The Feminization and Professionalization of Ordained Ministry within the Mâ'ohi Protestant Church in French Polynesia
Résumé
In 1995, the Evangelical Church of French Polynesia – which came from the London Missionary Society and the Society for Evangelical Missions of Paris – allowed women to be ordained as pastors. This decision was notably made at the instigation of the World Council of Churches and under the pressure of pastor's wives involved in this ecumenical movement.
The accession of women to pastoral ministry goes with a transformation of Church ministries in terms of practice and legitimisation. This professionalisation of pastorate can be analyzed through four evolutions: the elevation of the academic training's level (the baccalaureate is now required to enter the pastoral school), the development of specialised ministries (school and hospital chaplains), the separation between private life and parish life and the ban on deacons, evangelists and pastors of the Church being in political office.
The backgrounds of male and female students pastors are different: girls who enter the pastoral school are single and holder of the baccalaureate whereas boys are married, without the baccalaureate and sent by their parish of origin.
Women pastorate, combined with the obligation of marriage that is still in force, heralds a redefinition of authority's patterns within the “pastoral couple” and of the status of the pastor's partner within the parish, when he is “only” the husband of the woman pastor.
The accession of women to pastoral ministry goes with a transformation of Church ministries in terms of practice and legitimisation. This professionalisation of pastorate can be analyzed through four evolutions: the elevation of the academic training's level (the baccalaureate is now required to enter the pastoral school), the development of specialised ministries (school and hospital chaplains), the separation between private life and parish life and the ban on deacons, evangelists and pastors of the Church being in political office.
The backgrounds of male and female students pastors are different: girls who enter the pastoral school are single and holder of the baccalaureate whereas boys are married, without the baccalaureate and sent by their parish of origin.
Women pastorate, combined with the obligation of marriage that is still in force, heralds a redefinition of authority's patterns within the “pastoral couple” and of the status of the pastor's partner within the parish, when he is “only” the husband of the woman pastor.
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