Perspectives on ministry and the meaning of ordination have changed dramatically over the church’s long history. Change happens. But it is unfortunate that important realities can also get ignored and buried in the past. This is especially true, for example, about women in ministry.

After his death and resurrection, the men and women who were disciples of Jesus understood their role as one of ministry and service to others. Sent out to spread the Good News of the Way of Jesus, they were called “apostles” from the Greek word apóstolos, meaning “one who is sent out.”

In the earliest Christian communities, these male and female apostles held a variety of ministries; but ordained priesthood was not one of them. Contrary to what one occasionally hears, the historical Jesus did not ordain anyone at the Last Supper. In the medieval period, many ignorantly taught that he did. Many people today, like a couple of my bishop friends, still think that way. They believe that they have ‘apostolic succession’ which links them back to the Jesus-ordained apostles at the Last Supper. But historical theologians know today that ordination did not even exist in Jesus’ lifetime. ‘Apostolic succession’ is easily disproved yet it is still seen by some as one of the proof marks of the “true church.”

In his letters, Paul the Apostle (c.5 BCE-c.65 CE) mentions a variety of charismatic gifts which were ministries helping the local Christian community, even though those who exercised the ministries were not ordained in our sense of the word. For example, members, who could teach, had the ministry of teaching. Those who were good organizers had the ministry of administering community affairs. Those who had the gift of prophesy had the ministry of speaking out and telling the community what they needed to hear, as faithful followers in the Way of Jesus.

Many scholars are now in agreement that men and women who were heads of households presided at the Lord’s Supper (Eucharist); and hosted the gatherings in homes. Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza (1938), emerita professor of divinity at Harvard Divinity School is a good example. She is a pioneering feminist theologian whose work, In Memory of Her, highlights the role of women as leaders of house churches. Because the Eucharist was initially a meal celebrated in homes, scholars like Fiorenza argue that female heads of households would have naturally presided.

In Memory of Her by Elizabeth Schüssler Fiorenza is a pivotal work in feminist theology that reexamines early Christian history through the lens of women’s experiences and contributions. First published in 1983 and updated in 1994 the book employs feminist critical hermeneutics and historical-theological methods to challenge traditional narratives that often marginalize women’s roles in Christianity. Schüssler Fiorenza argues that early Christian texts, largely written from a patriarchal perspective, have historically omitted or downplayed women’s activities and leadership, thereby distorting their contributions to the faith. She posits that the Jesus movement originated as a “discipleship of equals” and that the social structures of early Christian communities allowed for women’s leadership and participation.

As Christian communities developed, ministries and the ways of training and appointing ministers evolved to meet changing cultural conditions and changing social needs. Presbyters, from the Greek presbyteros (male) and presbytera (female) were community leaders. Supervisor overseers (later called bishops) from the Greek epískopos (male) and epískopa (female) had oversight and offered guidance in community affairs, and deacons, from the Greek diaconos (used for men and women) were helpers, entrusted with assisting people in the community by caring for widows, doing charitable work, catechizing, and assisting in baptisms.

The approval and blessing of the community for diverse ministries was shown by the laying on of hands. These ministries included community leadership, preaching, prophesy, healing, working miracles, speaking in tongues, and interpreting what was said in tongues (see 1 Corinthians 12:12-30, Ephesians 4:11-12, Romans 12:4-8; and 1 Corinthians 12:4-11). None of the early Christian men and women exercising these ministries were ordained.

Acts of Apostles, written between c. 90 and 110 CE, mentions the laying on of hands for presbyters, but here it was a form of blessing for those in ministry. In the Hebrew tradition, the laying on of hands was practiced when a father would impart a blessing to his children (see Genesis 48:14-15). We also see Jesus do this: He lays hands on children and blesses them.

In the first three centuries of Christianity, we have no direct evidence of what would later be called ‘an ordination ceremony.’ By the end of the third century, however, Christianity had a developing organizational structure headed by presbyters, supervisor-overseers (bishops), and deacons.

A big institutional change was introduced by the Roman Emperor Constantine the Great (272-337 CE) who at the First Council of Nicaea, in 325, gave Christianity an imperial institutional structure. By fusing pagan symbols, dates and rituals into the growing Christian tradition, he created a kind of hybrid imperial religion.

Constantine, who was Roman emperor from 306 to 337 CE, greatly institutionalized and militarized Christianity to use it as a unifying and controling force in his Roman Empire. Constantine was baptized on his deathbed in May 337, but scholars generally view his religious practice as a blend of personal beliefs and calculated political pragmatism. Throughout his life he had continued to use pagan symbols on his coinage and maintained elements of traditional Roman state religion.

Constantine’s Council of Nicaea established 20 canonical laws that explicitly regulated the ordination of priests and bishops to enforce institutional authority and maintain orthodox standards.

It is important to clarify, however, that ordination at this time was not about passing on some kind of ‘sacramental power.’ As the Belgian theologian Edward Schillebeeckx O.P. (1914-2009), often said about liturgical leadership in this period: “You led the liturgy because you were the leader of the people. You didn’t lead the liturgy because you were ordained to have the power of consecration.”

Schillebeeckx is still well known for his monumental book Christ the Sacrament of the Encounter with God, (Sheed and Ward, published in 1964 but updated in 1987.) I knew him well. He was my professor in Nijmegen and then a friend for many years, whom I visited regularly up until shortly before his death in 2009.

This week I was thinking about Prof. Schillebeeckx and a question I had asked him on one of my visits. I said, “what will we do with a shortage of priests and our need for Eucharist?” He looked at me, smiled, and said “We do not need ordained priests for Eucharist. Eucharist is the celebration of the community of faith. Christ is there because he lives in and with the community. He is not there because some fellow has sacramental power.”

Historically, ordination was originally understood as a blessing on the minister and an assurance to the community of faith that the ordained man or woman was competent, a genuine believer, and trustworthy. It was a form of ministerial quality control.

There is ample evidence that in the West women were ordained as deacons and abbesses well into the Middle Ages. Women continued to be ordained deacons in the East and were ordained to a variety of ministries. Many contemporary scholars agree with Gary Macy, professor emeritus of theology at Santa Clara University in California. Macy stresses that, during the first twelve hundred years of Christianity, women were also ordained as presbyters and bishops. I find the arguments in Macy’s book The Hidden History of Women’s Ordination (Oxford University Press, 2007)well-documented and convincing.

Looking at the history of ordination, it is especially noteworthy that, in the 12th century, known as the High Middle Ages, ordination changed from its earlier understanding as a blessing for different ministries in service for a specific community to a bestowal of sacramental power “to confect” (make it happen) the sacrament of the Lord’s body and blood.

The new medieval understanding was that the ordained person belonged to a higher social level in the church. The classless and egalitarian church of early Christianity simply disappeared. How well I remember the words of a now deceased bishop friend. He congratulated me when I got my doctorate in theology but then added with a smile: “I have no doctorate, but I have ‘sacramental power.’ You do not. You can say and teach wonderful things. But in a minute, I can say the words of institution and bingo Jesus is there on the altar!”

History is important. Today we need to remember and live the reality that Christ is present and active in the community of faith. That is the fundamental ‘Real Presence.’

We read in Matthew 18:20: “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” Jesus promises his real presence whenever his followers gather together. In John 15:5 we read: “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit.”

This is our Christian belief. It motivates and sustains us.

• Jack

Dr. John A. Dick – Historical Theologian

Email: jadleuven@gmail.com