Catholic Voices: Women in the Episcopate

7/30/2019 Catholic Voices: Women in the Episcopate

1/10December 23, 2012 THE LIVING CHURCH 25

By Prudence Dailey

The compact geography of Englandmeans that our General Synod isable to meet much more frequently

twice or occasionally three times ayear than on the other side of the

Atlantic. The advantages of this

arrangement include the opportunity

to work towards important decisions

through several stages of deliberation,

and the opportunity for members, who

are elected for five-year terms, actually

to get to know each other personally,

and to establish relationships across

diverse backgrounds and positions.

This, in turn, ought to lead at least

in theory to greater mutual respect.It should also be noted that, for certain

types of business, a two-thirds major-

ity in all three Houses (bishops, clergy,

and laity) is required for the legislation

to pass at the final stage, although only

simple majorities are required up to

that point.

Twenty years ago, when the Church

of Englands General Synod approved

a measureto ordain women as priests,

assurances were given to those who in

conscience could not accept this

development that they would continue

to have an honoured placewithin the

church, and that their integritywould

be respected. An Act of Synod was

passed to make arrangements for

them, including the provision of

Provincial Episcopal Visitors (flying

bishops). Indeed, it is widely accepted

that this measure could not have

achieved the necessary two-thirds

majority in all three Houses without

such provisions.

In the initial stages of the discus-

sion, once the General Synod had

approved in principle that women

should be bishops, many who opposed

this decision recognized that the

consecration of women to the epis-

copate was inevitable, and those

backing the change said that it

should be brought about in a way

which enabled everyone to remain

in the Church of England in good

conscience. There was much talk of

squaring the circle, and a number

of contributors spoke of their desire

to avoid becoming like the Episcopal

Church, with deep divisions and

warring factions, and attempts to

subdue a minority through the raw

exercise of power. The general mood

was one of optimism: those who

could not accept women as bishops

believed that there was a genuine

desire to accommodate them, and

that a way would be found (just as it

had been in 1992) for those with

divergent convictions on the matter

to live together in relative harmony.

In 2006, the Synod voted over-

whelmingly to take note of a report

which included proposals for Trans-

ferred Episcopal Authority. But at the

following House of Bishops meeting,

senior women made representations

that they would not be prepared to

be bishops under such arrangements,

so they were dropped. Various alter-

native proposals for accommodation

were put forward by traditional

Anglo-Catholics and conservative

evangelicals, still confident at that

stage that something suitable would

emerge.

During an emotional debate in July

2008, however, every one of those

proposals was in turn rejected by the

Synod in favour of a simple Code of

Practice, as supporters of women

bishops expressed fears that the

proposals for greater accommodation,

enshrined in legislation, would result

in women becoming second-class

bishops, and assured the Synod that

legislative provision should not be

required if only we would all trust the

bishops.

The Rt. Rev. Stephen Venner, then

Bishop of Dover, a supporter of

women as bishops, and generally

How Did We Get Here from There?

CATHOLICVOICES

(Continued on next page)


2/1026 THE LIVING CHURCH December 23, 2012

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regarded as a liberal, was in tears as

he said that

for the first time in my life I feel

ashamed. We have talked for hours

about wanting to give an honourableplace to those who disagree; we have

been given opportunities for both

views to flourish; we have turned down

almost every realistic opportunity for

the views of those who are opposed to

flourish; and we still talk the talk of

being inclusive and generous.

Both archbishops were clearly

dismayed; at the end of the debate, the

Archbishop of Canterbury abstained

on the motion to proceed to the next

stage.

In July 2010, the archbishops

attempted to salvage the situation by

bringing forward an amendment to

introduce coordinate jurisdiction.

Whilst an overall majority of Synod

members supported the amendment,

it fell in the House of Clergy by just

five votes.

It is worth noting that at no stage

of the proceedings has there been a

two-thirds majority in the House of

Laity in favour of the proposals. After

traditionalists repeatedly told the

Synod that the proposed Code of

Practice simply was not an adequate

response to the substance of their

theological objections to women

bishops, it should have come as no

surprise that the legislation was

defeated. Advocates of women

bishops should have realised that,

much as they might have wished it

otherwise, the Synodical process did

what it was designed to do: ensurethat major changes cannot be made

without consensus, and that the

majority cannot exercise tyranny

over a substantial minority.

Instead, those of us who in good

conscience voted against the measure

have been collectively subjected to

an outpouring of vitriol, bile, mis -

representation, and contempt, inclu-

ding (I am sorry to say) in some cases

from other members of General Synod,

through the media and social net-

(Continued from previous page)


3/10

I was excited to see Looking

Toward Luther 2017 [TLC, Oct. 7],

but I was surprised to see that it

was, like many articles in TLC, writ-ten from the Catholic perspective.

Martin Luthers theology, especially

justification by faith and its theo-

logical underpinnings, imbues much

of the Thirty-nine Articles. William

Tyndale translated Luthers work

and brought it to England, which

helped kick-start the Reformation.

Cranmer, Latimer, and Ridley were

all directly influenced by the great

German Reformer.

I hope we can also recover theProtestant Face of Anglicanism

(see Paul Zahls book) and not just

the Catholic one, especially when

speaking of Luther.

The Rev. Alex Large

Assistant rector

All Saints Church

Chevy Chase, Maryland

Christopher Wells replies:

Thanks to Brother Large for

his kindly encouragementand intercession on behalf

of Martin and his legacy

within Anglicanism some-

thing indeed worth recalling

and celebrating. TLC frequently

publishes articles on evan-

gelical aspects of our tradi-

tion (so, e.g., the winning

essay on Charles Simeon in

our education issue [TLC,

Aug. 12]), in the conviction

that Christian truth, wher-ever it may be, tends toward

visible unity. The very Catholic

Martin Luther taught noth-

ing less, and was no doubt

blessing the Holy Father as

he undertook his summers

study of the great German

Reformer. May the Church

produce many more such

evangelical popes!

Ready to HelpIt was with great interest that I read

the editorial (A Lenten Opportu-

nity) [TLC, Dec. 2]. Im a Roman

Catholic theologian, but one with

great respect and affection for the

Anglican Communion and the Epis-

copal Church. I grieve over the pain

being experienced and expressed by

so many at this time as I watch from

the fond margins all of the develop-ments in your communion.

The editorial was particularly

hopeful and very comforting. I share

your hope that the South Carolinian

proceedings be placed on hold

by all parties for a season of unspec-

ified duration, leaving a space for

the Spirit of truth and reconcilia-

tion.

The idea of ecclesiological sum-

mit-cum-retreat in Lent is a good

one. I pray the leaders you havechallenged will take the idea to

heart.

And, if a well-intentioned, warm-

hearted Roman theologian is needed

to serve in any capacity (observer or

referee), please put my name into

the hat for consideration.

John B. Switzer

Associate Professor of Theology

Spring Hill College

Mobile, Alabama

LETTERSworks. Suddenly, there are cries that

the House of Laity is unrepresen-

tative of the laity at large, that the

system is broken, and even that

Parliament should intervene to im-

pose women bishops on the church.

Opponents of the measure are told

that we have damaged the Church of

England; we are caricatured as

extremists and worse. We are

threatened with a single-clause

measure next time around, without

even a Code of Practice to provide

for those who cannot accept women

as bishops. If ever there was a

question whether legislative provision

was really necessary whether what

was required was, after all, just more

generous mutual trust such an aspir -

ation seems hopelessly nave now.

Prudence Dailey is chairman of the

Prayer Book Society in England and,

since 2000, a member of the General

Synod of the Church of England.

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More Reformers, Please

December 23, 2012 THE LIVING CHURCH 27


4/1022 THE LIVING CHURCH January 6, 2013

By Mark Chapman

Prudence Dailey helpfully explains some of the

underlying issues [TLC, Dec. 23] regarding

General Synods legislation on women in the

episcopate. Although I voted in favour of the legis-

lation, I was quite aware that there were many who

simply did not trust the bishops to provide for

those loyal Anglicans who remained opposed to the

ordination of women as bishops. After the vote, I

did not myself blame the laity or the system. What

was being voted on was not simply the principle of

women as bishops, but the safeguards offered to

those opposed to womens ministry.

The basic idea was that women should have the

same legal authority as any other bishop, but thatpastoral care and liturgical acts would be delegated

to men. This carefully crafted compromise was pre-

sented for discussion at General Synod in July 2010

and, as Dailey has described, the passage through

Synod was far from plain sailing. What happened

then was quite without precedent: the archbishops

of Canterbury and York introduced an amendment

that would have created two sets of bishops, and

which had the support of the majority of bishops.

As I read the situation, the rejection of this amend-

ment by the Synod spelt the end of the credibility of

the House of Bishops. The archbishops did not seem

to realise that a blatant refusal to listen to the for-

mal mechanisms of Synod would be disastrous for

efforts at building the sort of trust needed to move

the measure through the legislative process.

The archbishops assumed that a circle could be

squared and everybody could be satisfied in some

sort of woolly Anglican comprehensiveness. I think

they were fundamentally wrong: synods, like parlia-

ments, are a way of institutionalising conflict. They

are not about consensus-building, but are far more

about allowing people to live with divisions without

resorting to violence or schism. And in the church,

just as in politics, the question of legitimacy is cen-

tral. For synods to work they need to be seen as legit-

imate; their authority and power needs to be

accepted by the churches they seek to govern. Butthis trust and sense of legitimacy has broken down.

In the new General Synod, to which I was electedand which first met in November 2010, it was clearthat there was a poisonous relationship between the

House of Bishops and the other two Houses. For

instance, in what should have been a straightforward

piece of rubber-stamping, at the prompting of Miss

Dailey herself in alliance with a member of the House

of Clergy, the Synod rejected a bishop, who was suf-

fragan to the Archbishop of Canterbury, as chairman of

the business committee: Synod was clearly rebelling

Let Synod Work FreelyCATHOLIC VOICES


5/10January 6, 2013 THE LIVING CHURCH 23

against its bishops. In the subsequent months the

Anglican Communion Covenant, which was supposed

to offer a mechanism for conflict resolution among the

worldwide churches, was firmly rejected in the dioce-

ses, notwithstanding the support of most of the bish-

ops, especially the Archbishop of Canterbury.

What was clear in the runup to the Synod and inthe debate itself was that the significant minority

who did not support women as bishops together with

their sympathisers did not have sufficient trust that

those responsible for the provisions the bishops

would make them work unless they were forced

to by law. A rational observer might find little sub-

stance to their arguments, but it was not a question

of reason so much as politics. The bishops had

failed to trust the mechanisms of Synod, so why

should they be trusted now? For those conserva-

tives who are likely to be suspicious of bishops

anyway, and who certainly feel threatened by whatthey regard as the dominant liberalism of the

church, it meant little that the bishops rallied

behind the measure in November. The damage had

already been done in July 2010. One should not

blame the House of Laity for the contempt for

Synod shown by the House of Bishops, and one

should not blame the laity for rejecting the measure.

Synods can work, but they have to be trusted.

Autocracy, however divinely established, is not a

good way of gaining friends and influencing people,

especially when they are the ones who are paying

their dues. The bishops like the government

have an honoured place in the process, but theirrespect and their trust has to be won through coop-

eration and engagement. Chastened bishops need to

remember that in an established church it is to the

House of Laity that most of the old royal powers have

been delegated. If they work with synod then the

Church of England might have the leaders it so richly

deserves, men and women. That will be the task for

Justin Welby as he takes the helm of the church in the

new year: one can hope that he will be a politician.

That means recognising that conflict is the normal

state of the church, and that sometimes a consensus

will be impossible.

The Rev. Mark Chapman is vice principal of Ripon

College, Cuddesdon, and reader in modern theology

in the University of Oxford. His books include Angli-

canism: A Very Short Introduction (Oxford 2006)

andAnglican Theology (T&T Clark, 2012).

2011 The Episcopal Church Foundation

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By Andrew Goddard

When I met a bishop last week one of his first

questions was how my wife a parish

priest in London was after the vote. I

answered honestly that although disappointed she

thought she must be rather odd.She did not feel as dis-

traught or angry or undermined as it appeared many

supporters of women bishops did, certainly those

reported in the media. Of course, I explained, that

reaction was not unconnected with the fact that her

conversations with fellow evangelicals meant she was

not totally surprised by the result and the day after the

vote she visited her father a retired conservative

evangelical clergyman and a role model for her own

ministry who now feels more confident that he

will be able to remain in the Church of England for at

least a few more years. As Prudence Dailey points

out (TLC, Dec. 23), it would have been good if such

deep bonds of affection were more widely present

across this divide. The fallout in the last few weekshas, however, shown us as Rowan Williams fre-

quently said it would during debates what sort of

church we are. Much of that revelation has not been

a pretty sight.

Prudence clearly explains how it looks from her per-

spective as an opponent of women bishops and some-

one who voted against the enabling measure. Although

I would not dispute what she says, and her critique of

why the provision ended up as it did needs to be heard

and taken on board, what she does not say is also

important. In particular, when diocesan synods were

asked their views on the proposed measure (then with

even less provision than was present in the final

amended text of the legislation) they overwhelmingly

voted in favour with only two dioceses voting against.

While a significant minority remained opposed, this

was only 23 percent among clergy and laity. Exactly

the same percentage of clergy voted against in the

General Synod but an astonishing 38percent of the lay

diocesan representatives voted against. Questions

about how representative the vote was are thereforevalid. The sad fact is that this question now threatens

to dominate the lay elections to the next General

Synod. The real danger is that the pendulum may

swing the other way with a concerted effort to replace

opponents with those most supportive of women bish-

ops, which could lead to another unrepresentative body.

The other danger is a serious breakdown in trust at

various levels. Mark Chapman points to the lack of

synodical trust in the bishops. I think he is right that

many do not trust the bishops, particularly conserva-

tive evangelicals (the opponents I know best) who,

unlike Catholic opponents, have no voice among thebishops. However, his examples show the bishops

trying to help opponents whereas the problem lay

opponents had was, as Prudence notes, when bishops

appeared to then succumb to pressure from support-

ers of women bishops and support weaker provision.

As long as the House contains no women and very few

opponents it is going to struggle to be representative

and to offer leadership which does not appear to be

reacting to external pressures.

Amore fundamental question is the role of bishops

in relation to Synod. Archbishop Williamss care-

Sharp Bits on a

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ersofVesture

FortheSacred

Liturgy

ful statement last July spoke of the

responsibility of bishops for the

oversight of the faith and discipline of

the Churchand described synodical

government as meaning that bish-ops invite others to join them in exer-

cising that responsibility as responsi-

bly and effectively as they can.There

are signs, however, that parts of the

Church of England may be moving

to the more democratic under-

standing of governance seen in U.S.

church polity where bishops partic-

ular calling and responsibility is not

given such priority and prominence.

These various issues of trust and gov-

ernance between the Houses of

General Synod and General Synod

and the wider church and Parliament

are now going to feed into debates

about women as bishops as well as

debates over same-sex relationships

which are going to hit Synod with

new force very soon.

I hoped and prayed that, for all its

failings, the proposed measure would

pass because it offered the best way

forward and could, I believe, have

worked. It is true that it had never

received two-thirds among the laity

but it was much more likely to clear

that barrier than any other proposals

on offer. It is encouraging that those

who voted against are saying they

accept that women bishops will be a

reality and their only concern is the

provision made for opponents. How-

ever, there has been an unwillingness

among some opponents really to

engage with what it would mean for

them to minister within a church that

included women bishops. At times ithas appeared that opponents condi-

tion for accepting women as bishops

in the Church of England is that the

church puts in place structures that

authorise them to deny women are

bishops in the church of which they

are part. That is simply not possible

either theologically or politically.

Among the disastrous consequences

of the Synod vote is that it has made

it even less likely supporters will

(Continued on next page)



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countenance anything that gives even

a hint of such a scenario.

Prudence refers to concerns that

alternatives suggested would result in

women becoming second-class bish-

ops but she says no more. That is a

genuine and valid concern that oppo-

nents need somehow to recognise:

the legislation cannot treat women

as lesser bishops. That is a non-

negotiable for almost all supporters.

What those of us committed to

women becoming bishops need to

do, however, is to recognise and

genuinely respect that somewhere

between a fifth and a quarter of

Church of England clergy and laity

will not be able to receive a womans

episcopal ministry in the way they

receive that of a male bishop. What

is more, the reasons for that are the-

ological and we as a church need to

honour Lambeth 1998 III.2, sup-

ported by General Synod in 2006,

that those who dissent from, as

well as those who assent to the ordi-

nation of women to the priesthood

and episcopate, are both loyal Angli-

cans. For me one of the most dis-appointing and alarming develop-

ments has been the dismissal of

opponents as simply misogynistic,

prejudiced and discriminatory by

those who voted for legislation

promising to respect such views. I

disagree strongly with those who

reject women as bishops. I wish they

could see the good news I see in

Scripture affirming that women are

gifted and called by God to build up

the Church in the same ways as men.Nevertheless, I do believe that they

take the stance they do because of

their theology and their commitment

to live under the authority of Scripture

and/or respect the authority of the

wider Church through space and time.

I believe that the legislation needs

somehow to acknowledge this reality.

It may be that to uphold de jureequivalence between male andfemale in the episcopate while mak-

(Continued from previous page)

CATHOLIC VOICES



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Rest, Play, Eating, Studying, Sexfrom a Kingdom Perspective

ing space for this de facto reality of

theological and conscientious dissent

is indeed impossibly trying to square

the circle. Justin Welby famously told

Giles Fraser that the answer was tojust look at the circle and say its a cir-

cle with sharp bits on it. The problem

is that now some people have made

clear the circle needed sharpening up

before they could see it as a square and

vote for it, while others in turn seem

determined to insist that all existing

sharp bits must be smoothed out.

In finding a way forward, Catholic

and evangelical opponents need, I

think, to be more realistically honest

about the messiness that already

exists. Anglican orders are currently

not recognised by Rome and other

churches and so any desired sacra-

mental assurance is already less than

certain. Oaths are already taken

which acknowledge a woman as the

only supreme governor in spiri-

tual and ecclesiastical things as well

as in temporal (italics added) and all

male bishops hold the said bishopric

as well the spiritualities as the tem-

poralities thereof only of Your

Majesty. Is there then not more

wriggle room possible than oppo-

nents have allowed thus far? Can they

in considering what would be ade-

quate provision look to minimise

rather than maximise the potential

genuine conscientious difficulties

that could result with the reality of

women bishops they now say they

recognise as inevitable?

Those of us supporting women as

bishops, rather than simply pushing

on regardless, need in turn to engagemuch more sympathetically with the

real problems this will create for

many fellow Anglicans. It may be that

requires doing what we have so far

failed to do: reconsidering the nature

of episcopacy and in particular the

phenomenon of mono-episcopacy.

The archbishops attempt to develop

a model of co-jurisdiction is unlikely

to work as originally presented. Its

approach though could be developed

to move to a more corporate, shared,

collegial understanding of episcopal

oversight involving both men and

women, just as priests have had to

transition to the reality of team min-

istry in parishes. That may not onlyprove good for the church as a whole,

including its bishops, but perhaps

could provide the circle with sharp

bits on it that we so desperately need

if we are to find a way forward

together that allows all loyal Angli-

cans to flourish across our theologi-

cal traditions.

The Rev. Andrew Goddard, associate

director of the Kirby Laing Institute

for Christian Ethics and tutor at

Trinity College, Bristol, is the author

ofRowan Williams: His Legacy, out

this month from Lion Hudson.


10/10

I believe that Mark Chapman and

Andrew Goddard are largely correct intheir analysis that a breakdown of

trust within the church, and especially

trust in the bishops, has been both a

cause and an effect of the debacle over

women in the episcopate, and is

reflected in discussions over a number

of other issues. This is, perhaps, hardly

surprising, since the bishops cannot

agree between themselves over almost

any issue of current controversy, and

it has been suggested that they do not

always trust each other either. Most ofus long for bishops whom we can truly

trust with the oversight of the faith

and discipline of the church, but, as

Chapman points out, such trust has to

be earned.

Were it possible to be certain that

bishops, both now and in the future,

would always share Goddards

genuine respect for those with whom

he does not agree on the issue of

womens consecration as bishops,

then a much higher degree of trustwould be possible. As Andrew points

out, however, many within the church

(including some present, and no doubt

future, bishops) dismiss opponents of

women in the episcopate as mis-

ogynistic, prejudiced, and discrimin-

atory, which is hardly a basis for

trust, and has only further convinced

those who voted against the draft

legislation that they were quite right

to do so. During General Synods

debate, Bishop Justin Welby promised

that, as Archbishop of Canterbury, he

would ensure that the commitment to

respect was adhered to, but unfor-

tunately, despite his goodwill, he has

no power to keep such a promise.

A significant number of those who

voted against the draft legislation on

women in the episcopate were, in

fact, supporters of women as bishops,

who were nonetheless dissatisfied

with the accommodation provided to

opponents. I myself, while I am

opposed in principle to women in the

episcopate, would not die in a ditch

over the question, and will be able toreceive their ministry (just as I already

receive the ministry of women as

priests) without personally requiring

any accommodation. I am, however,

deeply concerned that the conse-

cration of women as bishops without

adequate accommodation for oppo-

nents will put pressure on and

significantly marginalise those who

cannot accept the development, most

of whom hold orthodox positions on

other issues.Andrew charges that I refer to

concerns that the various proposals

for accommodation would make

women second-class bishops with-

out responding to those concerns

[TLC, Dec. 23]. The archbishops

amendment on co-ordinate jurisdiction

was precisely designed to find a way

around that problem, but the General

Synod rejected it, and the suspicion

remains that some members of Synod

would vote against anything whichdid not leave the consciences of the

opponents at the mercy of the bishops.

Tom Sutcliffe, a lay member of

General Synod from the very liberal

diocese of Southwark who strongly

supports women in the episcopate but

equally strongly opposed the draft

measure, also pointed out that, in

practice, women as bishops can never

have exactly the same status as their

male counterparts because there will

always be significant numbers of

people within the church who simply

do not accept the validity of the

womens episcopal orders or their

ministry, and no legislation passed by

the General Synod can change that

fact. One woman priest, speaking

against the draft measure in the

Oxford Diocesan Synod debate, said

that the women who would be

bishops ought to be more self-

sacrificing in their approach to

episcopal office.

Andrew questions the viability of

putting in place structures which

authorise [opponents] to deny women

are bishops in the church of whichthey are part, but such structures are

already in place to accommodate

those who cannot accept womens

priestly orders, and one of the reasons

why the Church of England did not

decide to consecrate women as

bishops at the same time as they were

consecrated as bishops is that it is far

more messy and difficult to put in

place such arrangements in relation to

bishops. In fact, I share much of

Andrews disquiet at this sort of thing,

and I wish we were not in this mess. A

wiser church might have avoided the

mess bynotproceeding at all with an

innovation with wide-ranging theo-

logical and ecclesiological impli-

cations, to which a substantial minority

of its members could not assent.

(Indeed, had a two-thirds majority in

every House been required at earlier

stages of the process rather than only

at the end, it is quite likely that we

would not have done so, since even

the principle of women as bishops

did not achieve a two-thirds majority

in the House of Laity.) We are,

however, past that point.

As Andrew mentions, some pro-

ponents of women in the episcopate

are resting their hopes on a rout of

traditionalists in the next General

Synod elections, due to take place in

2015. They will not, of course, be the

only ones campaigning.Prudence Dailey

Oxford, England

Trust Must Be Earned

LETTERS

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Catholic Voices: Women in the Episcopate