Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Ordination of Women to the Priesthood in The Episcopal Church

On Monday, July 29, The Episcopal Church observed the 50th Anniversary of the ordination of women to the priesthood. On July 29, 1974, 11 women were ordained to the priesthood in the midst of much dissent and disagreement in The Episcopal Church. The trailblazing group of women deacons, who became known as "The Philadelphia 11," were ordained to the priesthood at the Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, though it wasn't until 1976 that General Convention voted to allow the ordination of women to the priesthood and as bishops. Today, there are 52 women priests who have served or are serving as bishops, according to Curt Ritter, senior vice president and head of content & creative services for Church Pension Group. He also notes that there are 7,166 women clergy in The Episcopal Church, either active or retired, , told Episcopal News Service. That includes 2,075 deacons and 5,039 priests.

In the Diocese of South Carolina, the first woman ordained to the priesthood by the bishop of our diocese (after going through the entire ordination process) was the Rev. Cynthia (Cindy) Taylor, who was ordained to the priesthood in 1987 by Bishop FitzSimons Allison. In 1989, Bishop Allison ordained the second woman to go through the entire ordination process in the Diocese of South Carolina, the Rev. Jennie Clarkson Olbrych. There were two other women priests who served the diocese prior to these dates, but were ordained in or on behalf of other dioceses. The Rev. Constance Belmore, was ordained by the Diocese of North Carolina, served Grace Church, Charleston as chaplain to the College of Charleston from 1983-1988. The Rev. Bonnie Smith, who was ordained to the priesthood in the Diocese of Upper South Carolina in 1984, served as vicar several smaller churches in our diocese from 1983-1989.

The Rev. Dr. Jennie Olbrych has been the longest serving woman priest of our diocese, with a front row seat to the tremendous changes over the past 50 years. Raised in Columbia, SC, Olbrych attended now Trinity Cathedral, and noted that women could not serve on the vestry and girls were not allowed to serve as acolytes or cruicifers. "It was, you know, pretty much a guy's-only show; and I remember longing to be able to handle the holy things of God," said Olbrych in an interview for this anniversary.

As Olbrych looks at the growing diversity of clergy in The Episcopal Church an in the Diocese of South Carolina, it brings her joy to see the changing dynamic. "It just makes my heart so happy because women clergy bring a set of gifts to ordained ministry ... it's a complementary set of gifts that I think can really move the church forward," said Olbrych.

She hopes to see our diocese continue to raise up a diverse collegium of clergy. "I think our task as a church is to continue to raise up whoever appears to have the gifts," said Olbrych. "I think having women and men minister together gives a wholeness that reflects the body of Christ that otherwise wouldn't be there."

View Part I of the video conversation with the Rev. Dr. Jennie Olbrych and a video reflection from the Rev. Denise Trogdon in the links below. Also see written reflections from the Rev. Jack Nietert and the Rev. Eunice Dunlap at the bottom of this article.

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The Episcopal Church marks the 50th Anniversary of the Philadelphia 11 Ordinations
Excerpted from an article shared on The Episcopal News Service by Melodie Woerman:
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The ordination service took place on July 29, 1974 – the feast day of Mary and Martha of Bethany – at Philadelphia’s Church of the Advocate. In 1974, no canon specifically forbade women from becoming priests in The Episcopal Church, but to that point diocesan standing committees and bishops had almost uniformly rejected women’s requests for ordination to the priesthood. Only one of the Philadelphia Eleven had received the backing of her standing committee, and their bishops refused to ordain them, so the ordinations were considered “irregular.”

Four more women were ordained at St. Stephen and the Incarnation in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 7, 1975. They became known as the Washington Four.

General Convention voted on Sept. 15, 1976, to allow women to become priests and bishops. Episcopal Church Canons, as of Jan. 1, 1977, called for equal access to the ordination process for both men and women. However, meeting in October of that year, the House of Bishops gave cover to any process gatekeeper who refused to follow the canon because of “his or her conscientious objection.” Read more about the “conscience clause” here. Click here for a timeline of women’s ordination.