Kwestia ordynacji kobiet w pracach Światowej Rady Kościołów

Abstract

The issue of the ordinations of women has been present in the ecumenical movement since its beginnings, being raised during the 1st meeting of Faith and Order in 1927 and in Amsterdam in 1948. From the one hand, it has been always seen as a big ecumenical problem and one of the issues dividing the Churches. On the other hand we cannot ignore the fact that nowadays majority of the member Churches of the World Council of Churches ordain women. Following the recommendation of WCC meeting in Amsterdam, Commission on the Life and Work of Women in the Church was established, in order to identify and follow more closely women’s participation in the Churches. In 1954 during WCC meeting in Evanston the Commission was transformed into the permanent department within the WCC: The Department of Cooperation of Men and Women in Church and Society, having mandate to encourage the Churches to accept the contributions of women “to a fuller extent and in more varied ways”. In 1952 Katleen Bliss prepared a report entitled “The Service and Status of Women in the Churches” presenting all national discussions on the possibility of ordinations of women occurred till this time and describing in details the cases of ordination of women in various Churches, presenting also the social context of their introduction. Her summary based on the extensive reports received from 58 countries. The discussion on the issue was influenced by the Lund meeting of Faith and Order in 1952 and its statement that the Churches should act together except the matters where deep differences compel them to act separately.