St. Gerorge’s Cathedral, Georgetown, by Ian Mackenzie/Flickr |
The Diocese of Guyana’s 144th synod voted June 20 to permit the ordination of women to the priesthood.
This was a unanimous decision taken during the 144th Synod session of the regional Anglican Diocese, which includes Suriname and French Guyana. The highest decision-making forum of the Anglican Church in Guyana got underway with a Grand Mass at St. George’s Cathedral on Sunday.
However, the historical moment was made on Monday when the members unanimously voted to allow the ordination of women in the Diocese of Guyana. This means that the door is now open for women to be trained for the priesthood in Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana.
Last year, Bolivia became the first Diocese in the Anglican Province of South America (formerly known as the Southern Cone) to ordain women as priests. Also in 2015, the Reverend Susana Lopez Lerena, the Reverend Cynthia Myers Dickin, and the Reverend Audrey Taylor Gonzalez became the first women Anglican priests ordained in the Diocese of Uruguay.
Before the vote, the Rt. Rev. Charles Davidson told radio station Demerara Waves that traditionalists would have to agree to disagree with those supporting women’s ordination.
“God calls all of us and empowers all of us, and at some point in the life of the church, our eyes are opened and we recognize that there is something we weren’t doing that we should be doing,” he said. “And because people are accustomed to tradition, it tends to cause uneasiness.”
