Anglican Communion News Service

San Salvador

With the celebration of a forum entitled "Women in the ordained ministry" and other activities, the Anglican Episcopal Church of El Salvador honoured the Salvadoran women during the month of October.

The activities included a prayer vigil to pray for eradication of domestic violence against women and children, a cultural festival and a forum on women in the ordained ministry.

Elizabeth de Barahona, president of the diocesan women, said that women are capable of performing any function in society just like men. "To underestimate women as thinking and intellectual persons is intolerable," she added.

The struggle of women in the Episcopal Church for over 100 years in order to be able to be ordained was mentioned. There are still places in the Anglican Communion where the ordination of women has not been approved yet.

It was pointed out at the forum that even though there are some 70 million Anglicans, thousands of priests and hundreds of bishops, only 12 women are serving in the episcopate. It is believed that in the future the situation will be different since more than 50 per cent of students in seminaries are women.

El Salvador has only one woman ordained, Zoila Manzanares, and she is serving in Los Angeles, California.

The forum was attended by Dr Marcel Orestes Posada, Secretary of Justice, Revd Abelina Gómez of the Lutheran Church and Revd Kathleen Schmitt of the Anglican Episcopal Church of El Salvador.