A Canterbury Tale

The Battle within the Church of England to allow women to be bishops.

Jane Kramer - New Yorker

26 April 2010

• 1994 - The year women were first ordained as priests of the Church of England.
• Now - 1/3 of Church of England's working priests are women.
• 2008 - Process began for the investiture of the Church of England's first female bishop.
• July 2010 - General Synod, the Church's governing body is going to consider and expected to approve a draft for the change in canon law that would open the episcopate to women.
• Helen-Ann Hartley was ordained at 31 years old.
• Flying Bishop - Bishops that travel to provinces serviced by female priests and provide services to those churches that don't accept the female priests.
• The Episcopalians in America have 11 female bishops and weathered the departure of four right wing dioceses that broke away in 2006
• Jane Hedges, one of the four residentiary canons of Westminster Abbey, a "catholic" Anglican is likely to become the Church of England's first female bishop.
• The Legal Argument - Because of the Church's special status, priests are functionaries of the state and its position towards women violates anti-discrimination laws.
• The Scriptural Argument - Christ called men and women "equal in my hands". Although all the apostles were men, two women witnessed and announced the Resurrection.
• Catholic Church tried to lure away some Anglican priests with conversion regulations posted on their websites - papal poaching.
• Rowan Williams - Archbishop of Canterbury; with time, patience, he felt he could temper the opposition to female priests (Rowan's Obama Syndrome).
• Rowan does not rule the Church of England since the offspring churches are for the most part constitutionally independent.
• Half the world's Anglicans are in Africa with the strongest ongoing tradition of female priests is in South Africa.
• How long can you go without compromising women's integrity in the church.
• Paul of Tarsus influences conservative views - "The head of every man is Christ, and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God.
• 1Corinthians - Let your women keep silence int he churches for it is not permitted unto them to speak.
• 2007 - Global Anglican Future Conference - produced a statement accusing the Anglican Communion of "false gospel" and concluded that recognition by Canterbury was not necessarily for Anglican Identity.
• As many as 1000 Anglican priests are said to be considering Pope Benedict's offer of conversion. Certain high Anglican rites would be retained; bishops would lose their Diocesan title and authority and would function under a celibate Anglican convert in consultation with a Roman Catholic bishop.