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I
1. For a good understanding of the position of woman in the New Testament an inquiry was instituted in the first chapter, after her place in the O.T., under the Romans, in the Greek-hellenistic world and among the Jews in Jesus’ days.
2. In comparison with this, Jesus’ appreciation of woman means an
utter revolution, as He recognizes her as a complete personality
beside man. After the day of Pentecost, on which both men and
women are filled with the Holy Ghost, the latter take an active
part in the services of the Church. This is confirmed by St.
Paul’s letters: women act as prophetesses, lead the
congregational prayers, co-operate in the works of charity, act
as teachers etc., which is based on principle (Gal
328). Only with a view to married women St Paul finds
himself obliged to make some restrictions.
Owing to the order, laid down in marriage by God, which requires
from woman hupotagè (subordination) towards her husband,
in 1 Cor 1434f he declines her participation in the
discussions of the community, while 1 Tim 211ff
prohibits her didaskein (teaching), because in the
circumstances of the time, this subordination would have been
endangered by this. In contrast with this, however, women kept
rendering services, when these were more organised (Rom
161f; 1 Tim 311, 59f).
3. Also in the Early Church woman at first occupied a great place: in preaching as a missionary, in the congregation as a teacher and prophetess, while she may have administered the sacraments. Added to this come the ministries of widows and deaconesses, the latter having played a much greater part in the East than in the West, though they existed here for centuries. At last, however, thet are ousted from the official ministry of the Church by hierarchical-sacerdotal influences, connected with an increasing depreciating opinion about women.
4. The Reformation has not given back to woman her place in the ministry of the Church, equivalent to that of man, though Luther and Calvin made a timid beginning with this. Nor have later attempts yielded a permanent result. Outside the Church in sects etc. woman occupies a far greater place.
5. At the moment the problem of the ministry of woman in Church has come up for discussion nearly everywhere. The ‘Diakonissen’ re-instituted by Fliedner seek communication with the Church, while in most countries
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discussions are held about admitting woman to all ministries, which has already taken place in some Churches.
II
1. The objections against the ministry of woman are mainly
derived from the character of the ‘office’ in Church. When,
however, we consult the N.T., it appears that the only thing
people can do in Church is ‘serving’, as every form of the
Old-Testamentic leitourgia (cultic priesthood) has been
settled by Jesus Christ. All services rendered in Church are
founded on a charisma of which Christ (the Ghost) has
distributed a great multitude.
The Church namely lives as the body of Christ and every member in
it has a special function, for which it (he) first received such
a charisma. So there is not any qualitative difference
between the services, nor does this arise when some of these
services are openly recognized, e.g. by election, for the sake of
order in Church. It is not right to call them ‘offices’ and to
distinguish them on principle from the other services. Even
though the exercising of certain charismata may be
restricted (1 Cor 1427ff), it is of importance that in
the N.T. not any charisma is denied to woman on
principle.
2. Calvin did not break radically enough with the deformation of these ideas in the R.C. clerical conception, because he restricted the number of ministries to 4 (or 3) and also isolated them too much from the services instructed to everyone, so that in the entirety of the Church they became too independent. In this respect he appears to have been influenced by his time and by the requirements of practice in Geneva. Consequently too many institutional elements have forced their way into the presbyterian Churches at the cost of the organic functioning of the Church as the body of Christ, which i.a. is expressed in a severe restriction of the number of ministries, which besides, have been disjoined from the priesthood of all believers and whose character of ‘service’ is risked, also because they are all connected with the ‘governing’, whereas nearly all the other services are defined as ‘ordines minores’.
3. Also through the modern women’s movement the Church nowadays begins to rediscover what important charismata are given to woman, the disuse of which can only cause great damage. Also for the gigantic task the Church has in the modern world, she may trust that she does not lack any charisma (1 Cor 17). A thorough revision of the ‘conception of office’ will, however, be necessary to make all these charismata function, whereby also those of woman ought to get the possibility of complete unfolding. As a sign that she respects the hupotagè instituted by God, the Church might e.g. deny married woman preaching in public. Further restrictions may not be imposed upon her, because neither the nature of ‘governing’ in Church — which has more the nature of „guidance” — nor psychological, physiological, practical or oecumenical aspects produce sufficient arguments for this.