Ordination of Women

The Issue

The question is whether women may be ordained as pastors or elders and hold offices of teaching and governing in the church.

Arguments for Ordination

• The teaching that in Christ "there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one" (Galatians 3:28).
• Women who served in the early church: Phoebe, a servant of the church; Priscilla, a fellow worker; Junia, who was "of note among the apostles" (Romans 16); and the daughters of Philip, who prophesied (Acts 21:9).
• The Pentecost proclamation that the Spirit is poured out upon both servants and handmaidens (Acts 2:17–18).
• Proponents interpret the passages restricting women's teaching as exhortations addressed to the particular circumstances of specific churches at the time.

Arguments against Ordination

• "But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man" (1 Timothy 2:12), and "Let your women keep silence in the churches" (1 Corinthians 14:34).
• The qualification that a bishop (elder) must be "the husband of one wife" (1 Timothy 3:2).
• Opponents hold that Paul grounded his reasoning not in culture but in the order of creation (1 Timothy 2:13).
• They maintain that men and women are equally honorable but have different roles within the church.

Korean Churches

• Permitted: The Korean Methodist Church is reported to have been the first Korean denomination to ordain women pastors, doing so in 1955. The Presbyterian Church in the Republic of Korea resolved to ordain women at its 1974 General Assembly, and the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Tonghap) did so at its 1994 General Assembly. The Korea Evangelical Holiness Church, denominations of the Assemblies of God tradition, the Anglican Church of Korea, the Korea Baptist Convention, and the Presbyterian Church of Korea (Baekseok), among others, also permit it.
• Not permitted: Conservative Presbyterian denominations such as the Presbyterian Church in Korea (Hapdong), the Kosin Presbyterian Church in Korea, and the Hapshin Presbyterian Church in Korea do not permit the ordination of women as pastors or elders. Even within these denominations, discussion continues over the status of women ministers, including the right to preach, titles, and compensation.

Even in Korean denominations that permit ordination, the proportion of women serving as senior pastors and as General Assembly commissioners remains low, and the gap between policy and practice is regarded as an ongoing challenge. Some analysts also argue that the office of kwonsa, a lay office distinctive to Korean churches, has served as an alternative channel for women's ministry.