Does the ECC support the ordination of women to the ministerial priesthood?
Yes. Evidence from early church history indicates that women were ordained as deacons and priests at least through the first four centuries of Christianity; there is also some evidence that there were women bishops. In the ECC, women are encouraged to respond to a genuine call to serve and to participate in all levels of ministry – lay or ordained. Currently in the ECC there are a number of women priests. As St. Paul writes: “…there is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female; all are one in Christ Jesus.” What does the word “ecumenical” mean? The ECC understands the word ecumenical in several ways: 1. The body of Christ, the universal church, includes all baptized Christians. All those who have followed the Lord Jesus in baptism are regarded as members of the “one, holy, catholic, and apostolic church.”2. The ECC is engaged in promoting Christian unity. We seek to join with all Christian sisters and brothers in the proclamation of the Gospel, the celebration of the lit
