Australian Lutherans vote to allow ordination of women

LCC President Timothy Teuscher addresses the Lutheran Church of Australia/New Zealand’s Convention of General Synod on October 6, 2024.

AUSTRALIA – The Lutheran Church of Australia/New Zealand (LCANZ) has voted to allow women’s ordination, affecting its relationship with confessional Lutherans worldwide.

The decision came during the LCANZ’s Convention of General Synod which met in Adelaide from October 4-7. On October 5, the church voted to accept a proposal altering the LCA’s Theses of Agreement, removing the paragraph which restricted women from serving in pastoral ministry on the basis of the teaching of Scripture. It comes after decades of internal debate and disagreement over the issue. Five previous attempts since 2000 to introduce women’s ordination in the LCA had failed.

The decision to allow women’s ordination will affect LCANZ’s relationship with Lutheran Church–Canada (LCC). In 1994, the Canadian and Australian churches signed a confessional agreement which allowed for fellowship, the shared recognition of each other’s ministry, and other areas of cooperation. The LCA’s decision to approve women’s ordination has undermined the doctrinal unity which serves as the basis of that agreement.

LCC President Timothy Teuscher was present for the LCANZ’s Convention of General Synod, and addressed the assembly a day after the vote. “While your decision yesterday to implement women’s ordination might bring an end to the constant discussion and debate here among you,” he said, “such is likely to lead to some internal ruptures and a new set of tensions that will not be easily healed.”

“‘Do not two walk together unless they are agreed?’” President Teuscher continued, quoting Amos. “Since LCC and the LCA are no longer in agreement on this matter pertaining to the office of the Holy Ministry, we in Lutheran Church–Canada will have no other option than to recognize that your action yesterday has severed the bond of fellowship between us. At the same time, we will do all in our power to support the faithful remnant here in the Lutheran Church of Australia.”

“At the same time, we will do all in our power to support the faithful remnant here in the Lutheran Church of Australia.”

In Lutheran Church–Canada, formal recognition of dissolution of fellowship must take place during a synodical convention, the next of which is scheduled for 2026.

The LCA’s status in the International Lutheran Council (ILC) has also been affected as a result of its recent vote, with the LCA being reduced to Observer Member status from its former Associate Member status. Full and Associate membership in the ILC is restricted to churches which maintain the doctrinal positions of the ILC as spelled out in the council’s bylaws; a departure from these positions results in an automatic reduction to observer member status.

“We grieve the decision of the LCANZ to depart from the clear teaching of Scripture on ordination and the historic practice of the Church,” said Rev. Dr. Klaus Detlev Schulz, General Secretary of the ILC. “We pray for those who have faithfully resisted this change in doctrine for so many years. And we encourage those who have rejected the historic practice of ordination to return to the teaching of Scripture.”

Many Australian Lutherans have opposed the move by their church body to adopt women’s ordination. That resistance recently led to the formation of the church organization Lutheran Mission – Australia (LM-A), which was accepted into membership in the ILC as a Recognized Organization in September. LM-A seeks to “ensure Confessional Lutheranism has a home in Australia for generations to come.” It arose out of a confessional movement within the LCANZ which was concerned that the church was declining from historic Lutheran teaching and practice—visibly on the issue over women’s ordination but even more fundamentally on the nature of the authority of Scripture. The LM-A is led by President Matthew Anker, who formerly served as the LCANZ’s Assistant to the Bishop for International Mission. LCC President Teuscher held introductory meetings with LM-A while he was in Australia. 

The LCANZ’s resolution authorizing women’s ordination calls on the church to finalize a doctrinal statement on ordination for 2025, to be approved during online meetings of the General Pastors’ Conference and Convention of General Synod.

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With files from ILC News

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