Episcopal Press and News

Elizabeth II Selects a Woman as One of her Chaplains

Episcopal News Service. June 12, 1991 [91143C]

Queen Elizabeth II has appointed a woman as one of her royal chaplains in Scotland. The queen's decision is noteworthy not only because Elizabeth is the titular head of the Church of England -- a church that does not allow the ordination of female priests -- but also because the woman named, the Rev. Mary Levison, had spearheaded the movement that in 1968 led the Church of Scotland to sanction women's ordination. The Church of England is currently discussing the idea of woman priests at the diocesan level. Levison, 68, was ordained into the Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian body, in 1978.