Aizawl: The Baptist Church of Mizoram, the
second largest church denomination, has cleared the decks for
ordination of an eminent woman theologian, but she will not be
made a parish priest.
The move is not surprising as the state is a strict
patriarchal society where gender parity in political and
religious fields still seems to be a far cry.
Though the Executive Committee of the Assembly of the
Baptist Church has finally agreed to ordain Dr R L Hnuni,
scholar of the Bible's Old Testament and Principal of Academy
of Integrated Christian Studies in Aizawl, church leaders have
said that she might not look after a pastoral.
"Hnuni will be ordained on March 11 at the Assembly of
the Baptist Church of Mizoram, the highest decision-maker of
the church in Lunglei after which she would have the title of
reverend and become a church minister," a church leader said.
But the prominent theologian might not be given the
task of maintaining an independent pastoral of her own like
her male counterparts, he adds.
Earlier last year, the Executive Committee of the
church's Assembly rejected the recommendations of the Pastoral
Committee to ordain Hnuni, but finally accepted the second
recommendation in January this year.
The Mizoram Synod of the Presbyterian Church of India,
the largest church denomination in the state also is yet to
agree to ordination of women as priests and church elders
though the church employs many women theologians in different
capacities.
PTI
First Published: Monday, February 20, 2012, 13:28