Rocking the boat : women's participation in the World Council of Churches, 1948-1991

<p>When the inaugurating assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) met in 1948 questions about women's participation in the life and work of the churches, including the ordained ministry, were already on the agenda, placed there by women even though few women participated in any official capacity in the assembly. Since 1948 women's participation has become an increasingly important issue within the life and work of the WCC itself. This thesis, which is based on extensive primary research, documents and discusses women's participation in the WCC from that first assembly in 1948 to the seventh in 1991. By women's participation I understand both the inclusion of women among the representatives of the member churches who participate with some authority in the various policy and decision making bodies within the Council and the contribution of women's experiences, insights and perspectives to its policies and programmes. I argue that although women's participation in the WCC has increased significantly in the period 1948-1991 this increase has occurred only as a result of considerable struggle by women themselves, and that the ongoing pressure from women for their full and equal participation with men gives rise to serious tensions and problems within the WCC today. The basic approach is chronological, with documentation and discussion organised around the seven WCC assemblies held in the period 1948-1991. The slow processes of bureaucratic change through which women's participation has increased are documented in some detail, with particular attention given to their participation in assemblies and on the central committee, these being the two most powerful bodies in the governance of the WCC. Significant changes in the policies and programmes of the WCC resulting from women's participation are discussed, with particular attention paid to the "women's department" which, although its title and mandate have changed more than once, has consistently been the locus of advocacy for women's participation, and the commission on Faith and Order which has addressed theological questions raised by and about women's participation. The conclusion drawn from this study is that women's participation offers a number of significant challenges to the WCC and its member churches in their quest for unity.</p>

Rocking the boat : women's participation in the World Council of Churches, 1948-1991

<p>When the inaugurating assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) met in 1948 questions about women's participation in the life and work of the churches, including the ordained ministry, were already on the agenda, placed there by women even though few women participated in any official capacity in the assembly. Since 1948 women's participation has become an increasingly important issue within the life and work of the WCC itself. This thesis, which is based on extensive primary research, documents and discusses women's participation in the WCC from that first assembly in 1948 to the seventh in 1991. By women's participation I understand both the inclusion of women among the representatives of the member churches who participate with some authority in the various policy and decision making bodies within the Council and the contribution of women's experiences, insights and perspectives to its policies and programmes. I argue that although women's participation in the WCC has increased significantly in the period 1948-1991 this increase has occurred only as a result of considerable struggle by women themselves, and that the ongoing pressure from women for their full and equal participation with men gives rise to serious tensions and problems within the WCC today. The basic approach is chronological, with documentation and discussion organised around the seven WCC assemblies held in the period 1948-1991. The slow processes of bureaucratic change through which women's participation has increased are documented in some detail, with particular attention given to their participation in assemblies and on the central committee, these being the two most powerful bodies in the governance of the WCC. Significant changes in the policies and programmes of the WCC resulting from women's participation are discussed, with particular attention paid to the "women's department" which, although its title and mandate have changed more than once, has consistently been the locus of advocacy for women's participation, and the commission on Faith and Order which has addressed theological questions raised by and about women's participation. The conclusion drawn from this study is that women's participation offers a number of significant challenges to the WCC and its member churches in their quest for unity.</p>

Relational Priesthood in the Body of Christ: A Scriptural, Liturgical, and Trinitarian Approach

A liturgical phenomenology of Roman Catholic priesthood based on the experience of images of priests and people in scripture and liturgy lends itself to a renewed appropriation of Vatican II and post-conciliar approaches to priesthood. The authors interpret the relational dynamics of Christ’s own priesthood using the pericope of Christ’s anointing at Bethany (Mark 14:1–9), followed by a phenomenological examination of the dialogical introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer or anaphora in the Roman and Byzantine Eucharistic rites. The way ordained ministry is exercised in dialogical and symbolic fashions then provides the impetus for a new look at the significance of prostration in the context of Good Friday and of the Roman Catholic ordination rite. The trinitarian implications of the unified but differentiated priesthood of the Church are the theme of the final section.

The Contribution of Francis A. Sullivan, SJ to a Deeper Understanding of Charisms in the Church

Francis A. Sullivan, SJ made a number of significant contributions to the Catholic theology of charism. Through an accepted emendation, he helped write Lumen Gentium 12; he investigated the new movement of “Catholic Pentecostals” for the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith; he later produced a number of related academic works exploring the nature of the charisms and their role in ecclesiology. This article argues that Sullivan’s reading of the division in Lumen Gentium 4 between charismatic and hierarchical gifts, and how he uses this division to argue that sacramental ordained ministry should presume prior charismatic gifts, has the capacity to support a re-conceptualization of ecclesial ministry.

The Lutheran Theology of Ordained Ministry in the Finnish Context

Martin Luther’s ordination formulary (1539) followed the early Church in its essential elements of the word, prayer, and the laying on of hands. Ordination was also strongly epicletic, including the invocation of the Holy Spirit. Although Luther did not understand ordination as a sacrament, he affirmed its effective, instrumental character. The Lutheran Reformation retained bishops, but the Augsburg Confession’s article concerning ministry did not mention episcopacy. The Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland’s ordination is by a bishop through the word, prayer, and laying on of hands. Ordination is not merely the public confirmation of vocation but an instrumental and sacramentally effective act, in which benediction confers the ministry. If the Church is Christ’s presence and the incarnate Word is the basic sacrament in Lutheran-Roman Catholic dialogue, is a differentiated consensus possible concerning the ministry of word and sacrament, and ordination within this context, as a means of grace indwelt by God?