Polish Lutheran Synod FOR the women ordination

The Synod of the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland in a secret ballot voted FOR the women ordination.

There were 45 votes in favour of the motion of the Synodal Commission for Women, 13 against and 1 abstention. According to procedure, a 2/3 majority is required to pass a motion to amend the Basic Internal Law.

The discussion on the ordination of women in the Evangelical Church of the Augsburg Confession in Poland has been going on intermittently for over 70 years. In 1963 it was made possible for theologically trained women to enter the office of church teaching, thanks to which female catechists taught, conducted services and engaged in pastoral work in parishes.

In 2008, the Synodal Commission on Theology and Confession concluded that there were no theological obstacles to the ordination of women to the ministry.

Since 1999, thanks to changes in the law, women in the Lutheran Church in Poland could be ministers and served as deacons. They could engage in charitable, evangelistic and missionary work, as well as ministry of the Word (including leading services, weddings and funerals, administering the sacraments, from 2016 also the Sacrament of Holy Communion), but were not allowed to run a parish on their own.

The resolution comes into force on 1 January 2022.