) does not ordain women as elder or bishop


Presbyterian, United or Reformed


Scotland

* The
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
::* Women were commissioned as deacons from 1935, and allowed to preach from 1949. ::* In 1963 Mary Levison petitioned the General Assembly for ordination. ::* Woman elders were introduced in 1966 and women ministers in 1968. ::* The first female Moderator of the General Assembly was Dr Alison Elliot in 2004. * The
United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...
has ordained women since 1929 and elected its first female general assembly moderator in 1960.Jacqueline Field-Bibb, ''Women Towards Priesthood: Ministerial Politics and Feminist Praxis'' (Cambridge University Press, 1991), p. 117. * The Free Church of Scotland does not ordain women. * The
Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) (Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Shaor Leantainneach) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination which was formed in January 2000. It claims to be the true continuation of the Free Church of Scotland, hence its ...
does not ordain women. * The
Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland ( gd, An Eaglais Shaor Chlèireach, ) was formed in 1893. The Church identifies itself as the spiritual descendant of the Scottish Reformation. The Church web-site states that it is 'the constitutional hei ...
based in Scotland, Australia and Zimbabwe does not ordain women. * The
Associated Presbyterian Churches The Associated Presbyterian Churches (APC) is a Scottish Calvinist fundamentalist denomination (with a congregation in Canada), formed in 1989 from part of the community of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. History The division occu ...
based in Scotland does not ordain women.


England/Wales

* The
United Reformed Church The United Reformed Church (URC) is a Protestant Christian church in the United Kingdom. As of 2022 it has approximately 40,000 members in 1,284 congregations with 334 stipendiary ministers. Origins and history The United Reformed Church resulte ...
in
the United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
ordains women. * The
International Presbyterian Church The International Presbyterian Church (IPC) is a Reformed church in the United Kingdom, the European Union and South Korea, that holds to the Presbyterian confession of faith, with common commitments, purpose and accountability and government. ...
based in the UK, Europe, and Korea does not ordain women. * The
Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales (EPCEW) ( cy, Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Efengylaidd yng Nghymru a Lloegr) is a Reformed Church, reformed and Conservative Evangelicalism in Britain, conservative evangelical Presbyterianism, Pres ...
does not ordain women. * The
Free Church of England The Free Church of England (FCE) is an episcopal church based in England. The church was founded when a number of congregations separated from the established Church of England in the middle of the 19th century. The doctrinal basis of the F ...
does not ordain women. * The
Presbyterian Church of Wales The Presbyterian Church of Wales ( cy, Eglwys Bresbyteraidd Cymru), also known as Calvinistic Methodist Church (), is a denomination of Protestant Christianity in Wales. History The church was born out of the Welsh Methodist revival and the ...
ordains women.


Ireland

* The
Presbyterian Church in Ireland The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach in Éirinn; Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in ...
does ordain women. * The
Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland The Non-subscribing Presbyterian Church of Ireland is a non-creedal Christian Church, which maintains a great emphasis on individual conscience in matters of Christian faith. The Church became part of the General Assembly of Unitarian and Free C ...
ordains women. * The
Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster :''Distinct from Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland and Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)'' The Free Presbyterian Church of Ulster ( ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach Saor Uladh) is a Calvinist denomination founded by Ian Paisley in 1951. Doctr ...
does not ordain women. * The
Evangelical Presbyterian Church (Ireland) The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC, ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach Soiscéalaí) is a Calvinist, Christian evangelical denomination that is found only in Northern Ireland, where it is the smallest of the Presbyterian churches. It was forme ...
does not ordain women. * The
Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Ireland is a Presbyterian church in Ireland. The church currently has forty-three congregations, of which thirty-five are located in Northern Ireland; the remaining eight are located in the Republic of Ireland. A ...
does not ordain women.


Netherlands

* The
Dutch Reformed Church The Dutch Reformed Church (, abbreviated NHK) was the largest Christian denomination in the Netherlands from the onset of the Protestant Reformation in the 16th century until 1930. It was the original denomination of the Dutch Royal Family and ...
does ordain women except the reformed union * The
Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) The Reformed Churches in the Netherlands (Liberated) (Dutch: Gereformeerde Kerken in Nederland (vrijgemaakt)) are an orthodox Calvinist federation of churches. This church body arose in 1944 out of the so-called Liberation (') from the Reformed ...
does not ordain women. * The
Reformed Congregations The Reformed Congregations (in Dutch: Gereformeerde Gemeenten, abbreviated GerGem) is a conservative Reformed church with 152 congregations in the Netherlands, 1 in Randburg, South Africa and 1 congregation in Carterton, New Zealand. The ...
in the Netherlands does not ordain women.


Belgium

* The
United Protestant Church in Belgium The United Protestant Church in Belgium (VPKB/EPUB) is a minority Christian church in Belgium, where the majority of the population is Catholic. It is the largest Protestant denomination in the country. The name of the church in Dutch is ''Verenig ...
does ordain women.


Luxembourg

* The
Protestant Reformed Church of Luxembourg The Protestant Reformed Church of Luxembourg (Luxembourgish: ''Protestantesch-Réforméiert Kierch vu Lëtzebuerg'', French: ''Église Protestante Réformée du Luxembourg'', German: ''Protestantisch-Reformierte Kirche von Luxemburg'') is a Protest ...
does ordain women. * The
Protestant Church of Luxembourg The Protestant Church of Luxembourg ( lb, Protestantesch Kiirch vu Letzebuerg, french: Église Protestante de Luxembourg, german: Evangelische Kirche von Luxemburg) is a Protestant denomination that operates solely in Luxembourg. It is a united ...
does ordain women.


France

* The
Reformed Church of France The Reformed Church of France (french: Église réformée de France, ERF) was the main Protestant denomination in France with a Calvinist orientation that could be traced back directly to John Calvin. In 2013, the Church merged with the Evangel ...
ordains women. The
United Protestant Church of France The United Protestant Church of France (french: Église protestante unie de France) is the main and largest Protestant church in France, created in 2013 through the unification of the Reformed Church of France and the Evangelical Lutheran Church o ...
ordains women.


Switzerland

* The
Swiss Reformed Church The Protestant Church in Switzerland (PCS), (EKS); french: Église évangélique réformée de Suisse (EERS); it, Chiesa evangelica riformata in Svizzera (CERiS); rm, Baselgia evangelica refurmada da la Svizra (BRRS) formerly named Federation o ...
does ordain women.


Germany

* The united and reformed churches within the
Evangelical Church in Germany The Evangelical Church in Germany (german: Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, abbreviated EKD) is a federation of twenty Lutheranism, Lutheran, Continental Reformed church, Reformed (Calvinism, Calvinist) and united and uniting churches, United ( ...
(EKD) ordain women and have women as bishops.


Eastern Europe

* The
Reformed Church in Hungary The Reformed Church in Hungary ( hu, Magyarországi Református Egyház, MRE) is the largest Protestant church in Hungary, with parishes among the Hungarian diaspora abroad. Today, it is made up of 1,249 congregations in 27 presbyteries and four ...
ordains women. * The
Polish Reformed Church The Polish Reformed Church, officially called the Evangelical Reformed Church in the Republic of Poland (Polish: ''Kościół Ewangelicko-Reformowany w RP'') is a historic Calvinistic Protestant church in Poland established in the 16th century, ...
ordains women since 2003.


North America

* The
Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...
. The PC(USA) was formed in 1983 by a merger of the
Presbyterian Church in the United States The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, originally Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America) was a Protestant denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983. That y ...
(PCUS - southern church) and the
United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America The United Presbyterian Church in the United States of America (UPCUSA) was the largest branch of Presbyterianism in the United States from May 28, 1958, to 1983. It was formed by the union of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of Ameri ...
(UPCUSA - northern church). The PC(USA) has always ordained women. With regards to its predecessor bodies - in 1893, Edith Livingston Peake was appointed Presbyterian Evangelist by First United Presbyterian of San Francisco. Between 1907 and 1920 five more women became ministers. The
Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PC(USA), is a mainline Protestant denomination in the United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the US, and known for its liberal stance on doctrine and its ordaining of women and ...
began ordaining women as elders in 1930, and as ministers of Word and sacrament in 1956. By 2001, the numbers of men and women holding office were almost equal. The first woman to be ordained in the
Presbyterian Church in the United States The Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS, originally Presbyterian Church in the Confederate States of America) was a Protestant denomination in the Southern and border states of the United States that existed from 1861 to 1983. That y ...
(PCUS/Southern Church) was Rev.
Rachel Henderlite Rachel Henderlite (December 30, 1905 – November 6, 1991) was an American religious leader who was the first woman to be ordained a pastor of the Presbyterian Church in the United States (PCUS), which later merged with the United Presbyterian Ch ...
who was ordained by a predominantly African American congregation in Richmond, VA in 1965. * The
Presbyterian Church in America The Presbyterian Church in America (PCA) is the second-largest Presbyterian church body, behind the Presbyterian Church (USA), and the largest conservative Calvinist denomination in the United States. The PCA is Reformed in theology and presb ...
does not ordain women. In 1997, the PCA even broke its fraternal relationship with the Christian Reformed Church over this issue. * The
Reformed Church in the United States The Reformed Church in the United States (RCUS) is a Protestant Christian denomination in the United States. The present RCUS is a conservative, Calvinist denomination. It affirms the principles of the Reformation: ''Sola scriptura'' (Scriptur ...
does not ordain women. * The
Free Reformed Churches of North America The Free Reformed Churches of North America (FRCNA) is a theologically conservative federation of churches in the Dutch Calvinist tradition with congregations in the United States and Canada. It officially adopted its current name in 1974. Thes ...
ordain men only. * The Cumberland Presbyterian Church. In 1888 Louisa Woosley was licensed to preach. She was ordained in 1889. She wrote Shall Woman Preach. * The
Christian Reformed Church in North America The Christian Reformed Church in North America (CRCNA or CRC) is a Protestant Calvinist Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. Having roots in the Dutch Reformed Church of the Netherlands, the Christian Reformed Church was founde ...
began ordaining women in 1995. As a result, several conservative congregations formed the
United Reformed Churches in North America The United Reformed Churches in North America (URCNA) is a theologically conservative federation of Reformed churches founded in 1996. Many churches joined the URCNA after splitting from the Christian Reformed Church in North America denomination. ...
, and the CRC's position as a member of the North American Presbyterian and Reformed Council (NAPARC) was suspended in 1997. Several individual congregations continue to oppose women's ordination and women are not seated at some Classes (regional assemblies). * The
Orthodox Presbyterian Church The Orthodox Presbyterian Church (OPC) is a confessional Presbyterian denomination located primarily in the United States, with additional congregations in Canada, Bermuda, and Puerto Rico. It was founded by conservative members of the Presbyteri ...
does not ordain women. * The
Reformed Church in America The Reformed Church in America (RCA) is a Mainline Protestant, mainline Reformed tradition, Reformed Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in Canada and the United States. It has about 152,317 members. From its beginning in 1628 unti ...
began allowing for the ordination of women in 1979. * The
United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...
. Antoinette Brown was ordained as a minister by a Congregationalist Church in 1853, though this was not recognized by her denomination. She later became a Unitarian. The Christian Connection Church, which later merged with the Congregationalist Churches to form the Congregational Christian Church, ordained women as early as 1810. Women's ordination is now non-controversial in the United Church of Christ. * The
Evangelical Covenant Order of Presbyterians ECO: A Covenant Order of Evangelical Presbyterians is an evangelical Presbyterian denomination in the United States. As a Presbyterian church, ECO adheres to Reformed theology and Presbyterian polity. It was established in 2012 by former congre ...
(ECO) ordains women as both Teaching Elders (pastors) and Ruling Elders. * The Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC) allows individual congregations to determine whether or not they ordain women. * 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 ...
ordains women. The church was divided during the 1930s by this issue inherited from the churches it brought together, the United Church ordained its first woman minister, Reverend
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 ...
, of Saskatchewan Conference in 1936. In 1953, Reverend Lydia Emelie Gruchy was the first Canadian woman to receive an honorary Doctor of Divinity.


Australia

* The
Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...
has ordained women since it formed in 1977. The three member denominations, the
Congregational Union of Australia The Congregational Union of Australia was a Congregational denomination in Australia that stemmed from the Congregational Church in England as settlers migrated from there to Australia. Congregational Churches existed in all states and territo ...
, the
Methodist Church of Australasia The Methodist Church of Australasia was a Methodist denomination based in Australia. On 1 January 1902, five Methodist denominations in Australia – the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Primitive Methodists, the Bible Christian Church, the United ...
and the
Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...
had all ordained women prior to Union. The
Congregational Union of Australia The Congregational Union of Australia was a Congregational denomination in Australia that stemmed from the Congregational Church in England as settlers migrated from there to Australia. Congregational Churches existed in all states and territo ...
ordained the first woman in Christian ministry in Australia, Rev
Winifred Kiek Winifred Kiek (; 1884-1975) was the first woman to be ordained in the Christian Ministry in Australia. She was ordained on 13 June 1927 in South Australia to the Congregational Union of Australia (now part of the Uniting Church in Australia). ...
in 1927. The
Methodist Church of Australasia The Methodist Church of Australasia was a Methodist denomination based in Australia. On 1 January 1902, five Methodist denominations in Australia – the Wesleyan Methodist Church, the Primitive Methodists, the Bible Christian Church, the United ...
first ordained women (Rev Margaret Sanders and Rev Coralie Ling) in 1969, while the
Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...
ordained its first woman minister in 1974. After formation of the
Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Union ...
, the continuing
Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...
reversed the decision to ordain women in 1991. * The
Presbyterian Church of Australia The Presbyterian Church of Australia (PCA) is the largest Presbyterian denomination in Australia. (The larger Uniting Church in Australia incorporated about two-thirds of the PCA in 1977.) History Beginnings When captain James Cook lande ...
does not ordain women. As mentioned above some of its congregations left to join the new Uniting Church in 1977, 14 years later in 1991 it ceased ordaining women to the ministry, but the rights of women ordained prior to this time were not affected.


Pakistan

* The Presbyterian Church of Pakistan ordains women.


Other Protestant

* The
Religious Society of Friends Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abili ...
(Quakers) do not ordain anyone but have had women in leadership roles such as
Recorded Minister A Recorded Minister was originally a male or female Quaker who was acknowledged to have a gift of Religious_Society_of_Friends#Unprogrammed_worship, spoken ministry. The practice of recording in a Monthly Meeting Minute the acknowledgment that a F ...
since they first started in 1652. See Elizabeth Hooton and Mary Fisher It was longer before women held leadership roles in decision-making bodies that were historically exclusively men (e.g. Mary Jane Godlee was the first woman to clerk the
London Yearly Meeting The Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in Britain, also known as the Britain Yearly Meeting (and, until 1995, the London Yearly Meeting), is a Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in England, Sc ...
in 1918) - though the separate women's
meetings A meeting is when two or more Homo sapiens, people come together to discuss one or more topics, often in a formal or business setting, but meetings also occur in a variety of other environments. Meetings can be used as form of Decision-making, ...
did exercise significant authority. * 'Christian Connection Church: An early relative of the
Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination in the United States and Canada. The denomination started with the Restoration Movement during the Second Great Awakening, first existing during the 19th ...
and the
United Church of Christ The United Church of Christ (UCC) is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination based in the United States, with historical and confessional roots in the Congregational, Calvinist, Lutheran, and Anabaptist traditions, and with approximately 4 ...
, this body ordained women as early as 1810. Among them were Nancy Gove Cram, who worked as a missionary with the Oneida Indians by 1812, and Abigail Roberts (a lay preacher and missionary), who helped establish many churches in New Jersey. Others included Ann Rexford, Sarah Hedges and Sally Thompson. * The
Christian and Missionary Alliance The Alliance World Fellowship is the international governing body of the Christian and Missionary Alliance (The Alliance, also C&MA and CMA). The Alliance is an evangelical Protestant denomination within the Higher Life movement of Christianity ...
in the USA does not ordain women, but it does in other nations. A female minister in Philippines, Ruth Tablada, has recently been ordained. The Christian and Missionary Alliance Church in Canada also ordains women. * The
Moravian Church The Moravian Church ( cs, Moravská církev), or the Moravian Brethren, formally the (Latin: "Unity of the Brethren"), is one of the oldest Protestantism, Protestant Christian denomination, denominations in Christianity, dating back to the Bohem ...
ordains women. * The
Czechoslovak Hussite Church The Czechoslovak Hussite Church ( cs, Církev československá husitská, ''CČSH'' or ''CČH'') is a Christian church that separated from the Catholic Church after World War I in former Czechoslovakia. Both the Czechoslovak Hussite Church and Mo ...
ordains women. * The
Seventh-day Adventist Church The Seventh-day Adventist Church is an Adventist Protestant Christian denomination which is distinguished by its observance of Saturday, the seventh day of the week in the Christian (Gregorian) and the Hebrew calendar, as the Sabbath, and ...
officially does not ordain women in most of the world, but in regions of the United States, the Netherlands, parts of Germany, and China may occasionally ordain women. These ordinations are considered irregular and are not officially recognized in the church yearbook. In some parts of the world the Adventist Church, commissions women instead of ordaining. They can perform almost the same duties as an ordained minister but do not hold the title of ordained. This is because recent votes at the worldwide
General Conference Session The General Conference Session is the official world meeting of the General Conference of Seventh-day Adventists, held every five years. At the session, delegates from around the world elect the Church's World Leaders, discuss and vote on changes ...
s turned down a proposal to allow ordination of women. There was a strong polarization between nations, with Western countries and North Asia Pacific generally voting in support and other countries generally voting against. A further proposal to allow local choice was also turned down. In practice, there are numerous women working as ministers and in leadership positions. The most influential co-founder of the church,
Ellen G. White Ellen Gould White (née Harmon; November 26, 1827 – July 16, 1915) was an American woman author and co-founder of the Seventh-day Adventist Church. Along with other Adventist leaders such as Joseph Bates and her husband James White, she wa ...
, was a woman, but never ordained. *
Churches of Christ The Churches of Christ is a loose association of autonomous Christian congregations based on the ''sola scriptura'' doctrine. Their practices are based on Bible texts and draw on the early Christian church as described in the New Testament. T ...
, because of their conservative stance, generally do not ordain women. *The Christian Leaders Alliance allows women to serve as deacon ministers.


Women as Protestant bishops

Some Protestant Churches, including those of the Lutheran, Hussite, Anglican, Methodist and Moravian traditions, have allowed women to become bishops: * 1924:
Mount Sinai Holy Church of America The Mount Sinai Holy Church of America(MSHCA), is a Christian church in the Holiness-Pentecostal tradition. The church is episcopal in governance. It has approximately 130 congregations in 14 states and 4 countries and a membership of over 50,000 ...
- Ida B. Robinson served as founder and first presiding bishop * 1929: Old Catholic Mariavite Church in Poland (and
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 ...
, a 1935 schism from the Old Catholic Mariavite Church) –
Maria Izabela Wiłucka-Kowalska Antonina Maria Izabela Wiłucka-Kowalska (, ) was a Polish religious leader, who served as the first archpriestess of the Catholic Mariavite Church. Wiłucka-Kowalska was the first woman to receive the sacrament of holy orders in Poland and con ...
and 11 nuns * 1980:
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 ...
Marjorie Matthews Marjorie Swank Matthews (July 11, 1916 – June 30, 1986) was an American bishop of the United Methodist Church and the first woman to serve as a Methodist bishop. Early life She was born July 11, 1916 in Onaway, Michigan, to Jesse Alonzo a ...
* 1988:
Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...
Barbara Clementine Harris * 1990:
Anglican Church of New Zealand The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia ( mi, Te Hāhi Mihinare ki Aotearoa ki Niu Tīreni, ki Ngā Moutere o te Moana Nui a Kiwa; formerly the Church of the Province of New Zealand) is a Anglican province, province of the Angl ...
Penelope Ann Bansall Jamieson * 1990:
Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...
April Ulring Larson * 1992:
North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church The North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church (german: link=no, Nordelbische Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche; NEK) was a Lutheran regional church in Northern Germany which emerged from a merger of four churches in 1977 and merged with two more churc ...
Maria Jepsen Maria Jepsen (born 19 January 1945, in Bad Segeberg) is the former bishop of Hamburg in the North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church. On 4 April 1992 the synod of the Hamburg Ambit elected her bishop, the first Lutheran Lutheranism is one of t ...
* 1993:
Church of Norway The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...
(Lutheran) – Rosemarie Köhn * 1993:
Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church co ...
Victoria Matthews Victoria Matthews (born 1954) is a Canadian Anglican bishop. From 2008 until 2018, she served as Bishop of Christchurch in the Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia. In 1994, she became the first woman ordained bishop in the ...
* 1995:
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, ...
(Evangelical Lutheran) –
Lise-Lotte Rebel Lise-Lotte Rebel (born 23 January 1951) is a bishop of the Church of Denmark. Between 1995 and 2021, she served as the bishop of the Diocese of Helsingør in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Denmark. She was the first woman to become a bishop i ...
* 1995: Church of Greenland -
Sofie Petersen Sofie Petersen (born 1955) is a Greenlandic Lutheran bishop. She was born on 23 November 1955 in Maniitsoq, Greenland, Kingdom of Denmark. She studied theology and graduated from the University of Copenhagen in 1986. On 28 May 1995, at the age o ...
* 1996:
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...
(Evangelical Lutheran) –
Christina Odenberg Christina Odenberg (born 26 March 1940) is the retired bishop of the Diocese of Lund in Sweden between 1997 and 2007. Biography Christina Odenberg is the daughter of Ingemar Odenberg and Kerstin, born Moberg. Odenberg was for some time politic ...
* 1998:
Moravian Church in America The Moravian Church in North America is part of the worldwide Moravian Church Unity. It dates from the arrival of the first Moravian missionaries to the United States in 1735, from their Herrnhut settlement in present-day Saxony, Germany. They c ...
Kay Ward * 1998:
United Church of Christ in the Philippines The United Church of Christ in the Philippines (Tagalog: ''Ang Nagkaisang Iglesia ni Cristo sa Pilipinas''; Ilokano: ''Nagkaykaysa nga Iglesia Ni Cristo iti Filipinas'') is a Christian denomination in the Philippines. Established in its present f ...
Nelinda Primavera-Briones * 1998: Presbyterian Church in Guatemala * 1999:
Czechoslovak Hussite Church The Czechoslovak Hussite Church ( cs, Církev československá husitská, ''CČSH'' or ''CČH'') is a Christian church that separated from the Catholic Church after World War I in former Czechoslovakia. Both the Czechoslovak Hussite Church and Mo ...
Jana Šilerová Jana may refer to: Entertainment * ''Jana'' (film), a 2004 Tamil film by Shaji Kailas * Jana (singer) (born 1974), Serbian singer * Jana (Native American singer), née Jana Mashonee * ''Jana of the Jungle'', animated series created by Doug Wild ...
* 1999:
Evangelical Lutheran State Church of Hanover The Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover (german: Evangelisch-lutherische Landeskirche Hannovers) is a Lutheran church body ''( Landeskirche)'' in the northern German state of Lower Saxony and the city of Bremerhaven covering the territory of t ...
Margot Käßmann Margot Käßmann (; born 3 June 1958) is a Lutheran theologian, who was '' Landesbischöfin'' (bishop) of the Evangelical-Lutheran Church of Hanover in Germany. On 28 October 2009, she was elected to lead the ''Evangelical Church in Germany'', a ...
* 2000:
African Methodist Episcopal Church The African Methodist Episcopal Church, usually called the AME Church or AME, is a Black church, predominantly African American Methodist Religious denomination, denomination. It adheres to Wesleyan-Arminian theology and has a connexionalism, c ...
Vashti Murphy McKenzie Vashti Murphy McKenzie (born May 28, 1947) is the interim president and general secretary of the National Council of Churches of Christ in the USA. She's also a retired bishop of the African Methodist Episcopal Church, and author of six books. In ...
* 2001:
Evangelical Church of Bremen The Evangelical Church of Bremen (german: Bremische Evangelische Kirche) is a United Protestant member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany in the Free Hanseatic City of Bremen. The seat of the church is in Bremen. It is a full member of ...
Brigitte Boehme Brigitte Boehme (born 21 June 1940) is a German lawyer and church administrator. She was the president of the ' (church committee) of the (Bremen Protestant Church) from 2001 to 2013. Life Born in Oldenburg, Boehme studied law in Marburg from 1 ...
, titled president, a laywoman since the presidency does not require theological skills * 2001:
North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church The North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church (german: link=no, Nordelbische Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche; NEK) was a Lutheran regional church in Northern Germany which emerged from a merger of four churches in 1977 and merged with two more churc ...
Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter (also known as Bärbel von Wartenberg-Potter) (born 1943) is a German theologian. After serving as director over programs for women and children with the World Council of Churches, teaching theology in Jamaica, and servi ...
* 2003:
The Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church The Evangelical Protestant Church (GCEPC) or The Lutheran Evangelical Protestant Church (LEPC) is a mainline Protestant denomination under the General Conference of Evangelical Protestant Churches headquartered in Cayce-West Columbia, South Caroli ...
(GCEPC) USA – Nancy K. Drew * 2003:
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, ...
(Evangelical Lutheran) - Elisabeth Dons Chritensen * 2007:
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada (ELCIC; french: Église évangélique luthérienne au Canada) is Canada's largest Lutheran denomination, with 95,000 baptized members in 519 congregations, with the second largest, the Lutheran Church–C ...
Susan Johnson * 2008:
Anglican Church of Australia The Anglican Church of Australia, formerly known as the Church of England in Australia and Tasmania, is a Christian church in Australia and an autonomous church of the Anglican Communion. It is the second largest church in Australia after the R ...
Kay Goldsworthy Kay Maree Goldsworthy (born 1956) is an Australian bishop of the Anglican Church of Australia. She is the current archbishop of Perth in the Province of Western Australia.ABC Online Upon her installation as archbishop, on 10 February 2018, she ...
* 2008:
African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church African or Africans may refer to: * Anything from or pertaining to the continent of Africa: ** People who are native to Africa, descendants of natives of Africa, or individuals who trace their ancestry to indigenous inhabitants of Africa *** Ethn ...
Mildred Hines * 2009:
Evangelical Church in Central Germany The Evangelical Church in Central Germany (German: ''Evangelische Kirche in Mitteldeutschland''; ''EKM'') is a United church body covering most of the German states of Saxony-Anhalt and Thuringia and some adjacent areas in Brandenburg and Saxony. ...
Ilse Junkermann Ilse Junkermann (born 31 May 1957 in Dörzbach an der Jagst) is the current German bishop of the Evangelical Church in Central Germany, a member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany. She was the first woman to become Landesbischof there. Sh ...
* 2010:
Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland ( fi, Suomen evankelis-luterilainen kirkko; sv, Evangelisk-lutherska kyrkan i Finland) is a national church of Finland. It is part of the Lutheran branch of Christianity. The church has a legal positio ...
Irja Askola Irja Kaarina Askola (born 18 December 1952 in Lappeenranta, Finland) is the former Bishop of Helsinki. She was the first female Finnish bishop in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland. Askola was the Bishop of Helsinki from 2010 to 2017. ...
* 2011:
North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church The North Elbian Evangelical Lutheran Church (german: link=no, Nordelbische Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche; NEK) was a Lutheran regional church in Northern Germany which emerged from a merger of four churches in 1977 and merged with two more churc ...
Kirsten Fehrs Kirsten Fehrs (born September 12, 1961, in Wesselburen) is a Lutheran bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany. Life Fehrs studied Lutheran theology at University of Hamburg. In December 1990 she was ordained as pastor in ...
* 2011:
Evangelical Church of Westphalia The Protestant Church of Westphalia (german: Evangelische Kirche von Westfalen, EKvW) is a United Protestant church body in North Rhine-Westphalia. The seat of the praeses (german: Präses, the head of the church) is Bielefeld. The EKvW emerged ...
Annette Kurschus Annette Kurschus (born 14 February 1963 in Rotenburg an der Fulda) is a German Protestant theologian and pastor. Since March 2012 she has been Praeses (or in German ''Präses'') of the Evangelical Church of Westphalia and since November 2015 sh ...
, titled ''
praeses ''Praeses'' (Latin  ''praesides'') is a Latin word meaning "placed before" or "at the head". In antiquity, notably under the Roman Dominate, it was used to refer to Roman governors; it continues to see some use for various modern positions. ...
'' * 2012:
Church of Iceland The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Iceland ( is, Hin evangelíska lúterska kirkja), also called the National Church ( is, Þjóðkirkjan), is the officially established Christian church in Iceland. The church professes the Lutheran faith an ...
(Lutheran) – Agnes M. Sigurðardóttir * 2012:
Anglican Church of Southern Africa The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province (Anglican), province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of whi ...
Ellinah Wamukoya * 2012:
Anglican Church of Southern Africa The Anglican Church of Southern Africa, known until 2006 as the Church of the Province of Southern Africa, is the province (Anglican), province of the Anglican Communion in the southern part of Africa. The church has twenty-five dioceses, of whi ...
Margaret Vertue * 2012:
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, ...
Tine Lindhardt * 2013:
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, ...
Marianne Christiansen * 2013:
Church of Ireland The Church of Ireland ( ga, Eaglais na hÉireann, ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Kirk o Airlann, ) is a Christian church in Ireland and an autonomous province of the Anglican Communion. It is organised on an all-Ireland basis and is the second ...
(Anglican) –
Pat Storey Patricia Storey (née Shaw; born 30 March 1960) is an Irish Anglican bishop. Since 2013, she has been the Bishop of Meath and Kildare in the Church of Ireland. She was the first woman to become a bishop in the Church of Ireland and the first ...
* 2013:
Evangelical Lutheran Church of America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxima ...
Elizabeth Eaton Elizabeth Amy Eaton (born April 2, 1955) is the fourth Presiding Bishop, and the first female Presiding Bishop, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). She was first elected to this post in 2013 and was re-elected for a second term ...
* 2014:
Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia ( mi, Te Hāhi Mihinare ki Aotearoa ki Niu Tīreni, ki Ngā Moutere o te Moana Nui a Kiwa; formerly the Church of the Province of New Zealand) is a province of the Anglican Communion serv ...
Helen-Ann Hartley * 2015:
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 ...
Libby Lane * 2015:
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 ...
Alison White * 2015:
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 ...
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 bi ...
* 2015:
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 ...
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.
* 2015:
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 ...
Anne Hollinghurst * 2015:
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 ...
Ruth Worsley * 2015:
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 ...
Christine Hardman Christine Elizabeth Hardman ( Atkins; born 27 August 1951) is a retired British Anglican bishop and former Lord Spiritual. She served as Archdeacon of Lewisham, 2001–2008; Archdeacon of Lewisham & Greenwich, 2008–2012; and Bishop of ...
* 2016:
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 ...
Karen Gorham Karen Marisa Gorham, (born 24 June 1964) is a British Church of England bishop. Since February 2016, she has been the Bishop of Sherborne, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Salisbury; and she was Acting Bishop of Salisbury from 2021 to ...
* 2016:
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 ...
Jo Bailey Wells Joanne Caladine Bailey Wells (née Bailey; born 24 June 1965) is a British Anglican bishop, theologian, and academic. Since 29 June 2016, she has been the Bishop of Dorking, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Guildford. Previously, she was a ...
* 2016:
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 ...
Jan McFarlane * 2017:
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 ...
Guli Francis-Dehqani * 2017:
Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...
June Osborne June Osborne (born 10 June 1953) is a British retired Anglican bishop. From 2017 to 2022, she served as the Bishop of Llandaff in the Church in Wales. Between 2004 and 2017, she served as the Dean of Salisbury, and was the first woman to head o ...
* 2017:
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, ...
-
Marianne Gaarden Marianne Gaarden (born 4 February 1964) is a Danish prelate who is the 21st and current Bishop of Lolland-Falster. Biography Gaarden is from Brønderslev, where she became a student at Brønderslev School in 1983. She subsequently went to Barce ...
* 2018:
Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...
Anne Dyer Anne Catherine Dyer (born February 1957) is a British Anglican bishop, previously a rector and an academic administrator. In 2018, she became Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney in the Scottish Episcopal Church. Subject to a report process, with a rec ...
* 2018:
Church in Wales The Church in Wales ( cy, Yr Eglwys yng Nghymru) is an Anglicanism, Anglican church in Wales, composed of six dioceses. The Archbishop of Wales does not have a fixed archiepiscopal see, but serves concurrently as one of the six diocesan bishop ...
Joanna Penberthy * 2019:
Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck The Evangelical Church of Hesse Electorate-Waldeck (german: Evangelische Kirche von Kurhessen-Waldeck; EKKW) is a United Protestant church body in former Hesse-Cassel and the Waldeck part of the former Free State of Waldeck-Pyrmont. Constituti ...
Beate Hofmann Beate Hofmann (born October 15, 1963 in Bad Tölz) is a German Lutheran bishop. Life Hofmann studied Lutheran theology at ''Kirchliche Hochschule Bethel'' in Bielefeld, Heidelberg University, Northwestern University, University of Hamburg, and ...
* 2019:
Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany The Evangelical Lutheran Church in Northern Germany (Evangelisch-Lutherische Kirche in Norddeutschland) is a Lutheran member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany (Evangelische Kirche in Deutschland, EKD). It was established on 27 May 2012 ...
Kristina Kühnbaum-Schmidt Kristina Kühnbaum-Schmidt (born 1964) is a German Lutheran bishop. Biography Kühnbaum-Schmidt was born in Braunschweig. She studied Lutheran evangelical theology at University of Göttingen and at Kirchliche Hochschule Berlin. She was orda ...
* 2020: Church of Greenland -
Paneeraq Siegstad Munk Paneeraq Siegstad Munk (born 30 January 1977) is the current Bishop of Greenland for the Evangelical Lutheran Church. She was elected as bishop in 2020, and officially sworn in the next year. Early life Paneeraq Siegstad Munk was born on 30 Ja ...
* 2021:
Evangelical Church of the Palatinate Evangelical Church of the Palatinate (german: Evangelische Kirche der Pfalz (Protestantische Landeskirche)) is a United Protestant church in parts of the German states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland, endorsing both Lutheran and Calvinist o ...
- Dorothee Wüst, titled president * 2021:
Evangelical Reformed Church in Germany The Evangelical Reformed Church (german: Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche), until 2009 Evangelical Reformed Church – Synod of Reformed Churches in Bavaria and Northwestern Germany (german: Evangelisch-reformierte Kirche – Synode evangelisch-reform ...
-
Susanne Bei der Wieden Susanne may refer to: *Susanne (given name), a feminine given name (including a list of people with the name) *, later USS ''SP-411'', a United States Navy patrol boat in commission from 1917 to 1919 *, the proposed name and designation for a vess ...
, titled president * 2022:
Protestant Church in Baden The Protestant Church in Baden (german: link=no, Evangelische Landeskirche in Baden; i.e. Evangelical Regional Church in Baden) is a United Protestant member church of the Evangelical Church in Germany (EKD), and member of the Conference of Church ...
- Heike Springhart * Others: Protestant churches in German Lutheran, Reformed and United churches (EKD),
Protestant Church of the Netherlands The Protestant Church in the Netherlands ( nl, de Protestantse Kerk in Nederland, abbreviated PKN) is the largest Protestant denomination in the Netherlands, being both Calvinist and Lutheran. It was founded on 1 May 2004 as the merger of the v ...


Women as archbishops or denominational heads

* 1934
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 ...
Evangeline Booth Evangeline Cory Booth, OF (December 25, 1865July 17, 1950) was a British evangelist and the 4th General of The Salvation Army from 1934 to 1939. She was the first woman to hold the post. Early life She was born in South Hackney, London, Engl ...
becomes
General 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 ...
. * 1960
United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; gd, An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, sco, The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and ...
Elizabeth Barr Elizabeth Brown Barr (2 October 1905 – 23 June 1995) was a British minister. She was the first woman to be a Presbyterian minister. She was the first female moderator of a general assembly of a Scottish church. Life Barr was born in Dennistoun ...
becomes Moderator of the General Assembly of the United Free Church of Scotland. * 2004
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...
– Dr.
Alison Elliot Alison Elliot CBE FRSE (born 27 November 1948) is an honorary fellow at New College, Edinburgh. She was the former Associate Director of the Centre for Theology and Public Issues at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2004 she became the ...
becomes moderator of the
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
* 2005
Metropolitan Community Church The Metropolitan Community Church (MCC), also known as the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches (UFMCC), is an international LGBT-affirming mainline Protestant Christian denomination. There are 222 member congregations in 37 ...
Nancy Wilson, first woman installed as moderator. * 2006 The Episcopal Church—The Most Reverend Dr.
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 ...
. Installed as
Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church This is a list of the Presiding Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Initially the position of Presiding Bishop rotated geographically. After 1795 the Presiding Bishop was the senior bishop in order of consecration. Starting in 1 ...
and
Primate Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians (monkeys and apes, the latter including huma ...
(the same position which some other provinces in the
Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
refer to as an Archbishop) at
Washington National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the cap ...
on 4 November 2006, though she technically took office on the first of November. *2007 Evangelical Lutheran Church in Canada – Susan Johnson. First woman to serve as National Bishop of the ELCIC. She was consecrated 29 September 2007. *2008 The Wesleyan Church –
Jo Anne Lyon Jo Anne Lyon (born 1940 in Blackwell, Oklahoma) is the Vice President of Wesley Seminary in Marion, Indiana. Lyon was previously the General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Church . Lyon was elected as the first woman General Superintendent at the Ju ...
. First woman to serve as a General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Church, and first to serve as the sole General Superintendent of the Wesleyan Church in its history. She was elected in June 2008 and 2012 respectively. * 2013:
Evangelical Lutheran Church of America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxima ...
Elizabeth Eaton Elizabeth Amy Eaton (born April 2, 1955) is the fourth Presiding Bishop, and the first female Presiding Bishop, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA). She was first elected to this post in 2013 and was re-elected for a second term ...
. First women installed as Presiding Bishop. * 2014
Church of Sweden The Church of Sweden ( sv, Svenska kyrkan) is an Evangelical Lutheran national church in Sweden. A former state church, headquartered in Uppsala, with around 5.6 million members at year end 2021, it is the largest Christian denomination in Sw ...
Antje Jackelén Antje Jackelén (; born 4 June 1955) is archbishop emerita and primate emerita (''prima inter pares'') of the Church of Sweden, the national church. On 15 October 2013, she was elected the 70th Archbishop of Uppsala and formally received through ...
Archbishop of Uppsala The Archbishop of Uppsala (spelled Upsala until the early 20th century) has been the primate (bishop), primate of Sweden in an unbroken succession since 1164, first during the Roman Catholic Church, Catholic era, and from the 1530s and onward un ...
. Installed in
Uppsala Cathedral Uppsala Cathedral ( sv, Uppsala domkyrka) is a cathedral located between the University Hall of Uppsala University and the Fyris river in the centre of Uppsala, Sweden. A church of the Church of Sweden, the national church, in the Lutheran tra ...
on 15 June 2014.


References

{{reflist
Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...
Protestant worship and liturgy