The case for a male only priesthood - based on apostolic tradition (#1)

In today’s blog I present an initial case, grounded in apostolic tradition, for the exclusion of women from priestly ordination in the Roman Catholic Church and, by extension, in other Churches that understand themselves as catholic and apostolic. I will divide up the arguments for into three groups – apostolic tradition, sacramental imagery and magisterial authority.  In later blogs I will consider the case for changing current norms or, at least, to reconsider the position of the Church. Finally, I weigh in with my own thoughts and tentative conclusions.

I recognise that this is a sensitive subject and that I tread carefully here. In setting out the argument as I understand it, I may fall short through exaggeration, misunderstanding, or incompleteness. If that is the case, I ask the reader’s indulgence, and I welcome thoughtful and constructive engagement. Please do feel free to contact me with comments or alternative perspectives on this and related matters.

The Roman Catholic Church maintains that it does not possess the authority to ordain women to the priesthood, since it has no tradition of having done so. Two principal reasons are ordinarily given for this position.

First, the Church holds that this practice has been universal and uninterrupted since apostolic times. Second, it teaches that there is a theological significance to the priest as a male sacramental sign who represents Christ himself—Christ the Bridegroom—at the altar. In the celebration of the Eucharist, the ordained minister acts in persona Christi Capitis, that is, in the person of Christ the Head, who offers himself to the Father for and with his Bride, the Church.

Turning first, in this blog, to the apostolic argument: if Christ had intended women to be ordained to the ministerial priesthood, it is held that he would have included them among the Twelve and entrusted them with this role at the Last Supper. The Church maintains that there is no historical or liturgical evidence that women were ever ordained to the priesthood in the apostolic or post-apostolic Church.

From the earliest period of Christian history, Catholic tradition has recognised three distinct orders within Holy Orders:

– Deacon (diakonos)

– Priest (presbyter)
– Bishop (episkopos, or overseer)

While the roles and functions associated with these orders developed over time, the Church asserts that the ministerial priesthood was always reserved to men.

Within the classic catholic understanding, the priesthood encompasses three interrelated dimensions.

First, the priest shares in Christ’s kingship. He is entrusted with pastoral care and, in communion with his bishop and under the authority of the Pope, participates in the governance and unity of the Church.

Second, the priest is configured to Christ the High Priest, who offers himself as the sacrificial victim for the life and reconciliation of the world. In the celebration of the Eucharist, the priest is sacramentally united to this self-offering of Christ.

Third, the priest is ordained to a prophetic office: to proclaim the Word of God faithfully and to bear witness to the coming of the Kingdom.

Taken together, these elements form the sacramental and theological context in which the Church understands the priesthood. Whether or not one finds these arguments persuasive, the Roman Catholic claim is not fundamentally sociological or pragmatic, but theological and sacramental in nature. It is on this basis that the Church concludes that it lacks the authority to confer priestly ordination on women, while affirming equally the dignity, vocation, and indispensable contribution of women to the life and holiness of the Church.