Celebrating 50 Years of Women’s Ordination
Join us for celebrations in-person and online, including a deep dive into key events from the historic first to the present.
Celebrate history with us
This year marks the 50th anniversary of the first of ordination of women as priests in The Episcopal Church on July 29, 1974. The journey towards ordination required a brave and visionary group of women and their allies to stand firmly in their beliefs and their faith, following the Holy Spirit where it led them. The challenges did not stop with ordination as women priests faced hurdles and pushback as they strived for equal footing in the church.
Special Crossroads Podcast Episode
Now streaming
Don't miss our commemorative episode on the 50th anniversary of women's ordination. Hosted by the Rev. Jo Nygard Owens, the conversation features the Rev. Rose Duncan, Canon for Worship, and the Rev. Kelly Brown Douglas, Canon Theologian.
Festival Holy Eucharist: Celebrating Women's Ordination
Watch archived service from July 28, 2024 below.
This Festival Holy Eucharist features special prayers and guest preacher the Right Reverend Mary Glasspool, Assistant Bishop, Episcopal Dioceses of New York. Bp. Glasspool was the 17th woman elected to the episcopate and the first openly lesbian woman to be elected in the Anglican Communion.Answering the Call: Cathedral Clergy Reflect on 50 Years of Women's Ordination
Celebrating 50 Years of Women's Ordination
Look back with us at key events in women’s ordination and service with a focus on Washington National Cathedral and the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.1855–1970 Deaconesses in the Church
Nearly 500 women were set apart as deaconesses in The Episcopal Church, charged to minister to “the sick, the afflicted and the poor,” but excluded from performing the priestly liturgical acts. In 1970, the same year that the House of Deputies (one of the church’s governing bodies) first admitted female deputies, the Deaconess Canon (a church law) was abolished, and all deaconesses were automatically made full deacons of the church. Learn more →
January 25, 1944 First Anglican Female Priest
The Right Rev. R. O. Hall, Bishop of Hong Kong, ordained Florence Li Tim-Oi, as the first female priest in the worldwide Anglican Communion, of which The Episcopal Church is a member. The Rev. Tim-Oi initially served Anglicans in Macau at a time when the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong and China prevented most Anglican priests from reaching the neutral territory. She suffered during China’s Cultural Revolution and was unable to practice her ministry for many years, but later settled in Canada, serving in the dioceses of Montreal and Toronto. Learn More →
1970 and 1973 Church Votes "No"
Resolutions approving the ordination of women to the priesthood in The Episcopal Church were introduced and defeated at the Episcopal Church’s General Convention, though they had much positive support. Learn more about activities in 1970 and 1973.
July 29, 1974 The Philadelphia Eleven
Eleven women deacons ranging in age from 27 to 79 were ordained to the priesthood at the Church of the Advocate, Philadelphia, by three bishops claiming “obedience to the Spirit”. The women came to be known as the “Philadelphia Eleven.” (See Order of Service).
The women and the participating bishops, including a fourth who participated in the laying on of hands, acted knowing they might face serious disciplinary actions. The House of Bishops declared the ordinations “irregular” and the women were officially prohibited from practicing priestly functions. Learn more →
November 10, 1974 A First at the Table
The Rev. Alison Cheek, one the Philadelphia Eleven, publicly celebrated the Eucharist in an Episcopal Church for the first time at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church, Washington, DC.
Following the service, a group of 18 priests wrote a letter to the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington asking for an inquiry to determine if the church’s rector, the Rev. William A. Wendt, violated church law by allowing the Rev. Cheek to celebrate the Eucharist.
January 1975 Diocese Says “Yes” to Women
The Standing Committee of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington voted in support of the ordination of two women candidates to the priesthood.
Diocesan bishop William Creighton voiced strong support for the ordination of women but joined with other bishops committing not to ordain women until after the Church’s governing bodies acted at their upcoming gathering in late summer of 1976.
April 1975 Local Bishops Halt Ordinations
The Right Revs. William Creighton, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Washington, and John T. Walker, Assistant Bishop, declared a moratorium on all ordinations in the diocese “until qualified women can be ordained with men.”
May 4, 1975 Another First in the Diocese
At the invitation of the Right Rev. William Creighton, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, the Rev. Jane Hwang, an Anglican priest from Hong Kong, celebrated the Eucharist at DC’s Church of the Epiphany, becoming the first “regularly” ordained woman to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in The Episcopal Church in the United States. Learn more →
June 5, 1975 The Rev. Wendt Found Guilty
The Rev. William Wendt was found guilty by an ecclesiastical court of disobeying his bishop by allowing the Rev. Alison Cheek, who had been “irregularly” ordained in Philadelphia, to celebrate the Eucharist at his parish church. The court recommended that he be admonished, the least severe penalty available. Learn more →
September 7, 1975 Second “Irregular” Ordination
A second “irregular” ordination of women took place at St. Stephen and the Incarnation Episcopal Church, Washington, DC, in a joyful service that included heavy security following bomb threats and fears of disruption.
Four women, including three from the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, Lee McGee, Alison Palmer, and Betty Rosenberg, were ordained by the Right Rev. George W. Barrett, retired bishop of Rochester. Read reflections from the ordinands or learn more via the New York Times and Episcopal Archives.
January 10, 1976 The Rev. Wendt Admonished
The Right Rev. William Creighton, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, at the recommendation of an Ecclesiastical Court, formally admonished the Rev. William Wendt and forbid him from permitting “any person whose ordination is not in conformity with the canons of the Church to exercise his or her ministry in your parish.”
September 15, 1976 Church Votes “YES”
Following spirited debates with strong feelings on both sides, the General Convention of The Episcopal Church approved the ordination of women to the priesthood and the episcopate and stated that such ordinations might begin on January 1, 1977. Learn more via Episcopal Archives, or read the onsite coverage.
January 8, 1977 First Women Ordained at Cathedral
The first ordination of women priests at Washington National Cathedral in a joyful and celebratory service attended by close to 2,000 people. Three of the six ordinands on this date were women––the Revs. Carole Crumley, Dr. Pauli Murray, and Elizabeth Weisner; Murray was the first African American woman priest in The Episcopal Church and Weisner served on the Cathedral staff as a chaplain/pastor at the time of her ordination. In addition, the Revs. Lee McGee and the Betty Rosenberg, who were “irregularly” ordained at St. Stephen and the Incarnation in 1975, were formally recognized as priests. Prior to the service approximately 50 people from Washington-area Episcopal churches protested outside.
Learn more via the Washington Post or coverage from our own Cathedral Age (article: “Historical Ordinations” and text of Right Rev. John T. Walker’s sermon)
February 27, 1983 First Female Cathedral Clergy Canon
The Rev. Carole Crumley, who was among the first three female priests ordained at Washington National Cathedral, was installed as the Cathedral’s first female clergy canon.
March 1, 1987 First Woman Rector in Diocese Installed
The Rev. Vienna Cobb Anderson installed as the first female rector in the Episcopal Dioceses of Washington, serving at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, Washington, DC. Learn more →
February 11, 1989 First Female Bishop Consecrated
The Right Rev. Barbara Harris consecrated as the first female bishop in The Episcopal Church and the worldwide Anglican Communion. Bishop Harris served for thirteen years as suffragan bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts and then for four years as assistant bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.
Speaking of her work as bishop, Harris told U.S. News & World Report, “I certainly don’t want to be one of the boys. I want to offer my peculiar gifts as a black woman … a sensitivity and an awareness that comes out of more than a passing acquaintance with oppression.” Learn more via Episcopal Archives and the Washington Post.
November 19, 1992 Bp. Jane Holmes Dixon Consecrated
The Right Rev. Jane Holmes Dixon consecrated at Washington National Cathedral as the second female bishop in The Episcopal Church and the third in the Anglican Communion. Bp. Dixon served as both suffragan bishop and bishop pro tempore in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington.
Several congregations in the diocese resisted Dixon’s presence and ministry as a female bishop, leading to public disputes, during which she never wavered. While serving as bishop pro tempore, Bp. Dixon successfully sued in federal court to remove a priest who opposed The Episcopal Church’s positions on female and gay clergy. Read more about the resistance to her leadership and the Bishop’s response.
At the time of Bp. Dixon’s death in 2012, the Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde noted that she “led with courage and conviction, and sometimes at great personal cost. Jane was a fighter for equality and social justice and this led her to speak at the White House against hate crimes and to stand for inclusiveness within the Episcopal Church.”
September 14, 2001 Bp. Dixon Welcomes Grieving Nation
The Right Rev. Jane Holmes Dixon, Bishop pro tempore of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, welcomed a grieving nation to Washington National Cathedral as officiant of the National Day of Prayer and Remembrance service following the terrorist attacks just three days prior.
“Those of us that are gathered here, Muslim, Jew, Christian, Sikh, Buddhist, Hindu, all people of faith, want to say to this nation and to the world that love is stronger than hate and that love lived out in justice will in the end prevail.” Watch the service →
November 4, 2006 First Female Presiding Bishop Installed
The Right Rev. Katharine Jefforts Schori was invested at Washington National Cathedral as the presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church, the first woman to hold the role and the first woman to lead one of the provinces of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Learn more →
November 12, 2011 Bp. Mariann Budde Consecrated
The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde consecrated as the first female diocesan bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington. Prior to her election, Bishop Budde served as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis for twenty years. Learn more via Episcopal News Service and the Washington Post.
June 2020 Bp. Budde in the Spotlight
As the nation erupted in protests following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, an unscheduled visit and remarks by President Trump in front of St. John’s Episcopal Church, Lafayette Square, placed a media focus on Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde who spoke eloquently of the diocese’s values and beliefs.
“[The president] is always welcome to come and pray, to be part of the worshipping body, but not to use the mantle of the church to communicate a political message. … My message and that of the church was not directed to the president but to the American people. … We wanted to separate ourselves from his message and to reaffirm our commitment to non-violence, to justice, and to the addressing of systemic racism and white supremacy in this country.” Read more in the bishop’s opinion piece in the New York Times and watch her conversation with PBS News Hour host Judy Woodruff
January 2, 2024 The Rev. Dr. Murray Honored with Quarter
The United States Mint began circulating a quarter honoring the Rev. Dr. Pauli Murray as the eleventh coin in the American Women Quarters Program. Murray, the first African American female priest in The Episcopal Church, was ordained on January 8, 1977, at Washington National Cathedral. Learn more →
timeline photo sources
The Archives of the Episcopal Church • The Fund for the Diaconate of The Episcopal Church • William Steinmetz, Philadelphia Inquirer • Harry Naltehayan/the Washington Post • Episcopal News Service/Breton Littlehales • Carolyn Kaster/AP • Vienna Cobb Anderson