The Hidden History of Women's Ordination : Female Clergy in the Medieval West

The Roman Catholic leadership still refuses to ordain women officially or even to recognize that women are capable of ordination. But is the widely held assumption that women have always been excluded from such roles historically accurate? In the early centuries of Christianity, ordination was the process and the ceremony by which one moved to any new ministry (ordo) in the community. By this definition, women were in fact ordained into several ministries. A radical change in the definition of ordination during the eleventh and twelfth centuries not only removed women from the ordained ministry, but also attempted to eradicate any memory of women's ordination in the past. The debate that accompanied this change has left its mark in the literature of the time. However, the triumph of a new definition of ordination as the bestowal of power, particularly the power to confect the Eucharist, so thoroughly dominated western thought and practice by the thirteenth century that the earlier concept of ordination was almost completely erased. The ordination of women, either in the present or in the past, became unthinkable. References to the ordination of women exist in papal, episcopal and theological documents of the time, and the rites for these ordinations have survived. Yet, many scholars still hold that women, particularly in the western church, were never ''really'' ordained. A survey of the literature reveals that most scholars use a definition of ordination that would have been unknown in the early middle ages. Thus, the modern determination that women were never ordained, Macy argues, is a premise based on false terms. Not a work of advocacy, this important book applies indispensable historical background for the ongoing debate about women's ordination. ## Abstract For the first twelve hundred years of Christianity, women were ordained into various roles in the church. References to the ordination of women exist in papal, episcopal, and theological documents of the time, and the rites for these ordinations have survived. Yet, many scholars hold that women, particularly in the Western church, were never ordained. A survey of the literature discussing the ordination of women in Western Christianity reveals that most of these scholars use a definition of ordination to determine whether earlier references to the ordination of women were “real” ordinations that would have been unknown in the early Middle Ages. In the early centuries of Christianity, ordination was the process and the ceremony by which one moved to any new ministry (ordo) in the community. By this definition, women were ordained into several ministries. Four central ministries of episcopa (women bishop), presbytera (women priest), deaconess and abbess are discussed in detail in order to demonstrate particularly the liturgical roles women performed in the early Middle Ages. A radical change in the definition of ordination during the 11th and 12th centuries not only removed women from the ordained ministry, but also attempted to eradicate any memory of women's ordination in the past. The debate that accompanied this change has left its mark in the literature of the time. However, the triumph of a new definition of ordination as the bestowal of power, particularly the power to confect the Eucharist, so thoroughly dominated western thought and practice by the thirteenth century that the early definition of ordination was almost completely erased. "In the early centuries of Christianity, ordination was the process and the ceremony by which one moved to any new ministry (ordo) in the community. By this definition, women were in fact ordained into several ministries. A radical change in the definition of ordination during the eleventh and twelfth centuries not only removed women from the ordained ministry, but also attempted to eradicate any memory of women's ordination in the past. The debate that accompanied this change has left its mark in the literature of the time. However, the triumph of a new definition of ordination as the bestowal of power, particularly the power to confect the Eucharist, so thoroughly dominated Western thought and practice by the thirteenth century that the earlier concept of ordination was almost completely erased. The ordination of women, either in the present or in the past, became unthinkable." "References to the ordination of women exist in papal, episcopal, and theological documents of the time, and the rites for these ordinations have survived. Yet, many scholars still hold that women, particularly in the Western church, were never "really" ordained. A survey of the literature reveals that most scholars use a definition of ordination that would have been unknown in the early middle ages. Thus, the modern determination that women were never ordained, Macy argues, is a premise based on false terms." "Not a work of advocacy, this important book applies indispensable historical background for the ongoing debate about women's ordination."--Jacket Contents......Page 12 Abbreviations......Page 14 1. The State of the Question......Page 18 2. What Did Ordination Mean?......Page 38 3. The Ministry of Ordained Women......Page 64 4. Defining Women Out of Ordination......Page 104 5. Conclusion......Page 126 Historical and Theological Postscript......Page 144 Appendix 1: Prayers and Rites for the Ordination of a Deaconess......Page 148 Appendix 2: Ordination Rites for Abbesses from the Early Middle Ages......Page 158 Notes......Page 172 Bibliography......Page 248 A......Page 268 C......Page 269 E......Page 270 I......Page 271 M......Page 272 P......Page 273 S......Page 274 Z......Page 275 The Roman Catholic Leadership Still Refuses To Ordain Women Officially Or Even Recognise That Women Are Capable Of Ordination. But Is The Widely Held Assumption That Women Have Always Been Excluded From Such Roles Historically Accurate? Gary Macy Investigates In This Text. The State Of The Question -- What Did Ordination Mean? -- The Ministry Of Ordained Women -- Defining Women Out Of Ordination -- Conclusion. Gary Macy. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [233]-252) And Index.