Resources on Women’s Ordination
A feature of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is that we do not have a denomination-wide policy on women’s ordination. Because the theological arguments for and against the ordination of women to the priesthood are inconclusive (1968 Lambeth Conference of Anglican Bishops), our province allows the Bishop of each Diocese to wrestle with the Scriptures and to set the parameters for their Diocese. Therefore, we have Dioceses who do not ordain women to any holy orders, some that ordain them as Deacons only, and some that ordain them as Deacons and Priests. While these variances may frustrate some, it is consistent with the “via media” approach of the Anglican Way, which seeks unity on primary issues and allows room for each other on secondary issues. As Thomas McKenzie wrote in The Anglican Way, “The Anglican Way lives at the center rather than the extremes. We have learned that it’s impossible to be radical about more than one thing. We don’t desire to be radical about politics, traditions, ideas, or even religion. We just want to be radical about the only thing worth being radical about: the amazing love of God in Christ.”
To be clear, we are not saying that women are secondary, but that women’s ordination is not a first order issue. Like infant baptism, it is an issue that faithful Christians have disagreed over, while seeking to respect and love each other. We are not without biblical guidance on how to handle such secondary issues. A first-century “hot button” issue was whether Christians should be allowed to eat meat that had been sacrificed to an idol. It was an issue that both sides appealed to the Scriptures to support their position. Into this heated debate, the Apostle Paul wrote, “Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God” (Romans 14:20). So, he might say to us today, “Do not, for the sake of women’s ordination, tear apart the church of God.” This is the only way we can have a truly global communion, a “big tent” within the bounds of orthodoxy.
We are in The Diocese of the Carolinas, and our Bishop, Steve Wood, after wrestling with the Scriptures, has set the parameters of our Diocese. Women may serve as ordained Deacons and Priests, but not as Senior Pastors (Vicar/Rector) of a local church. This policy is not forced on every congregation in the Diocese. Each Senior Pastor is also given room to wrestle with the Scriptures themselves and decide how to implement the parameters in their local congregation. He could do less, but not more than Bishop Steve’s bar. Therefore, as the Senior Pastor of Apostles Charlotte, I, too, have wrestled with the Scriptures, and resolved that our position will match the full allowance of the Diocese’s position. If the Lord opens the doors, we would welcome gifted and called women to serve as ordained Deacons and Priests among us.
To help our community navigate this issue, I have compiled a list of resources below that were most helpful to me in my studies.