The 'Philadelphia 11': Looking back on a breakthrough moment
PIONEERS: Some of the first women ordained in the Episcopal Church gathered in May 2004 at the Episcopal Divinity School. First row, from left, Alison Palmer and Lee McGee (ordained in 1975). Middle row, Nancy Wittig, Alison Cheek, and Merrill Bittner. Back row, Emily Hewitt, Carter Heyward, and Marie Moorefield Fleischer. Courtesy of Episcopal Divinity School
On July 29, 1974, in Philadelphia, 11 women broke rank and were ordained as the first female priests in the Episcopal Church. They became known as the Philadelphia 11.
While there was no law explicitly prohibiting the ordination of women, there also was no law allowing it. After the Philadelphia action at the Church of the Advocate, the 11 women were deemed “irregularly” ordained, and Episcopal bishops warned the church not to recognize the women as priests.
Two years later, the Episcopal Church’s General Convention affirmed and authorized the ordination of women to the priesthood.
