Our Formal Position on Female Clergy

At this time, the Holy Nicholean Catholic Church yields to the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches on the question of female priests and bishops. Like homosexual marriage, such a serious deviation from the traditional teaching of the Church, we contend, must come from the actions of an ecumenical council or via reasonable historical precedent. While we do recognize that the extra-canonical sources (e.g. the Gospel of Philip and the Gospel of Mary) appear to reflect a favorable theology and St. Paul himself may have had high ranking female clergy under his pastoral care, we feel such a decision must be made by the Church as a whole. We have decided, however, to begin ordaining female deaconesses in keeping with the traditions of the early Church as demonstrated abundantly in such writings as the third century A.D. Didascalia Apostolorum. Additionally, the Eastern Orthodox Churches have a standing history of ordaining women to the Order of Deaconess, the rites of which can be found in the seventeenth century A.D. Dmitrievsky's Eucholgia. Also, the icon of St. Dorothy of Kashin (see right) pictures her holding a censor, the common attribute of a deacon. Such evidence proves to our satisfaction the sacramental nature and validity of the Office of Deaconess.

In the HNCC, both Deacons and Deaconesses are eligible to receive ministerial license (Reverend status) and have the sacramental authority to perform baptisms, weddings, funerals, last rites, exorcisms, communion services outside of Mass, read the Gospel at Mass, offer pastoral counseling, and offer sermons.