Semper Reformanda
World Alliance of Reformed Churches

Statistical data

Walk, my sister

The ordination of women: Reformed perspectives

Studies from the World Alliance of Reformed Churches volume 18 (1993)

Introduction

A new community

Biblical exegetical studies

Systematic theological studies

Historical study

Social traditions and cultural contexts

Conclusion

Authors

Statistical data

WARC project on the ordination of women to the ministry (July 1992)

WARC member churches: 177 churches in 87 countries

Regional breakdown:

Central & South America	North America & Caribbean	Asia & Pacific	Europe	Africa
48 (27%)	19 (11%)	16 (9%)	58 (33%)	36 (20%)

Confessional breakdown:

Reformed	Presbyterian	Congregational	United
77 (44%)	61 (34%)	17 (10%)	22 (12%)

Ordination of women to the ministry

Current status (July 1992):

"Yes" churches: 66% (116 churches) accept ordination of women to ministry.

"No" churches: 25% (45 churches) do not (yet) accept ordination of women to ministry.

"No information" churches: 9% (16 churches) did not give any information.

" Yes" churches

Regional breakdown:

Africa	Central & South America	North America & Caribbean	Asia & Pacific	Europe
25 (21%)	10 (9%)	13 (11%)	38 (33%)	30 (26%)

Confessional breakdown:

Reformed	Presbyterian	Congregational	United
53 (46%)	33 (28%)	9 (8%)	21 (18%)

"No" churches

Regional breakdown:

Africa	Central & South America	North America & Caribbean	Asia & Pacific	Europe
19 (42%)	7 (16%)	1 (2%)	12 (27%)	6 (13%)

Confessional breakdown:

Reformed	Presbyterian	Congregational	United
16 (36%)	22 (49%)	7 (15%)	0

"Yes" churches¹

Church	Year	Women:men
Africa
Prot. Ch. of Algeria		0:4
Evang. Cong. Ch. in Angola	1965
Evang. Ch. of Burkina Faso		0:?
Eglise Presbytérienne Camérounaise	1991	one candidate
Presb. Ch. in Cameroon	approx. 1974
Evang. Presb. Ch. Ghana
Presb. Ch. of Ghana	1979	1:40
Presb. Ch. of East Africa	1981	1:50
Lesotho Evang. Ch.	1985	2:78
Ch. of Christ in Madagascar
Evang. Ch. in Morocco
Presb. Ch. of Nigeria	1980	1:100
Presb. Ch. of Rwanda	1981	2:40
Prot. Ch. of Senegal	no women yet ordained
Evang. Presb. Ch. in Sourth Africa
Dutch Ref. Ch	1990
Dutch Ref. Ch. in Africa	1991
Dutch Ref. Mission Ch. in South Africa
Presb. Ch. of Southern Africa	1976	3:192
Ref. Presb. Ch. in Southern Africa
United Cong. Ch. of SA	1963	8:254
Evang. Ch. of Togo	1983	2:?
Presb. Community of Kinshasa	1988	1:?
Evang. Community of Zaire	1975	5:?
United Ch. of Zambia
Central and South America
Ref. Ch. in Argentina		1:?
United Presb. Ch. Brazil	1991
Ev.Presb. Ch. in Chile
Evang. Ch. Rio de la Plata	1982
Arab Evang. Ch., Brazil	1 candidate
Presb. Ch. of Colombia
Waldensian Ev. Ch. of the River Plata
Presb.Ch. of Venezuela	1970	2:?
Presb. Ch. in Grenada
Gyana Presb. Ch.	1984	3:6
North America and Caribbean
Presb. Ch. in Canada	1966
United Ch. of Canada	1936	465:2842
Cumberland Presb. Ch.	1889	29:711
Hungarian Ref. Ch.	1980	1:45
Lithuanian Ref. Ch.
Presb. Ch. USA
Ref. Ch. in America	1979	36:1000
Second Cumberland Presb. Ch.	1945	35:152
United Ch. of Christ	1853	10% women
Presb. Ref. Ch. in Cuba
Guyana Cong. Ch.	1980	1:4
United Ch. of Jamaica and Grand Cayman
Presb. Ch. of Trinidad and Tobago	1980	1:4
Asia
China Christian Council
Hong Kong Council Ch. of Christ
Ch. of North India
Ch. of South India	1982
Indonesian Christian Ch.
Prot. Ch. in Indonesia
Prot. Ch. in Buol Toli-Toli
Prot. Ch. in Indonesia in Gorantolo
Prot. Ch. of Western Indonesia
Prot. Ch. in the Moluccas
Evang. Ch. in Minahasa
Evang. Ch. in Timor
Prot. Ch. in Bali
Karo Batak Prot. Ch.
Evang. Ch. in Bolaang-Mongondow	1950	10:44
Evang. Ch. in Halmahera
Evang. Chr. Ch. in Irian Jaya	1973	25:250
East Java Christian Ch.	1957	1:20
Kalimantan Evang. Ch.
Pasundan Christian Ch.
Prot. Ch. in Southeast Sulawesi
Christian Ch. in South Sulawesi		4:16
Christian Ch. in East Timor	1971	4:16
Toraya Ch.	1979	11:186
Korean Christian Ch. in Japan	1976	1:54
Ch. of Christ in Japan	1933	12:120
Presb.Ch. in the Republic of Korea
United Ch. of Christ in the Philippines
Presb. Ch. in Singapore	approx.1945	1:19
Dutch Ref. Ch. in Sri Lanka
Presb. Ch. in Taiwan	1950	8:716
Ch. of Christ in Thailand
Pacific
Queensland Cong. Fellowship	1920	0:2
Uniting Ch. in Australia
Cong. Federation of New South Wales		0:
Kiribati Prot. Ch.	1986	1:10
Cong. Ch. of New Zealand	1951	0:?
Presb. Ch. of New Zealand	1965	47:754
Europe
Ref. Ch. in Austria
United Prot. Ch. of Belgium	1979	3:102
Evang. Ch. of the Czech Brethren	1953	31:220
Ref. Ch. of Slovakia
Ref. Ch. of Denmark
Ref. Ch. of Alsace and Lorraine	1930	2:
Ref. Ch. of France	1966	28:460
Evang. Ref. Ch. Germany	1983
National Ch. of Lippe (Germany)	aprox. 1972
Ref. Alliance in Germany
Ref. Association in the former GDR
Ref. Ch. of Hungary
Presb. Ch. in Ireland	1973	5:440
Waldensian Evang. Ch. in Italy	1962	10%
Evang.Prot. Ch. of Luxembourg
Ref. Ch. in the Netherlands	1970	52:1188
Netherlands Ref. Ch.	1968	81:1800
Remonstrant Brotherhood	1921	13:31
Evang.Presb. Ch. of Portugal
Ref. Ch. of Romania
Spanish Evang. Ch.
The Mission Covenant Ch. of Sweden
Federation of Swiss Prot. Churches
Ch. of Scotland	1970	2% women
Cong. Union of Scotland	1928	5:67
United Free Ch. of Scotland		3:64
United Ref.Ch. in the UK	1919 (Congregationalist)
Presb. Ch. of Wales	1980	3:165
Union of Welsh Independants	1935	4:160
Ref. Ch. in Yugoslavia

"No" churches

Church	Women as elders or deacons
Africa
Evang. Cong. Ch. of Angola
Dutch Ref. Ch. Botswana	yes
Presb. Ch. of Mauritius
Presb. Ch. of Mozambique
Presb. Ch. in the Sudan
Presb.Communion of West Kasai
Ref. Ch. in Zambia
Prot. Ch. of Chr. Central African Republic	yes
Coptic Evang. Ch. (Egypt)	yes
Ref. Ch. of Equatorial Guinea	yes
Ref. Ch. of East Africa	yes
Ch. of Central African Presb.
Ref. Ch. of Reunion Island
Presb. Ch. of Africa	yes
Presb. Community of East Kasai	yes
Ref. Community of Presb. Ch. of Christ Zaire	no
Ref. Ch. in Zimbabwe	yes
Ch. of Christ in Nigeria (EKAN)
Ch. of Christ in Central Nigeria (CCN)
Central and South America
Ev. Cong. Ch. Argentina
Ev. Cong. Ch. of Brazil
Evang. Ref. Ch. in Brazil
Presb. Ch. of Chile	yes
National Evang. Ch. Guatemala	yes (deacons)
Presb. Ch. in Bolivia	yes
Indpt. Presb. Ch. of Brazil	yes (deacons)
North America and Caribbean
Associate Ref. Presb.Ch. in the USA
Asia and Pacific
Christian Ch. of Java	yes
United Presb. Ch. of Pakistan	yes
Presb. Ch. in North East India	yes
National Evang. Synod of Syria & Lebanon	yes
Presb. Ch. of Myanmar
Evang. Ch. of Iran
Presb. Ch. of Korea
Presb. Ch. in Korea (Daeshin)
Presbytery of Lanka, Sri Lanka
Union of Armenian Evang. Churches Near East
Cong. Ch. in Samoa
Presb. Ch. in Vanuatu
Europe
Ch. of the Brethren, Czechoslovakia
Ref. Evang. Ch. in Poland
Ref. Ch. in Lithuania
Union of the Evang. Cong. Churches in Bulgaria
Ref. Ch. in Latvia
Transcarpathian Ref. Ch.

"No information" churches

Africa

Presb. Ch. of Liberia in West Africa

Ref. Ch. in Africa

Presb. Community of Zaire

Prot. Community of Shaba

Central and South America

Christian Ref. Ch. of Brazil

Presb. Ch. of Mexico

North America and Caribbean

Evang.Presb.Ch. USA

Presb. Ch. of Guyana

Asia and Pacific

Indpt. Ch. of Burma

Christian Ch. in Luwuk Bangui

Sangir-Talaud Ev.Ch.

Christian Ch. in Central Sulawesi

Christian Ch. in Sumba

Presb. Ch. in Malaysia

Ref. Ch. in Pakistan

Ref. Cong. Ch. Marshall Islands

Key to abbreviations
Ch.= Church
Cong.= Congregational
Evang. = Evangelical
Indpt.= Independent
Nat'l = National
Presb. = Presbyterian
Ref. = Reformed