In Place of an Editorial

This edition is given over to a single subject: the ministry of women. Rather than preface it at length, we have let the articles speak, and we have kept this introduction short.

Why the theme

A generation has now passed since women were ordained in parts of the Anglican Communion, and the arguments have not gone away. They have instead become more concrete, as congregations, dioceses and provinces have learned what the change means in practice.

What the articles do

The opening study reads Romans 16 closely and finds a settled place for women in the ministry of the early church. From there the issue widens into testimony and analysis: a priest reflecting on her own calling, three young curates in conversation, an insider account of the working party on the episcopate, and two essays that ask what a church shaped by women's leadership might look like and where its limits lie.

A note on tone

The writers do not agree with one another at every point, and we have not asked them to. The value of an issue like this lies in the range of serious voices it brings together, and in the encouragement it offers to readers who are still thinking the matter through.