Ordination of women in Methodism

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The ordination of women has been commonly practiced in Methodist denominations since the 20th century, and some denominations earlier allowed women to preach.

Historically, as in other Christian denominations, many Methodist churches did not permit women to preach or exercise authority over men. However, earlier in the 18th century, Methodist founder John Wesley did authorise a number of women to preach, including Sarah Crosby. In Britain, the Primitive Methodist Church always allowed the ordination of women to full-time ministry. The Primitive Methodists had full equal roles for men and women, but the Wesleyan Methodist Church only ordained its first deaconess in 1890, and after Methodist Union, the British Methodist Church resumed ordaining women as presbyters (elders) in 1974.^[1]

Other Methodist denominations that practice the ordination of women include the United Methodist Church (UMC), in which the ordination of women as deacons and elders has occurred since its creation in 1968, and its splinter denomination, the Global Methodist Church, since it was established in 2022. The Free Methodist Church (FMC) ordained its first woman deacon in 1911.^[2][3] The Allegheny Wesleyan Methodist Connection ordained its first female elder in 1853,^[4] and the Bible Methodist Connection of Churches has always ordained women to the presbyterate and diaconate.^[5] Some smaller Methodist denominations do not ordain women, such as the Southern Methodist Church (SMC), Evangelical Methodist Church of America, Fundamental Methodist Conference, Evangelical Wesleyan Church, and Primitive Methodist Church (PMC)—the latter two of which do not ordain women as elders nor do they license them as pastors or local preachers;^[6][7] the EWC and PMC do, however, consecrate women as deaconesses.^[6][7] Some of the groups that later became part of the United Methodist Church started ordaining women in the late 19th century, but the largest group, the Methodist Church (USA), did not grant women full clergy rights until 1956.^[8]