The new primate of the Anglican Church of Nigeria has cracked open the door for the ordination of women.
As reported in The Daily Champion,
Primate of the Church of Nigeria, Anglican Communion, Most Reverend Nicholas Oko on Thursday in Awka, Anambra State capital, endorsed the ordination of women as deacons in specific areas in Anglican Communion [i.e., the Church of Nigeria]. Interacting with Bishops, clergy and laity of the Province on the Niger at Emmaus House Awka during his Episcopal tour of Provinces in Nigeria, Archbishop Oko said women ordination for now would stop at deacons for specific purposes like hospital work and school services.
The Nigerian primate’s call came on the day it was revealed that ACNA’s bishops will be discussing women’s ordination:
The ordination of women to the presbyterate remains a matter that divides us. Despite the deep theological and ecclesiological divide we have remained committed to each other, and have honored each other as our Constitution envisions. The College of Bishops will have a morning (Friday) aimed at deeper understanding of the grounds of our divergent practice. Moreover, the GAFCON/FCA Primates Council has agreed to appointment of a theological task force to consider both the theological and structural issues that not only divide us, but also them. A healthy Church does not run away from its difficulties, nor does it act independently.
(The AMiA recently ran away from full membership in ACNA.)
Although there many points on which ACNA dioceses like Fort Worth and Pittsburgh disagree, the real obstacle is women’s ordination.
Incidentally, getting back to Nigeria, Otoh is plagued by problems inherited from Akinola:
He lamented the numerous demands for dioceses in the communion [i.e. the C of N] saying a new procedure for creation of a diocese will be out by September this year to checkmate the unhealthy demands for autonomous dioceses by those even without the requirements for an Archdeaconry.
He emphasised that he is revisiting the priorities of the Anglican faith to recover the bible reading Anglicans are known for even as he decried the stereotypes in sermons often caused by lack of being educated in the scriptures. He warned that henceforth no clergy without requisite educational qualifications will be ordained and appealed to the clergy to further their studies.
Of course the latter issue is not independent from the ordination of women. Denying ordination to women cuts you off from the skills of half the population, not to mention the healthy competition they would add.