The Anglican Church in Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia has given its support to British Anglicans seeking the ordination of their first woman bishop.
Archbishop David Moxon, senior bishop of the New Zealand dioceses, said the denomination in this country “long ago affirmed and provided for the ordination of women to all levels of ordained ministry, as deacons, priests and bishops”.
The Church of England’s ruling General Synod recently voted to consecrate women as bishops and approved drawing up a code of practice to reassure opponents.
A Church group will now draw up a draft of the code to put before the Synod next February.
However, it will not include safeguards demanded by traditionalists, such as allowing male “super-bishops” to cater for those opposing the change.
Some 1300 British clergy opposed to consecrating women as bishops have threatened to leave the Church if the safeguards they wanted were not agreed.
Moxon says in this country “it is business as usual” and that the denomination had “greatly benefited from the ordination of women to all those levels [of ministry] for over 30 years”.
He says they drew their authority for these ordinations from “scripture, tradition and reason, as well as from the decisions of many General Synods of the Anglican Communion”.
At a time when the Vatican-based Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith has restated its commitment not to proceed in this way, the New Zealand bishops say: “When ordained women and men work together in ministry and mission, we have found this both invigorating and life-giving.”
