Women Deacons in Ancient Christian Communities

This chapter considers ‘Women Deacons in Ancient Christian Communities: Leadership and Ordination’. Women deacons are widely attested in the Greek-speaking Catholic East during the first millennium. Ancient rites that have been preserved show that the ordination of women deacons was truly ‘sacramental’, just as that of male deacons. Their role consisted in instructing and baptizing female catechumens, guiding women at Sunday worship, taking communion to the sick, and ministering at funeral services. They belonged to the clergy in virtually every parish. They enjoyed more or less the same legal status as male deacons. As time passed, however, the female diaconate was relinquished, partly because of the diminishing of adult baptisms, partly on account of growing anxiety about female clergy possibly polluting the altar through menstruation.

Rising against all odds: An analysis of the leadership experiences of three female clergy in the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe

The Methodist Church in Zimbabwe (MCZ) was established in 1891. In 1977, it was granted autonomy by the British Methodist Church. From 1891, top church leadership has been dominated by male clergy. This article explores three instances of a challenge to this trend. The first occurred in 1994 when there was a leadership crisis in one of the districts, and for the first time, a woman was appointed district chairperson. The second followed the election in August 2004 of a male presiding bishop. However, allegations of moral impropriety were made against him. He approached the secular courts, and it led to his withdrawal from the position. The church appointed a woman to the position of acting presiding bishop. When the time came for the substantive post to be filled in August 2005, she was not confirmed in the position; a man was elected instead. The third relates to the controversial appointment in 2017 of a woman to one of the five vacant positions of district bishops. The aim of the research was to analyse the way in which these three women rose to positions of leadership in a male-dominated church. A qualitative research methodology was followed, with data being collected through open-ended interviews. The study highlighted that to be a female clergy leader in the MCZ entails rising against all odds. The study concluded by encouraging the MCZ to support women on their path to leadership rather than overlooking or, worse still, undermining them.Contribution: In spite of the challenges female clergy face in their quest for leadership roles, this feminist ecclesiological study shows stories of rising against all odds, describing the momentum-gaining progress of the ecclesiastical effort in the MCZ to accommodate female leaders, despite slow-moving processes.

Do Liturgical Vestments Have Gender?

This article questions whether traditional Christian liturgical vesture has any intrinsic gendered identity. Vestments are worn by the clergy of various denominations, including in traditions where women are ordained into all orders. For some early female clergy, there was a discomfort about wearing garments traditionally associated solely with male figures, and even today certain vestment manufacturers distinguish between the type of products available for female clergy and for male clergy, or target select gendered clientele. This brief cross-disciplinary examination, of some scriptural, historic and socio-cultural understandings of vesture, concludes that, despite some seeming modern misconceptions to the contrary, vestments are inherently non-gendered, and that they appear predominantly to have been regarded as such at various stages of history. This is consistent with the liturgical understanding that vesture is not meant to be a statement of personal identity, but a symbol of ritual function and office within the gathered assembly.

Woman’s Status in the Kalmyk and Buryat Buddhist Tradition: History and the Current State

The article deals with the problem of the woman’ status in the history of Buddhism of the Mongol-speaking peoples of Russia, such as the Kalmyks and the Buryats. Special attention is paid to the female clergy issue in the religious history of these indigenous groups. The authors note that with the spread of Buddhism, women in Buryatia and Kalmykia acquired a higher social and religious status, which is enshrined in legal documents. At the same time, in the traditional Kalmyk and Buryat society a woman was generally excluded from active social life and could not make a career in the religious sphere. In the 20th century, the position of Kalmyk and Buryat women in the society underwent significant societal changes. The Soviet state sought to involve the women of Kalmykia and Buryatia into building a new society, actively fighting against the Buddhist religion and conducting the nation-wide atheistic propaganda. All these contributed to the significant decrease in the religiosity of the population in these regions, including its female part. Today, the position of women in the religious life of Kalmykia and Buryatia is characterized as ambivalent. On one hand, in traditional Buddhist organizations women can only occupy the positions of worshipers, secular employees, or perform certain religious duties during rites. On the other hand, the women’s role in the laity is more significant. They take an active part in the life of Buddhist communities and organizations, study Buddhist philosophy and medicine. Buddhist activists in modern Buddhist communities in these regions of Russia make a great contribution to the revival of Buddhism. Even though the majority of the Buddhist clergy is made up by men, these are women who constitute the majority of lay practitioners both in Kalmykia and Buryatia

The Association Between Prosocialness, Relational-Interdependent Self-construal and Gender in Relation to Burnout Among Swedish Clergy

Serving as a clergyperson is a highly variable profession and in recent decades, the role has evolved and expanded even further. Consequently, the demands have increased and with it the risk for stress-related ill-health and absenteeism. The aim of the current study was to evaluate, in a larger sample of Swedish clergy (N = 871), two possible antecedents of burnout, namely prosocialness and relational-interdependent self-construal. A further aim was to explore potential gender differences in the investigated associations. The direct and indirect relationships of prosocialness and relational-interdependent self-construal to two dimensions of burnout, exhaustion, and disengagement were investigated in a structural equation-modelling framework. The results showed that clergy who reported higher prosocialness experienced more stress in their work, in terms of both quantitative and emotional demands, which in turn was associated with higher levels of exhaustion and disengagement. But prosocialness was also found to be directly associated with lower levels of disengagement, as well as indirectly associated with higher levels of role clarity. However, no direct or indirect associations were found between relational-interdependent self-construal and any dimension of burnout. Regarding gender differences, female clergy reported higher levels of prosocialness and job demands, less role clarity, and in turn more exhaustion compared to male clergy. This indicated a more stressful situation for female clergy. Our study contributes new insights into the role that personality plays in different dimensions of burnout in clergy, as well as insights into an understanding of gender differences in burnout among clergy.

We Are Our Sister’s Keeper: The Experience of Black Female Clergy Responding to Intimate Partner Violence

Intimate partner violence (IPV) affects all populations, regardless of race, education, or socioeconomic status, but Black women experience higher rates of IPV (43.7%) in comparison with White women (34.6%). Although evidence indicates that faith-based organizations and clergy play key roles in preventing and responding to IPV among Black women, limited research has been conducted in this area, and existing studies have focused on Black male clergy leaders’ response to IPV. Using transcendental phenomenology, we interviewed 12 Black female clergy regarding their role as responders to IPV among Black women in their congregation. Each clergy leader participated in a face-to-face interview. Data analysis followed the modified Van Kaam seven-step process. One overarching theme emerged— We Are Our Sister’s Keeper, as well as three primary themes: Support Advocate, Spiritual Advisor, and Roadblocked Leader. The themes indicated that Black female clergy respond to the emotional and spiritual needs of Black women despite barriers (e.g., few outside resources, limited support from the Black church). The themes also suggested that clergy lack knowledge and training for responding to IPV. However, Black female clergy are passionate about providing holistic, culturally centered care by bridging the gap between the church and the community to better serve Black women who have experienced IPV. Findings support the importance of incorporating spiritual and emotional healing among this population when providing care and services. Further research is needed to develop interventions, such as a faith-based toolkit that incorporates community resources and guidance to better support Black female clergy leaders’ ability to respond to IPV.

Emotional Exhaustion in Ministry as Predictor of Sexual Attitudes of Nigerian Christian Clergy

The study aimed to examine Emotional Exhaustion (EE) of the minister as predictor of the Christian clergy sexual attitudes in an era of “#ChurchToo” crusade and sexual crisis facing the church globally yet, there are not sufficient empirical data on the Christian clergy regarding dynamics that are responsible for permissive sexual attitudes and behaviours. Five hundred and sixty-two (562) Christian clergy (410 male, 152 female), mean age 34.7± 0.1 were purposively selected from Protestant, Pentecostal and White garment churches in south-western Nigeria who responded to Emotional Exhaustion in Ministry (SEEM) and Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale (BSAS). Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for data analyses. The observed prevalence of high burnout was 14.0%. Emotional exhaustion in ministry significantly predicted Birth control (sexual responsibility) Birth control (sexual responsibility) (Sexual responsibility) attitude, communion attitude, instrumentality attitude and permissiveness attitude. There were statistically significant sex differences in the mean (± SD) scores of Birth control (sexual responsibility) attitude, Communion attitude and permissiveness attitude. Male and female clergy had similar mean (± SD) score on instrumentality. Findings demonstrate that emotional exhaustion in ministry is strongly linked with several dimensions of sexual attitudes in unique ways, and that gender deference in sexual attitude exists among the clerics.

Justifying Gender Inequality in the Church of England

Despite being a national institution, the Church of England is legally permitted to discriminate against its ordained female clergy in a number of ways, a phenomenon that is at odds with wider societal values in England. It is argued that this makes the gender values of this institution’s representatives worthy of examination. This article explores the gender attitudes of theologically conservative male clergy and the psychological processes that shape these attitudes. In order to do so, semi-structured interviews were conducted with fourteen evangelical priests in one diocese within the Church of England. A thematic narrative analysis was employed to interpret the data using descriptive, focused, and pattern coding. Three themes in particular emerged from the data, namely: “Theological parallel between the Church and the family”, “Created order of male headship and female submission”, and “Separation between Church and society”. The content of these themes reveals significant overlap with the contents of system justification theory, and so this was used to interpret the themes further. In light of this it is concluded that a perceived loss of social privilege and control shape participants’ traditionalist gender values.

Interpersonal stress in ministry: The lived experiences of female clergy cancer survivors

Ministry is a unique vocation that often requires self-sacrifice to meet the needs of others. Navigating interpersonal relationships can be a difficult aspect of ministry, and this challenge is even more pronounced if the clergy is female and battling cancer. This article reports a sub-set of findings from a qualitative study that utilized interpretative phenomenological analysis to uncover the lived experiences of six female clergy cancer survivors. The findings revealed that congregants, and participants’ relationships with congregants, influenced participants’ cancer experience in three key ways. First, participants experienced stress and loneliness based on their own and others’ unrealistic expectations associated with a career in ministry. Second, participants learned to don a figurative mask and to selectively reveal and guard their emotions about cancer and cancer treatment from those they were called to serve. Third, participants’ experience of cancer and their commitment to their calling required both reliance on God and self-care. Implications for career counseling and coaching with clergy in adverse situations are offered.