Ordination statement approved by online Synod meeting

General Synod has endorsed a new doctrinal statement on the ordination of women and men in the LCANZ.

Synod delegates met online in a special one-day convention on Saturday, 18 October, to consider the statement and address other business carried over from last October’s Regular Convention of General Synod in Adelaide.

Prepared by the church’s Commission on Theology and Inter-Church Relations at the request of the 2024 Synod and amended by the LCANZ’s General Pastors Conference on 15 October, the statement was developed in the wake of Synod’s adoption of the Way Forward proposal, which allowed for the ordination of both women and men. The statement had also been examined by District Pastors Conferences and District Conventions of the LCANZ.

The statement addresses matters relating to ordination, including differences in the interpretation of Scripture, the church’s public teaching, church fellowship, pastoral guidance and provision for matters of conscience.

Requiring a two-thirds majority to pass as a doctrinal matter, the proposal was endorsed by delegates, with 232 in favour to 66.

The resolution also acknowledges that addressing exegetical (scriptural interpretation) differences and provision for conscience are matters for further work in the church.

Read more on the Special Convention of General Synod 2025 webpage here.