Ordination of Women in Ecumenical Perspective

Edited by Constance F. Parvey

Workbook for the Church’s Future

World Council of Churches, 1980

An interesting and increasingly historically significant study of one of the major questions facing Christian denominations during the late 20th century: the ordination of women and its implications for ministry, theology and Christian unity.

Published by the World Council of Churches in 1980 and edited by theologian and ordained minister Constance F. Parvey, this substantial paperback brings together an international and ecumenical perspective on the role of women in ordained Christian ministry.

The volume developed from an international consultation involving representatives from 14 countries and 26 churches, examining the widely differing approaches taken by Christian denominations towards the ordination of women.

Rather than treating the subject solely as an internal denominational issue, the book considers its wider implications for the ecumenical movement and asks challenging questions about ministry, church unity, theological tradition and the participation of women within Christianity.

Among the subjects explored are the reasons women were accepted into ordained ministry within some churches while remaining excluded from others; the experiences of denominations already ordaining women; whether differing approaches to women's ministry create obstacles to Christian unity; theological arguments surrounding gender and ordained ministry; and the place of women within the future development of the Church.

The book also includes an extensive bibliography reflecting the considerable theological and academic debate surrounding the subject by the end of the 1970s.

The striking illustrated cover draws upon sixteenth-century imagery of a woman preaching, emphasising that questions surrounding women's religious teaching and ministry have a much longer history than is sometimes assumed.

Book details

Title: Ordination of Women in Ecumenical Perspective

Subtitle: Workbook for the Church’s Future

Editor: Constance F. Parvey

Publisher: World Council of Churches

Publication year: 1980

Format: Paperback / Softcover

Language: English

ISBN: 2-8254-0645-7

Subject: Christianity / Theology / Women in Christianity / Ordained Ministry / Ecumenism

Cover design: Karen Foget

Published in: Switzerland

About the editor

Rev. Dr Constance F. Parvey was an ordained pastor in the Lutheran Church in America and served as Director of the Community of Women and Men in the Church Study of the World Council of Churches. Her academic and ministerial background included work at University Lutheran Church in Cambridge, Massachusetts, as well as chaplaincy work connected with Harvard and MIT.

This makes the volume particularly interesting as a contemporary document produced during a period when numerous Christian denominations were actively reconsidering longstanding approaches towards women and ordained ministry.

Condition

Good vintage used condition overall.

The paperback covers show some expected age and handling wear, including light surface marking, rubbing and minor creasing, particularly around the corners and edges. There is some visible corner wear to the rear cover.

The page block appears generally clean and well kept with ordinary signs of age. The binding remains intact.

Please examine the photographs carefully as they form an important part of the condition description and show the actual copy you will receive.