HISTORY TOPICS
Ordination of Women in the Episcopal Church
The long struggle for women's ordination as priests in the American Episcopal Church began in the mid-1850s and lasted for almost 125 years. It ended in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on September 16, 1976, when the General Convention of the Episcopal Church voted to approve women's ordination to the priesthood and the episcopate. Women's road to this destination was paved with obstacles. Opposition to women's ordination was firmly established, well organized, and fortified with centuries of tradition. Women finally prevailed through the support of many who served the cause with courage and persistence. One of the many was Jeannette Ridlon Piccard, who was the first woman to fly into outer space.
Jeannette Ridlon Piccard's career was remarkable on several counts, as a scholar, a scientist, an explorer. She held a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota, awarded in 1935. On October 3, 1934, she made history as the first woman to reach the stratosphere when she piloted the Century of Progress balloon to a height of 57,579 feet, and landed safely, continuing cosmic ray studies begun by Auguste Piccard. Her ordination as an Episcopal priest — the attainment that she considered the ultimate fulfillment of her life — came long after retirement from her earlier brilliant career.
On July 29, 1974, forty years after her flight into the stratosphere, Dr. Piccard and ten other women broke the barrier so long in place against the ordination of women to the priesthood of the Anglican Church when they were "irregularly" ordained to the priesthood in Philadelphia. The event caused great consternation among the church hierarchy. On August 15, the House of Bishops, called to an emergency meeting, denounced the ordinations and declared them invalid. Charges were filed against the dissident bishops. Attempts were made to prevent the women from serving their priestly ministries.
But Dr. Piccard and her group would not be deterred. On October 27, 1974, three months after their ordination, the Revs. Allison Cheek, Carter Heyward, and Jeannette Piccard celebrated their first public Episcopal service at Riverside Church in New York City. The glass ceiling had cracked. Momentum was building as the September 1976 date for the Minneapolis meeting of the General Convention approached. After much controversy, debate, and prayer, the Convention adopted a resolution to change the church's canon law and to allow candidacy and ordination, regardless of gender, to men and women equally, to the three Orders of ministry: bishops, priests, and deacons.
GET STARTED WITH SECONDARY SOURCES:
- Womanpriest: A Personal Odyssey, by Alla Bozarth-Campbell.
New York: Paulist Press, c1978.
MHS call number: BX 5995 .B665 A38.
PRIMARY RESOURCES:
- Susan B. Anthony Letter,
June 22, 1868.
A handwritten, signed letter by Susan B. Anthony, New York City, to Josephine Lapham, congratulating her on her entry into the ministry; discussing the importance of women's participation in all phases of national life; and offering to send her copies of Anthony's publication, "The Revolution."
MHS call number: Reserve 55; see the green Manuscript Notebooks for more details (there is only 1 item). - Jeannette Piccard Papers.
The collection includes drafts of philosophical and religious writings, and some correspondence and notes relating to Jeannette Piccard, who was ordained a priest in the Episcopal Church. There are also photocopies of correspondence between Piccard and Episcopal Bishop Hamilton Kellogg, the originals of which are in the Diocesan records of the Episcopal Church, Diocese of Minnesota.
MHS call number: P2522; see the green Manuscripts Notebooks for more details (there are 7 folders of material). - "Minnesota Living History: Rev. Dr. Jeannette Piccard."
Osseo, Minn.: Independent School District No. 279, 1980.
Piccard discusses her career hopes, education, pioneering work in stratospheric balloon flight and her ordination as one of the first woman priests in the Episcopal Church.
MHS call number: Videotape no. 1 (1 20-minute videocassette in the A-V Collection). - Henry B. Whipple Papers, 1833-1934.
Whipple's correspondence, diaries, sermons, reminiscences, and other materials as the first Protestant Episcopal bishop of Minnesota (1859-1901), including a letter from E.A. Bradley asking Whipple's advice on a woman who "asks for Holy Orders" in 1882. Bradley calls the request a "sign of the times."
MHS call number: P823, box 16, folder for May 1882; see the green Manuscript Notebooks for more details (there are 45 boxes in the Whipple Papers but only this one letter relates to this topic). - "Oral History Interview with Irma M. Wyman, 1992."
Wyman discusses her childhood and the people and events that influenced her, including her college years and the barriers she faced as a female. She also goes into detail about her involvement in the fledgling computer world of the 1950s and her continuing struggle with being female in a male-dominated career field. She discusses her role at Honeywell and the changes that occurred within the company during her tenure. Finally, she relates how she has contributed her administrative expertise to the Episcopal Church in her role as an ordained deacon. Restriction: Access restricted through Dec. 31, 2007. Ask a librarian for help.
MHS call number: OH 38; see the blue Oral History Notebooks for detailed description sheets (there are 7 90-minute cassettes). - Newspapers that may be useful for this topic:
- Minneapolis Star
- Minneapolis Tribune
- St. Paul Dispatch
- St. Paul Pioneer Press
- Visual Resources Database subjects that may be useful for this topic:
- Check the library catalog for other materials.
