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Defence of its position on the Ordination of Women to the Catholic Priesthood





1.The Continuing Anglican Communion in Zambia regards the Ordination of women to the priesthood as contrary to the example of Our Jesus Christ, contrary to Scriptures, contrary to Tradition, and contrary to Reason.

Our Scriptural defence begins with John 17:6,9,12,18.

Jesus' final words before His death carry special weight for Christians. We focused our study on these words of Jesus, "I have made known Your name to the men [anthropois] You took from the world to give Me. They were Yours and You gave them to Me... I pray for them; I am not praying for the world but for those You have given Me, because they belong to You."

The Daily Devotional Commentary comments on this passage, "Jesus' prayer now focuses on the 11 disciples... The 11 were God's gift to Jesus."

According to their and our understanding of this passage of Scriptures, Jesus identifes the apostles as men selected and chosen by God the Father Himself - they were His gift to Jesus and the world. Proponents of the ordination of women have insisted that Jesus was culturally biased in selecting only men for apostleship - are they making that charge against God the Father, then, too? The evidence of the Gospel is completely against the view that Jesus was "culturally conditioned" because Jesus constantly cuts across such "conditioning" in his dealings and relationships with women.

We found further evidence in Scriptures for the Church's belief that the priesthood is an office to which only men can be appointed:

(a) Jesus' own example in selecting men for apostleship only:

Matt. 4:18-21 Matt. 9:9 Matt.101-4 Matt. 16:18,19
Matt. 17:1--3 Matt. 18:18 Matt. 26:20 Matt.28:16-20
Mark 1:16-20 Mark 2:14 Mark 3:13-19 Mark 6:7-13
Mark 9:2-4 Mark 14:17 Mark 16:14-16 Luke 5:1,10,11
Luke 5:27,28 Luke 6:12-16 Luke 9:1-2 Luke 9:28
Luke 10:1-23 Luke 22:8-14 John 1:40-49 John 20:21-23

This part of our search strengthened our belief in the Church's traditional Ministry - the summing up of God's' wisdom in making choice is well summed up in Ephesians 4:1-14, which encourages men to be faithful to their calling.

(b) The Church's practice to have men only as apostles, and successors to apostles, and deacons, and preachers:

Acts 1:21-26 Acts 6:1-6 Acts 9:15-27 Acts 11:20,21 (andres) Acts 15:6,7,22,23,25,26 (andras)

For our studies in the Epistles we were much helped by Michael Harper's book Equal and Different [Hodder & Stoughton] and page references after texts refer to pages in his book:

1 Cor. 11:3 [p.58-62] 1 Cor.14b-38 [p.62-64] 1 Tim. 2:11-14, 1 Tim. 3:2,8,11,12,15 [p.65-70]

Other books which were of great help in our studies were:

  • Women and the Apostolic Ministry? G. Richmond Bridge Anglican Catholic Convent Society

  • Women in the Priesthood? Manfred Hauke Ignatius Press

  • Holy Orders A.R. Whitham Longman's Green & Co

  • Man & Woman in Christian Perspective Werner Neuer Crossway Books

  • Women in the Ministry of Jesus Ben Witherington Cambridge University Press

  • Order & Ministry Christine Hall & Robert Hannaford Gracewing

  • Feminism & Mankind Miscell. Family Publications

    • 2. The Continuing Anglican Communion in Zambia regards the ordination of women to the priesthood as an issue of Faith & Order which the Canterbury Anglican Communion can not decide on its own - it does not "own" the priesthood, therefore it has no power to make changes to it. The Ministry of our Church is not denominational but universal and catholic. Any changes to the Ministry must be with the approval of the other branches of the catholic Church. The wisdom of St Vincent of Lerins's principle, "what has been believed everywhere, always and by all", has been disregarded by the Canterbury Anglican Communion.

    3. The Continuing Anglican Communion in Zambia regards the ordination of women to the priesthood as divisive of the Canterbury Anglican Communion and predicts increasing polarisation, "Provincialism"and "congregationalism", as a result. This destruction of our internal unity is evidence that this innovation is not of the Holy Spirit.

    4. The Continuing Anglican Communion in Zambia regards the ordination of women to the priesthood as destructive of ecumenical relations with other branches of the Ony, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church. Recent ecumenical developments bear this out. It is evidence that this innovation is not of the Holy Spirit.

    5. The Continuing Anglican Communion in Zambia believes that the decision-making process within the Canterbury Anglican Communion re this innovation in the Catholic and Apostolic Ministry was severely flawed; it showed that there was/is no consensus even within that small branch of the Catholic Church. Apart from procedural anomalies, the universal tendency of synods, discussing the innovation, to ignore the Holy Spirit's directions when these were contrary to the innovators' views, shows that it is not of the Holy Spirit.

    6. The Continuing Anglican Communion in Zambia believes that in the absence of agreement on this innovation in the Ministry of the Church by the other branches of the Catholic Church, and within the Canterbury Communion, and the evidence that it is not of the Holy Spirit, has introduced sacramental uncertainty of the highest order.

    7. The Continuing Anglican Communion in Zambia believes that the tentative nature of the purported ordination of women to the priesthood under the "reception"principle is unfair to women who presume they have received ordination to the priesthood. The whole "reception period" dimension was a fraud and has been proven to be so - further evidence that this innovation is not of the Holy Spirit.

    8. The Continuing Anglican Communion in Zambia believes the suggestion that "woman priests" made for a "complete ministry" is false, and denies the infallible wisdom of God the Father and of Jesus Christ, and infers that for its whole existence the Church of God has been in fundamental error. Former Abp of Canterbury George Carey's public statement that all who do not accept "women priests" are guilty of "most serious heresy" is representative of this type of confused thinking.

    9. The Continuing Anglican Communion in Zambia believes that God did not create a "unisex" world of inter-changeable people. The differences and gifts of men and women are not the result of sin, but part of the Order of God's Creation before the Fall.

    10. The Continuing Anglican Communion in Zambia believes that this unbiblical reform of the Catholic and Apostolic Ministry will be only the beginning of a long series of unbiblical developments in the Canterbury Communion, in doctrine, morality and spirituality.

    11. The Continuing Anglican Communion in Zambia believes that those who have forced the innovation in the Catholic and Apostolic Ministry upon the Canterbury Anglican Communion have done grievous harm to it and its mission. Evidence for this can be seen in the large number of bishops, priests, deacons and laity who have left the Canterbury Communion altogether and those who are now in the "Continuing", Traditional Anglican churches. The promise of the innovators that woman priests and bishops would make the Church more relevant and attractive to the world has been proven to be a nonsense.

    12. The Continuing Anglican Communion in Zambia believes in the ministry of women within biblical guidelines, ncluding the traditional ministry of Deaconesses as as an [unordained] office for those without family commitments.

    Anglicanism historically has recognised that issues of Faith & Order must, where possible, be looked at from three angles: Scripture, Tradition and Reason.

    We believe the above summary to incorporate these three angles. We also believe that the present condition of women, and the state of marriage and the family in this modern world, provide reasonable arguments for a return to biblical roles for men and women.




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    Updated: - 20/03/2003