2019 marks 25 years since the first woman was ordained in the Church of England.
History
In 1985, the Church of England voted in favour of women deacons, and in 1992 women were allowed to seek ordination. The first ordinations, however, followed a couple of years later. On 12 March 1994, the first woman – a priest of the Church of England – was ordained at Bristol Cathedral.
The Church of England has been favourable to women’s ministry: since 1994, nearly 6,000 women have been ordained. The total number of Anglican clergy is 20,000.
Women’s path to the office of bishop in the Church of England was somewhat longer, because in several General Synods a majority of votes was not gathered until 2014. In 2015, the first woman (Libby Lane) was consecrated as a bishop, and since 2015 several women have been appointed to bishops’ offices.
The Church of England has been celebrating the 25th anniversary of women’s ordination since this spring. The celebration includes various worship services, events, Bible studies, lectures and discussions.
It is worth recalling that the Church of England is one of the churches of the Anglican Communion worldwide. This communion comprises 44 autonomous churches. While women’s ordination began in Great Britain only in 1994, in Hong Kong, for example, the first Anglican woman priest was ordained in 1944 – half a century earlier. Women’s ordinations have also been taking place for quite some time in other countries – in Canada (since 1976), New Zealand (since 1977) and many other countries.
Anniversary services in Great Britain
The official celebrations began on 4 March with a solemn service in London – in the palace chapel where the seat of the Archbishop of Canterbury is located. The service was led by the Archbishop of Canterbury and was attended by more than 80 clergy. The service was also attended by women bishops and by women who are being prepared for the ministry of priest. The sermon at the service was preached by Rev. Isabelle Hamley.
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby, said in his address: “Many of these [women] who are here now have been pioneers in realising what it means to be an ordained woman in the Church of England – not only for themselves and their communities, but for the whole Body of Christ. Let us today bear witness to those who paved the way in 1994, and let us also support those [women] for whom opportunities for ministry have been opened since then.”
Photo: Lambeth Palace; Anglican Communion News service
In mid-March, a solemn service was also held at Bristol Cathedral.
On 25 May, too, a service was held at Southwark Cathedral in honour of the anniversary. We invite you to look at some of the photographs from this service.
All the pictures can be viewed on the website of the Diocese of London – here.
Sources: Christianity Today