Gene Robinson's Consecration Recalls the Debate on Women's Ordination

Emily Winsett

March 8, 2004

Gene Robinson's consecration as the first openly gay bishop of the Episcopal Church of the United States over a year and a half ago, represents the culmination of a 25-year debate on the role of gay and lesbian priests in the church. Fifteen years ago, Barbara Harris became the church's first female bishop. Her election symbolized a milestone in an eight-year battle fought for women's equality in the church, begun at the time of their first ordinations in 1977.

Scholars see similarities between the two debates, nearly a generation apart. "There are parallels," said Ian Douglas, a theologian at the Episcopal Divinity School in Massachusetts. "The same challenges have been faced. rdination as an institutional reality has historically suffered from all of the prejudices and privileges of any other institution. Anyone who has historically been excluded would have the same parallel experience."

Scriptural teachings served the voice of opposition in both women's ordination and Gene Bishop' consecration. In support of their position against women's ordination, opponents argued the Corinthians' passage which states, "Women should keep silence in the churches," and the fact that the scriptures made no reference to female disciples of Christ.

"Scripture has been used a lot to oppress people," said Rev. Margaret Rose, director of the Episcopal Women's Ministries, which brings together leaders of women's ministries from churches across the country. "Groups of people who hold that scripture is inherent and literal, take it and use it as a weapon."

That literal interpretation figured in the debate surrounding Gene Robinson, who acknowledges a 14-year relationship with his male partner. In doing that, conservatives argue, he violates the teachings of the church regarding the sanctity of marriage. "The Bible is against this," said Rev. Dr. Kendall Harmon the conservative canon theologian for the diocese of South Carolina. "And you can't make the text say it isn't."

"The doctrine of marriage has four parts," said Harmon. "Communion, meaning it's not good for men and women to be alone for life; procreation, to provide for the next generation in a way that is genetically connected; union, meaning two people become one; and prevention, it prevents you from sinning because the other person rescues you. Same sex relationships cannot fulfill these roles."

Opponents of women's ordination and Gene Robinson's consecration have indicated their disapproval by leaving the Episcopal Church. Some now worship in different denominations, while others began new churches entirely. In 1978, a group called the Anglican Church in North America left the Episcopal church over women's ordination. And just a year after Bishop Harris' consecration, the Episcopal Synod of America formed, calling itself a "church within a church" for traditionalists.

In January of this year, the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes emerged in protest to Robinson's election. Using a dialogue similar to the Synod's, it established a "church within a church" to uphold traditional beliefs. According to canon law, if a group breaks from the Episcopal church completely, it is no longer recognized by the Anglican Communion.

To date, there is no study documenting how lay people feel about Gene Robinson's consecration. Conservatives suggest people leave the church because they feel deserted. "Conservatives look at this not just as a change in discrete teaching," said Belton Zeigler, a conservative Episcopalian in South Carolina, "but also as another example of a church willing to abandon the faith."

"In my mind," said Harmon, "this is the tail end of a 30 or 40 year process of theological deterioration. We're moving away from a confidence in scripture. There was a God-in-the-streets liberal pervasiveness in the 60s and 70s that was highly influential." A liberal interpretation of the Bible has characterized this period, according to Harmon, and has also challenged the guiding theologies of the Church.

Progressive thinkers in the church, however, look at the change in doctrine, which culminated in the modern Book of Common Prayer in 1979, slightly differently. The changes in the prayer book modernized the language. "We are of the culture," said Rev. Winnie Varghese, the Episcopal chaplain at Columbia University, "We will be in the vernacular of the culture."

The new prayer book also "restored the primacy of the Eucharist and baptism," according to Rev. Elizabeth Kaeton, rector of St. Paul's Church in New Jersey, who lectures on the new Book of Common Prayer. The return to the Eucharist, in particular, drew attention to the importance of equality in the church.

While everyone was invited to take the Eucharist, not everyone was serving it and so the question became "why aren't I behind the table?" said Kaeton. "I being a woman. I being an African American. I being gay and lesbian. It changed things. It got us thinking about the sacraments and we became an inclusive church."

The church's thinking of itself as inclusive rather than exclusive matched movements in society where individuals fought for inclusion and recognition. Such reasoning also connected with the theology of Anglicanism, which believes in incarnation, or God's presence in all of creation and thus ties the church to all of society.

"We're not divorced from culture, but fully embodied in it," said Professor Douglas. "It's not a coincidence that women's ordination came to the forefront with women's liberation. It's not a coincidence that we're wrestling with the placement of gays and lesbians in the church as is the rest of society; whether it's sodomy laws in Texas, gay marriages in Massachusetts or gay unions in Vermont."

While conservative and progressive thinkers continue to disagree on who should serve in the ministries of the church, they agree that in the case of Gene Robinson, more than sexuality is at play. "If it were only about sexuality," said Harmon, "it wouldn't be this controversial. The reality is that it's about scripture, marriage, authority and the gospel."

"It's about change," said Rev. Peter Carey, an assisting priest at Holy Apostles Church and an openly gay man. "It's about the status of sexual minorities in the church." But, said Carey, the controversy also has to deal with honesty. "He's the first to say, I am who I am and if you want me, you have to take me on these terms," said Carey of Robinson. "That's the first time and that's why it's important."

"Did Gene Robinson do anything?" asked Rev. Father Lau of Christ Church in Brooklyn. "He may have put something on that table that's been there a long time and forced us to look at it -- as with women's ordination -- forced Episcopalians in the country to take an honest look at their faith and how it plays out in their actions."

With women's ordination and, to a slightly lesser extent, the modernization of the prayer book, the Episcopal Church proved that it can withstand internal turmoil. But can it survive a third battle? Only time will tell if the debate around Gene Robinson will be the Church's last, dividing it once and for all.

(Updated April 19, 2004)