CHRISTIAN DIFFERENCES
Women in Ministry
Christians agree that women are disciples, witnesses, coworkers in ministry, and recipients of spiritual gifts. They differ over church offices and governing/teaching authority.
Complementarian readings usually understand passages such as 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 14 as restricting the elder/pastor office or certain authoritative teaching. Egalitarian readings emphasize women such as Phoebe, Priscilla and Junia and interpret the restrictive passages as local or situational. Catholic and Orthodox churches reserve priestly ordination to men while recognizing many other forms of women’s ministry.