Christian Howard (theologian)

Dame Rosemary Christian Howard DBE (5 September 1916 – 22 April 1999) was the daughter of Geoffrey and Ethel Christian (née Methuen) Howard. She was awarded the honorary degree of Lambeth Master of Arts by the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Born at her family's Castle Howard, she worked for the ordination of women, as well as being active in the ecumenical movement. She was remembered as "a great character, a great Christian woman and a formidable person" by the Archdeacon of York, George Austin, who was one her staunchest opponents on the ordination of women. Her grandmother, Rosalind Howard, Countess of Carlisle, had been a tireless worker for the women's suffrage organization - as a suffragist, wedded to legal means, rather than a suffragette - and Howard followed her example in her work to achieve the ordination of women to the priesthood.

A founding member of the Movement for the Ordination of Women, she concentrated her major effort on the synodical process to secure the necessary legislation. In 1972 she wrote a report for General Synod entitled The Ordination of Women to Priesthood. She earned the Lambeth Diploma in Theology, was appointed a lay canon provincial of York Minster, served on General Synod 1970-85, was a delegate to the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 1961 and 1968, was appointed to the Faith and Order Commission of the WCC and served as the first woman vice-moderator.

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