Arthur C.A. Hall, Women and Holy Orders (1921) Timely and relevant are these two historic texts from the Anglican tradition, on the questions of women in holy orders. Arthur C.A. Hall, the then Bishop of Vermont in the Episcopal Church, has written one of the first works dealing with the question in 1921. Speaking for the majority at the time, he presented the arguments for the traditional theology of holy orders. Many of the points he made then would later be repeated by dozens of subsequent authors and treatises. Bishop Hall divides his work into three parts: scripture, reason, and tradition. He addresses the then new question of Women’s Ordination from all three angles: a close analysis of Scripture, the argument from reason and natural law, and finally the argument from tradition. In a measured tone he covers the key loci touched by this question, and provides us with reflections and plenty of topics to consider and ruminate about. Written in 1921, this work was written exactly a century before ago. Could he imagine everything that would come to pass from then until our time in 2021? C.S. Lewis, Priestesses in the Church? (1948) The famous C.S. Lewis has perhaps one of the most thought-provoking works written on this topic. The Church of England then, especially with her intransigent and principled stand during the Abdication Controversy, stood at the peak of her eminence. But new forces had begun to gather, arguing for changes to her core constitution, and among other eminent theologians, C.S. Lewis submitted this essay as a contribution to the conversation. In just a handful of pages, Lewis sought to address what he saw to be the core constitution of the Church, and even of Humanity itself. Thus he went deeper than Hall’s scripture/reason/tradition analysis, and plumbed the metaphysics of creation itself. With prescient insight he predicted new proposals in theology that would come, once the new core understanding had come to pass. His work, from back in 1948, stands to us as a monument of a different time, with plenty of food for thought about the decades that are yet to come.
I would think that Mascall’s essay is a fair statement of Lewis’ perspective as well: https://anglicanway.org/2015/02/15/women-priests-e-l-mascall/
Thank you! Please recommend others as well, the earlier the better. We are after all primarily a historic and classic texts project.
is there a typo? https://www.anglican.net/works/arthur-c-a-hall-women-and-holy-orders-1921/ "New Brunkswick"
1948. The peak of CofE eminence? If you say so. However, by 1948 the particular horse of women's orders had already well and truly bolted. 25 January 1944, to be precise, and the marvellous Florence Li Tim Oi. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Li_Tim-Oi CS Lewis notwithstanding; women priests.
You are right it can certainly be debatable, but for the 20th century, I would think that it is at least plausible. The Abdication Crisis and the actions of the archbishops, as well as the Coronation of the Queen, have been particularly well captured in the recent film series, The Crown.
Are there any pre-20th century treatises on this issue? I know that for example the Quakers brought in women ministers way back in the 17th century, and that really troubled the Anglican Divines as to its heterodoxy. But I don't know if they wrote any book-length treatises on it.
I wonder if any conformists responded to Wesley's schismatic acts of "ordaining" a few women to preach?
This is an extremely understudied area in church history. We have a couple of fragments, but the extant literature published during those times measured in the thousands, on both sides. Most of that literature is now unknown. If you do come across a text, please shoot me a message! I suspect that there is an easy PhD here, where someone could collate the literary evidence and produce the theology of holy orders that operated in both camps during these disputes.
You can try "No Other Foundation: Essays on Women's Ordination in the Anglican Church" edited by Ben Jefferies. ISBN 9-781735-923017. It's...fine. Not by any means as comprehensive or as rigorous as I was hoping, but it's useful. (Edit: Oops, I misread the "pre-20th century" part. Well, anyway, you have the link.)
I have read "Arthur C.A. Hall, Women and Holy Orders (1921)". One the arguments that the author makes is "we have no such custom". Precisely the same argument that many Angl0-Catholics have made against women in church choirs, when they cannot prove that the employment of women in church choirs or as soloists in public worship is contrary to the teachings of the Scriptures! Here is their argument: "Would it not be the most insolent insanity, as Augustine said, to dispute whether something, which the universal Church does throughout the whole world, should be done or not? Therefore it would follow all the MORE that it have been 'the most insolent insanity' for any mere part of the universal church to engage in any ecclesiastical, liturgical, devotional, hymnological, or choral custom contrary to that which is the universal received perpetual custom of the "the universal Church ... throughout the whole world"! But one of the received universal time-honored perpetual customs of the universal church is that cathedral, yea, and even parish choirs should consist of men and boys only and that females should be entirely excluded. Ergo: It is not permissible for any mere part of the church catholic to allow women and girls to sing in their church choirs. QED"