- Mar 22, 2012
- 1,190
- 101
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Married
- Politics
- US-Republican
Hello All,
I've long been interested in Anglicanism, but until relatively recently, I haven't lived in a place in which a regularly operating ACNA parish exists, and I never felt comfortable with the Episcopal Church, for a variety of reasons most of you could probably guess.
As I've spent some more time recently investigating the ACNA, one thing struck me as rather surprising: Although the ACNA still doesn't allow the ordination of women to the office of Bishop, it does appear to give governing authority to women in the church. I found this very surprising given all the controversy surrounding women's ordination, so I'm wondering if I'm missing something.
According to ACNA's Constitution, lay people are elected to serve in the ACNA's Assembly and its Provincial Council, the two bodies required to change the ACNA's Constitution. As far as I can tell, there are no prohibitions on women serving in the Assembly or in the Council, which means they already have the authority to vote on things like ordination standards, amending the Constitution, worship practices, and basically everything else, including the denomination's position on women ordination, the definition of marriage, etc.
I was also surprised to see the ACNA's College of Bishops doesn't appear to have any authority over the Assembly/Provincial Council. This has led me to wonder: If women are serving alongside clergy in the Assembly and Council to make theological, governing decisions, aren't they already serving in governing roles and exercising authority over men in the church? Isn't that the primary objection many in the ACNA have to the concept of ordaining women to the Episcopate?
What am I missing? Why is everyone in the ACNA OK with this but not OK with women serving as Elders or Bishops?
I've long been interested in Anglicanism, but until relatively recently, I haven't lived in a place in which a regularly operating ACNA parish exists, and I never felt comfortable with the Episcopal Church, for a variety of reasons most of you could probably guess.
As I've spent some more time recently investigating the ACNA, one thing struck me as rather surprising: Although the ACNA still doesn't allow the ordination of women to the office of Bishop, it does appear to give governing authority to women in the church. I found this very surprising given all the controversy surrounding women's ordination, so I'm wondering if I'm missing something.
According to ACNA's Constitution, lay people are elected to serve in the ACNA's Assembly and its Provincial Council, the two bodies required to change the ACNA's Constitution. As far as I can tell, there are no prohibitions on women serving in the Assembly or in the Council, which means they already have the authority to vote on things like ordination standards, amending the Constitution, worship practices, and basically everything else, including the denomination's position on women ordination, the definition of marriage, etc.
I was also surprised to see the ACNA's College of Bishops doesn't appear to have any authority over the Assembly/Provincial Council. This has led me to wonder: If women are serving alongside clergy in the Assembly and Council to make theological, governing decisions, aren't they already serving in governing roles and exercising authority over men in the church? Isn't that the primary objection many in the ACNA have to the concept of ordaining women to the Episcopate?
What am I missing? Why is everyone in the ACNA OK with this but not OK with women serving as Elders or Bishops?