Ordination in general religious usage is the process by which a person is consecrated (set apart for the administration of various religious rites). The ordination of women is a regular practice among some major religious groups, as it was of several religions of antiquity, but remains a controversial issue in religions or denominations in which the rite of ordination, or the role that an ordained person fulfills, has traditionally been restricted to men, either because of cultural prohibition, theological doctrine, or both.
Sarcophagus of the Egyptian priestess Iset-en-kheb, 25th–26th dynasty (7th–6th century BCE)In Ancient Egyptian religion, God's Wife of Amun was the highest ranking priestess; this title was held by a daughter of the High Priest of Amun, during the reign of Hatshepsut, while the capital of Egypt was in Thebes during the second millennium BCE (circa 2160 BCE).
The Virgo Vestalis Maxima, the highest-ranking of the Vestal VirginsThe Latin word sacerdos, "priest," is the same for both the masculine and feminine form. In Roman state religion, the priesthood of the Vestals was responsible for the continuance and security of Rome as embodied by the sacred fire that they could not allow to go out. The Vestals were a college of six sacerdotes (plural) devoted to Vesta, goddess of the hearth, both the focus of a private home (domus) and the state hearth that was the center of communal religion. Freed of the usual social obligations to marry and rear children, the Vestals took a vow of chastity in order to devote themselves to the study and correct observance of state rituals that were off-limits to the male colleges of priests.[10] They retained their religious authority until the era of Christian dominance, when the Christian emperor Gratian confiscated their revenues[11] and his successor Theodosius I closed the Temple of Vesta permanently.[12]
The Romans also had at least two priesthoods that were each held jointly by a married couple, the rex and regina sacrorum, and the flamen and flaminica Dialis. The regina sacrorum ("queen of the sacred rites") and the flaminica Dialis (high priestess of Jupiter) each had her own distinct duties and presided over public sacrifices, the regina on the first day of every month, and the flaminica every nundinal cycle (the Roman equivalent of a week). The highly public nature of these sacrifices, like the role of the Vestals, indicates that women's religious activities in ancient Rome were not restricted to the private or domestic sphere.[13] So essential was the gender complement to these priesthoods that if the wife died, the husband had to give up his office.[14]
The title sacerdos was often specified in relation to a deity or temple,[15] such as a sacerdos Cereris or Cerealis, "priestess of Ceres", an office never held by men.[16] Female sacerdotes played a leading role in the sanctuaries of Ceres and Proserpina in Rome and throughout Italy that observed so-called "Greek rite" (ritus graecus). This form of worship had spread from Sicily under Greek influence, and the Aventine cult of Ceres in Rome was headed by male priests.[17] Only women celebrated the rites of the Bona Dea ("Good Goddess"), for whom sacerdotes are recorded.[18]
From the Mid Republic onward, religious diversity became increasingly characteristic of the city of Rome. Many religions that were not part of Rome's earliest state religion offered leadership roles as priests for women, among them the imported cult of Isis and of the Magna Mater ("Great Mother"). An epitaph preserves the title sacerdos maxima for a woman who held the highest priesthood of the Magna Mater's temple near the current site of St. Peter's Basilica.[19] Inscriptions for the Imperial era record priestesses of Juno Populona and of deified women of the Imperial household.[20]
Under some circumstances, when cults such as mystery religions were introduced to Romans, it was preferred that they be maintained by women. Although it was Roman practice to incorporate other religions instead of trying to eradicate them,[21] the secrecy of some mystery cults was regarded with suspicion. In 189 BCE, the senate attempted to suppress the Bacchanals, claiming the secret rites corrupted morality and were a hotbed of political conspiracy. One provision of the senatorial decree was that only women should serve as priests of the Dionysian religion, perhaps to guard against the politicizing of the cult,[22] since even Roman women who were citizens lacked the right to vote or hold political office. Priestesses of Liber, the Roman god identified with Dionysus, are mentioned by the 1st-century BC scholar Varro, as well as indicated by epigraphic evidence.
Other religious titles for Roman women include magistra, a high priestess, female expert or teacher; and ministra, a female assistant, particularly one in service to a deity. A magistra or ministra would have been responsible for the regular maintenance of a cult. Epitaphs provide the main evidence for these priesthoods, and the woman is often not identified in terms of her marital status.
sex
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Contents
[hide]- 1 Antiquity
- 1.1 Sumeria and Akkadia
- 1.2 Ancient Egypt
- 1.3 Ancient Greece
- 1.4 Ancient Rome
- 2 Buddhism
- 3 Christianity in general
- 3.1 Anglicanism
- 3.2 Jehovah's Witnesses
- 3.3 Latter Day Saints
- 3.4 Liberal Catholic Church
- 3.5 Orthodox Churches
- 3.6 Protestantism
- 3.7 Roman Catholic Church
- 3.7.1 Attempted ordination
- 3.7.2 Dissent
- 4 Eckankar
- 5 Hinduism
- 6 Indigenous and ethnic religions
- 6.1 Africa
- 6.2 Okinawa
- 7 Islam
- 8 Judaism
- 9 Shinto
- 10 Sikhism
- 11 Taoism
- 12 Wicca
- 13 Zoroastrianism
- 14 Some significant dates and events
- 15 See also
- 16 References
Ancient Egypt
Ancient Rome
- See also Women in ancient Rome: Religious life
The Romans also had at least two priesthoods that were each held jointly by a married couple, the rex and regina sacrorum, and the flamen and flaminica Dialis. The regina sacrorum ("queen of the sacred rites") and the flaminica Dialis (high priestess of Jupiter) each had her own distinct duties and presided over public sacrifices, the regina on the first day of every month, and the flaminica every nundinal cycle (the Roman equivalent of a week). The highly public nature of these sacrifices, like the role of the Vestals, indicates that women's religious activities in ancient Rome were not restricted to the private or domestic sphere.[13] So essential was the gender complement to these priesthoods that if the wife died, the husband had to give up his office.[14]
The title sacerdos was often specified in relation to a deity or temple,[15] such as a sacerdos Cereris or Cerealis, "priestess of Ceres", an office never held by men.[16] Female sacerdotes played a leading role in the sanctuaries of Ceres and Proserpina in Rome and throughout Italy that observed so-called "Greek rite" (ritus graecus). This form of worship had spread from Sicily under Greek influence, and the Aventine cult of Ceres in Rome was headed by male priests.[17] Only women celebrated the rites of the Bona Dea ("Good Goddess"), for whom sacerdotes are recorded.[18]
From the Mid Republic onward, religious diversity became increasingly characteristic of the city of Rome. Many religions that were not part of Rome's earliest state religion offered leadership roles as priests for women, among them the imported cult of Isis and of the Magna Mater ("Great Mother"). An epitaph preserves the title sacerdos maxima for a woman who held the highest priesthood of the Magna Mater's temple near the current site of St. Peter's Basilica.[19] Inscriptions for the Imperial era record priestesses of Juno Populona and of deified women of the Imperial household.[20]
Under some circumstances, when cults such as mystery religions were introduced to Romans, it was preferred that they be maintained by women. Although it was Roman practice to incorporate other religions instead of trying to eradicate them,[21] the secrecy of some mystery cults was regarded with suspicion. In 189 BCE, the senate attempted to suppress the Bacchanals, claiming the secret rites corrupted morality and were a hotbed of political conspiracy. One provision of the senatorial decree was that only women should serve as priests of the Dionysian religion, perhaps to guard against the politicizing of the cult,[22] since even Roman women who were citizens lacked the right to vote or hold political office. Priestesses of Liber, the Roman god identified with Dionysus, are mentioned by the 1st-century BC scholar Varro, as well as indicated by epigraphic evidence.
Other religious titles for Roman women include magistra, a high priestess, female expert or teacher; and ministra, a female assistant, particularly one in service to a deity. A magistra or ministra would have been responsible for the regular maintenance of a cult. Epitaphs provide the main evidence for these priesthoods, and the woman is often not identified in terms of her marital status.
sex
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