Female Deacons and the Unity of the Sacrament of Order: Responding to the German Skeptics
Over the last several decades, a group of German-speaking theologians has proposed an argument against the possibility of the ordination of women as deacons. They argue both that the unity of the sacrament of order requires that anyone ordained to the diaconate must be able to be ordained to the pre...
Main Author: | |
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Format: | Electronic Article |
Language: | English |
Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
Journals Online & Print: | |
Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
Published: |
Sage Publ.
2021
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In: |
Theological studies
Year: 2021, Volume: 82, Issue: 2, Pages: 351-370 |
Further subjects: | B
sacrament of order
B Gerhard Ludwig Müller B Pope Francis B Manfred Hauke B Ecclesiology B Diaconate B Karl-Heinz Menke B Gender B papal commission on the diaconate B Sacraments |
Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
Summary: | Over the last several decades, a group of German-speaking theologians has proposed an argument against the possibility of the ordination of women as deacons. They argue both that the unity of the sacrament of order requires that anyone ordained to the diaconate must be able to be ordained to the presbyterate and the episcopate and that the gendered constitution of humanity prevents women from imaging Christ as head of the church. This paper argues that this understanding of the sacrament and who properly receives it leads to a misinterpretation of the ecclesiology of the Second Vatican Council and a reinstatement of a medieval aporia that Lumen Gentium sought to overcome. Therefore, this argument should not be allowed to affect the Church’s deliberations on the question of whether women can be ordained as deacons. |
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ISSN: | 2169-1304 |
Contains: | Enthalten in: Theological studies
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Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/00405639211013574 |