Ordination of women

Main article: Ordination

Ordination in general religious usage is the process by which a person is consecrated (set apart for the administration of various religious rites). The ordination of women is a regular practice among some major religious groups, as it was of several religions of antiquity. It remains a controversial issue in religions or denominations in which the rite of ordination, or the role that an ordained person fulfills, has traditionally been restricted to men, either because of cultural prohibition, theological doctrine, or both.

Contents

Antiquity

Sumeria and Akkadia

For more details on this topic, see Religions of the Ancient Near East.

Ancient Egypt

In Ancient Egyptian religion, God's Wife of Amun was the highest ranking priestess; this title was held by a daughter of the High Priest of Amun, during the reign of Hatshepsut, while the capital of Egypt was in Thebes during the second millennium BCE (circa 2160 BCE).

Later, Divine Adoratrice of Amun was a title created for the chief priestess of Amun. During the first millennium BCE, when the holder of this office exercised her largest measure of influence, her position was an important appointment facilitating the transfer of power from one pharaoh to the next, when his daughter was adopted to fill it by the incumbent office holder. The Divine Adoratrice ruled over the extensive temple duties and domains, controlling a significant part of the ancient Egyptian economy.

Ancient Egyptian priestesses:

Ancient Greece

In ancient Greek religion, some important observances, such as the Thesmophoria, were conducted only by women; men were excluded. Priestesses played a major role in the Eleusinian Mysteries. The Gerarai were priestesses of Dionysus who presided over festivals and rituals associated with the god. A body of priestesses might also maintain the cult at a particular holy site, such as the Peleiades at the oracle of Dodona. The Arrephoroi were girls ages seven to eleven who served as acolytes of Athena Polias on the Athenian Acropolis and were charged with conducting unique rituals.

Women priestesses served as oracles at several sites, the most famous of which is the Oracle of Delphi. The priestess of the Temple of Apollo at Delphi was the Pythia, credited throughout the Greco-Roman world for her prophecies, which gave her a prominence unusual for a woman in male-dominated ancient Greece. The Phrygian Sibyl presided over an oracle of Apollo in Anatolian Phrygia. The inspired speech of divining women, however, was interpreted by male priests; a woman might be a mantic (mantis) who became the mouthpiece of a deity through possession, but the "prophecy of interpretation" required specialized knowledge and was considered a rational process suited only for a male '"prophet" (prophētēs).[9]

Ancient Rome

See also Women in ancient Rome: Religious life

The Latin word sacerdos, "priest," is the same for both the masculine and feminine form. In Roman state religion, the priesthood of the Vestals was responsible for the continuance and security of Rome as embodied by the sacred fire that they could not allow to go out. The Vestals were a college of six sacerdotes (plural) devoted to Vesta, goddess of the hearth, both the focus of a private home (domus) and the state hearth that was the center of communal religion. Freed of the usual social obligations to marry and rear children, the Vestals took a vow of chastity in order to devote themselves to the study and correct observance of state rituals that were off-limits to the male colleges of priests.[10] They retained their religious authority until the era of Christian dominance, when the Christian emperor Gratian confiscated their revenues[11] and his successor Theodosius I closed the Temple of Vesta permanently.[12]

The Romans also had at least two priesthoods that were each held jointly by a married couple, the rex and regina sacrorum, and the flamen and flaminica Dialis. The regina sacrorum ("queen of the sacred rites") and the flaminica Dialis (high priestess of Jupiter) each had her own distinct duties and presided over public sacrifices, the regina on the first day of every month, and the flaminica every nundinal cycle (the Roman equivalent of a week). The highly public nature of these sacrifices, like the role of the Vestals, indicates that women's religious activities in ancient Rome were not restricted to the private or domestic sphere.[13] So essential was the gender complement to these priesthoods that if the wife died, the husband had to give up his office.[14]

The title sacerdos was often specified in relation to a deity or temple,[15] such as a sacerdos Cereris or Cerealis, "priestess of Ceres", an office never held by men.[16] Female sacerdotes played a leading role in the sanctuaries of Ceres and Proserpina in Rome and throughout Italy that observed so-called "Greek rite" (ritus graecus). This form of worship had spread from Sicily under Greek influence, and the Aventine cult of Ceres in Rome was headed by male priests.[17] Only women celebrated the rites of the Bona Dea ("Good Goddess"), for whom sacerdotes are recorded.[18]

From the Mid Republic onward, religious diversity became increasingly characteristic of the city of Rome. Many religions that were not part of Rome's earliest state religion offered leadership roles as priests for women, among them the imported cult of Isis and of the Magna Mater ("Great Mother", or Cybele). An epitaph preserves the title sacerdos maxima for a woman who held the highest priesthood of the Magna Mater's temple near the current site of St. Peter's Basilica.[19] Inscriptions for the Imperial era record priestesses of Juno Populona and of deified women of the Imperial household.[20]

Under some circumstances, when cults such as mystery religions were introduced to Romans, it was preferred that they be maintained by women. Although it was Roman practice to incorporate other religions instead of trying to eradicate them,[21] the secrecy of some mystery cults was regarded with suspicion. In 189 BCE, the senate attempted to suppress the Bacchanals, claiming the secret rites corrupted morality and were a hotbed of political conspiracy. One provision of the senatorial decree was that only women should serve as priests of the Dionysian religion, perhaps to guard against the politicizing of the cult,[22] since even Roman women who were citizens lacked the right to vote or hold political office. Priestesses of Liber, the Roman god identified with Dionysus, are mentioned by the 1st-century BC scholar Varro, as well as indicated by epigraphic evidence.[23]

Other religious titles for Roman women include magistra, a high priestess, female expert or teacher; and ministra, a female assistant, particularly one in service to a deity. A magistra or ministra would have been responsible for the regular maintenance of a cult. Epitaphs provide the main evidence for these priesthoods, and the woman is often not identified in terms of her marital status.[24]

Buddhism

Main article: Ordination of women in Buddhism

The tradition of the ordained monastic community in Buddhism (the sangha) began with the Buddha, who established an order of monks.[27] According to the scriptures,[28] later, after an initial reluctance, he also established an order of nuns. Fully ordained Buddhist nuns are called bhikkhunis.[29] [30] Mahapajapati Gotami, the aunt and foster mother of Buddha, was the first bhikkhuni.[31]

However, the bhikkhuni ordination once existing in the countries where Theravada is more widespread died out around the 10th century, and novice ordination has also disappeared in those countries. Therefore, women who wish to live as nuns in those countries must do so by taking eight or ten precepts. Neither laywomen nor formally ordained, these women do not receive the recognition, education, financial support or status enjoyed by Buddhist men in their countries. These "precept-holders" live in Burma, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal, and Thailand. Japan is a special case as, although it has neither the bhikkhuni nor novice ordinations, the precept-holding nuns who live there do enjoy a higher status and better education than their precept-holder sisters elsewhere, and can even become Zen priests.[32]

The bhikkhuni ordination of Buddhist nuns has always been practiced in East Asia.[33] In 1996, through the efforts of Sakyadhita, an International Buddhist Women Association, ten Sri Lankan women were ordained as bhikkhunis in Sarnath, India. [34] Also, bhikkhuni ordination of Buddhist nuns began again in Sri Lanka in 1998 after a lapse of 900 years.[35] In 2003 Ayya Sudhamma became the first American-born woman to receive bhikkhuni ordination in Sri Lanka.[30] Furthermore, on February 28, 2003, Dhammananda Bhikkhuni, formerly known as Chatsumarn Kabilsingh, became the first Thai woman to receive bhikkhuni ordination as a Theravada nun (Theravada is a school of Buddhism).[36] Dhammananda Bhikkhuni was ordained in Sri Lanka.[37] A 55-year-old Thai Buddhist 8-precept white-robed maechee nun, Varanggana Vanavichayen, became the first woman to receive the going-forth ceremony of a Theravada novice (and the gold robe) in Thailand, in 2002.[38] In 2009 in Australia four women received bhikkhuni ordination as Theravada nuns, the first time such ordination had occurred in Australia.[39]

In 1998 Sherry Chayat, born in Brooklyn, became the first American woman to receive transmission in the Rinzai school of Buddhism.[40][41][42]In 2006 Merle Kodo Boyd, born in Texas, became the first African-American woman ever to receive Dharma transmission in Zen Buddhism.[43] Also in 2006, for the first time in American history, a Buddhist ordination was held where an American woman (Sister Khanti-Khema) took the Samaneri (novice) vows with an American monk (Bhante Vimalaramsi) presiding. This was done for the Buddhist American Forest Tradition at the Dhamma Sukha Meditation Center in Missouri.[44] In 2010 the first Buddhist nunnery in America (Vajra Dakini Nunnery in Vermont) was officially consecrated. It offers novice ordination. It is a Tibetan Buddhist nunnery that follows the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Buddhism. The abbot of the Vajra Dakini nunnery is Khenmo Drolma, an American woman, who is the first bhikkhuni in the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Buddhism, having been ordained in Taiwan in 2002.[45][46] She is also the first westerner, male or female, to be installed as an abbot in the Drikung Kagyu lineage of Buddhism, having been installed as the abbot of the Vajra Dakini Nunnery in 2004.[45] The Vajra Dakini Nunnery does not follow The Eight Garudhammas.[47] Also in 2010, in Northern California, 4 novice nuns were given the full bhikkhuni ordination in the Thai Theravada tradition, which included the double ordination ceremony. Bhante Gunaratana and other monks and nuns were in attendance. It was the first such ordination ever in the Western hemisphere. [48] The following month, more bhikkhuni ordinations were completed in Southern California, led by Walpola Piyananda and other monks and nuns. The bhikkhunis ordained in Southern California were Lakshapathiye Samadhi (born in Sri Lanka), Cariyapanna, Susila, Sammasati (all three born in Vietnam), and Uttamanyana (born in Myanmar). [49]

Christianity

In the liturgical traditions of Christianity, including the Roman Catholic Church, Eastern and Oriental Orthodoxy, Lutheranism and Anglicanism, the term ordination refers more narrowly to the means by which a person is included in one of the orders of bishops, priests or deacons. This is distinguished from the process of consecration to religious orders, namely nuns and monks, which are open to women and men.

Some Protestant denominations understand ordination more generally as the acceptance of a person for pastoral work.

Anglican

Main article: Ordination of women in the Anglican Communion

Within Anglicanism the majority of provinces ordain women as deacons and priests.[51]

The first three women priests ordained in the Anglican Communion were in the Anglican Diocese of Hong Kong and Macao: Li Tim-Oi in 1944 and Jane Hwang and Joyce Bennett in 1971.

A number of Anglican provinces also ordain women as bishops,[51][52] though, as of 2010, only four of the provinces have done so: the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican churches of Australia, Canada and New Zealand.[53] Cuba, one of the extra-provincial Anglican churches, has done so as well.

The Anglican church in Ireland has permitted the ordination of women as bishops since 1990 but none have yet occurred.[56] The Anglican church in Scotland also permits the ordination of women as bishops since 2003, but none have yet been appointed.[57]

In England the issue of women being ordained as bishops is contentious and under discussion as of 2010.[58] The issue was voted down in 2008 by the Anglican Church in Wales.[59]

On June 18, 2006, the Episcopal Church in the United States was the first Anglican province to appoint a woman, Katharine Jefferts Schori, as their Primate (the highest position possible in an Anglican province), called the "Presiding Bishop" in the United States.[53]

With the October 16, 2010, ordination of Margaret Lee, in the Peoria-based Diocese of Quincy, Illinois, women have been ordained as priests in all 110 dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States.[60]

Jehovah's Witnesses

Jehovah's Witnesses consider qualified public baptism to represent the baptizand's ordination, following which he or she is immediately considered an ordained minister. In 1941, the Supreme Court of Vermont recognized the validity of this ordination for a female Jehovah's Witness minister.[61] The majority of Witnesses actively preaching from door to door are female.[62] Women are commonly appointed as full-time ministers, either to evangelize as "pioneers" or missionaries, or to serve at their branch offices.[63]

Nevertheless, Witness deacons ("ministerial servants") and elders must be male, and only a baptized adult male may perform a Jehovah's Witness baptism, funeral, or wedding.[64] Within the congregation, a female Witness minister may only lead prayer and teaching when there is a special need, and must do so wearing a head covering.[65][66][67]

Latter Day Saints

The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does not ordain women.[68] However, some (most notably D. Michael Quinn and Margaret Toscano) argue that the church ordained women in the past and that therefore the church currently has the power to ordain women and should do so.[69][70]

The Reorganized Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints adopted the practice of women's ordination in 1984, which resulted in a major schism between the Community of Christ which accepted women in the priesthood and the newly formed Restoration Branches movement which rejected women in the priesthood.

Liberal Catholic

Of all the churches in the Liberal Catholic movement, only the original church, the Liberal Catholic Church under Bishop Graham Wale, does not ordain women. The position held by the Liberal Catholic Church is the same as the Roman Catholic Church, that the Church, even if it wanted to ordain women, does not have the authority to do so and that it is not possible for a woman to be ordained even if she went through the ceremony. The reasoning behind this is that the female body does not effectively channel the masculine energies of Christ, and therefore cannot enact the Sacraments. Since Christ is the true minister of all Sacraments, the priest has to be able to channel Christ's energies to validly confect the sacrament. 2nd Presiding Bishop Leadbeater confirmed that women could not be ordained when discussing Holy Orders in his book Science of the Sacraments, noting that Christ left no indication that women can become priests and that only Christ can change this arrangement. Nevertheless, the first Presiding Bishop of the Liberal Catholic Church, J.I. Wedgwood, allegedly consecrated Annie Besant as a bishop in 1925 according to the late Bishop Sigrid Fjellander who was present at the ceremony.

Orthodox

The Orthodox Churches follow a similar line of reasoning as the Roman Catholic Church with respect to ordination of priests, and does not allow women's ordination.[71]

Evangelos Theodorou argued that female deacons were actually ordained in antiquity.[72] K. K. Fitzgerald has followed and amplified Professor Theodorou's research. Bishop Kallistos Ware wrote:[73]

The order of deaconesses seems definitely to have been considered an "ordained" ministry during early centuries in at any rate the Christian East. ... Some Orthodox writers regard deaconesses as having been a "lay" ministry. There are strong reasons for rejecting this view. In the Byzantine rite the liturgical office for the laying-on of hands for the deaconess is exactly parallel to that for the deacon; and so on the principle lex orandi, lex credendi—the Church's worshipping practice is a sure indication of its faith—it follows that the deaconesses receives, as does the deacon, a genuine sacramental ordination: not just a χειροθεσια (chirothesia) but a χειροτονια (chirotonia). However, the ordination of women in the Catholic Church does exist. Although it is not widespread, it is official by the Roman Catholic Church.

On October 8, 2004, the Holy Synod of the Orthodox Church of Greece voted to permit the ordination of monastic women deacons, that is, women deacons to minister and assist at the liturgy within their own monasteries.[74][75] There is a strong monastic tradition, pursued by both men and women in the Orthodox churches, where monks and nuns lead identical spiritual lives. Unlike Western-rite Catholic religious life, which has myriad traditions, both contemplative and active (see Benedictine monks, Franciscan friars, Jesuits), that of Orthodoxy has remained exclusively ascetic and monastic.

Protestant

Main article: Ordination of women in Protestant churches

A key theological doctrine for Reformed and most other Protestants is the priesthood of all believers—a doctrine considered by them so important that it has been dubbed by some as "a clarion truth of Scripture."

This doctrine restores true dignity and true integrity to all believers since it teaches that all believers are priests and that as priests, they are to serve God—no matter what legitimate vocation they pursue. Thus, there is no vocation that is more 'sacred' than any other. Because Christ is Lord over all areas of life, and because His word applies to all areas of life, nowhere does His Word even remotely suggest that the ministry is 'sacred' while all other vocations are 'secular.' Scripture knows no sacred-secular distinction. All of life belongs to God. All of life is sacred. All believers are priests."

— David Hagopian. Trading Places: The Priesthood of All Believers.[76]

Most Protestant denominations require pastors, ministers, deacons, and elders to be formally ordained.[Eph. 4:11–13] While the process of ordination varies among the denominations and the specific church office to be held, it may require preparatory training such as seminary or Bible college, election by the congregation or appointment by a higher authority, and expectations of a lifestyle that requires a higher standard. For example, the Good News Translation of James 3:1 says, "My friends, not many of you should become teachers. As you know, we teachers will be judged with greater strictness than others."

Traditionally, these roles were male preserves, but over the last century an increasing number of denominations have begun ordaining women. The Church of England appointed female lay readers during the First World War. Later the United Church of Canada in 1936 and the American United Methodist Church in 1956 also began to ordain women.[77][78]

Meanwhile, women's ministry has been part of Methodist tradition in Britain for over 200 years. In the late 18th century in England, John Wesley allowed for female office-bearers and preachers.[79]

The Salvation Army has allowed the ordination of women since its beginning, although it was a hotly-disputed topic between William and Catherine Booth.[80] The fourth, thirteenth, and nineteenth Generals of the Salvation Army were women.[81]

Today, over half of all American Protestant denominations ordain women, [82] but some restrict the official positions a woman can hold. For instance, some ordain women for the military or hospital chaplaincy but prohibit them from serving in congregational roles. Over one-third of all seminary students (and in some seminaries nearly half) are female.[83][84]

The Protestant denominations that refuse to ordain women often do so on the basis of New Testament scriptures that they interpret as prohibiting women from fulfilling church roles that require ordination[85] An especially important consideration here is the way 1 Timothy 2:12 is translated and interpreted in the New Testament.[85]

Roman Catholic

Main article: Catholic Church doctrine on the ordination of women

The teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, as emphasised by Pope John Paul II in the apostolic letter "Ordinatio sacerdotalis", is "that the Church has no authority whatsoever to confer priestly ordination on women and that this judgment is to be definitively held by all the Church's faithful."[86] This teaching is embodied in the current canon law (specifically canon law 1024[87]) and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, by the canonical statement: "Only a baptized man (in Latin, vir) validly receives sacred ordination."[88] Insofar as priestly and episcopal ordination are concerned, the Roman Catholic Church teaches that this requirement is a matter of divine law; it belongs to the deposit of faith and is unchangeable.[89][90][91] In 2007, the Holy See issued a decree saying that the attempted ordination of women would result in automatic excommunication for the women and priests trying to ordain them.[92] In 2010, the Holy See stated that the ordination of women is a "grave delict".[93]

Attempted ordination

In 1970 Ludmila Javorova attempted ordination as a Catholic priest in Czechoslovakia by a friend of her family, Bishop Felix Davidek (1921–88), himself clandestinely consecrated, due to the shortage of priests caused by communist persecution; however, in February 2000 an official statement from the Holy See declared the ordinations invalid while recognizing the severe circumstances under which they occurred.[94]

Dissent

Some dissenting scholars (for example, Father Robert W. Hovda, Robert J. Karris and Damien Casey) have written in favor of ordaining women.[95] Furthermore, 12 groups have been founded throughout the world advocating for women's ordination in the Catholic Church.[96] Women's Ordination Worldwide, founded in 1996 in Austria, is a network of national and international groups whose primary mission is the admission of Roman Catholic women to all ordained ministries, including Catholic Women's Ordination (founded in March 1993 in the United Kingdom[97]), Roman Catholic Womenpriests (founded in 2002 in America[98]), Women's Ordination Conference (founded in 1975 in America[99]) and others.

Hinduism

There are two types of Hindu priests, purohits and pujaris. Both women and men are ordained as purohits and pujaris.[100][101]

Furthermore, both men and women are gurus (gurus are teachers of Hinduism but are not always ordained; when they are, it is by their own guru).[102]

Chanda Vyas, born in Kenya, was the first female Hindu priest in the United Kingdom.[103]

Some of the chapters of the Vedas were written by women, and there is a famous debate between a man and a woman in the Upanishads in which she bests him.

Indigenous and ethnic religions

Further information: shaman and medicine woman

Africa

The Yoruba people of western Nigeria practice an indigenous religion with a religious hierarchy of priests and priestesses that dates to 800-1000 CE. Ifá priests and priestesses bear the titles Babalowo for men and Iyanifa for females.[104] Priests and priestess of the varied Orisha are titled Babalorisa for men and Iyalorisa for women.[105] Initiates are also given an Orisa or Ifá name that signifies under which deity they are initiated; for example a Priestess of Oshun may be named Osunyemi and a Priest of Ifá may be named Ifáyemi. This ancient culture continues to this day as initiates from all around the world return to Nigeria for initiation into the traditional priesthood.

Okinawa

The indigenous religion of Okinawa, Japan is led by female priests; this makes it the only known official mainstream religion of a society led by women.[106]

Islam

Main articles: Women as imams and Women in Islam

Although Muslims do not formally ordain religious leaders, the imam serves as a spiritual leader and religious authority. There is a current controversy among Muslims on the circumstances in which women may act as imams—that is, lead a congregation in salat (prayer). Three of the four Sunni schools, as well as many Shia, agree that a woman may lead a congregation consisting of women alone in prayer, although the Maliki school does not allow this. According to all currently existing traditional schools of Islam, a woman cannot lead a mixed gender congregation in salat (prayer). Some schools make exceptions for Tarawih (optional Ramadan prayers) or for a congregation consisting only of close relatives. Certain medieval scholars—including Al-Tabari (838–932), Abu Thawr (764–854), Al-Muzani (791–878), and Ibn Arabi (1165–1240)—considered the practice permissible at least for optional (nafila) prayers; however, their views are not accepted by any major surviving group. Islamic feminists have begun to protest this.

Women's mosques, called nusi, and female imams have existed since the 19th century in China and continue today.[107]

In 1994, Amina Wadud, (an Islamic studies professor at Virginia Commonwealth University, born in the United States), became the first woman in South Africa to deliver the jum'ah khutbah (Friday sermon), which she did at the Claremont Main Road Mosque in Cape Town, South Africa.[108]

In 2004 20-year-old Maryam Mirza delivered the second half of the Eid al-Fitr khutbah at the Etobicoke mosque in Toronto, Canada, run by the United Muslim Association.[109]

In 2004, in Canada, Yasmin Shadeer led the night 'Isha prayer for a mixed-gender (men as well as women praying and hearing the sermon) congregation.[110] This is the first recorded occasion in modern times where a woman led a congregation in prayer in a mosque.[110]

On March 18, 2005, Amina Wadud gave a sermon and led Friday prayers for a Muslim congregation consisting of men as well as women, with no curtain dividing the men and women.[111] Another woman, Suheyla El-Attar, sounded the call to prayer while not wearing a headscarf at that same event.[111] This was done in the Synod House of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York after mosques refused to host the event.[111] This was the first known time that a woman had led a mixed-gender Muslim congregation in prayer in American history.[111]

In April 2005, Raheel Raza, born in Pakistan, led Toronto's first woman-led mixed-gender Friday prayer service, delivering the sermon and leading the prayers of the mixed-gender congregation organized by the Muslim Canadian Congress to celebrate Earth Day in the backyard of the downtown Toronto home of activist Tarek Fatah.[112]

On July 1, 2005, Pamela Taylor, a Muslim convert since 1986, became the first woman to lead Friday prayers in a Canadian mosque, and did so for a congregation of both men and women.[113] Pamela Taylor is an American convert to Islam and co-chair of the New York-based Progressive Muslim Union.[113] In addition to leading the prayers, Taylor also gave a sermon on the importance of equality among people regardless of gender, race, sexual orientation and disability.[113]

In October 2005, Amina Wadud led a mixed gender congregational prayer in Barcelona.[114]

In 2008, Pamela Taylor gave the Friday khutbah and led the mixed-gender prayers in Toronto at the UMA mosque at the invitation of the Muslim Canadian Congress on Canada Day.[115]

On 17 October 2008, Amina Wadud became the first woman to lead a mixed-gender congregation in prayer in the United Kingdom when she performed the Friday prayers at Oxford's Wolfson College.[116]

In 2010, Raheel Raza became the first Muslim-born woman to lead a mixed-gender British congregation through Friday prayers.[117]

Judaism

Main article: Female rabbis
See also: rebbetzin

Only men can become rabbis in Orthodox Judaism (although there has been one female Hasidic rebbe, Hannah Rachel Verbermacher, also known as the Maiden of Ludmir, active in the 19th century[119]); however all other types of Judaism allow and have female rabbis.[120] In 1935 Regina Jonas was ordained privately by a German rabbi and became the world's first female rabbi.[118] Sally Priesand became the first female rabbi in Reform Judaism in 1972,[121] Sandy Eisenberg Sasso became the first female rabbi in Reconstructionist Judaism in 1974,[122] Lynn Gottlieb became the first female rabbi in Jewish Renewal in 1981,[123] Amy Eilberg became the first female rabbi in Conservative Judaism in 1985,[124] and Tamara Kolton became the very first rabbi of either sex (and therefore, since she was female, the first female rabbi) in Humanistic Judaism in 1999.[125] Women in these types of Judaism are routinely granted semicha (meaning ordination) on an equal basis with men.

Only men can become cantors in Orthodox Judaism, but all other types of Judaism allow and have female cantors.[126] In 1955 Betty Robbins, born in Greece, became the world's first female cantor when she was appointed cantor of the Reform congregation of Temple Avodah in Oceanside, New York, in July.[127] Barbara Ostfeld-Horowitz became the first female cantor to be ordained in Reform Judaism in 1975.[128] Erica Lippitz and Marla Rosenfeld Barugel became the first female cantors in Conservative Judaism in 1987.[128] However, the Cantors Assembly, a professional organization of cantors associated with Conservative Judaism, did not allow women to join until 1990.[129] In 2001 Deborah Davis became the first cantor of either sex (and therefore, since she was female, the first female cantor) in Humanistic Judaism, although Humanistic Judaism has since stopped graduating cantors.[130] Sharon Hordes became the first cantor of either sex (and therefore, since she was female, the first female cantor) in Reconstructionist Judaism in 2002.[131] Avitall Gerstetter, who lives in Germany, became the first female cantor in Jewish Renewal (and the first female cantor in Germany) in 2002. Susan Wehle became the first American female cantor in Jewish Renewal in 2006; however, she died in 2009.[132] The first American women to be ordained as cantors in Jewish Renewal after Susan Wehle's ordination were Michal Rubin and Abbe Lyons, both ordained on January 10, 2010.[133]

Shinto

In Shintoism, Saiin (斎院, saiin?) were unmarried female relatives of the Japanese emperor, termed Saiō in the singular, who served as high priestesses at Ise Grand Shrine from the late 7th century until the 14th century. Ise Grand Shrine is a Shinto shrine dedicated to the goddess Amaterasu-ōmikami. Saiin priestesses were usually elected from royalty (内親王, naishinnō) such as princesses (女王, joō). In principle, Saiin remained unmarried, but there were exceptions. Some Saiin became consorts of the Emperor, called Nyōgo in Japanese. According to the Man'yōshū (The Anthology of Ten Thousand Leaves), the first Saiō to serve at Ise Grand Shrine was Princess Oku, daughter of Emperor Temmu, during the Asuka period of Japanese history.

The ordination of women as Shinto priests arose again after the abolition of State Shinto in the aftermath of World War II.[134] See also Miko.

Sikhism

Sikhism does not have priests, which were abolished by Guru Gobind Singh, as the guru had seen that institution become corrupt in society during his time. Instead, he appointed the Sri Guru Granth Sahib, the Sikh holy book, as his successor as Guru instead of a possibly fallible human; and due to the faith's belief in complete equality, women can participate in any religious function and/or perform any Sikh ceremony and/or lead the congregation in prayer.[135] A Sikh woman has the right to become a Granthi, Ragi, and one of the Panj Pyare (5 beloved); both men and women are considered capable of reaching the highest levels of spirituality.[136]

Taoism

Taoists ordain both men and women as priests.[137] In 2009 Wu Chengzhen became the first female Fangzhang (meaning principal abbot) in Taoism's 1,800-year history after being enthroned at Changchun Temple in Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, in China.[138] Fangzhang is the highest position in a Taoist temple.[138]

Wicca

There are many different Wiccan traditions. All ordain women as priests (most also ordain men), and some were created by women.[140][141][142]

Zoroastrianism

Zoroastrian priests are required to be male.[143]

Some significant dates and events

A list with dates of important events in the history of women's ordination appears below:[144]

Part of a series on
Christianity
and Gender
Theology

Female disciples of Jesus
Gender roles in Christianity
Jesus' interactions with women
List of women in the Bible
Paul of Tarsus and women
Women as theological figures
Women in the Bible
4 major positions

Christian Egalitarianism
Christian feminism
Complementarianism
Biblical patriarchy
Church and society

Christianity and homosexuality
Ordination of women
Women in Church history
Organizations

Christians for Biblical Equality
Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
Evangelical and Ecumenical Women's Caucus
Theologians and authors
Feminist:
Letha Dawson Scanzoni · Anne Eggebroten · Virginia Ramey Mollenkott
Egalitarian:
William J. Webb · Kenneth E. Hagin · Gordon Fee · Frank Stagg · Paul Jewett · Stanley Grenz · Roger Nicole
Complementarian:
Don Carson · John Frame · Wayne Grudem · Douglas Moo · Paige Patterson · Vern Poythress
Patriarchal:
Doug Phillips · R. C. Sproul, Jr. · Douglas Wilson

See also

References

  1. ^ Sarah Dening (1996), The Mythology of Sex, Macmillan, ISBN 978-0-02-861207-2. Ch.3.
  2. ^ Women-philosophers.com
  3. ^ A History of Medicine, Volumes 1-2 By Plinio Prioreschi (pg. 376)
  4. ^ Jeremy Black (1998), Reading Sumerian Poetry, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 0-485-93003-X. pp 142. [1]
  5. ^ Blue Letter Bible
  6. ^ Blue Letter Bible, Lexicon results for qĕdeshah (Strong's H2181), incorporating Strong's Concordance (1890) and Gesenius's Lexicon (1857).
  7. ^ Also transliterated qĕdeshah, qedeshah, qědēšā ,qedashah, kadeshah, kadesha, qedesha, kdesha. A modern liturgical pronunciation would be k'deysha
  8. ^ Robyn A. Gillam, Priestesses of Hathor: Their Function, Decline and Disappearance, Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 32 (1995), pp. 211–237.
  9. ^ Plato, Timaeus 71e–72b and Phaedrus 244a–d, discussed by Gerald Hovenden, Speaking in Tongues: The New Testament Evidence in Context (Continuum International, 2002), pp. 22–23; Lester L. Grabbe, introduction and overview, Knowing the End from the Beginning: The Prophetic, the Apocalyptic and Their Relationships (Continuum International, 2003), p. 24.
  10. ^ For an extensive modern consideration of the Vestals, see Ariadne Staples, From Good Goddess to Vestal Virgins: Sex and Category in Roman Religion (Routledge, 1998).
  11. ^ A.H.M. Jones, The Later Roman Empire, 284–602: A Social Economic and Administrative Survey (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1964, 1986), vol. 1, p. 163.
  12. ^ Lawrence Richardson, A New Topographical Dictionary of Ancient Rome (Johns Hopkins University Press, 1992), p. 412 on the temple.
  13. ^ Celia E. Schultz, Women's Religious Activity in the Roman Republic (University of North Carolina Press, 2006), pp. 79–81.
  14. ^ This is true of the flaminate, and probably true of the rex and regina; Schultz, Women's Religious Activity, p. 81.
  15. ^ Lundeen, "In Search of the Etruscan Priestess," p. 46; Schultz, Women's Religious Activity in the Roman Republic, pp. 70–71.
  16. ^ Barbette Stanley Spaeth, The Roman Goddess Ceres (University of Texas Press, 2996), p. 104.
  17. ^ Spaeth, The Roman Goddess Ceres, pp. 4-5, 9, 20 (historical overview and Aventine priesthoods), 84 - 89 (functions of plebeian aediles), 104 - 106 (women as priestesses): citing among others Cicero, In Verres, 2.4.108; Valerius Maximus, 1.1.1; Plutarch, De Mulierum Virtutibus, 26.
  18. ^ Hendrik H.J. Brouwer, Bona Dea: The Sources and a Description of the Cult (Brill, 1989), pp. 371, 377. One title for a sacerdos of the Bona Dea was damiatrix, presumably from Damia, one of the names of Demeter and associated also with the Bona Dea.
  19. ^ Stephen L. Dyson, Rome: A Living Portrait of an Ancient City (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2010), p. 283.
  20. ^ Schultz, Women's Religious Activity in the Roman Republic, p. 70.
  21. ^ Jörg Rüpke, "Roman Religion – Religions of Rome," A Companion to Roman Religion (Blackwell, 2007), p. 4.
  22. ^ Jean MacIntosh Turfa, "Etruscan Religion at the Watershed: Before and After the Fourth Century BCE," in Religion in Republican Italy (Cambridge University Press, 2006), p. 48.
  23. ^ Schultz, Women's Religious Activity in the Roman Republic, p. 71.
  24. ^ Lesley E. Lundeen, "In Search of the Etruscan Priestess: A Re-Examination of the hatrencu," in Religion in Republican Italy (Cambridge University Press, 2006), p. 46; Schultz, Women's Religious Activity in the Roman Republic, pp. 70–71.
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  28. ^ Book of the Discipline, Pali Text Society, volume V, Chapter X
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Further reading