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The first ordination of awoman as priest in the Middle East will take place at St Christopher’s Cathedral on Sunday.
The subject of women priests continues to cause great controversy amongst Christian church-goers and the first women priests were only ordained in the Church of England in 1994.
Catherine Dawkins, 32, has been serving as an assistant chaplain in Aden with her husband The Rev Nigel Dawkins and helped run a medical clinic in Yemen.
She said: “I was very excited to learn that The Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf had secured permission to ordain women to the priesthood, and feel hugely privileged that it is now possible for me to be ordained as a priest.”
The Very Reverend Chris Butt, dean of St Christopher’s Cathedral, welcomed the move, saying: “It clearly remains a controversial issue and I recognise that there are both some Anglicans and clearly other Christian churches who do not accept the ordination of women.
“Within the Anglican Church in our diocese the principle has been accepted without a dissenting voice being expressed at the recent Synod in Cyprus.
“I think this is because, although the Bishop hasn’t yet ordained a woman as priest, there are already several women serving in different parts of the Gulf and indeed, even in Bahrain, we were delighted to welcome the Rev Maria Shepherdson, wife of our Cathedral Warden, Philip Shepherdson, to preach and to celebrate Holy Communion last year.
“Despite possible controversy, we may be surprised at how delighted the majority of people are and have the courage of our convictions.”
The service will be led by diocesan Bishop, Right Rev Michael Lewis, who will be travelling from Cyprus for the occasion.
Because St Christopher’s Cathedral is the ‘cathedral of the Gulf’ and it is usual for ordinations to take place in the cathedral of the diocese, where the bishop has his cathedra (seat). The Anglican Diocese of Cyprus and the Gulf has two cathedrals; the other is in Nicosia, which serves the Cyprus part of the diocese.
Catherine, who was born in the UK, will now be based in Dubai with her husband. She added: “I am very much looking forward to the ordination service in Bahrain, which will also be my first visit to the country, and am looking forward to embarking on the next phase of my ministry.
“I was sponsored for ordination training by the Church of England and did my training at Ridley Hall in Cambridge with a view to becoming a priest in the Church of England. However, all that changed when I married Nigel, as he was already serving as Anglican chaplain in the Yemen. Therefore, after finishing my training in 2009, I moved to Aden and was ordained as deacon to serve as Assistant Chaplain at Christ Church Aden alongside Nigel.
“The ministry in Aden has been hugely rewarding. Christ Church runs a medical clinic which provides essential healthcare to the local population, so I’ve been able to draw on my accountancy background to help manage the clinic finances, in addition to assisting with the usual church activities.”
Preparations for the service in Bahrain are well advanced. The ordination will take place at 6.15pm. The Very Rev Butt added: “Ordinations in the Anglican Church are conducted by the bishop of the diocese, so we will be welcoming the Right Rev Michael Lewis, our diocesan bishop for this service.
“The role of priests is outlined, searching questions are asked of the candidate, everyone prays for her and then the ordination takes place with the bishop and priests laying their hands on her head as a sign of solidarity with the ministry to which she is called and a sign of commissioning.”
