PCA General Assembly Votes Against Ordaining Women as Deacons
The Presbyterian Church in America's General Assembly, meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, voted down an overture that would have allowed women to serve as ordained deacons. The vote keeps the denomination's current policy in place, which limits ordained office to men.
The Presbyterian Church in America's General Assembly voted against an overture to allow women to serve as ordained deacons at its annual meeting in Louisville, Kentucky, this week.
The overture had been submitted by several presbyteries and sparked significant debate on the floor of the assembly. Supporters argued that Scripture permits women to serve in the diaconal role, pointing to figures like Phoebe in Romans 16. Opponents maintained that the PCA's existing standards restrict ordained office to men.
The assembly also advanced a report on Christian nationalism, asking churches to study the document and respond at a future assembly.
The PCA, founded in 1973, has roughly 380,000 members across more than 1,800 congregations in the United States. The denomination has faced recurring debates over women in ministry for several years.
The vote does not affect the role of women in other areas of church life, including service as deaconesses in congregations that recognize that role without ordination.
The assembly's decisions on both matters will be communicated to member churches through the denomination's official channels in the coming weeks.
